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If they were worried, then I thought that I should be worried, too.
“Something like that,” I told the nurse. She wrapped my ankle quickly and efficiently before handing me some painkillers.
“These will take the edge off, honey.”
I hesitated and then shook my head. “I’m sorry, I don’t take any medication like that. I’d just rather…”
“Be in pain?” Kaleb’s voice made me whip my head around. He was leaning casually in the doorframe, his arms crossed as he watched me argue with the nurse.
“No,” I countered. “I just don’t like taking things that I don’t need to. What are you doing here? Won’t you get in trouble for missing homeroom?” The bell had rung a short while ago, but I had an excuse since I needed medical care.
He shrugged. “No. Mr. Taylor wanted someone to bring you to his office and I volunteered, so let’s go.”
Shakily I stood up, taking Mrs. Dimitri’s arm when she offered. She then handed me crutches, which I hesitated to take, but finally slipped under my arms. The last thing that I needed was anything slowing me down, but I knew that if I didn’t use crutches at all that I wouldn’t be able to get around on my own.
“I could just carry you, you know.” Kaleb mimed throwing me over his shoulder, and I laughed.
“I’m good,” I promised him, then turned back to the nurse. “Thanks again, Mrs. Dimitri. You’re a gem, you know that.”
She nodded. “I do. Come back if you decide that you want something for the pain. Otherwise, see if you can avoid my office the rest of the year, okay, Miss Bennett? You’re becoming quite the frequent flyer around here.”
We left and Kaleb helped me down the stairs. I expected him to launch into a full lecture, but we were almost to Mr. Taylor’s office before he spoke. “You know, Rose, it’s bad news that someone attacked you last night. We’re worried about you.”
I didn’t have to ask—I knew exactly who he was referring to, and I nodded. “I know. Thanks.” It took most all of my focus to operate the crutches, and I carefully swung them forward, trying to keep my balance.
“We don’t want you to get hurt.” Kaleb stepped in front of me, blocking my path down the hall. “We don’t want you to end up…dead. Rose, what are you going to do if Mr. Taylor suggests that you study somewhere else?”
I frowned at him. “You don’t think that he would, do you? That’s insane. My money is just as good as yours, Kaleb.” I tried to move around him, but he didn’t budge.
“I know that, Rose. I’m just thinking about what he could want from this meeting. The other rogues and I were talking and we’re not sure if he’s working with the council or not.”
I shivered at those words. “What does that mean for me?”
“We don’t really know. Just be careful, Rose, and know that I’m going to be waiting right here for you.” He gestured at a huge chair across the hall from Mr. Taylor’s office before opening the office door for me. The secretary looked up as I walked in. She had short blonde hair and popped her gum at me, which made me raise my eyebrows in surprise.
Mr. Taylor didn’t seem like someone who would let their secretary pop her gum.
“Rose Bennet?” When I nodded, she glanced at the clock over my head. “He’s been waiting on you, so go on in.”
Taking a deep breath, I opened his office door and made my way in. Mr. Taylor sat at a huge wooden desk, watching me as I slowly picked my way through the door and then turned, shutting it behind me. It wasn’t until the door was shut and I was turned around, facing him, that he finally spoke.
“Rose Bennett. You’ve been the absolute epicenter of a lot of problems since you came to Taylor Prep. I was really hoping, when we accepted you here, that your more diverse background would be a benefit to the school and not a hindrance, but now I’m beginning to worry that I was wrong.”
He didn’t offer me a seat but I still sat down across from him. My leg ached and my ankle throbbed, and sitting sounded amazing.
“And I appreciate your offer to study here, Mr. Taylor.” My mom had always told me to try to butter people up when they were pissy—that it was a good way to start out the conversation rather than being hostile. “As you know, I’ve been the victim of some bullying from a group called the harpies.”
He waved my words away. “All in fun, my dear, all in good fun.”
“Good fun? They threw a rock through my window. Last year they cut off my hair and put kiwi in my water, which they knew I was allergic to! I do not see how you could possibly think that this was all in good fun.” I saw the look on his face and knew that i’d gone too far. “Sir.”
Mr. Taylor’s face was red. “Are you finished, Miss Bennett? Do you have any proof of these allegations? Any way to show for certain that it was, as you say, theharpieswho did these things to do? Because it sounds like the rock was probably an accident and the water was from someone who wanted you to feel better but who made a mistake. You’re going to punish people over a mistake? That’s not the kind of student we want here at Taylor Prep.”
Kaleb had been right. He was going to ask me to leave. The realization flooded through my body, making me feel panicky and hot. “You think that everything was an accident? What about my hair?” I ran my hand over my head, feeling the soft and short hairs.
He shrugged. “Students are often making poor fashion choices. It’s nothing new, Miss Bennett, but it’s time that you accept your responsibility for what you are dealing with here.”
Myresponsibility? I was so angry I felt like I could choke.
