The journey to Boston isn’t long, but I’d assume I won’t only be gone for a day. Mikhail will have cleared me to stay home for a few days, at least. Once I’ve got everything, I glance around my room and then head out into the corridor toward Eva’s room, where we were all going to watch a movie.
It took a lot of convincing to get her to leave the cottage for once and hang out with us tonight, and now I’m going to miss it.
I knock on the door, and it opens.
“What’s with the bag?” Camilla asks.
“My brother just called, and he’s getting married tomorrow,” I say, shaking my head. “He’s got a car waiting to take me back to Boston.”
“Lucky bitch,” Adrianna mutters, shaking her head. “I’d do anything to get out of here for a few days.”
Eva comes to the door. “Have fun,” she says, smiling at me.
I raise a brow. “You already knew, didn’t you?”
She shrugs. “Oak might have mentioned it.”
“You have a very unfair advantage,” Camilla says, glaring at her.
“Perks of being the principal’s wife.” She sticks her tongue out.
I shake my head. “Have fun tonight, but we’ll have to have another movie night next week to make up for me missing it.”
Eva shrugs. “It was hard to convince Oak to let me come tonight. I can’t guarantee it.”
“He’s hoarding all your time,” I complain, giving Camilla a hug. I then turn to Eva and hug her. Adrianna stands and hugs me, too.
“See you in a couple of days,” I say, before walking out of the room and leaving my friends to enjoy their night.
I walk down the corridor of the dorm only to run straight into Jeanie Doyle.
Her eyes narrow when she sees me. “Hey Gurin, I hear you are hanging out with Elias a lot lately.”
I shrug. “Not by choice.”
She makes an odd sound that suggests she doesn’t believe me. “That’s not what he says.”
“I don’t really give a shit what he says, Jeanie. Out of my way.” I try to dodge around her, but she yanks me back with the strap of my holdall.
“Going somewhere?” she asks, glaring at me hatefully. It’s hard to believe that seven years ago we were best friends.
“Yes, my brother is getting married. I’m attending the wedding.”
She lets go of the strap and nods. “Fine, just keep your hands off of Elias.”
I laugh at that. “Why?”
“Because he’s always been mine.”
I shake my head. “Elias was never yours, Jeanie. It’s been six years, and he still hasn’t so much as looked at you in that way.”
Her face reddens, and she glares at me. “Not that he’d want you that way.” She drags her eyes down the length of me with a scowl on her face. “He hates you.”
“I used to believe that too,” I say, almost to myself. I dodge around her, managing to make it past this time. “I need to go.”
Jeanie makes a frustrated sound behind me as I slip down the corridor away from her. She’s always been petty and jealous, but it took her reaction to Elias’ dismissal of me the first day in the cafeteria to realize it.
And yet she always wants to be the center of attention or close to the people who are most talked about.