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I got a freaking A.
I never shine academically. Scratch that—I never shine, period. It feels nice. Different, but nice. I busted my ass on this assignment, and for once I actually feel worthy of the good grade.
I want to yell, announce my grade to my parents on a helicopter banner or take a picture of the proof and post it online on social media so everyone can see. Then I remember that I have, like, eighty Facebook friends, so instead, I send a message to my loved ones: Ty, Izzy, Mom and Shane.
I text, Guess who got an A?!
Izzy is the first to reply. OMG, sissy, great news! So proud!
Shane, who I know is in the building right now, about to take his own exam, confirms, This is epic, B. You're epic. Keep it real.
Mom is less than encouraging with Blaire, is this a joke? If not, your father and I are very proud of your accomplishment, sweetie. We knew you had it in you. You just needed to apply yourself.
I take a deep breath and force my lips into a smile. This may have hurt me a few months ago, and it's still a bitch to read, but the last weeks have taught me that if people don't believe in me, maybe it's their problem, not mine.
Ty doesn't reply. He is probably training, I tell myself. Don't be one of those girls. Think positive. I spend the rest of the hour hyperventilating over my good grade. Up until now I wasn't sure I cared much about this degree, but this journalism assignment kind of rocked.
I don't know if it was the topic, the time and place I was in my life, or the outcome of the research, but hell, overall, I really enjoyed it.
“What's up, brainy?” I hear a familiar voice. I don't know how Shane got to the library so quickly, but I'm grateful for his support. Too bad a part of me wants to strangle him, now that I know how much he hurt Izzy.
Yes, we talked about it. About all of it. But it's her story to tell, and I know I need to stay out of this.
I stand to face my BFF. “Being smart is exhausting.” I pretend to wipe my forehead. "And I'm pretty sure my head has gotten significantly heavier since I saw that A on my screen."
Shane falls in step with me as we go down the stairs. "You do have a Mr. Garrison thing going right now." He chuckles at his South Park reference.
"What did you get?" I ask.
"You mean what did you get for your other assignment." He grins. "B+. Great job, brainy."
We walk in comfortable silence across campus, until Shane clears his throat. “How’s your sister doing?”
“She got her Fairy wings,” I reply.
“Very Disney. I’m glad to hear it. And your boyfriend?”
Goddammit.
"He's not my boyfriend." But this didn't stop me from confessing my love to him.
“Still on drugs and shit?”
“Excuse me?” I stop in the middle of the sidewalk. I shouldn’t be giving him the chance to poison me with lies, but my curiosity gets the better of me. Maybe it's the fact I know that Ty is hiding something from me, but instead of shutting this down, I look up at my best friend, waiting for an explanation.
Shane steps into my face, so close his cologne stings my nostrils and his clean-shaven cheek almost brushes mine. His backpack drops, his books spilling out on the ground. He doesn't even seem to notice.
“Shit, B, you don’t even know, do you?” He looks at me with eyes so miserable, they almost outweigh my anger toward him. “Remember I told you my roommate Josh had his nose broken in a fight? Well, what I left out was that the person who broke his nose was Ty Wilder. And the worst thing about it is that it wasn’t an accident. He actually hit Josh on purpose. Smashed his head into the bathroom wall. Know why he did it?”
“Why?” I demand, but my voice lacks force.
“Because Josh was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He walked into the locker room when Wilder was in the middle of a fishy exchange with a drug dealer. I'm guessing steroids because Wilder is way too self-centered to use anything that doesn't promote his career. Anyway, when Josh came in, Wilder told him to fuck off. When Josh insisted he wanted to take a shower because he was late for his night shift, Wilder punched his face and finished off by banging his head against the wall. Your precious Dawson covered for it, and Wilder and his buddy Jesse went to the hospital and threatened Josh, so he decided not to press charges. His membership at the gym was revoked soon after, and he’s now banned from The Grind. This is the man you’re getting in bed with, Blaire. Make no mistake. He's not a bad boy...he's just bad."
