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“I’m so sorry, Sir, I zoned out.”
“Make sure you pay attention please.” He turns back to the class. “So, I was saying the homework is due on Monday. They’re short poems and there are two of you working on it, so I expect no struggle.”
I look around in confusion and my gaze lands on Jake, writing something in his notebook.
The bell rings, he gets up and drops a piece of paper on my desk.
“The poems.” His voice is ice cold, and my chest constricts at the resentment in it.
“What do we have to do?” I ask.
“We’re supposed to answer all the questions together by Monday. I don’t want to work with you so write half of it, I’ll pick it up from your house tomorrow and write the rest.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to just do this together? We can do it in the library at lunchtime.”
He scoffs. “I’m not wasting my time with you, Goody. You’re not worth any of it, not even for English homework.”
His words hit me hard, but I try not to let it show. “I’ll be done by tomorrow,” I nod.
He doesn’t reply and just leaves the class without looking back. My heart aches at the silence, coldness, and hatred he leaves behind.
By the end of classes, I’ve spent another lonely day at school. I find Emily by our lockers.
“Can I hop in for a ride?” I ask. The weather outside doesn’t exactly appeal to a bike ride.
“Are you not going to the café?”
“No, I moved my shifts this week, I’m going home, and I don’t really want to bike in that rain. Unless you’re riding with Luke?”
I can sense her hesitation and my stomach aches when she replies, “Sorry, I’m going to the Murrays. We’re all working on our English homework together since I’m with Rose, Luke with Rachel, and Chris with Cam…”
“Cam? You call her Cam? Are you part of her clique now?” I can’t help the bitterness in my voice. This is riling me up, how can she do this to me? Befriend the she-devil that runs this school.
“I’m not. It just came out like that, don’t be so rude,” she cringes.
“It can’t just come out like that unless you hang out with her, Em.”
“Look. I hang out with Luke, Luke hangs out with Jake and she sticks to Jake so here we are.”
“How can you do this to me,” I rage. “You know what she’s done to me. You know how she is! You’re supposed to be my friend.”
“She was hurt, Jamie! Jake cheated on her with you. And then, you guys had sex and you didn’t even tell me about it…you’re supposed to be my friend.”
I freeze at her words. “How do you know?” I ask.
“Because she told me. Because real friends share secrets.”
“How would she even know?” I ask in shock. I think I know how, I just don’t want to believe it.
“Because Jake told her, obviously, did you really think he’s the kind of guy to take a girl’s virginity and then not go around bragging to his friends? They’re in the same group. Everyone knows.” She pauses to take a breath and sighs. “I thought you were different from all these girls that just fall for Jake’s shit, ‘Me.”
“I didn’t fall for Jake’s shit,” I hiss. “You have no idea what happened! And you’re the one who was trying to set us up!”
“Only after they broke up! I didn’t know anything was happening before that because you stopped opening up to me a long time ago!” She readjusts the bag on her shoulder. She’s louder than I am because she’s part of the popular kids and she doesn’t care if people hear her arguing. I do. I hate bringing attention to myself.
“Have you ever wondered if maybe I stopped opening up to you because you were too busy fucking your new boyfriend? You thought I was better than other girls, Em? I thought you said you’d never get over Aaron. We all change, I guess.”
She gasps in shock and I instantly regret my words.
