Laney
All was strangelyquiet on the RFA battlefront.
The last several days at the academy had been uneventful, which was the polar opposite of what I expected to happen after Monday’s confrontation at the lockers with Hunter.
I was still wary of every corner I turned, on high-alert all the time, but absolutely nothing happened to me. No one tripped me in the quad, no one stuck gum in my hair or on my freshly-pressed uniform, and the cruel texts from random people had completely dried up.
Hunter was noticeably inactive and silent, too. We crossed paths quite often, but he acted like I was completely invisible.
On top of that, the students who had previously turned a blind eye to my bullying—neither hurting nor defending me—had started talking to me in classes, clubs, and in the halls like we were old friends. Even some of the kids who outright bullied me before were being… well, I wouldn’t say nice. Civil, though. When they passed me in the hallways, they did that casual head-nod and faint smile thing that acquaintances always do when they see each other, like nothing ever happened. They didn’t whisper nasty stuff under their breath when I went past them, either.
It was bizarre.
Talia, Jessica, and a few of the Princes still made snide comments and cast scathing looks at me when they spotted me—I guess some things never changed—but aside from that, things had really settled down. High school was finally beginning to be a pleasant experience for me.
The best part of it all was that I no longer had to hide out in my room for lunch. I could walk right into the cafeteria after the bell rang and no one said or did a damn thing.
“It’s so great being back here again like a normal person,” Trina said, stretching out luxuriantly in her seat. A half-eaten quinoa salad sat in front of her. “Not that I minded bringing you lunch in your dorm, Laney,” she added hastily, straightening up.
I smiled. “It’s fine. I get it. It’s nice to be back.”
Adam looked around. “It feels kinda weird to me,” he said. “I actually got used to spending all my lunchtimes in Blair Hall.”
“Well, we’re back now, and everything’s fine, so I guess that means Hunter finally got the message. He must’ve taken Laney off the blacklist,” Trina said.
“Was there anything about that in the blacklist group chat?” Adam asked.
She shrugged. “No idea, sorry. They kicked me out of it as soon as they realized I was staying friends with her. Just after the charity gala, I think.”
His face fell. “Oh, yeah. I forgot.”
I caught the eyes of several members of the Medusa Club across the room, heading over to the espresso bar for drinks. They smiled and waved, and one of them gave me a thumbs up and mouthed something that looked like ‘good job’.
Trina followed my gaze, brows knitted in a frown. “Do you think they did something to help get you off the list, or do you think it was just our essay prank that did it?” she asked.
I slowly shook my head. “Honestly… I don’t think I’m off the list at all.”
Her forehead crinkled. “What? Why not?”
“This just doesn’t feel right,” I said, casting my eyes around the room. “It’s like the calm before the storm.”
She laughed. “You should totally join the drama club.”
“No, really. I think Hunter is plotting something seriously cataclysmic to get revenge.”
She waved a hand. “I don’t think so. I think he just finally realized that you can make him suffer if you want to, so he gave up on trying to hurt you.”
Adam frowned. “I don’t know. I think Laney might be right,” he said reluctantly. “We really messed with Hunter’s head with the whole essay thing, and he’s never been the kind of guy to take things lying down.”
I let out a low groan and put my chin in my cupped hands, elbows balanced on the table. “Do you think we should’ve just left him alone?”
“No. We did what needed to be done to teach him a lesson.”
“You really don’t think we went too far?” I said, brows furrowing. “I mean, we wrecked his chances at getting into his dream college. For all I know, he’s planning my execution right now.”
“No, I’m pretty sure he’ll still get into Alton once my dad makes some calls on his behalf,” Adam said, rolling his eyes upward. “The whole point of it was to make him realize that you can strike back and hurt him if you want to, like Trina said before.”
“I guess so.” I pushed my plate away, no longer interested in my sandwich. There were too many nervous butterflies flitting around my stomach for me to be hungry.