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The crippling sadness that had gripped me was fading, changing into what always lay underneath.
Determination. Discipline. Survival.
That was all I’d had to go on for most of my life, and it wasn’t going to change just because I’d been enrolled in a fancy prep academy. The Princes might think they were better than me in every way possible, but I knew something they didn’t. I knew how to survive without money, notoriety, or Mommy and Daddy.
I only had myself in the world.
And that would be enough.
Over the next few weeks, I threw myself into my studies.
We had four days off for Thanksgiving, and I spent it with my grandparents, but other than that, I didn’t go off campus much. I also did everything I could to avoid the Princes, or at least to avoid being anywhere alone with any of them.
When I wasn’t in class, I had my face buried in a textbook. The small amount of sleep I got during the week propelled me forward, and on the weekends, I hung out with Leah, Maggie, and a new transfer student named Dan. Because he’d arrived so late in the semester, he’d been relegated to the Wastelands too. He was sweet and geeky and didn’t judge anyone. I liked that about him. It was clear his family had money, but not as much as the Princes—and I loved that about him.
“What are we doing this weekend?” he asked as we walked across campus on the first Friday of December. It was weird to live in a place where the weather changed only moderately with the seasons, but I didn’t hate it.
Dan didn’t care about my trash status either. Or the fact that the Princes could make his life hell if they wanted to, just for associating with me. I tried to warn him, but all he did was shrug, adjust his glasses, and follow me and Leah around anyway.
His level of apathy about the whole thing was inspirational, actually.
“I need to study, that’s first.” I kicked a small pebble off the path. “Finals are gonna kick my ass. And then I thought we could download a bunch of horrible movies and watch them.”
“Horror movies?” Leah piped up.
I wrinkled my nose. “What is it with you and your horror obsession?”
“It’s so good!” She laughed. “What do you guys wanna watch?”
“Sci-fi,” Dan suggested at the same time I said, “Comedy.”
“Oh, I could do comedy.” He tugged at the sleeve of his blazer, which he clearly hated. “There’s a new buddy cop movie that looks… well, terrible.”
“That sounds fun.”
Maggie and Leah groaned. “You two are nerds,” Leah sighed.
“Proudly.”
We trudged across campus and all went our separate ways once we reached the U-shaped cluster of buildings. I’d gotten used to everyone else on campus giving me the cold shoulder. In fact, it had become familiar.
Cole and Elijah were leaning against the wall of Craydon Hall near the entry doors as I walked up, and their heads turned in sync to watch me pass. Elijah’s expression was neutral, but a familiar grim anger flashed in Cole’s face.
I ignored them and pushed into the building. Ever since the locker room, Cole seemed to hate me more than anyone—except maybe Mason.
Probably because he thinks I’m just some giant whore who’ll fuck anything that moves. Not that he gave me a chance to explain myself. And not that it’d be any of his business even if I was. Who I sleep with, or don’t, is my business.
Finn hadn’t come back to the dance studio since that day either. He never mentioned it, and I never mentioned it. I wasn’t even sure if the rest of the Princes knew about it like Cole did. It was as if it’d never happened, as if it were a dream I’d made up to give myself a break from the relentless, crushing bullshit.
Shaking off the bad mood the sight of them had put me in, I headed to my locker to stash the textbooks I wouldn’t need until later. Adena and Sable had their heads together a little way down the hall, leaning against Sable’s locker as they laughed quietly about something.
Me, probably.
Fucking bitches.
I pulled my locker open—but as soon as the door swung wide, something shot out and slammed into my chest. I grunted and fell backward, landing hard on my tailbone as my books scattered.
Laughter echoed around me, but I could hardly hear it. Whatever had hit me had knocked the wind out of me, and I clawed at my chest, trying to drag air back into my lungs.
