“Why?”
“Because, no one is ever that nice unless they’re hiding something. Clowns and shit are nice.”
I smiled, thinking it over. “Kind of like the people who whistle down the street.”
“Exactly.”
“How about Mr. Larson?” I mentioned our teacher. “He’s extremely nice.”
“Yup. Creepy as fuck.” She finally cracked a smile. With that smile against her caramel-colored skin and her petite frame, I figured out why Katie had Nate pleading to forgive him. We were sophomores and usually guys like Nate and Jax didn’t dabble in underclassmen.
“So.” I glanced toward the door to see if anyone else was listening to our conversation. “You and Nate?”
“Ugh.” She groaned. “Don’t remind me. It was a fling, something to pass the time and kind of a place to sleep for a while.”
I must have looked confused.
“Guessing you don’t gossip much?” she asked somewhat surprised. “You seriously are the real Goody Two-shoes deal, aren’t you?”
“Wha ... what are you talking about?”
“You know? You’re the homeschooled Whitfield everyone keeps talking about. I’m the foster kid who jumps from home to home. It’s a small school, Brey. You haven’t heard the shit these idiots think up?”
The teacher started setting up the materials in the front of the room and I watched him, realizing how stupid I must look. “I guess you could say I avoid gossiping to people and people avoid gossiping to me.”
She shrugged. “Whatever. I’m done with that asshole.”
“He seemed sorry.”
“He’s immature. I mean, for fuck’s sake, I’m a sophomore and I had to tell him to grow up.” She shook her head and her hair swung with her. “So, what happened to your hair?”
Man, she talked so fast and jumped topics so quickly, I had to hope I didn’t get whiplash. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Jax was mumbling about your hair. What happened?” She didn’t beat around the bush.
I smoothed my hand over my newly formed bun and shifted in my seat.
“Got it. It’s private, I understand.” She turned to face the front, and then her grayish eyes glanced at me sideways. “You can wait till lunch to tell me.”
My lips thinned. “I just got a haircut.”
She stared at me for a second. Then, burst out laughing. “Okay, you’re officially one of the worst liars I’ve ever seen.”
I just shrugged and wiped my now sweaty palms on my jeans.
She leaned in a little over her desk and whispered, “I think I like you. I think we’re going to be really good fucking friends. So, I’ll tell you a secret. I’ve been in foster care for a long time, seen a lot of shitty things, and I can tell when something is wrong with someone the moment I meet them.”
My eyes must have been wide as I sat there, frozen, listening to her and not knowing what to say.
Her look altered from one of the fierce stinging bee she portrayed to a more wounded, understanding animal. “Your secrets will always be safe with me.”
We stared at each other for a beat. For the first time ever, I sat next to another girl that shared the same look I did. I wanted to tell her everything right then and there. Maybe it was her brashness, the way she held herself tall as if neither of us had to be ashamed and we could be something more than the abuse that went on in our homes. I smiled at her and nodded in understanding.
For the first time ever, I wanted to tell Jay. I didn’t even listen in my next two classes because I was planning a way to tell them both.
When the lunch bell rang, Katie and I weaved our way through the halls to the cafeteria.
Taking a table with our lunches proved to be easy as we were early.