“Not after this,” I say, watching as the twins shove their way through and join the fight. I feel a little bad for the Darlings, and I’m definitely not sticking around to watch the beating.
I try to step around Colt, but he steps in front of me again. “Who’s your friend?” he asks, crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes.
“Her,” I say in annoyance, pointing to the redhead.
“Dixie?
“Yeah.” I elbow my way toward the redhead, leaving Colt behind.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I ask, grabbing Dixie’s elbow.
She turns to me, her eyes wide as saucers. “What?”
“I created a distraction, and you’re just going to stand here and watch?”
“That’s what you were doing?”
“It worked, didn’t it?” I ask, pulling her away from the crowd and down the hall as a couple teachers come running.
“You started a brawl?” Dixie asks, still gaping. “On purpose?”
The answer that comes automatically to my lips is a cool smirk and a shrug of indifference.
But then I remember that I’m trying to shed my bitch skin, so I admit the truth instead. “Not exactly. I was just trying to get them to leave you alone.”
Dixie stops short. “Why would you do that?”
I search for an excuse, but nothing comes. “Let’s just say I haven’t always been a very nice person. Maybe I wanted to make up for it in some way.”
“And you’re going to do that by being my friend?” she asks, looking a bit too…Everything.Hopeful, and scared, and horribly, desperately transparent. This poor girl obviously has no idea how the game is played. Because that’s all life is—a game. Some people are dealt better hands, sure, but we’re all players on the same giant chessboard. Or football field, or whatever plane you want to use. Even the players dealt the best cards can lose it all with one ill-planned move, and the next thing you know, you’ve got nothing.
I don’t know what hand this girl was dealt, or what cards she’s holding now, but I know she needs help figuring it out. And I’m going to be the one who helps her.
“Tell you what,” I say. “I’m new here, but you’re not. I could use some help learning the ropes. So how about we make a deal?”
Dixie’s eyes widen. “You’re bribing me to be your friend?”
“How long have you gone to school here?”
“T-This is my first year,” she stutters.
I remember Devlin calling her Frosh, and I realize she’s only a freshman. “How long have you lived in this town?”
“All my life,” she says. She has a soft, breathy voice with a sweet accent like the Darlings. “I’m actually the mayor’s step-niece, which is why I go here. Not that he’d acknowledge me. I mean, at holidays and stuff my parents make me go schmooze, but otherwise, they pretend they don’t know me. Last time we visited, his wife told my parents not to bring me over looking so ‘unkempt.’ But really I think it’s because I’m fat.”
“Well, I could use a friend,” I say, deciding to process her words slowly when I have a chance. “And judging by what I just witnessed, you could, too. Why didn’t anyone stand up for you?”
“I’m new here,” she says. “I mean, all the freshmen are new, obviously. But they all went to private school together and then came here for high school. I went to public school until this year. I haven’t really… I mean, I don’t really have any friends.”
She’s about as red as when the Darling had her on her knees. I feel bad for asking about her friends, since I obviously embarrassed her.
“You have a friend now,” I say. “Meet me in the dining hall for lunch.” With the way things are going today, though, I’m not sure any of the Dolces will make it until lunch.
seven
I did it. Something better. Or at least I tried. But what happens when your good deed leads to people being hurt? As they say, the road to hell is paved with those good intentions. I know plenty about the road to hell—with cruel intentions. Let’s hope this good deed doesn’t land me in a hell of my own making. Because right now? It feels less like a good deed and more like social suicide.
I make it halfway through the next period before the headmaster calls me down so I can tell him my version of the fight. I wasn’t involved, so they can’t do shit to me. I feign ignorance, saying it was all a misunderstanding. When they let me go, I search the office for signs of my brothers or the Darlings, but no one offers me a clue.