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I stopped listening and yanked my phone out of my back pack. The app was front and center. With a single click, up popped my daily feed. It took me three seconds of scrolling to spot what she was talking about and let out a horrific gasp.
“What is this?” I held the phone in front of her face, forgetting for the moment that we were traveling down a busy road.
“I told you not to look.” She dodged the phone and gave me a sad look. “It’s not the end of the world, Audrey. I promise.”
It was too the end of the world. I was staring at a photo of Collin and me just outside the beach bathhouse. My hair looked like I’d just woken up from a four hour nap and he was wearing an infuriating smile with a side of my pink lipstick. The caption read: Audrey Black with QB Collin Preston at annual beach party. Seven minutes in heaven or something much more naughty? By the looks of it, that’s another notch for Preston’s bed post. RockValleyBiz reporting.
“How did RockValleyBiz even get this photo?” I demanded, feeling sick to my stomach. RockValleyBiz was our school’s unofficial gossip rag, run by a top secret source. I’d never been interesting enough to make the feed. Until now.
“A lot of people had their phones out and were taking pictures,” Trina said sadly, glancing at me. “Anyone could’ve sent it in.”
I had the sudden desire to throw my phone out the window. “They make it sound like we did more than just kiss. And we didn’t even do that!”
“I know. I’m sorry, Audrey.”
A groan escaped my lips as I leaned on the passenger window and stared at the passing cars. What was better? For the whole school to think I’d thrown myself at the quarterback in a stupid game or for everyone to know how hopelessly untouchable I was that I’d never even kissed a guy? Neither option sounded very appealing.
“Are you sure we can’t just skip this year?” I pleaded, turning back to Trina.
“Not a chance,” she said with a peppy smile and toss of her blonde hair. “It’s only going to get better from here, Audrey. I promise.”
I doubted very much it was going to get better. With the way my life was going, I might as well have skipped the entire decade.
At least that way, I’d never have to face Collin Preston or his insidious smirk again.
Chapter Three
Despite my repeated threats to throw myself out of the moving car, Trina drove us to the sprawling campus of Rock Valley High with its impressive limestone walls and immaculately trimmed grass lawn. I’d spent three years of my life there, bumping up against six hundred other students who were also trying to figure out what their futures held. As I hopped out of Trina’s car, I tried not to focus on how many days were left for me in this place. One by one, they’d be crossed off my calendar at home with red ink, never to be mourned.
“When are tryouts going to be posted?” Trina asked, walking alongside me as we headed into the school.
I mostly kept my gaze glued to the floor, but once in a while I’d glance up to see people smiling or staring at me. Apparently, I wasn’t the only who’d seen the newest RockValleyBiz post.
“At the end of school,” I said, feeling another wave of sickness hit my stomach.
“Good luck.” She gave me one of her sweet and sincere smiles. “I know you’re going to make it, Audrey. You worked so hard this summer. It’ll pay off, I promise.”
I hoped she was right, but as she walked off toward her first class of the day, I couldn’t help but notice more people staring at me. This time, it was a group of jocks wearing their lettermen jackets in the hallway, pointing and laughing. It was far too hot in this late August heat to be wearing their jackets, but that went to show the mentality of our jock population at Rock Valley High. Excelling in a sport meant something. IQ, not so much.
I rushed past the living examples of modern Neanderthals and toward my locker down the next hall. It was at that corner that I froze. Collin Preston and his bunch of boy jock wonders were gathered outside Senora García’s Spanish classroom. They saw me as soon as I rounded the corner, their grins widening.
“Look who it is.” Nick Winston shoved Collin with his elbow and wagged his bushy eyebrows. “Think she’s back for another round?”
My cheeks burned and I turned to busy myself with getting into my locker. I’d learned fast that the best way to respond to jock hilarity was to ignore it. There was nothing they hated more in the world than the swift realization that they weren’t as funny as they thought they were.
“Didn’t get enough of him the first time,” I heard Nick continue with a laugh. “You really do know how to make the ladies beg for more, don’t ya, Preston? Tell us your secrets, dude.”
I spun on my heels to see Collin chuckle as his buddies playfully punched him in the gut. He held a hand over his abdomen, h
is gaze cutting to me. I glared at him, feeling rage and fear simultaneously bubble up inside me. Surely, Collin wasn’t going around blabbing about our bathhouse date. That was the last thing I needed for my senior year — to be the punchline of every joke. I wished that I could scare him into complete and total silence with just the look on my face, but from the amused quirk of his lips, I was about as intimidating as a bunny rabbit to him.
Apparently, he finally got tired of being the butt of the joke. With a gruff, “Quit it, guys,” he cut the laughter off abruptly with a motion of his right hand. “That’s enough.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as the bell rang and the halls around us began to empty. Collin’s buddies sauntered off to class, leaving him standing there. I turned back to my locker, my heart trying to escape from my chest.
Really could’ve used some of that bubonic plague about now.
“You’ve got to learn to relax a little bit,” a deep voice said to my right.
