Gripping the material in my hands, I yanked with all my strength, but instead of ripping down what I wanted, I felt the entire pole above the shower topple onto my head.
“Dang it!” I cursed as it clattered against the floor. Even though my head was throbbing, I quickly scooped the pole up and slid the curtain off. Then I tore the plastic section away from the rings and used the remaining blue fabric to form a makeshift towel. Since it was in the little kids’ bathroom, a hideous pattern of monkeys and bananas covered the curtain, but it would have to do. Hopefully Katherine won’t be mad at me, I thought, looking down at the mess I’d made. I could always replace whatever I’d ruined.
Instead of peeking into the hall to make sure the coast was clear, I threw open the door and rushed toward the stairs.
“Isaac, the pigeon has flown the coop! Repeat, pigeon flown coop!” Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Jack with a walkie-talkie. Next to him was Jordan with the video camera in his hands, green light blinking.
“She was supposed to be naked,” Jack said as if I’d caused him some type of inconvenience.
Not bothering to stop or even yell at the twins, I started taking the stairs two at a time, wanting to get to my room before someone else spotted me wearing the shower curtain. Isaac appeared at the top of the landing, the second walkie-talkie in hand and a wicked grin on his face.
“I didn’t think she’d actually—” He stopped when he saw me. “Oh, aren’t you clever? I didn’t even think about the shower curtain.”
“Move,” I said and shoved past him.
“Jackie, wait!” Jordan called, chasing me with the camera. “Can you answer a few questions for our film? For starters, do girls ever play with their boobs?”
The twins followed me down the hall to my room, bombarding me with ridiculous questions until I slipped inside and locked the door. Leaning against the wood, I closed my eyes and slid to the floor.
“Can you explain girls’ obsession with shoes?” I heard Jack saying from the other side. “Why do you need so many?”
“Ask the bathroom question. That one’s good.”
“Yeah, it is. Jackie, why do girls always go to the bathroom in groups?”
I realized then that I was never going to have a moment of peace again.
***
“All right, people, listen up. I need you to partner with two friends,” said Mrs. Hanks.
I looked around the room, biting hard on my lip. We were starting a new group project in art class, and friends were a commodity I was currently lacking. Chairs scraped across the floor, and everyone moved toward someone they knew. Knowing that no one was going to want to partner with me, I stayed in my spot, wondering which unlucky group the teacher would stick me with. I noticed the redheaded girl from the day before as she stood and made her way across the room. When she waved, it took me a second to realize that she was waving at me. I lifted my hand in a small greeting as she came to a stop at my table.
“Howdy, Jackie. My name’s Riley,” she said in a thick Southern accent. “Would you like to join my group?”
“You know my name?” I asked in surprise.
She smiled. “Everyone knows your name. You’re the new girl who sat with Cole Walter on her first day here.” Riley pulled out the chair across from me and sat down. “So how about it? Partners?”
Thank you, Cole Walter! Apparently he was useful for something other than making me feel nervous. “Yes, please. I was thinking I might have to work alone.”
“Oh, don’t be silly. Heather and I never would’ve left you by your lonesome,” Riley said, mentioning a girl I had yet to see. “She’ll be joining us soon. Probably late because she’s flirting in the halls.”
On cue, a girl with long sandy hair twisted up in a bun hurried into the room and headed straight for Riley.
“You will never believe what I just found out,” she exclaimed, pulling out the chair next to her friend. “You know that new girl Jackie who was sitting with Cole the other day? Apparently her dad was some New York businessman worth billions and her mother was a famous fashion designer. Her whole family just died in a car accident—”
“Heather?” Riley hissed, trying to cut her off.
“—and there was a whole article about it on that one gossip website I like. You know, the one that posted nude pictures of that hot British actor I was telling you about? Anyway, can you imagine being that rich?”
“Heather!” Riley said again, this time with more force. She pointed in my direction.
Heather followed Riley’s finger with her eyes. “Holy heck,” she said when she noticed me.
“What she means is, ‘Sorry,’” Riley said, giving her friend a look. When Heather said nothing, Riley elbowed her in the side.
“Oh, right! I’m super sorry. That was so tactless of me. I didn’t realize you were sitting there.” Heather didn’t look the least bit sorry. Her lips twitched as she tried to contain a smile that was threatening to break across her face. Instead of embarrassed, she looked thrilled to see me.