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IMANI
Monday morning, I stepped out of my car and into the chilly winter air. Mom had hounded me this morning and made me swear that I would be safe today. She almost didn’t want to send me because of what had happened with Principal Vaughn.
But I’d convinced her, mostly because I didn’t want to miss another day.
Akio pulled up in his designated spot and stepped out of his car, his right eye swollen shut. He glanced over at me, giving me a half-smile, and didn’t waste any time in hurrying to his classroom. I wanted to follow after him, but he had class in a different building than me.
If I found out that Kai had done something to him, I swore I would flip.
Redwood Academy had been getting on my nerves lately, almost too much.
Nostrils flared, I stormed down the hallways toward Allie’s locker. I had tried everything—everything—to understand João yesterday, but after our kiss, he had walked away from me without saying two words, and all sense and reason had flown out the damn window. What was his fucking problem?
It didn’t matter whether I told him I loved him or not. He always reacted the same way. Pissed off and annoyed. And it was making me pissed off and annoyed with him. I hadn’t gotten a full hour of sleep because I couldn’t for the life of me understand him.
Poison stood in the hallway with each other, earlier than they usually got to school, and watched me carefully. But I didn’t give them any of my attention. I just needed to see my best friend right now.
My coiled black hair bounced in a ponytail. Even my hair had been annoying me today, so much so that I decided to throw it into a ponytail, and I never did shit like that. I snatched Allie’s hand and tugged her past the three Poison boys without saying good morning to them.
“He’s so annoying, so fucking annoying,” I said between gritted teeth to Allie when she asked why João was scowling at me like that. I didn’t have any other words for her besides that because I wasn’t even going to say his name today.
“Well, good morning to you too,” Allie said, pushing her glasses up her nose.
I stopped by my locker and fumbled with the lock. “Sorry, not sorry. He’s been annoying all weekend, and I’m done with it.”
Allie leaned against the lockers and arched a brow. “Done with him? I’m surprised you haven’t jumped back into bed with them already.”
After giving her the deadliest glare that I could muster, I pulled some books from my locker. “Says the girl who’s sleeping with her stepbrother after he broke her heart.” I glanced back over at Allie and curled my lips into a smile, a giggle escaping my mouth. “I need to get more damn sleep.” I wrapped my arms around her waist and rested my head on her shoulder. “Thanks for dealing with me when I’m cranky.”
She patted my back and giggled. “Thanks for dealing with me when I make dumbass decisions, like the stepbrother thing.”
“Anytime.” I pulled the remaining books from my locker and shut it. We started down the hall toward our Biology class with my arm looped around hers. “Looks like Redwood is off to a wonderful start after what happened on Saturday night.”
Students from AP Biology waited outside Mr. Barnes’s classroom, gossiping with each other. Surprisingly, school went on like it always did, even after Principal Vaughn’s death. The only thing that was different was that he wasn’t in these halls, creepily staring down every girl’s shirt.
“Just be careful, Maddie,” someone said to our right.
The shy girl in our Bio class, Maddie Weber, crossed her arms over her chest and nodded at her brother, Oliver. Oliver hiked a large duffel bag—probably filled with his hockey gear—over his shoulder.
Alec, another guy on the hockey team, slapped Oliver on the shoulder. “Come on, dude. Let her be. You think she has secrets worth knowing?” Alec threw Maddie a smirk behind Oliver’s back that suggested a bit more but persuaded Oliver to leave.
When he was gone, Maddie inched closer to the wall and shuffled from foot to foot. She glanced over at us with her cheeks tinted red. “Did you see that?” she asked, eyes wide in fear.
Allie and I burst out laughing at the same time.
“Girl, we don’t care.” I cocked my thumb at Allie. “She’s sleeping with her stepbrother, and I’m about to forgive the three most fucked up guys in the entire school. Your secret is safe with us.”
Maddie moved closer and lowered her voice. “Are you talking about Poison?”
Allie’s lips curled into a smile, and she nodded. “Yep.”
Maddie widened her eyes even more. “Rumor has it that they are the ones who killed the principal last Saturday. Is that true?” she asked. Allie and I looked at each other as Maddie grinned. “Because I want to thank them. That man was nothing but a creep. Every time I was around him, I thought he was staring down my shirt. He …” She shivered. “He always got way too close to me, and nobody would believe me.”
Deciding that Maddie wasn’t going to be a tattletale, Allie leaned closer to me. “Exhibit A for why you shouldn’t hate Poison for what they did,” she whispered.
I playfully pushed her. “So, you’re on Poison’s side now?”
“No, I … agree with them. You shouldn’t be annoyed with them for that, especially the dick-eating part.”
