This was too much. I’d kick him and run out.
I closed my eyes, and just as I lifted my leg, he jeered at me. “What the fuck is your problem? Take this, you dumbass.”
I opened my eyes. There was James Hunter towering over me in his boxers.
I looked to my right, then my left, trying to avoid catching a glimpse of his tanned physique, but he waved his dirty clothes in front of me. Now I understood. Nervously, I grabbed the crumpled pile of clothes.
“Wash it and bring it back to me, princess.”
“You could . . .”
James Hunter grabbed me by the sides again. He pushed me toward the shower so easily that for a second, it felt like an out-of-body experience, as if I was as light as a feather.
“No! No! No!” I shouted.
“Wanna take a cold shower, Snow White?”
This guy was completely crazy! How did I get myself into this mess?
“Okay, okay. I’ll wash them and give them back to you.”
Reluctantly, he grabbed the workout clothes that he’d taken from his locker and glared at me one last time.
“And don’t come anywhere near me again,” he threatened.
Never again would I get Starbucks. Never again.
6
June
I’d washed James Hunter’s uniform, praying that it wouldn’t fade or shrink in the dryer because then there would have been hell to pay. Now it was eight thirty, and the week was about to end in the best way possible—with a few snacks, a book, and Netflix.
I’d just gotten out of the shower when a missed call from Amelia showed up on my phone.
“Hey, sorry I missed your call.”
“Can we pick you up tonight?” a cheery voice replied.
“Now?” I was incredulous. “We have homework due Monday, and I just got here—I should study,” I muttered, lying on the bed.
“So? It’s Friday night, June!” Amelia said, as if that would be enough to dissuade me.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like to go out; it was just that nobody had ever invited me. I’d never been at the same school long enough to make friends. I’d been alone forever; how was I supposed to explain that to her?
“Where would we go?” I said as I looked at my body in the mirror. My shocking pink robe left my legs exposed—firm or big, I didn’t know what to think. They were the first things that drew my eye when I saw my reflection.
I knew I didn’t conform to today’s beauty standards, and even though my waist was nowhere near as narrow as the Instagram influencers’, I didn’t really care. I always liked to eat dessert, and I was too lazy to play sports. I’d taken rhythmic gymnastics classes in elementary school, but after that it was hard to join any teams because I moved around so much. I didn’t know what people would think of me, and it was always hard for me to understand how they saw me.
I thought of Amelia. She was a typical classic beauty with a perfect physique that screamed at me that I needed to go on a diet. But even if I did, I’d never have legs that went on for days or that perfect waist-to-hip ratio. I wasn’t born with those genes.
“. . . so, it’s a beach party. June, are you listening to me?”
I shook my head vigorously to stop daydreaming and focus on her words.
“Yeah, sorry. A beach party, I get it. Who’s gonna be there?”
“Blaze will definitely be there,” she answered, as if that could convince me.
