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“What? You’re not going to talk to me?”
She finished putting her stuff into the locker, slammed it closed, and locked it before turning to face him. “What do you want?”
“What do I want? I want to know what he’s doing here.”
“Last time I checked, I’m just a student here, jackass. You want your answers, go to the principal’s office.”
He slammed his hand against the locker near her head. She wasn’t worried. Wayne was all bark, not bite. “I won’t be spoken to like that.”
She rolled her eyes. “Look, I know you think it’s cute taking steroids, to make yourself look like that, but it’s really not cute.” She ducked under his arm. “You need to realize Eli’s back, and you start, he’ll kick your ass.”
Wayne had been on her case for a while now. She didn’t know why, but he always picked moments when they were alone to corner her. There was no point in telling Chris or Branson, as she could handle herself.
Entering the main hall, she spotted Eli straight away, and he came right to her.
“Where you been? Rachel told me you had to drop some books off.”
“Yeah, it’s no biggie. I’m here now, and I’m starving.”
She walked toward the back of the line, feeling him standing behind her, so close.
“How were your morning classes?”
“They dragged on. I don’t know what is worse, me or them.”
She chuckled. “You’ve got to be good. Keep up your grades, and stay out of trouble.”
“I was thinking about that.”
“Should I be worried that you were actually thinking?”
“Ha ha, very funny. How about we become study partners? You, me, alone with the good books.”
“Sure. I wouldn’t mind. Dad will probably throw a hissy fit. He likes throwing them.”
“I’m a good catcher. Don’t worry, I’ll be good.”
“You keep making those promises.”
She picked a chicken salad, some fruit, and a smoothie.
Eli took her tray and carried it toward the table for her.
“Is it me, or has military school made you sweet?” she asked.
“Nothing has changed me.”
“Are you sure about that?” Chris asked. “Bringing her lunch. It’s not a usual thing.”
“Maybe you should watch Eli more closely. I’d love for you to be the gentleman, fetching me things. You never know, it could get you laid more often,” Rachel said, biting Chris’s ear.
“It’s a good thing I’m not greedy then.”
Aria laughed.
“We’ll see.”
This was what she loved about her friends. When Rachel and Chris had gotten together, and then Mary and Branson, she’d been worried they would fall out, break up, and really screw up their dynamic as friends. If they did fall out, it lasted only a few hours, and they were making up by the end of the day. She loved her friends, all five of them, and couldn’t imagine her life at high school without them.
