Nev knocks over her juice bottle, and a translucent yellow stream trickles onto my lap in time with the anger coursing through my veins.
“They snapped a picture of you in the locker room?” I grab a paper napkin from her plate to stanch the flow of juice.
“All you could see was her back and legs,” Mark the Muncher supplies, sucking the orange powder off his fingers.
“Angie. It’s no big deal,” Nev murmurs.
But it is. My thighs harden against the bench. All of my muscles harden. “Does Ten know?”
She shakes her head. “And you can’t tell him. Or Dad. I don’t want to be homeschooled again.”
Homeschooled?Nev was homeschooled? “I won’t tell them. I promise.” Tossing the wet napkin back onto her tray, I spring off the bench, and then my black combat boots devour the floor.
I think I hear Nev calling my name, but I could be wrong. Too much anger is swooshing against my eardrums. I stop next to a blonde whose lips are so shiny they reflect my face.
“Jenny Barnett,” I grumble.
She blows a large pink bubble that snaps against her lips. “And you are?”
Does she really not recognize me?Whatever…“I’m someone who has something to say to Jenny. And to Crystal, too.” My fingers ball into fists at my sides. I relax them, because it isn’t like I’m going to clock anyone, even though the desire isn’t lacking.
A girl with almond-shaped green eyes and hair as black as Laney’s lowers a blinged-out smartphone to peer at me. “I’m Crystal.”
Her voice doesn’t waver, her expression doesn’t flinch. She’s not scared of me. None of them are. Why would they be? Because I’m a high school senior? I suddenly wish Rae were here. She would’ve inspired fear in them and would’ve known what to say.
“It’s not okay to bully people.” Jeez, I sound like my mom. Worse than my mom… I sound like Mrs. Larue. I wedge my lips shut before I quote the Buddha.
Crystal smiles, but it isn’t kind. And then her eyes rove over the cafeteria, finally settling on someone beyond me. Probably Nev. “Whatever are you talking about?”
That elicits snickers from the girls around her.
She knows exactly what I’m talking about.
WhomI’m talking about.
Anger simmers in my veins.
Vicious. They are so vicious. Some go back to scrolling through their feeds, some keep eyeing me.
Come on, Angie, think of something that will make them shrink… But not a single solid comeback slots into my mind. If they knew whose daughter Nev was, they would all be sidling up to her, but obviouslyI can’t tell them who Nev’s mom is. Besides, people shouldn’t be kind because of who you are or who you know.
I curl my fingers back into balls. “If you ever hurt her again, I’ll hurt you even more.”
Jenny grins so wide I can see her tonsils, but then her smile wilts as her eyes settle on a spot higher than my head. I turn, expecting to see a figure of authority, but it’s not a supervisor.
All of the girls stop smirking at me to stare at Ten, who stands behind me in his track attire. He glowers down at them, sweat glossing his forehead and neck.
“What are you doing here?” I choke out.
His eyes surf over the stunned, pinkening faces. He hasn’t said a word, yet he’s somehow chastened them. “My sister is off-limits. If I fucking find out any of you bully her, I will involve the principalandyour parents.”
Cheeks turn scarlet, and eyes go wide. Ten’s no-shit demeanor and crisp tone has their gazes bouncing off one another nervously. Had I said the same words, would their ears have gone flat too?
Probably not.
They probably would’ve kept simpering.
I look for Nev, find her spot empty. I step around Ten to get a clearer view of the incredibly quiet cafeteria. Everyone’s staring, but I don’t care. All I care about is finding Ten’s little sister.
