Aveena: What about you? Any schools in mind?
His reply made my smile that much wider.
Xavier: Hoping for a full ride at Duke, too. Rumor is, there’ll be a scout at the next game.
Xavier: It’s on Friday. You should come.
I couldn’t picture it.
Not by any stretch of my imagination. Little old me showing up at every game from now on, cheering on the most popular guy in school from the stands, but I still let myself dream.
Buy into the fairy tale.
Aveena: I’d love to.
Then I spotted the time on my dashboard.
Aveena: Crap, I have to run. Wish me luck.
Xavier: Go get ‘em.
We stopped texting after that.
Well, until now.
A new message from Xavier pops on my screen as I’m pulling into the school’s parking lot.
Xavier: Fun fact about me: I fucking hate Mondays.
Xavier:Another fun fact about me: the thought of seeing you today makes me hate Mondays a little less.
You’d think I won the lottery judging by the dopey grin growing on my face. And, crazy enough, I think maybe I did? Sure feels an awful lot like I scored the guy of my dreams right now. Could it be… that things are finally going my way?
Tossing my phone into my opened backpack, I climb out of my car and head straight for the school’s entrance. I wasted over ten minutes just sitting in my car and rereading Xavier’s texts. I push the heavy glass doors open and waltz in, painfully clueless as to the nightmare awaiting me on the other side.
Everything seems normal at first.
The halls are lively, the students chatty.
I do notice teachers and school staff running around looking a bit distressed but don’t overthink it.
Just another day at Easton.
I turn the corner and spot the thick crowd by the locker section. The hallway is crawling with what I’m sure is Easton High’s entire student body. Kids are talking, laughing, whispering in each other’s ears. I’m pushing to the tip of my toes, fishing around for a feasible explanation, when a tan hand wraps around my wrist.
“Vee, you’re here.” Dia materializes by my side. “Come on, you have got to see this.” My best friend guides me through the masses, and my pulse accelerates when I spot Finn, Theo, Axel, and Xavier in the distance.
That’s when I see it.
They’re everywhere.
Printed by the thousands.
Stuck to each locker.
Covering every inch of the floors.
My darkest secrets.