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What an elitist snob.
“Ramsay!” Kira called my name after the meeting.
I was heading out, intent to find Gem, Scout, and Clint. I just hadn’t decided who I needed to find first. “I can’t talk,” I said over my shoulder as I turned the corner for my locker.
“Make the time.” She got to me as I was opening my locker.
“Make it quick then. I have people to find.”
“I don’t want to be enemies with you. I keep saying that to you.”
I frowned, pulling out my bag and checking my phone. There were no texts or calls from either of them. “What are you talking about?”
“Inside. You pushed back on me. That wasn’t cool.”
I gave her all my focus. “Are you kidding me? What you were going to do wasn’t cool. You know some of these students don’t come from great homes. A dance is the only thing they’re looking forward to, and their parents won’t sign off on letting them go to a hotel. That’s not okay what you were going to do.”
A flicker of regret flashed over her face before she masked it and squared her shoulders. “I’ll make it okay. We just have to get more chaperones. It’ll be fine, but don’t do that again. Okay?”
“Do what?”
“Speak against me in front of the group. Come to me in person next time. It’s humiliating. You threatened my authority—”
“Are you kidding me, again?” I snapped. If my locker had been opened, I would’ve slammed it shut for effect.
Kira’s eyes widened.
“You can’t call an emergency meeting and not expect opinions to be shared. That’s the entire definition of a meeting. You just want blind loyalty. There’s a different word for that, and I’ve got no problem using it for you.”
Her mouth went slack, but I saw the steam building.
“You don’t want to fight with me, but clue in, Kira. I’m not going to fall in line. You better make right with that because I’m not changing. I took on an entire school last year. Warring with you, I don’t want it, but I’ll take it on if I have to.”
“Is that a threat?”
I rolled my eyes this time. “Of course you’d take it that way. To me, I’m only telling you that I’m going to be me. I’m not a follower. You choose if you’re okay with that or not. Ball’s in your court. I have to go.”
I shrugged past her and had made up my mind who to find first.
76
RAMSAY
Scout wasn’t answering his phone, and I needed a vehicle.
It was time to make an executive decision, and that was that I needed a car. I didn’t want to be on the bike all day, not for all the miles I was guessing I’d need to cover. I headed home, grabbed my mom’s extra set, and went to the nursing home. From there, I locked my bike up and took off in her car. My mom never left on her break so I needed to gamble. I hoped I could get it back before the end of her shift. She’d never know.
I went to the gym, but Scout’s vehicle wasn’t in that parking lot. He’d been incommunicado all day. It was starting to bug me. I mean, this was the whole reason we were supposed to stop doing what we were doing because of this. Because I didn’t like this weird pit in my stomach. It shouldn’t be there. Not about him, but it was, and I wasn’t liking how it was a bigger pit than I wanted to admit.
I headed to his house, and his vehicle was there. Success.
The garage door was open. It looked like he was in the middle of training with his equipment pulled out into the middle. A few bottles of water were on the floor along with a roll of tape. His shirt was lying next to them, but no Scout.
I went to the door, a brief knock before I opened it. “Scout?” I moved inside. “Are you here . . .” I trailed off as a woman stepped out from the kitchen. Tall. Narrow shoulders. Thin and short red hair. A strong jawline. A slightly pointed nose that worked for her. And Scout’s eyes.
“You’re Scout’s mom?”
He had her eyes, but that was all. It made me wonder what his dad looked like.
“Hi!” She’d been holding a towel, but after putting it on the island behind her, she came my way. She started to hold her hand out, but then hesitated and ended up crossing her arms as if she was hugging herself. “You must be Ramsay. I heard about you.”
“You did?”
Footsteps stampeded down the stairs. Scout rounded the corner, saying, “Mom—” His eyes latched onto me, and they flashed before they hardened. “What are you doing here?”
“I—”
His mom cut in, her voice warm, “This is Alex’s cousin. It’s so good to meet you finally.” She patted his arm fondly. “This one has said everything got turned upside down the minute you arrived to town. I’ve not met the triplets, but I’m dying to do so.”
