I’m done with this.
Ducking into the car, I grab my leather jacket from the backseat along with my camera bag that doubles as my school bag. Eager to put Lucas and his friends behind me, I flip the strap over my head and hurry along.
On the way, I toss the keys to Alec and nod to him. “Later.”
When I reach the top of the stairs, I grit my teeth and cast a glance down at the parking lot.
I watch from afar, where I’m comfortable at a distance from the king’s court. I need to avoid his radar if I’m going to white-knuckle my way through my last year of high school.
If I make a wrong move around him, he’ll throw me in the proverbial high school gallows.
One more year and then I’m free to pursue my dreams. I pat my camera bag and head into school.
In theory, it should be easy to avoid Lucas’ attention. He doesn’t have any real interest in me, so he’ll get bored and forget about this weekend in a few days when the next shiny thing draws him in.
I know his type. Intimately.
Six
Gemma
Adjusting to the new school environment is still a process.
At least my parents didn’t take me out of one school in the middle of the year and toss me in another this time. That was rougher to get used to.
This time it’s a fresh start with the other seniors getting accustomed to the daily schedules. The only difference is they spent the last three years learning the ins and outs of this school and they understand the innate social hierarchy much better than me.
They know who to go to for a fix, who to avoid hooking up with if they don’t want to catch an STI, which teachers will let delinquent misdeeds slide and which ones are hardasses.
And which seats to avoid.
I find that out the hard way.
I’m late to study hall because I got held up after my class in the computer lab, enjoying my chat about Photoshop and Lightroom with Ms. Huang. I got lost on the way, the huge campus like a maze to navigate. The auditorium is packed by the time I make it several minutes after the second bell.
“Do you have a late pass?” A teacher in a tracksuit signals me forward with two fingers to the table in front of the stage, where she guards the hapless students of study hall.
Someone smugly mutters, “Busted.”
Rolling my eyes, I trudge down to the stage, aware of all the eyes on me. The vultures are out in force today. It’s the beginning of school, how exciting can it be to watch someone get a demerit over tardiness?
“I don’t have a late pass. I’m sorry, I got lost,” I explain when I reach the front.
The teacher squints at me. “I don’t recognize you.”
“I’m new.”
“Where are you coming from?”
“Second floor computer lab in the north building.”
“You mean the south,” she corrects. Frowning, she waves me off. “Don’t be late again without a late slip, please. Find a seat and work quietly.”
Nodding, I step away and head for the first empty chair I spot rather than skulking back up the aisles to search in the back of the theater. I don’t need to piss off the teachers into giving me a detention in my second week at Silver Lake.
I dump my bag on the armrest and catch the group in the row back watching with hawk-like focus. Furrowing my brows, I ignore them. What’s their deal?
I plop into the seat and immediately shriek when there’s nothing to catch me, the broken seat going vertical. I slide right off the cushion to the sticky floor and blink wide eyes at my surroundings. Hyena laughter echoes in the auditorium.