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Harleigh
The blue andgray plaid skirt barely kissed my thighs.
“Are you sure this is standard school issue?” I asked Celeste.
“Right? I complained to Principal Diego twice last year. It’s so misogynistic to expect us to wear these miniskirts while the guys get to walk around in slacks. Hello,” she sang. “So much for equal rights.”
“I think I’m going to put a pair of shorts on underneath.” I went to my dresser and pulled out some plain black bootie shorts.
“I’m not sure Principal D will like that.”
“Principal D can kiss my ass. Pun intended.”
Celeste snorted. “Who are you and what have you done with the Harleigh I know and love?”
I smiled, barely meeting her eyes. If she didn’t look too closely maybe she wouldn’t see that this was a front. Smile. Laugh. Throw out a sassy comment or two. Give off the impression that I wasn’t on the verge of puking my breakfast up over my pristine new uniform.
The skirt was too short, the blouse too form fitting, and the knee-high socks were… Well, I didn’t have words to describe the navy-blue socks with gray trim. If Principal Diego had set out to make the female pupils of DA look like porn stars dressed up as high school teenagers, he’d succeeded.
The whole thing bordered on indecent.
But as I followed Celeste downstairs, none of the adults—my father, Sabrina, or Mrs. Beaker, the housekeeper—batted an eye.
“My, my,” Michael said, folding his morning newspaper and locking eyes with me. “Now there’s a sight I thought I’d never see.” He winced at his choice of words, but I didn’t let him see my own surprise. “Sorry, that was—”
“It’s fine. We should probably go,” I said, not wanting to drag things out any longer than necessary. “We don’t want to be late.”
“Celeste, watch out for Harleigh please.”
“I will, Dad.”
Dad.
I bristled.
“Aren’t you waiting for Max?” Sabrina asked.
“Nope. He can ride with the Vaughns next door.”
“Celeste, you know—”
“Bye, Mom. See you later. ‘Come on,’” Celeste mouthed at me, and we took off down the hall. She grabbed the keys off the sideboard, and we slipped outside.
“We can wait for Max,” I said.
“Are you kidding? It’s your first morning. There’s no way in hell I’m letting him ride with us.”
“Thank you.”
She smirked, yanking open the door to her car. “Come on, let’s go.”
I climbed inside, smoothing out the hem of my skirt, or lack thereof. There had been no uniform at Darling Hill High so this was new. Although, I figured it was a damn sight better than having to play the designer label game with my classmates.
At least in a uniform, I would blend in. With any luck, I would blend in so well I quickly became invisible.
“Are you nervous?” Celeste asked as she turned on the ignition and started backing out of the driveway.
It blew my mind that her car was worth more than anything I’d ever owned or lived in. It had been a seventeenth birthday present a few weeks ago. I didn’t know much about cars, but from the sleek lines and leather trim I could tell it was expensive, so I’d googled it.
