“Oh, one more thing. Tell your father I might’ve been mistaken about the grass.” He pulls on his white beard. “It seems a dog got loose in the neighborhood and was using my lawn to relieve himself.” He gives me an uncomfortable smile. “You can go now.”
I return to the cafeteria and catch Briggs’ eye as he gets up from the table, his girlfriend attached to his arm.
Getting out my phone, I text him,I’ll be there at 3.
When I look up, I see him reading my text, a smirk on his face.
I hope I can trust him. I should bring a weapon, just in case.
When I get to AP Chem, Briggs is up front, talking to the teacher, Ms. Higgins. I had her last year for AP Bio. She’s nice, but tough. Her tests are hard, and she doesn’t give partial credit on homework. If part of the answer is wrong, it’s all wrong.
“Welcome back, Ella,” she says when she sees me. She’s one of the few teachers here who doesn’t care that I’m not rich, which is why she’s my favorite teacher. “How was your break?”
“It was okay,” I tell her, taking my seat in the front row, far away from Briggs, who always sits in the back.
“Did you do anything fun?”
Half the class is full now, and I don’t want people knowing about my personal life, so I answer generically with, “Yeah, it was good to have some time off.”
She glances at Scarlett as she walks in. “Hello, Scarlett. How was your break?”
Scarlett almost rolls her eyes, but stops herself and fakes a smile. “We went to Fiji for Christmas, then went to our ski resort in Aspen.”
Ms. Higgins just nods. She always seems annoyed by the extravagant lifestyles of my classmates. She came here from a low-income district. She isn’t used to kids driving BMWs to school and wearing clothes that cost more than she makes ina week. I’ve lived here my whole life, so I’m used to it. Even Charlotte is rich, but she doesn’t rub it in my face.
Class starts with Ms. Higgins going over the schedule. It’s going to be brutal, which I expected from her class, but I’m looking forward to it. She’s a really good teacher and I love science.
“As for the lab,” she says at the end of class, “your partners are listed online, along with the assignments we’ll be doing.” The bell rings. “See you all tomorrow!”
I leave and hurry to my locker, checking my phone to see who I’m paired with for Chem lab. I smile when I see it’s Rachel. We did a geography project together last year and got along great. I can already tell AP Chem is going to be my favorite class.
As the afternoon lingers on, I get more and more nervous about meeting with Briggs. I keep telling myself to be strong and not let him get to me, but it doesn’t seem to help.
At the end of the day, I head to the stadium. It’s down the hill, a good distance away from the school, and when I get there at three, I notice the field is empty. The rugby team was supposed to be practicing today, but they’re not. I’m the only one here.
Did Briggs plan this? Did he make me meet him here, knowing we’d be completely alone?
Now I’m really getting worried. What the hell is he planning?
It’s three, and he isn’t here, or if he is, I don’t see him. He didn’t say where specifically to meet, so I walk around the whole stadium, but he’s not there.
At ten after three, I text him.Are you coming or not?
“Over here,” a voice says.
I turn and see Briggs in his rugby uniform, standing behind the bleachers.
“You’re late,” I say, stalking toward him, my phone in my hand so it’s ready if I need to call for help. I should’ve toldCharlotte about this so she’d know where to look for my dead body.
“I had to change,” he says.
“Why isn’t the team here? Isn’t this where you practice?”
“The lawn company treated the field. We can’t be on it. We’re going off site for practice.”
It’s been a few seconds, and he hasn’t insulted me. This is a first. Is he trying to gain my trust before turning on me?
“So what’s this about?” I ask.
