“Why is that?” I walked over to the hand dryer but waited a beat so I could hear her answer.
She shrugged, staring at the bruise on my face. “You didn’t seem to pay attention to anyone, except for…” I finished for her. “Christian.”
She glanced over to my cut lip. “Yeah. Plus, I wasn’t the most popular person.”
I ran my blouse underneath the air dryer for a few seconds, getting some of the water to dry before putting it back on over my tank top.
“Well, I’m not the most popular either. Not anymore.”
She gave me a half-smile, and I returned it. I didn’t necessarily want a friend, but at the same time, it would be nice to have someone to go to for a stain removal pen, because ten out of ten times, the bully won’t just strike once. I was certain Madeline would do something else to torment me. That was how girls like her worked. I’d been to four different high schools, and there was always one girl who enjoyed tearing down others. The school may change, but the girl never did.
“I know you already know me,” I said, sticking my hand out, “but I’m Hayley.”
Her smile grew as her palm collided with mine. “I’m Piper.”
The bell rang, breaking our handshake. “What’s your next class?” she asked.
“Poly sci,” I answered. “With Mr. Lincoln.”
“Follow me; I’ll walk you.”
“Only if I can use you as a human shield when Madeline throws more food on me.”
Piper stopped and looked back at me with wide eyes. “That’s who ruined your shirt? Sorry, but you’re on your own with her. I was the butt of her jokes my entire junior year. I don’t mess with them.”
“Them?” I asked as we began walking again. I kept my eyes peeled for anyone else who wanted to mess with me, but no one even glanced in our direction.
Piper stopped in front of a classroom, and I assumed it was poly sci. “Yeah. The it crowd.” She shook her head. “Meet me outside by the front doors after school. I’ll drive you home and fill you in on English Prep. You didn’t just walk into a prep school; you walked into a kingdom. And you and I? We’re just peasants.”
“Oh, I don’t think you want to drive me home. I live—"
She shook her copper hair before I could finish. “After school. I’ll see you by the doors.” Then she turned around, disappearing into the hall. Okay then. When I moved to find a seat, my heart dipped when I was met with a familiar pair of blue eyes—Ollie.
Did he hate me as much as his big bro? He blinked once, twice, three times as I stood frozen at the door, waiting for his glare. But it never came. Relief pooled around my body. I didn’t even know why I cared. I was here for education so I could get the heck out of this shitty town. I hadn’t seen or talked to anyone in this world for several years. I shouldn’t have cared what they thought. I shouldn’t have cared that Christian hated my guts. So what?
If I allowed myself to feel, it would have hurt a little. Stung like a hornet on my very heart. But my feelings were off. Always.
My shoulder lurched forward as someone rammed into me from behind. I gasped when I turned around, but my anger was replaced by a surge of shock when I saw that it was Christian. He brushed past me quickly, the heat of his anger wafting all around us. Ollie looked from me then to Christian with a bemused expression. I was right there with him. What is his problem?
Nonetheless, I sucked it up and walked into the classroom with my shoulders square and spine intact.
I’m ready for round two.
Chapter Four
Hayley
Buses sucked. Greyhound buses, school buses, and city buses. They all sucked. I was cautious of people now. Watchful and guarded, never sitting too close to a stranger. I remembered my mother teaching me what stranger danger was as a little girl, but up until those men entered our home when I was on the brink of turning thirteen, I didn’t truly realize how dangerous strangers were. Since that day, I was constantly surrounded by them. Even my own mother grew to be a stranger.
So, the city bus ride to and from my foster home and English Prep shouldn’t have been that big of a deal, but I still felt uneasy. The only benefit to the forty-minute bus ride every morning was that it got me out of the house sooner and back later. Pete was on his best behavior yesterday evening, even waving to Piper as she drove off in her convertible, and Jill left me half a plate of food on the stove. It was disgusting and tasted like cardboard, but at least it was food.
As much as my new foster home sucked, I was happy to be there after school yesterday. I felt sick sitting in Piper’s passenger seat while she gave me the rundown of the popularity contest at school. Here’s what I learned: Christian was the “king” of English Prep, and Madeline was the “queen”. I knew that much already from my brief encounter in the cafeteria. She filled me in on the other kids—popularity ranging from whose parents had the most money. It seemed as if English Prep was more of a breeding ground than anything. She told me where the best keggers were and how they were thrown after every football game. It was all very normal in terms of high school, except Piper mentioned that they all held themselves to a higher standard because their families were treated like royalty in town. There was even a rumor that Christian’s father had the police force in his pocket. That wasn’t the first time I’d heard of someone having the police on their side, even if they weren’t technically on the good side.
I held my tongue before my mouth blurted the question I didn’t want to care about: Were Christian and Madeline dating? I shouldn’t have cared. I didn’t have room in my life to care, but I did. Jealousy surged through me, and I had no right. Christian and I were close before my life was turned upside down, but he was never really mine. We weren’t an item, per se. We never kissed or any of that. But we were close, and everyone knew it. We were drawn to one another. Spent most of our free time together in his fancy treehouse behind his mansion-like home. But I still had no right.
I argued with myself the entire night about why I cared. As I lay there on my pitiful mattress on the floor of a bedroom that felt more alien to me than anything, I couldn’t stop replaying Christian’s glare and repeating everything the Wicked Witch of the West spewed in the cafeteria. Piper ended up giving me the answer to my question without me even asking. She completely warned me off Christian. “Madeline and Christian aren’t together, not officially. But unofficially? Yes. Unofficially, Madeline sucks his dick whenever he snaps his fingers, so she claims him on a daily basis. And if she senses a threat, it’s hard to tell what she’ll do.” My stomach tightened at the thought. There was something about the past and Christian that caused a spark inside of me to burn bright. I knew the hurt was creeping in, but I pushed it down. Instead, I replaced it with anger. Christian had no right to shoot me dirty glares and sick his psycho, unofficial girlfriend on me. Every time I thought of him after I got out of Piper’s car, I saw red. The weepy, sad part of my soul that was forever hung up on Christian and my twelve-year-old self’s feelings, was gone. That was the old Hayley. The new Hayley had no feelings and didn’t think of the past.
The bus lurched to a stop on the corner of the street where English Prep, in all its mass glory, laid. The stone building was built in the early 1800’s, which explained its cobblestone entryway and dramatic medieval archways. It started off as a mansion, owned by a very wealthy businessman named Edward Brown, and then later transformed into a preparatory school founded by Edward’s heirs.