Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 111038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 555(@200wpm)___ 444(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 555(@200wpm)___ 444(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
On the way to the bathroom for a quick piss, I texted Mara.
Me: You get home okay?
Scrolling, there were a few more texts. One was from Tasmin.
Taz: Hey! How are you?
I deleted it, tossing the phone aside. I was crawling back into bed when Mara’s response came through.
Mara: I did. See you in a few hours.
I didn’t reply, just collapsed into my pillow and hoped for more shut-eye.
5
Aspen
Students at FCA had recently successfully petitioned not to wear uniforms anymore, so I was still getting used to that. We’d had to wear uniforms for elementary school, and then also at Hillcrest, so coming back and finding out I could wear normal clothes had been a kick. I’d loved it, until I realized the scholarship kids were being targeted because of it.
Not cool.
Not that we had a ton of scholarship kids, but there were a decent amount. Not every kid came from a wealthy family at Fallen Crest Academy. Just the majority of them.
Anyway, as I approached school, I instantly knew what I was witnessing ahead of me. One of the scholarship kids was being targeted by the mean girls: Penny Lancaster, Kit Carlson, Deja Lorenze, and Mara Daniels, though Mara usually kept off to the side. And the last one was Ria Richter.
I didn’t know the girl’s name, but she was crying and holding her backpack against her chest.
Penny laughed at her, crossing her arms. “I’m just saying, walk away. You weren’t invited this weekend for a reason.”
Annnnd that’s why I chose to hide my eavesdropping.
I walked right past the girl, going around the others too, and veered through the crowd heading toward school.
I wasn’t a warrior woman. I wasn’t about confrontation at all. If it involved me, I’d stand my ground. Or I’d probably name-drop my parents. And if worse came to worst, I could spew out my brother’s name, the alive one. I knew he was known about by certain power players in this school, i.e., Zeke Allen. But in general, I tried to avoid doing any of those things. Wallflower. Invisible girl. Those were my choices for a reason. I was not brave and courageous enough to take on the mean girls of Fallen Crest Academy. They were ruthless.
“Hey, Aspen.”
I almost dropped my book as I jerked around in front of my locker.
Then I relaxed. It was my partner from biology.
“Oh, hey.”
She gave me a smile. “How was your weekend?”
What was she doing?
I didn’t do this.
I went to class. I talked to students for projects. I did what I had to do to get through my studies, but talking between classes? No. And we were two weeks away from graduating. What was she doing?
I eyed her, frowning. “Uh. It was fine. Why?”
She glanced toward the front of the school, shrugging. She held her books, ready for class. “So, do you, uh, do you have plans for graduation?”
I frowned even harder. “Like going to the ceremony?”
I’d always heard Nate complaining that he wished he’d skipped his graduations, so I wasn’t telling anyone, but I was planning on adopting his philosophy. My parents had no clue when I’d be graduating. I was hoping to break the news to them when it was too late for them to rally and attend, or to throw a party for me. They were so involved with their latest project, I knew I had about a ninety-percent chance of pulling that off.
She flushed. “No, like afterwards. Are you going to any parties?”
Dear Lord, this girl really didn’t know me.
I raised my eyebrows, opening my locker and stowing my backpack inside. “Um…” I pulled out my book, put my phone into my pocket, and made sure to grab the right pencil and pen. I toed my locker closed and faced her. “Parties aren’t really my thing.”
She blushed even harder. Her face was going from a definite pink to red. Her forehead looked a little sweaty too. “I know. I just… I’m having a party, and I wanted to invite you.” She pulled out a piece of paper and offered it to me.
I almost jumped back.
An invitation.
My stomach churned.
There’d been parties at Hillcrest. But those were in the dorms, and it wasn’t really the same thing. Dorm parties were easy. You walked through the stairs and hallways, then entered a room. You mingled. Sometimes people went to the community room, sometimes the quad. There was a lounge set up for people to hang out. Sometimes a car took everyone into town for more hanging out.
I wasn’t a complete hermit. I’d done those events, but I knew those people.
This was my first invitation to an actual party at FCA.
I wasn’t sure if I was disappointed that I hadn’t gotten through the entire year without having to make the decision about attending one of these, or because it took until two weeks before graduation to get an invite to a party.