I could also see she wouldn’t make a good enemy. So I simply shrugged and said, “Maybe, instead of gossiping, you should askhimwhat happened?”
Vanessa scoffed and turned back to her conversation with Britt. It seemed I’d been dismissed.
Jaz leaned over again. “Did you really punch Parker?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Like I said, he snuck up on me in the parking lot. It was dark. I thought he was about to mug me.”
“Oh, my God,” she laughed. “That’s hilarious. Although, I have to admit, I’m a little surprised a girl hasn’t punched him sooner.”
“Because he’s a total jerk?”
“He’s not atotaljerk…”
“Because he’s a player?”
“I mean, he is, but that’s common knowledge. No one’s going to punch him when they know exactly what they’re getting into.”
“It has to be that annoying smirk of his then, right?”
She smiled and shook her head. “I don’t know how to explain it. He’s just Parker, I guess. You either want to kiss him or punch him. And most girls want to kiss him.”
“What about you?”
She laughed and shrugged. “Kiss, I suppose. But only so I could see what all the fuss is about. He’s definitely not my type.”
“What’s your type?”
I could have sworn her eyes darted toward Isaac. And I was certain his head lifted a fraction from his book.
But Jaz answered, “Fictional.”
“Fair enough,” I said with a laugh.
The bell rang and everyone jumped from their seats to file out of the room.
“Come on, I’ll show you to your first class,” Jaz said. “See you at lunch, Isaac.”
He gave us a wave, though he was still reading his book as he walked. I glanced at my schedule to find I had math next. The rocky start to my first day wasn’t getting any smoother.
As I left the room, the guy who had been spreading rumors about Parker fell in beside me.
“So, you’re the girl who punched Parker,” he said, smiling broadly. “I’m Seth.”
I was beginning to understand why Ransom had such a bad reputation. The guys here were all too good-looking and intent on causing trouble.
“You knew I punched him?”
“Oh yeah. I’ve heard a lot about you, Mackenzie.”
Seeing as the only person I knew in this town was Parker, I could only assume Seth already had a terrible opinion of me.
“You play hockey, right?” he went on. “Goaltender?”
His comment took me off guard. Parker had told him that? It was the last thing I’d expect him to know. My goalie days were over, and I never really spoke about it with anyone except Max.
