AllFreeNovel
Share Us
What I keep doing to her.
“How about this. I’ll suspendyoufor two days and scratch Daisy’s suspension off of her record. Not like the suspension will hurt you,” Matthews mutters.
It’s like he read my mind. I need to make it up to her so I automatically say, “I’ll do it.”
“Why?”
I blink at him. “Excuse me?”
“Why are you willing to take on her punishment? You’re not what I would call a martyr, Arch. You’re probably one of the most selfish Lancasters I’ve run into, and trust me, I’ve dealt with a lot of you,” Matthews says vehemently. “Not a single one of them has taken on someone else’s punishment as their own.”
“Like I said, I made her do it,” I admit. “I goaded her into slapping me.”
“You goad everyone into doing what they do when they’re around you. You do realize this, right? You need to learn how to control yourself.” Matthews leans forward and reaches for his desk phone, picking up the receiver and punching a few numbers on the keypad before it starts ringing. “Hey, Ralph. Will you let Daisy know she can come to school today? Yeah, I know I had to suspend her, but there was some, ah, confusion regarding the situation.”
He goes quiet and I can hear the school groundskeeper, otherwise known as Daisy’s father, berating Matthews for making such a huge mix up. The headmaster glares at me as he takes his verbal beating, finally able to speak after a few minutes.
“I apologize for any misunderstanding. Have Daisy come to my office as soon as she can and then we’ll let her go on to first period. Yes, I’ll be waiting. I apologize again. Thank you.” He hangs up the phone, his gaze finding mine once more. “You owe me, Lancaster.”
I stand up straighter. “I know.”
“The dad is angry, as he has every right to be. Did you hear him? Daisy cried buckets yesterday after what happened.”
“I know.” Seeing her yesterday, her pale face and bloodshot eyes, told me as much. I felt like absolute shit after what she said to me. How people don’t really like me, implying that they all just kiss my ass because they’re afraid to cross me. She’s full of shit. I have friends. I run this fucking school. “I owed her this for what I said.”
I can’t believe those words just left me, but damn, it’s true.
“I’m suspending you for five days.” I’m about to complain, but he holds up his index finger, silencing me. “Even worse, I’m going to make you go to school anyway. I’m just marking on your permanent record that you have a five-day suspension. That’s what you’re going to do as payback for whatever it was you said to her. What you do to everyone. Stop torturing people, Lancaster. Especially sweet, harmless girls who are good students and who’ve done nothing wrong. Daisy’s only mistake is somehow getting in your crosshairs.”
I school my features into complete neutrality, not about to show him even a bit of emotion.
His words are like a punch to the gut. What I do toeveryone?I don’t torture people.
Well. Maybe I tortured Daisy. But we’re even now.
She tortures me all the damn time, though she’s completely unaware of it.
I exit the admin office minutes later, running into JJ in the senior hallway where our lockers are. He flicks his chin as he makes his way toward me, his lazy swagger enough to make me want to roll my eyes, but I keep my expression straight. Serious.
“What’s up?” is how JJ greets me, reaching for the lock on his locker, twirling it open.
“Nothing much. Same ol’ shit, different day.” I open my locker and stare inside, not shocked whatsoever to find it empty. All of my books are back in my room.
God, my teachers must hate me.
“Saw Cadence last night,” JJ drops as nonchalantly as can be as we start walking down the hall.
“So?” I can’t even work up enough emotion to care. I know they don’t get along, but I’m sensing Cadence might’ve put JJ up to say this to me. Unlucky for her, I don’t give a damn what she’s doing or who she’s doing it with.
“We were chilling in the common room at our dorm hall. If you hung out with us normies every once in a while, you’d get to see her too.” JJ grins.
“I don’t want to see her. That’s the issue. Next time I run into her, I’ll go running and screaming in the opposite direction.” I laugh, but there’s no humor in the sound so I immediately stop.
“Ouch, harsh.” JJ rubs at his chest, as if my words were a direct hit on his heart and not Cadence.
“You know what I mean. When I said I was ending things, I meant it. She’s nothing but trouble, and now she wants me back? Forget her.” I slow my steps as we draw closer to my English class, surprised when I see the familiar blonde head walking down the hall from the opposite direction, her long hair pulled back into that ever-present braid. It’s neater this morning, not a hair out of place, and I sort of want to mess it up.
“Well, I talked to her for a while last night, and she’s really upset, A. I don’t know why, but she misses your mean ass and wanted me to tell you that,” JJ says, getting to the crux of the conversation.
