I open the door.
"Aren't you coming?" I ask as she goes to the mirror.
"You go ahead. I think I'll skip first period."
When I walk into class, Mr. Piedmont stops mid-sentence. "Nice of you to join us, Ms. Halliway."
I ignore him and continue to the back of the class, everyone staring at me. I'm sure by now they all know I'm dating Jackson. They already hated him, but finding out he was arrested for Kristen's murder will make them hate him even more. That hate will extend to me because I'm dating him.
This is going to be a bad day.
"As I was saying," Mr. Piedmont continues, "Ms. Adams will be available all this week during class to address any questions or concerns about how you're feeling." He pauses. "Does anyone need to speak with Ms. Adams right now?"
Nobody answers or raises their hand.
"If you do," Mr. Piedmont says, "please let me know and you'll be excused from class. For those of you who were late today," he says, looking at me, "we will be having an assembly this afternoon in the auditorium. It will replace your last class. This is a required assembly and your parents are welcome to attend. When it's over you can leave for the day. Any questions?"
Nobody responds so he continues with class.
As the morning goes on, not a single person talks to me. They just walk right past me and pretend I don't exist. Either Braden told them to act this way or they're doing it because they hate Jackson and hate me for dating him. I'm surprised Peyton would talk to me. If she really thinks Jackson killed Kristen, why would she still want to be friends with me?
At lunch I'm standing in the hot food line when Dante comes up behind me.
"Hey," he whispers.
"Hi." I turn to face him.
"Turn around," he whispers. "We're not supposed to be talking."
I turn and face the line. "Did Braden tell you that?"
"Who else?" he says, sounding annoyed.
"Don't listen to him. You don't have to do what he says."
"I do if I want to win on Friday. When he gets pissed off, he doesn't play well."
"Did he tell the whole school not to talk to me?"
"Yeah, but you knew that would happen. Even if Novak didn't kill her, you're still dating the enemy."
"Jackson didn't kill her. And as for dating him, nobody had a problem with Kristen dating Jackson.”
We move ahead in the line.
"We had a problem with it," he says. "We just couldn't say anything."
"Bun or no bun?" the lunch lady asks. It's hamburger day, which is normally one of my favorites but I'm not hungry today, especially after finding out the whole school isn't talking to me.
"Bun," I say. Taking the plate from her, I turn back to Dante. "See ya later."
"Three," he says to the lunch lady. "With a bun."
Looking around the cafeteria, every table is full. I spot Peyton at the cheerleader table and head over there. There's a seat open next to Peyton.
"Hey," I say to her as I sit down.
Peyton sips her sparkling water, ignoring me. The other girls give me the death stare, like I shouldn't be at school, and definitely not at their table. I glance back at the table behind me—Braden's table—and see Alyssa watching me. She quickly looks away. The guys at the table pretend not to notice me.
