Page 6

She squishes her face. “Unfortunately, they are not even the worst of them. But we aren’t all like that here, I promise. I’m sure everyone at the paper will want to meet you. We don’t get new faces in our group… like ever.”

I force a smile, sick at the thought of having to meet and talk to new people. “So, where do we eat lunch?”

Her body relaxes, and she faces me. “We usually eat in the lunchroom, but don’t worry, we have our own table. People usually stick to their own groups.”

My chest tightens thinking about walking into the wild and navigating the ever-shifting landscape of human adolescence. Somehow, I think animals would have better manners, especially since Naomi will be there, and I’ve avoided her since our unfortunate interaction this morning.

Walking past a large window, I dream of sitting under one of the oak trees that line the property on the south side of the lawn. The weather is still warm, and all I want to do is curl up and read my book for an hour like I’ve been doing all summer.

It looks like a nice spot to hide.

Instead, I tighten my ponytail and follow Jade’s lead and head through two large doors that lead into a buzz of students already in the lunchroom. The cafeteria is huge, lined with tables and arched windows with a beautiful ocean view.

She must sense my tension because she turns and looks at me, softening her brown eyes. I’m about to find out where Jade sits on the hierarchy, and I’m sure it’s not high.

She pushes through a group of people, and everyone focuses on me, ignoring her. Sometimes I wished I was still a wallflower. Jade is pretty, with smooth skin and dimples on her left cheek. Her hair is shiny and falls just below her shoulders, and she looks amazing. But she’s thicker, and unfortunately, it seems people gloss over her.

I spent most of my adolescence like that.

A nerdy girl who liked ballet, but not geeky or hot enough to attract much attention. My breasts grew two full sizes last year, my hips plumped out, and my waist tightened. People took notice as I filled out my tights differently than they were used to.

He started watching me.

Even though my beautiful dancer’s body changed drastically, I liked the attention.

Jade points to an empty table in the corner. “We usually sit there, and it looks like we are the first ones here.”

I sit across from her and observe the room. Directly across from me are Naomi and Serena. Serena sees me and nudges Naomi, who whips her ponytail around and our eyes meet. She sneers at me before turning her back, icing me out.

I turn away to avoid further eye contact, and relief washes over me when she seems to be busy talking to her friends to pay me anymore attention. My stomach rumbles, and I grab a sandwich from my backpack. Jade keeps talking, and I give her short, one-word answers, trying to remind myself to be nice.

It’s not her fault I’m in this mess.

My eyes drift to the puffy clouds in the distance, thinking about all my horrible decisions that led me here.

“Uh oh,” Jade says, pulling me from my train of thought. “It looks like Naomi Wilson has noticed you.”

Shit. Naomi is definitely staring again.

Jade frowns. “Try to avoid her, London. Naomi can be really mean sometimes. I find if you don’t pay her any attention, she will usually get bored with picking on you.”

It seems like she knows this from experience, but I feel like I’m just getting started with Naomi.

I fidget and readjust my uniform as both Serena and Naomi keep luring my attention through their mean girl antics and stares. I think of the two guys she was toying with at the beach, and I wonder which one she’s with.

Jade furrows her eyes at me and ignores the malevolence shooting in our direction. “Why do you dress like that?”

My eyes whip toward her, and I can’t help the twinge of a smile that hints my lips. “Dress like what? We’re dressed the same.”

Apparently, even when I try my best to fit in, I still stand out.

She inspects me—stares at me—as if wanting to ask me a million questions but doesn’t dare to.

Why does everyone have to stare?

She inspects the buttons I have fastened to my chin. “You dress like… I don’t know. Like you don’t care or something.”

I scoff and ignore the look of pity she’s giving me. At least she’s being real with me for the first time. I’m sure she’s nice, but she must have questions, especially since I took all of two minutes to get ready this morning, and it must show. Plus, I showed up in this town out of nowhere.