Their clandestine conversation seemed to be wrapping up. I had to leave now unless I wanted to be caught eavesdropping.
I turned to sneak away, and my left shoe made a scuffing sound on the floor.Shit.
“Hey!” Mr. Blythe said sharply. “Who’s out there?”
I made a split-second decision to pretend I hadn’t seen or heard anything. I pasted a smile on my face and pushed the classroom door all the way open. “Oh, hi, Mr. Blythe. Sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out. I didn’t know anyone else was here so late.”
Cerina narrowed her icy blue eyes at me. “What the hell areyoudoing here?”
“I was just going to the bathroom. The line is too long at the stadium,” I said. “It’s the homecoming game tonight, remember?”
Mr. Blythe nodded. “Ah, that’s right! I was just going through an extra credit assignment with Cerina,” he said, even though I hadn’t asked him why he was here at this hour.Guilty conscience.He glanced at his watch. “Oh, wow, the time has really flown by. Sorry to keep you so long, Cerina. Did I answer all your questions?”
She smiled stiffly. “Yes, Mr. Blythe. I’ll get the assignment to you on Monday.”
“I’m looking forward to reading it,” he replied. “Anyway, enjoy your evening. You too, Kinsey. Hope our boys win out there!”
“I’m sure they will. They’re already up by sixteen points,” I said, bright smile still fixed on my face. I lifted a hand in a casual wave. “Anyway, see you next week.”
I turned and stepped out of the classroom, heart pounding. That was a close call.
Footsteps echoed behind me a moment later. I turned to see Cerina stalking down the hall. “Kinsey!” she called out. “Stop!”
I raised my brows and affected a bored expression. “What do you want, Cerina?”
She stepped right up to me, eyes narrowed. “Don’t play dumb with me. How much did you hear?”
“Just enough, I’d say.”
She bristled. “Don’t youdaretell anyone.”
“Tell anyone what?” I asked, cocking my head. “That you’re sleeping with our English teacher?”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I smiled thinly. “Pretty sure I do, actually. Like I said, I heard enough. You’re clearly pulling an Aria Montgomery and screwing Mr. Blythe.”
“I’m not!” she said, nostrils flaring. “You’re completely misinterpreting everything you heard.”
“That’s bullshit and we both know it.” I smiled again and tapped my chin with one finger. “I guess I should call the cops on Mr. Blythe for being a predator. Then again, knowing you, I have a feeling that you’re probably the one who pursued him. So maybe I should send a tip about it to the Dirt app instead. Let everyone else decide what should be done about you two.”
I wasn’t really going to do that. I was ninety-nine percent certain that Cerina ran the Dirt app herself, so there was no point trying to submit anything that would make her look bad. It would never get published.
Still, on the off chance that shedidn’trun the app, it would be fun to make her sweat a little. Give her a taste of the bullshit she shoved down everyone else’s throats on a daily basis.
She took another step forward. “Kinsey, I’m telling you this for your own personal safety,” she said in a low voice. “You can’t tell anyone what you heard tonight.”
I let out a short bark of laughter. “You’re concerned for my safety now?” I said, rolling my eyes. “Sure, Cerina. Very believable.”
“Okay, how’s this? If you say a word to anyone, I’ll fucking ruin you,” she said, lifting her chin imperiously high. “When I’m done with you, you’ll wish you never stepped foot in this town. You’ll wish you were never even born.”
“Wow, what an original threat,” I said sarcastically. “Totally not a line from every single tacky high school movie out there.”
“I’m fucking serious, Kinsey,” Cerina replied, face reddening. “You’re done here, okay?Done.So don’t eventryto say anything to anyone about the stuff you heard tonight. No one would believe trash like you anyway.”
I smiled and shrugged. “I guess we’ll see about that.”
I turned and walked away with my head held high, relishing the feeling of having some power over Cerina for once. This time, she didn’t follow me.