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Shrugging off my blazer, I glance over at the Aristocrats’ usual table, although it’s only Alek and Konstantin. I can’t stop thinking about rehearsal yesterday, and the way his body reacted to mine. I’m not sure what to make of it.
Teenage boys get boners all the time, right? Maybe it was a fluke.
If he liked me, he would have slept with me when I gave him the opportunity.
I enjoy the thrill of the chase. That’s what he said when he rejected me. Does he want me to make him work for it, to make him chase me?
I’m not sure how to do that with a guy like Alek. Not that I’d want to, because I hate him, remember?
“Uh, Willow?” Prisha whispers.
“Hmm?”
She tugs on the sleeve of my white, collared shirt, pulling my attention away from Alek.
“What?” I ask.
Prisha nods her head behind us, and I turn to find Johanna and Irina looming over me. Their arms are folded, and while Irina looks bored as usual, Johanna looks pissed.
I roll my eyes. “What do you want?”
Johanna glances from me to Alek, then back at me. “You like him, don’t you?”
The question startles me, but I’m quick to shut it down. “Me and Alek? God, no.”
“Oh, please, every new girl thinks she can have a piece of Prince Alek. But as his friend, I’d never let him date trash like you.”
“Why so defensive?” I ask. “Is it because you can’t keep him tied down? That must hurt, knowing he only gives you the time of day because his daddy told him to.”
Johanna’s face contorts with rage, but I ignore her and turn back to my lunch. “Keep walking, bitch.”
A moment later, something wet is dumped over me, and I leap back from the table with a yelp. It’s freezing, and I realize Johanna emptied her glass of iced apple juice on my head. My hair hangs like a soaked curtain around my face, and I bring my fingers up to wipe the juice from my eyes.
When I can see again, Johanna is in front of me, still wearing an expression of rage. The other students in the dining hall begin to whisper behind their hands.
“That’s for the curry,” she says.
The plastic cup in her hand falls to the floor with a clatter, and she turns to walk away. I glance down at myself, and my white shirt is so soaked my bra is visible through the fabric. My nipples are peaking from the cold.
Everyone is staring, and I’m mortified.
My eyes seek out the one person I hope didn’t witness this incident, but it’s too late. Alek’s eyes are glued to my chest, and I move my arms to cover myself.
“Come on,” Prisha whispers. “Let’s go get you cleaned up.”
Grabbing our things, she loads a bookbag onto each shoulder and leads me out of the dining hall. We head for the nearest restroom, where she locks the door behind us for privacy.
“I know where they keep the spare uniforms,” she says gently. “I’ll get you a fresh set.”
“Thanks. Where the fuck are the teachers when this shit goes down?”
Prisha grabs a roll of paper towels and wets them in the sink before handing them to me. “They eat in the teacher’s lounge. The lunch lady is supposed to keep an eye on the students, but the Aristocrats bullied her when she did. Eventually she stopped trying.”
“Unbelievable.” I start wiping the juice off my face, which has turned sticky. “Just when I thought I could fly under the radar, the universe says, ‘Fuck you, Willow.’ This petty mean girl act is getting old.”
“I mean, you did bait her.”
I throw a warning look at Prisha, who shrinks back. “Sorry.”
