CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
Mason dropped us off at school. My bag stayed in his backseat, but Becky tugged hers out. When he asked what time to pick me up, she started giggling.
We glanced over and she saluted us with her hand. "I'll find my own ride home. Thanks." Then she pivoted on her feet, clapped her heels together, and marched off.
He gave me an unreadable look and I sighed. "She's tired and…snarky…"
He shook his head. "I don't care. What time do you want me here?"
I scratched the back of my head. "Uh…quarter after three?"
"Done. See you." And he zoomed away.
As I turned and headed after Becky, I caught a lot of stares from those who lingered in the parking lot. Then when I entered the hallway, I got even more.
I groaned as I glanced at my phone. It was a little after noon—lunch hour. No wonder there'd been so many around their cars.
Becky was nowhere in sight so I targeted my locker instead. As I got there, Miranda Stewart greeted me. She seemed to appear from nowhere. She gave me one of those serene smiles that hovered on her lips. Her hair hung loose in shining curls this time and she readjusted the books in her hands. Warmth oozed from her. "You got here!"
I frowned as I opened my locker. "You seem happy about that?"
She glanced over her shoulders and then gave me another smile, this one seemed secretive. "Everyone knows about the Kade Trip."
I fought the urge to hang my head. Of course everyone would know.
She stepped closer and lowered her voice. "I spoke to the rest of the group on the way back and they want to return the favor to Mason and Logan."
"What are you talking about?"
Her eyes seemed to dance. They were sparkling. "Come on, like you don't know."
"I don't. What are you talking about?"
"Logan's friends with Mark, but they're not that great of friends. I assumed we were invited because of you."
"You weren't."
"Oh." Her back straightened and her shoulders stiffened. Then she let out a soft laugh. "Regardless, I'm throwing an intimate dinner. I've extended invitations to Mason and Logan, but I wanted to invite you in person."
"An intimate dinner?"
"I throw them all the time, but it's usually only for our close friends."
"The Academy Elite," I mused and tried to remember what book I needed for the next class. It was fifth period… My hungover brain was still going slow.
She laughed again. "That's right. I'd forgotten you knew about that name.
That's what your friend calls us, right?"
"And Adam's."
"Hmmm?"
I looked up and held her gaze. "She's Adam's friend too. He's got a soft spot for her."
"Oh, I know. I know." The corners of her mouth turned downwards, but they flipped up a second later. "So I would love if all three of you guys would come to my dinner tonight."
I sighed and turned to her. "Look, don't do this."
"Do what?"
"Mason and Logan won't come to your dinner."
"But you haven't even talked to them about it yet."
"Have they ever come before?"
"I've never invited them…" A small frown had come back to her as she started to look around. A small audience had appeared around us. They weren't close, but they were within hearing distance.
Here we go again…
"They won't come. I know them. They don't care about anyone except themselves. Trust me."
She looked down at her feet. "They seem to care about you…"
I lifted a shoulder. "If they do, they do, but don't invite them. They won't come and it'll make you look bad. You told me this morning you didn't want a war, but that's what you're starting. It won't work with Mason and Logan. Everyone knows they're jerks because they don't care about anything or anyone."
When she looked back up, she was transformed. A fierce determination shone through her emerald eyes and pinned me down, but she edged closer and lowered her voice to a whisper, "You're right. You're completely right. Thank you. I know this came from a good spot with you so I'm not going to invite them. I never was."
"I thought you said—"
She gave me a tight smile. "I didn't. I was testing you. I wanted to know what'd you do and you proved me right. You proved some others wrong."
"What are you talking about?" I shook my head. Was she mad? "There's no dinner?"
"There's a dinner, but do you really think I'm crazy enough to invite the Kade brothers? Everyone knows they don't care and we all know that we weren't really invited on that trip. You invited Adam, he invited us, and no one else cared if we went or not. That's how we went on the trip. You're completely right. Mason and Logan don't care about us, though I think they should.
Everyone knows they should've gone to this school. They should be our friends, but they're not. They made their choice."
I eyed her up and down and noted how her hands were in small fists, how her jaw was stiff, and how her shoulders were bunched together. A massive knot was going to form between them.
I spoke softly, "You're a bit pissed with them, huh?"
"What?" She looked taken aback.
"Nothing." I grabbed my fifth period book. "So no dinner tonight?"
"Oh no. I'm having a dinner and you're invited. You don't have to come; no offense will be taken if you don't. We all know you're probably tired." She lingered on my bruise. "But if you do, Adam will pick you up."
I grinned now. "He's not picking up Cassandra?"
Miranda grimaced. "Between you and me, I hope those two don't do more than their flirting. He doesn't care enough about her, and she deserves someone who's going to be there for her. Adam cares like that about you."
Oh no…
She laughed and waved at me. "Don't worry. I'm not going to play matchmaker. Everyone can tell that Sallaway did a number on you, but I do hope you'll come to dinner tonight."
"Can Becky come?"
Her eyes held mine steady. She didn't blink. "No."
So that's how it was going to be. I should've known.
Miranda looked over my shoulder and she chuckled to herself. "Look at that, I did you another favor."
Another one? I looked over and saw Jessica, Jill, Lydia, and Ashley at some lockers. All four of them stared at us with different emotions. Jessica was livid, as was Jill. Lydia was trying to fight off a smile at me and Ashley surprised me when she grinned.
Miranda added, "They wanted to confront you about why you wouldn't let them come on the trip, but now that I've deemed you one of my friends," she laid a hand on my shoulder. "They wouldn't dare." Her laugh was confident, it bordered on the verge of being cocky. "Welcome to the Elite, Samantha. I hope to see you at dinner tonight."
As she strolled down the hallway and linked elbows with Emily Connsway, the only female in their group who hadn't gone on the trip, Miranda stopped and lifted her head for a kiss from Peter Glasburg. He hadn't gone on the trip either. When both of them looked over and gave me a grin, I was jolted enough to jerk my hand up in a wave.
"What'd she want?"
I turned around. Becky was frowning at them with something else in her eyes.
I narrowed mine, was she hurt that I had talked to her?
"She was giving me a heads up that Jessica and Jill wanted to confront me about the trip."
Becky's eyes narrowed and I knew there was suspicion in them, but then she yawned suddenly and her shoulders sagged down. "I'm so tired. I can't handle any more fights."
"You can't?" I touched the side of my face. It was still tender and the pain started to throb again. "I don't remember you helping out from your version of the story."
She grinned and linked her hands together in front of her. It was a self-conscious movement. "I would've, but you were so funny to watch. And you kept telling you could handle it. You were taunting her, actually."
"Was I?" An old comfort settled between my shoulders. That sounded like something I'd do. "Did it piss her off?"
"Oh yeah. She started to swing at you more and more. She got sloppier after that and you kept dodging her, then you'd give her an uppercut from nowhere."
I gave her a sloppy grin. That had made me happy. "Want to go for burgers tonight? I think I need some protein."
"Can we do pizza instead? There's an air hockey table at Gino's." As we passed a group of football players, she looked up, but quickly looked back down.
Adam was in the center of the group. He leaned against the lockers with his feet crossed beneath him. Cassandra Sullivan was pressed against him, as close as she could be without his arm around her. She had a hand splayed over his chest and was smiling up at him. When he met my gaze, his grew cold and he straightened.
A few of the guys looked over and said hello to me.
My feet tripped over themselves, but I stumbled down the hallway with a frown. When did football players say hello to me? Even when I had dated Jeff, and some of them were his friends, they'd never spoken to me.
Then I looked up as Becky and I were about to head into the classroom.
Miranda met my gaze down the hallway. Her eyes seemed to be laughing at me, but I had an odd sense that she knew exactly what happened and she knew why it happened. Then she pretended to tip an imaginary hat to me.
Was that her first favor?
' Welcome to the Elite, Samantha.'
Her words came back to haunt me. Had I joined their ranks without realizing it? And if I had, what did that mean?
And then something else happened that took my breath away.
Jessica and Jill sat at a table behind Becky and me. I was tense, ready for whatever they were going to say to me, but they each gave me a bright smile.
"Hi, Sam! How was the party?"
My mouth dropped.
Hell froze over.
Becky's head dropped to her lap and she couldn't silence her giggles. Her shoulders shook.
"What?" I said to them.
Jill's smile widened and Jessica's stayed, but the ends of her mouth seemed strained. Lydia plopped between them and clasped my hands. She nearly smacked her forehead against mine. "I didn't know you were friends with Miranda Stewart! That's awesome, Sam. Why didn't you tell me?"
The teacher started roll call, but I couldn't shake a chill when I turned back around. That had been the favor Miranda had referenced. She cast me as her friend, no one would touch me now…except the Academy Elite.
I clasped my eyes shut.
I didn't want to deal with them. They were on a whole other league.
The rest of the day followed the same pattern. Amelia White asked me to sit with her in sixth period. She offered her notes from the morning classes I missed and Emily Connsway saved a seat beside her in our last period. Mark Decraw gave me a few wary looks, but he extended his fingers in a wave once.
And then Miranda passed me in the hallway after school. She called out, "See you later, Samantha!" before she bent her head and laughed at something Emily said to her.
I shook my head as I pulled out the two books I would need for homework and turned around. I bumped back against my locker when I saw Jeff behind me.
His dark hair was gelled up in a haphazard nest and his eyes were fierce. He frowned at me. "What are you doing?"
My hungover cloud of confusion cleared suddenly and I snapped back to reality.
I shoved him back. "What are you doing? Whatever you have to say, you have no right to say it. Get out of my face, Jeff."
He rolled his eyes and stepped closer. He lowered his voice to a grumble. "Jess is crapping her pants. Now you're suddenly all powerful and popular. What'd you do? How'd that happen? And what are you going to do to her?"
I reared back and took a long look at him. I thought he was angry, but I saw concern in his eyes now and something akin to fear?
I lowered my voice as well. "Why are you worried about Jessica? Shouldn't you be concerned about Jill, your girlfriend?"
"You weren't betrayed by Jill. You weren't friends with her. Jessica's the one that stabbed you in the back."
"Exactly!" I said in a sharp tone.
Heads turned our way.
I rolled my eyes, but quieted my voice. "I was the one stabbed in the back.
Jessica could probably stop worrying if she'd apologize to me."
"What are you talking about? She has—"
"She hasn't said a thing to me."
He held my gaze for a minute and then edged back. "Are you serious? I thought she apologized a long time ago. I thought you were being stuck up and not accepting it."
I was amazed at his stupidity. "For one, I don't automatically have to accept an apology and two; you're the only one who's seemed sorry for what you did.
Lydia's a beach ball. She keeps blowing from one side to the other. She's never apologized either and Jessica hasn't said a thing. She ignored me and then said hi once to me. I'm not going to sweep it under the rug."
He ran his hands through his hair, pulled his hair into a spiky Mohawk, and messed it up again. "I know they're both real sorry. It's got Jill paranoid. She thinks they're going to dump her for you and now all this crap." He swept his hand up and down the hallway. "You're in with the popular clique. How did that happen? You've never cared about any of that crap."
"Jeff," I sighed. "You and me are okay. I think you should leave it alone. Don't try to protect or apologize for Jessica and Lydia. That's for them to do, not you."
"Yeah, I know." He let out a ragged breath. "I'm just so pissed for messing our group up. I tore us apart. I should've said no to Jessica, but she kept asking.
She made it seem so exciting…"
When my phone vibrated, I saw it was Mason. He sent a text, 'here.'
"Look, I have to go. My ride's waiting."
He nodded his head and pulled the ends of his shirt together. The movement emphasized how thin his frame was. I'd forgotten how skinny Jeff had always been, but he pulled the look off. Trendy baggy jeans and a polo that was supposed to look vintage gave him a preppy look with an edge.
I chuckled and punched his shoulder lightly. "You look good, Sallaway. Jill must be good for you."
The side of his mouth curved up. "Hey, thanks, Strattan. That means a lot coming from you."
I shook my head, still chuckling, and headed to the parking lot. I figured Mason would have football practice to get back to so I didn't want to make him late. When I cleared the school and saw him parked front and center, I was aware of the attention he was warranting.
His window was rolled down and he flashed me a grin. He tapped the side of his car twice. "Come on. Coach is making us do two practices tonight."
I picked up my pace and got inside. As Mason wheeled his Escalade through the parking lot, he drove past Adam. He held my gaze as we passed him and I watched as his mouth tightened. Cassandra was beside him. Her expression mirrored his.
Mason chuckled, "Your quarterback's pissed."
I took a deep breath and tried to relax in his seat. "Yeah, well, I have a feeling a lot of people are going to be pissed at me."
He glanced at me. "What are you talking about?"
I shook my head. "I'm going to make some people very angry in the next week."