June’s black gaze bored through her until Arabella felt hollowed out. She
cleared her throat, squared her shoulders like June had done, because
Arabella Ferguson didn’t get intimidated by anyone, and she never got
bossed around. She shored up all her mean-girl courage, but when June just
stared back at her, ever defiant, Arabella let it go. She held her breath,
turned on her heel, and stalked away.
She hadn’t given a single reassurance that she wouldn’t tell anyone about
what she’d seen, but she also hadn’t fired off a cheap shot at June. Her
silence, more than anything, would have come as a shock. It shocked her.
She hadn’t been able to think of a single mean thing to say. She hadn’t even
wanted to be mean. Honestly, as she walked quickly away from the
bleachers to get her stupid sweater, she knew she couldn’t make fun of June
for this. She couldn’t, because that would be wrong on every level. Arabella
couldn’t betray June like that because it would be a betrayal of herself.
So, it looked like Sarah’s secret, and the possible secret that June didn’t
look like she minded people knowing, was safe. Not only did she not say
anything, she wasn’t going to use it as ammunition in the future either. That
would be unforgivable.
Arabella snatched up her sweater, finding it exactly where she’d left it,
and hurried in the other direction. It meant taking the long way around the
school parking lot, but she was overwarm, flushed actually. She could use
the cold wind to take the heat out of her skin and the long walk to blame on
her pounding heart.
She could think of something else to be mean about. She focused her
racing thoughts on that. Just because June had gotten a pass from her today
didn’t mean she was going to get one in the future about anything else. She
couldn’t think of any justification for it, but she didn’t need to.
She’d keep doing what she always did. Being mean was like a drug. It
entrenched her position in the school, in the world, solidified her popularity,
and strengthened the bonds of whatever passed as loyalty between her and