I raised my brows. “Whoa. I was just kidding, but… wow.”
“You’ll get used to it all,” Erin said breezily, waving a hand. “Anyway, what sports are you into? CPA makes everyone do at least one, but you can do more than that if you have space in your schedule. All you have to do is log on to the online student portal, go to the sports section, and sign yourself up for the ones you want.”
I chewed my bottom lip as I considered it. “Um... I’ve always liked swimming. So I guess I’ll go with that.”
Her lips pursed. “That might be difficult. The varsity swim team has already been picked out, and all the other swim classes usually fill up before the school year begins. It’s super popular.”
“Oh. Damn.” My shoulders slumped. “I really wish I knew all of this sooner.”
“Jax should’ve told you,” Erin said, brows knitting. “But you said you haven’t been getting along with him, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Hm. Well, if you can’t get into a swim class, I’d suggest archery. That’s what I do.”
“I don’t know,” I said reluctantly. “I’ve never done that before.”
“Doesn’t matter. The teacher is super chill, and it’s pretty easy once you know what you’re doing,” Erin replied. She looked right at me and finally cracked a real smile, albeit a small one. “Also, shooting at a target is great stress relief.”
“Maybe that’ll be good for me, then,” I said, nodding slowly.
Erin looked at her watch. “We still have twenty minutes before homeroom, so I’ll show you around the library and cafeteria.”
We trudged back up to the main part of the campus and went over to the southern building. The library was just as big and pristine as I imagined it would be, but the cafeteria blew all of my expectations out of the water. It was set up like a giant food court with at least twenty different cuisines available. There was even a pancake and waffle bar on one side.
“I’m totally going to gain ten pounds in my first week here,” I said. My mouth was already watering from all the wonderful scents wafting through the space.
Erin flashed me another small smile. “It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?” she said. She glanced at her watch again. “We still have ten minutes before homeroom. Is there anything else you want to see? Or any questions you have?”
“Um…” I frowned and chewed my lip. “No, I don’t think so. You’ve covered pretty much everything.”
“Okay, cool. Let’s go back to your locker so you can grab your tablet and whatever else you need.” Erin turned and started down the hall outside the cafeteria. Then she stopped and looked back at me with another small smile. “By the way, I just wanted to say… I really hope you’ll be able to get a fresh start here. I think everyone deserves a second chance.”
I frowned. It sounded like Erin knew something about me. Something I didn’t even know myself. “What do you mean?” I asked, cocking my head.
Her eyes widened slightly, and she took a step backward. “Oh, uh… never mind. I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s really none of my business.”
I noticed her voice was quavering slightly. It hit me then. She wasn’t standoffish earlier because she was annoyed about having to show the new girl around. She was scaredof me.
“Please just tell me what you’re talking about,” I said, lifting my palms. “I honestly don’t know.”
“Well, it’s just… you know.” Erin shifted her feet nervously. “You got expelled from your old school, right?”
My brows shot up. “What?”
“There was a post about it on the Dirt app last night.”
“Dirt app? What’s that?”
Erin pulled her phone out of her pocket and pointed at an icon on her home screen. “It’s a campus gossip app. People send in tips to the person who runs it, and the best ones get posted. It’s like Gossip Girl.”
“Right. So what got posted about me?” I asked, stomach churning with anxiety.
“Just something about your last school,” Erin said, looking nervous again. “The, uh… the incident that you got expelled over.”
“I didn’t get expelled. Seriously. Could you show me the post?”
“Um. Okay.” Erin clicked something on her phone and turned the screen to face me again.