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I was chomping angrily on a celery stick when, much to my relief and chagrin, I caught sight of Bo sitting down at a picnic table out on the lawn. He was joining Savannah.
Although he’d all but assured me that they were just friends, I watched them with nothing short of envy. They talked easily and Savannah laughed a lot. I tried to push down the green wave of jealousy that rose inside me, but the more I watched them, the harder it got.
“What’s so interesting over there?” Drew tipped his head toward Bo and Savannah.
I shrugged. “Everyone’s talking about Savannah. I was just wondering what the big deal was.”
Devon leaned around Drew to look me in the eye. “Have you ever even met her, Ridley?”
His tone and the firm set of his jaw and mouth reeked of defensiveness. He’d obviously decided he wasn’t going to stand by and listen to another attack on Savannah, even though that’s not what I meant at all.
“Not officially, no, but—”
Devon cut me off. “She’s a nice girl. She’s funny and smart and she plays the bass guitar, which is awesome.”
I quirked a brow at Devon. I wanted to continue the conversation, but I was all too aware of our surroundings and that Trinity was only a few feet away. As if he’d suddenly realized the same thing, Devon’s ire visibly waned and he turned his attention back to his tray. By silent agreement, we both let it drop.
Luck had apparently deserted us, however, because Trinity, with her ears like satellite dishes, had picked up on our quiet conversation.
“That’s it,” she yelled, pushing her chair back from the lunch table and turning a furious glare on Devon. All eyes shifted to Trinity, everyone curious about her sudden outburst. “If you’ve got a thing for white trash, then have at it,” she spat, her eyes flashing angrily at Devon.
“Trinity,” Devon said, pushing his words through gritted teeth. “That’s enough.”
“Don’t you tell me wh—”
Devon cut her off, standing to his feet so quickly that his chair nearly toppled over. “Trinity! How long is it gonna take for you to realize that it’s over? We’re over? I don’t know, but I hope this sinks in a little better because I’m only gonna tell you this one time: stay away from Savannah.”
He turned around and stomped off.
Most mouths agape, nearly the entire lunch crowd watched him go. Devon didn’t have much of a temper and I’m sure everyone else was as surprised as I was to finally see it. I could tell by the look on her face that Trinity was the most stunned of us all.
“You won’t think she’s so special when I scratch her frickin’ eyes out, will you?” she asked, though Devon was already long gone. “Come on, Summer.”
Before anyone could recover, Trinity had grabbed a shocked Summer by the hand and was dragging her across the grass. As they neared the picnic tables, I saw Bo and Savannah look up. Bo’s face was a blank mask, but I could see tension in the stiffness of his body.
I thought of Savannah’s words to Trinity at Caster’s party. Obviously, she wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself, but I wasn’t sure she knew what a handful Trinity could be when she was really riled, and this time Bo couldn’t run interference. He couldn’t step in between the two girls on school grounds. If he so much as touched Trinity, even if it was just to subdue her, he’d be in a world of trouble.
I knew I had two options. Since Trinity was already gone and I could no longer stop her, I could let the scene play out, as was my habit. I could silently root for Savannah, hope that she had her brave-girl hat on today, and watch what happened along with everyone else.
Or I could get up and, for the first time, do something. I could intervene on Savannah’s behalf, take a stand for once, and feel better about the person I saw in the mirror.
My most egocentric inner voice spoke up, reminding me that if I did that, I’d be basically sticking a sword into the heart of my cheerleading career and, therefore, my scholarship and future at Stanford.
With longing, I thought of all my plans. I thought of my much-needed escape from this life and, for a moment, I considered taking the selfish route.
But then, unbidden, I saw Bo’s face when he came to me after Caster’s party. Somehow, when he looked at me, he saw the better person that lives inside me, the person I quell every day. He could see her, but I couldn’t. Today, I wanted to see her, too.
Nothing was worth selling my soul for, and that’s what I felt like I’d been doing all this time by going along with Trinity. I was as guilty as she. Though she only physically took Summer with her, by sitting back and doing nothing, it was like we all went with her, supported her.
I, for one, didn’t want to sit idly by any more. I was nothing like her and it was high time I stood up and let that show.
Without giving it any more consideration, I raced across the grass after Trinity. She had just opened fire on Savannah when I reached them. Summer was standing back, trying to be involved as little as possible.
Trinity was bent over Savannah, jabbing a finger in her face. Though Savannah looked positively mortified, behind that, I could see a spark of anger lighting her eyes, too.
“And if you so much as look at Devon, I’ll kick your—”
“Trinity,” I shouted.
Trinity’s head snapped up and she looked at me in confusion, but only for a moment. After quickly writing me off, she turned her attention back to Savannah and continued her tirade.
“You are nothing but a skanky—”
“Trinity!” This time, I called her name even more forcefully. “Stop!”
Trinity slowly turned to look at me, her voice deadly quiet. “What?”
“You heard me,” I said, stiffening my spine.
It only took a fraction of a second for Trinity’s rage to turn on me. “You better take your bony—”
“Oh, save it, Trinity. I’m sick of your mouth,” I said, feeling years of repressed emotion boiling to the surface. “Devon’s not yours and Savannah hasn’t done anything to you. It’s not her fault that you couldn’t hold on to Devon.”
All the color left Trinity’s cheeks for a slow-motion second before it rushed back in vivid red blotches.
