Page 26 of Spin the Damn Bottle

"Thanks dude," Rowan says, standing to grab both bags. "Come on, I'll give you a lift. We can eat in the car."

Our breakfast is full of flavor, but I notice several tastes I would never have added in there, like roasted asparagus. It's delicious, and much healthier than a burrito has any business being. No wonder the legacies are all fit if their nutrition is managed like this.

Rowan's driver gets us up to school much earlier than I usually arrive. I notice plenty of eyes watching me climb out of the back of his Audi, and I inwardly sigh. Great. Now that's going to feed the rumor mill for a while.

"Thanks for the tour. And the lift. And, you know, the tutoring." That's three more thanks than I would have imagined giving to Rowan White before today.

"Any time, cupcake."

I drop my books in my locker before dragging my feet to Calculus.

"So, are you and Rowan an item?" some girl I've never talked to asks the moment I sit down. I think she's called Verona. "Is that why they moved you to Glass?"

The first bell rings.

"No."

She doesn't seem deterred by my visible lack of interest. "To which question?"

"Both," I say tersely, putting my headphones on, though I don't turn on the music.

I just want her, and the rest of the wolves, to leave me alone.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I arrive first in literature, and when Jason walks in with Cain, he just nods at me in polite greeting before taking a seat toward the back.

I hate it.

The problem with making rational decisions is that they rarely align with what we truly want to do.

Melina sits next to me, and babbles cheerfully about her upcoming London trip, thankfully not requiring much input from me.

We're still watching TV today, so my attention isn't required. I pretend to take notes, but end up doodling all over the page instead. I can always watch the show later anyway.

When class is over, I glance at Jason as I pack up my stuff. He leaves without so much as a glance.

I asked for this. I even convince myself I wanted it.

I'd like to say I take his indifference better as time passes, but it hurts as much the next day, and the day after that. A week later, I'm still not used to it.

It's not like he pretends I don't exist. He says hi every day, polite as ever.

I'm no longer having a terrible time at Cross. The mob is leaving me alone, Glass makes it seem like I'm on a long-term all-inclusive holiday, and even my calculus grade improves. Lucas is at school most days, too, and nothing much happens to me.My doctor’s visit confirms that I am blissfully not pregnant, and my STD scan comes back all clear—two blessings, given my stupid recent behavior. I get an implant, rather than opting for the kind of contraception I could forget to take or renew.

Everything is fine.

For all that, I'm miserable. I can't even pretend otherwise.

Two weeks later, I ask Jace if he had fun in London, as Mel couldn't stop talking about their trip. Nothing Heritage-specific, but she chats nonstop about the cool people she met and the awesome clothes she bought.

"It was fine, thank you, Nadia."

Nadia. Fucking Nadia, not doll, not cupcake. I could scream.

I often eat with Melina at Glass, when I don't opt to order room service. She and I are becoming fast friends, though we certainly have our differences. From time to time, Judith Cushman joins us. She and Melina get along just fine, and seem to know each other quite well, but there's a fair bit of tension between the two.

Melina's the kind of social butterfly who’s accepted wherever she goes. She hangs out with Yuki, Jacqueline, and the It Girls, with some underclassmen, with the boys, withme, her friendly nature welcome in every circle. Yet when she's around Judith, there's an edge to her words.