Page 28 of Speak No Claim

Unwavering, I responded, “I’m not important.”

“No…” She paused. “But you have become interesting.”

“I don’t think that’s any better.”

“It isn’t.”

She said it so matter-of-factly, I couldn’t stifle my laugh. “You really don’t sugarcoat anything, do you?”

“It’s a waste of time.”

We stepped into the building.

“Besides, if people are talking about you, they’re looking at you.”

“And?”

“And when people are looking at you, they stop paying attention to anyone else.”

“That sounds really strategic.”

“It is.”

“So…” I paused again. “What did you hear about me?”

She pretended to think. “You grew up in Peru.”

I nodded.

“You’re stubborn.”

“I’d say determined.” I shook my head. “But whatever. What else?”

“Oh! That your uncle brought you here because he thinks you’ll restore the Belladonna name at the academy.”

I stopped dead in my tracks, pulling out of her grasp. “My father attended this university?”

Deja stopped beside me with a confused expression on her face. “You didn’t know that?”

“No.”

She studied me for a long moment. “You really didn’t know that?”

I shook my head.

In one breath, she exclaimed, “Fuck.” Her eyes darted down the hallway. “I thought…”

“What?”

“Forget I said anything.”

“Deja—”

“No.” She pointed toward a group of girls sitting on the edge of a stone fountain a few feet away from us. “They’ve been waiting all morning to meet you.”

The same four heads turned in perfect synchronization toward me. They were the girls who were by the bar with Deja at the party.

The redhead immediately stood as I tried to gather the surprising news.