Victor falls forward and Neo barks at him. “Get back up. I’m not finished with you.” As soon as Victor returns to his hands and knees, Neo presses the sole of his boot to his back. “Twenty push-ups. And go.”
Victor tries to lift his body, but Neo forces more of his weight on Victor’s back. He finally rises, the muscles in his forearms strained. “One.”
His chest hits the ground and Neo humiliates him further. “Come on, you fucking pussy. You wanna talk shit and try to be cool, yet you’re lying on the ground like a little bitch. Does everyone see what a little bitch Victor Hammond is?”
Everyone watches for a good fifteen minutes, and finally, Victor gets his twenty in. Once Neo removes his boot from his back, Victor drops to the ground in a puddle of sweat.
Neo crouches down beside his head, grabs his hair, and lifts. “You’re not to talk to a single student at The Academy until I tell you to. Got it?”
Victor nods his head in Neo’s hand then it’s shoved back.
Well, as of right now, it seems we have two students muted. Wonder who’s next in line?
“This bullshit is getting outta hand.” Jagger huffs, spinning around and walking straight to where Scar is consoling Hannah.
I watch them, as Hannah cries into Scar’s shoulder, and it’s obvious nothing was brought up about Melody. Jagger joins them, placing a hand on the small of Scar’s back. Instead of reacting, I let it play out. See if she’ll step away from him. But she doesn’t. Once Hannah walks away, she turns to face him and sweeps her thumb across his chin, giggling like he had a smear of something on his face.
Jagger returns her giddiness with a flirtatious smile while his hand caresses her hip.
“Still think nothing’s going on between them?” Neo asks, his voice a buzzing sound in my ear.
“Nope. I think you’re right. Something is definitely going on.” I turn back around and snatch my tray off the table and cross the cafeteria, neither Scar nor Jagger noticing my absence. When I reach the door, I drop the whole thing in the trash. “Evan,” I say, grabbing his attention from the doorway, “fish my tray outta the trash and put it in the dirty stack.”
With that, I leave—my girlfriend and my best friend none the wiser.
ChapterSeventeen
CREW
Scar setsher American lit book on the table and sits down beside me. “What happened to you at lunch?”
I run my fingers through my hair, eyes on my open textbook. “Just needed some air.”
“Crew?” She grabs my hand, lowering it to her lap. “What’s wrong?”
Tangling my fingers with hers, I force a smile, because the last thing I want is for Scar to feel any more emotional turmoil. “Just in my head too much today.”
“Do you wanna talk about it?”
Before I can answer, Jagger drops his books down with a thud on the other side of Scar. “What a clusterfuck lunch was today.”
Scar doesn’t acknowledge him, just keeps her focus on me. Squeezing my hand, she asks again, “Crew? Do you wanna talk about it.”
“Talk about what?” Jagger butts in, and suddenly, I’m not in the mood to talk about anything. I drop Scar’s hand and turn back around in my seat.
“Nothing now,” I mumble, and I realize I’m behaving like a spoiled child. I shake away the thoughts invading my mind—Jagger and Scar and how neither of them has come and talked to me about whatever went down with the two of them.
Mr. Collins begins his discussion on modernism, and I manage to block his voice out completely. “You okay?” Scar whispers, her hand on my leg.
“Yeah. Just following along with the lecture.”
It isn’t until Scar reaches over and turns my textbook the right way, that I realize it was upside down. My eyes lift, and I see her grinning, and it’s hard not to do the same. Why is she so alluring? So perfect? Does Jagger see how amazing she is?
Fuck.I can’t do this!
I slam my book shut, push my seat back, and get up. Leaving all my shit on the table, I walk quickly behind the back row of students and straight for the door.
Without looking back, I pull it open and leave the room, slamming it shut behind me. The glass pane in the middle rattles and I’m thankful it didn’t shatter. Then again, I wouldn’t give a flying fuck right now if it did.