Nox nodded slowly, his lips parting to speak when the bell rang causing us both to jump. I groaned as I sat upright, rolling my neck before standing up.
I clung to the nearest thing for stability as the room tilted and dots clouded my vision. I squeezed my eyes shut, taking a couple of deep breaths as Nox held my hand that was gripping his shoulder.
“Woah, what’s wrong?” he asked, once I opened my eyes.
They both had haunted looks on their faces, like they thought I was about to die.
“Nothing, I just stood up too fast or something,” I muttered as I released Nox and grabbed my bag.
“Do you want to go to the nurse?” Jae suggested, as he came to the other side of the table to stand in front of me.
“No, no. I’m fine. Seriously,” I said firmly.
I gave Nox a glare when he asked if I was sure before they both followed me out of the cafeteria, flanking my sides and watching me like I might fall over at any moment. They keptsharing looks, having silent conversations with each other about me like I wasn’t standing right between them.
Jesus. They’re being fucking dramatic. I’m fine. Probably just worn out from all the stress. Gang life does that to a person.
Although I couldn’t exactly say that, so I just lost them in the crowd as I headed for my next class.
Not ten minutes into the period, I was dismissed to visit the guidance counselor. I walked as slowly as possible to the library before finally heading inside and taking a seat. Mr. Crane folded his hands on his desk.
“So,” he cleared his throat, raising a brow. “What’s goin’ on?”
“You tell me,” I shrugged.
“Ya had straight A’s last time we spoke. This ain’t like you. So, I’ll ask ya again. What is goin’ on, kid?”
“Nothing,” I mumbled, reaching for the squishy toy on his desk to fidget with.
“Shiloh, ya failed all but one of your midterms. And with your grade below 70 in your AP Calculus class, you’ll be required to attend tutoring sessions. If your grade does not improve over the next six weeks, you will be removed from the class. And that willnotlook good on your transcripts for college.”
I rolled my eyes, squeezing the neon yellow ball as hard as I could.
“Frankly, at this rate Shiloh, ya won’t be graduatin’ with your peers. Do you really wanna retake your senior year? Your teachers have told me that you’ve been sleepin’ in class, and ya haven’t turned in none of your remediation assignments from your midterm exams. You’re not showin’ very good character here, and I’m concerned that ya aren’t puttin’ in the effort to even pass your classes with a C.”
“Well don’t be, because I’m just going to get a job when I’m eighteen,” I explained. “I don’t plan on graduating anyways.”
Mr. Crane blinked, surprised by my statement. I surprised myself. I hadn’t really thought about what my future held, but, apparently, I wasn’t planning on graduating. I still had no clue what Carlos had in store for me, but I doubted he would care if I dropped out. Hadn’t seemed to affect my brother’s ability to rank up and become his sucesor.
“What happened to your college plans? You were set to go to a university with your grades and test scores. Tell me what’s changed in the last month. Tell me why ya suddenly no longer wanna pursue a higher education.”
Where do I fucking begin?I stared at him with gritted teeth. It wasn’t like he could fucking change anything about my situation.
He shook his head with a sigh when he realized I wasn’t going to respond and swiveled in his chair to face his computer. He picked up his phone, dialing a number off his computer screen and looked back at me with disappointment.
“Hello Mr. Tellez,” my breath hitched when I heard that he was calling my father. “This is Mr. Crane, Shiloh’s guidance counselor. I’m calling to speak to ya about Shiloh’s performance in school. Her teachers and I would like to schedule a parent-teacher conference to discuss Shiloh’s future. Please give me a call back when ya can.”
I scoffed, knowing that he wouldn’t fucking show up. Thank fuck I didn’t live with him anymore, otherwise he would have screamed at me for being a fuck-up.
“If ya won’t talk to me, then I’m gonna have to recommend ya meet with the school psychologist,” Mr. Crane sighed, rubbing his brow as if he wasn’t happy about my stubbornness.
My stomach suddenly started churning and the pasta I ate at lunch was threatening to show up on his desk. People asking questions was the last fucking thing I needed. Why couldn’t he just leave me the fuck alone? Why did he have to fucking care?
“Whatever,” I said, slinging my backpack over my shoulders and getting the hell out of there before I threw up or started crying. I just wanted to take a fucking nap.
???
Of course my prayers weren’t going to be answered by having a nice nap when I got home from school, because Adrian was waiting for me in my apartment. The fucker either picked the lock or had a copy of the key. Either option had me clenching my fists at my side.
