Beth twisted in her seat in front of mine and pointed to me. “No,westudied.” She looked back at Courtney. “You were texting all night, remember? Then you left early to go to that party on Bell Hill.”
“Oh yeah.” Courtney sank back in her seat, letting her test fall onto her desk. “But still, I sat there with you guys for like an hour.” Her eyes widened. “I won’t be able to keep playing volleyball this fall if I don’t raise my grade.”
Beth shrugged. “Do the extra credit.”
“The short story?” Courtney looked at Beth as if she’d just asked her to kiss Kid Rock. She lifted her test in the air. “How could I do that? I don’t even know what half these words mean.”
Eyeing the red markings all over her test, I raised my brows.
Courtney lifted her gaze to mine. “Okay, more than half. Practically none of them.” Her attention darted to Beth. “But you can.” She lowered her voice when Mrs. Herrera moved to the front of the class and turned her back to write on the whiteboard. “Write it for me.Please.”
Beth shook her head. “I’m working this weekend.”
“So?” Courtney leaned forward. “You’ll still have time. I have like three parties that I already said yes to. Come on,” she whispered. “It’s not like you have a social life.”
The bell rang as Beth shot Courtney a look of annoyance. “No,” Beth said, grabbing her backpack and heading for the door.
Courtney reached into her backpack and spritzed herself with her blue bottle of Ocean Dream perfume, which she liked to refer to as her “signature scent.” I coughed as the mist hit my throat, all strong flowers and fake sandalwood, like I’d just swallowed a department store.
“You don’t need any more of that,” I told her. “I could already smell it all through class.”
Courtney let out a dramatic sigh as she tucked the perfume back into her bag, tilting her head as she gave me that look—the one that screamedYou just don’t get it, do you?“It’s not for you, Palmer. I read inSeventeenthat guys are drawn to a girl with a consistent, alluring scent.” She elbowed me playfully in the ribs. “You should try it sometime.”
“No, thanks.” I slung my JanSport over one shoulder and followed Beth, with Courtney trailing close behind.
“Hey, Beth.”
I spotted Ryan Mendoza, one of the most popular guys at school, slowing to give Beth a fist bump.
“Hi, Ryan.”
He nodded to me. “Hey, ladies.”
Even though he acknowledged Courtney, he avoided her gaze as we continued down the hall. I smiled at her once Ryan was out of earshot.
“I think he’s still scared of you from that time you pushed him off the monkey bars in second grade after he stole Beth’s glasses.” I nearly cringe recalling the audible snap of his bone when he hit the pavement.
A look of amusement crossed over Courtney’s face. “Oh yeah. That little turd deserved it after making fun of Beth like that.” She grinned. “And he never stole Beth’s glasses again.”
It was true.No onedared make fun of her after that.
When we reached the hallway, Courtney draped a long slender arm over Beth’s shoulders, which lifted her tight black T-shirt a few inches above her low-rise jeans. “Anyway, back to my extra credit, you need me on the volleyball team. How are you going to get scouted for that scholarship you can’t shut up about if we don’t make it to the finals?”
Jake and Tyler, two other seniors on the track team, strode down the hallway in our direction. I watched their gaze travel to Courtney before falling to her exposed midriff. I fell in line beside Courtney, who acted like she didn’t notice their stares. But I saw the flicker of satisfaction in her green eyes from the attention.
“Maybe you should study harder next time,” Beth said.
“Come on,” Courtney pleaded. “Just this once. You’ll be doing the whole team a favor. Plus, you owe me one.”
“For what?” I asked.
“Ugh.” Beth lifted her head toward the fluorescent lights. “Fine, I’ll do it.”
“Yay!” Courtney wrapped her arm tighter around Beth. “You’re the best.”
I shook my head at Beth for how easily she allowed Courtney to manipulate her.
Courtney threw a glance over her shoulder as Jake and Tyler went into a classroom. When she turned back, her eyes were sparkling. She leaned in close and lowered her voice. “Jake and Tyler told Emma this morning that Bryson brought a dozen roses to school to ask out his homecoming date”—she fluttered her eyelashes dramatically—“a.k.a.,me. Don’t say anything, okay? I want to look surprised when he asks.”
