4
Class was just getting started when I arrived. I got there in the nick of time, stopping only to brush my hair to make it a little more presentable and to throw on a proper button-down shirt instead of the t-shirt I had been wearing earlier. I didn’t know if being late was a blessing or a curse, but at least I didn’t have the breathing room to think about whether or not people were staring at me for rushing so quickly, or because of the rumors about me. At that moment, I didn’t care.
The classroom was organized in a similarly haphazard way as the VIP Lit Club, with square tables facing all directions, four chairs at each. It was the only class I had been in with something other than the classic theater seating or rows of neatly arranged desks.
“She made it,” Tiffany cheered, bouncing up and down.
“Thought you were dead,” Sunny said, winking at me.
“If she had died, I would know about it,” Jessica scoffed.
I loved these girls. Truly, women after my own heart. I couldn’t have gotten any luckier for my first year on campus, befriending these three and having them accept me as one of their own.
“All right, let’s get started.” Professor Jackson smacked his yard stick against the whiteboard. He was so dramatic. Attractive, too, if I was being honest. A total campus stereotype, with the perfect salt and pepper hair, the jacket that was cut just right to go with his sweater vest, and the kind of body that suggested he was able to excel at any sort of extracurricular activity he took part in. “I’m going to make this a study class for the day, so please use your time wisely. Let me know if you have any questions or need any direction. Next class is going to be the exam, so get cracking.”
It felt nice to indulge in a little bit of a daydream crush for a moment about someone who I’d never do anything with in real life. But maybe this would be some good fodder to add to my new project. I smiled to myself, shaking my head and looking down to my notepad, tapping my pencil on it. Sometimes inspiration struck from interesting, unexpected places, and almost always at inconvenient times when you couldn’t just whip out your laptop and get it all written down.
My reverie did not last long before my ear twitched at the sound of my name, spoken in very hushed tones.
“…Aubrey… no way she knows how… must be some kind of slut…”
I closed my eyes and squeezed them tight. I’d had enough of that word altogether. I couldn’t keep letting them get away with it.
Tiffany heard it. By the way she looked at me, I knew she heard it. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Jessica was already on her feet.
“Does somebody have some disgusting, slut-shaming words about my friend they’d like to share to the rest of the class?”
“Jessica, what’s the problem?” Professor Jackson asked, looking up from his desk.
The rest of the class remained silent. Jessica barely acknowledged Professor Jackson as she looked around the classroom, silently daring anyone to say something. When no response came, she smirked. “Thought not,” she said, sitting down. “Sorry, Professor, all is perfectly fine here.”
I winced, lowering my voice. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Oh, they can all go to hell,” Tiffany said. “How classless to be like that.”
“All their taste is in their mouth,” Sunny grumbled.
“You don’t have to put up with that all the time,” Jessica added. “There’s no reason for it. You earned your way here, more than most of the people on campus.”
“Thanks, you guys,” I said. “But I don’t want your reputations getting tarnished along with mine.”
Jessica laughed. “Fat chance of that.”
“Remember what Tiffany said,” Sunny added, reaching out and patting my hand. “Half the people who signed the petition did so because they liked your stories. Who cares what the other half thinks?”
“I said that?” Tiffany said.
“Yeah, sweetie,” Sunny replied, smiling. “You did.”
“God, I’m a pretty smart cookie,” Tiffany said.
I couldn’t help but grin. “You guys, come on,” I said.
“All right, all right,” Tiffany said. “I’ll change the subject. Let’s talk about the ball!”
Damnit. That was the one thing I did not want to talk about.
“I’ve already started shopping for gowns,” Jessica chimed in.
