I can’t afford to stick my neck out. If I stir up trouble, chances are, my father’s going to find out about me, and that’s the last thing I want.
I nod to Jess, who moves aside, and I have to open the door more so I can enter.
The principal sits behind his massive desk, a desk so large it takes up almost half of the space in the room. Makes me think he’s overcompensating for something. The desk is made of cherry oak, the floor legs carved ornately. The surface of the desk is uncluttered. On the walls hang diplomas and maybe awards. Not sure. Don’t pay them much mind.
The man behind the desk seems tall despite his sitting. He’s very much like my father in that he’s the kind of man who commands attention, the one whose everyone’s eyes gravitate toward when he enters a room. He’s dressed in a suit, looking more like a businessman than a high school principal.
“What’s your name?” he asks, his gaze fixed on his iPad rather than my face.
Just as well he isn’t looking at me. I don’t want him to pay me any more mind than he has to.
“Liam Haverforth and I got into an altercation,” I say.
The principal lays down his iPad on his desk, the movement slow and precise. His gaze lifts to my face, and his nostrils flare as he eyes me. “You are?”
“Erika Armstrong.”
“I don’t know you.”
“I’m a new transfer.”
“The new kid. Already causing trouble, I see.”
“If by standing up for myself to a bully—”
“Liam isn’t a bully.”
"The comments he was making toward me were unacceptable."
“You need to learn that boys will be boys.”
“You don’t even know what he said, but what he said doesn’t matter, does it?” I snort. The wordtypicalis on my tongue, but I don’t dare voice it aloud.
“I know Liam, and I don’t know you.”
“So Liam doesn’t even have to defend himself. You already take his side without hearing the facts—”
“If the teacher thought Liam had done anything wrong, Liam would be here beside you. Clearly, you are the troublemaker. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re one of those girls who thinks they can lead a guy on and then trap him, pretending later on that you didn’t give consent when you had.”
“Excuse me?” I cannot believe my ears. “How can you say something like that to me?”
“Oh, very easily,” he says. “Just look at you. You have all the makings of a woman who uses men to try to get ahead in life because you can’t hack it yourself.”
"That so?" I ask coolly. "I'm here on scholarship, which means that I'm smart. I'm smart enough to make my own way in the world. I don't need any man to take me under his wing. I don't need to use a man to get ahead. I'll forge my way by myself, thank you very much."
He snorts and readjusts the nameplate on his desk. Jonah Malone. It hadn't needed to be adjusted, but he's doing it to show he's the one in charge.
I can’t stand this entire place. Why? Why did I have to pick such a beautiful school that has such ugly people lurking within its walls?
“What’s your name again?”
“Erika Armstrong.”
“And the name of the school you transferred from?”
“Pine Grove Hill High School.”
“Where is that?”