Page 1 of Spiteful Lies

Chapter 1

Astrid

“Who said ‘the quiet before the storm’?” Gillian asks, chewing the tip of her pencil until the eraser is shiny and falling to bits.

“Everyone,” replies Bobby, frowning at his tablet. “’Cause this hurls big chunks.”

Gillian screws up her face as if Bobby has just given us a demo, but I laugh, and immediately, I’m shushed in the quiet section of the Hillman. The economics midterm is on Monday. And we have the weekend to memorize all the stuff we should’ve learned over the semester. I’m feeling sort of confident, but not enough to change my mind and not cheat. Bryce came through, handing me an old-school flash drive. No way are we sharing the midterm answers on the cloud. Not only do I have the answers for econ, but I also have the answers for every other class.

I glare at the loser who shushed me, feeling like the queen bee of Stonehaven because today, I am. Ted Leister is facing serious charges after being caught in a sex scandal that’s rocking two towns. Too bad Prof. Getz got caught up in it—literally with his pants down. A sub is teaching his class in his absence, and Getz probably won’t be back before the end of the year…if ever. According to the trustees, a pervert like that will endanger minors with his demented sex fetishes.

Grinning, I imagine prim and proper Dr. Rawlins at her desk, typing an email to the parents, swearing that Stonehaven is still a pillar of morality. Her hand resting on the very surface I came on while being fucked silly by four hot boys. Quickly, I tap on my tablet as my pussy starts tingling for attention. I scan the room, wondering if Pierce is on the fourth floor watching before getting off.

“What are you grinning at?” Gillian glares at me while she shuffles through her notes. “Why are you so happy?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Who said ‘pride before the fall’?”

Gillian glares a second longer and then thumbs through her notebook again. Her hand moves frantically as she searches each page for a hint on answering a wicked-hard mock question. She wipes her nose on the back of her finger, and then an awful thing happens: a tear slides down her cheek. Bobby and I exchange a look of panic and concern. Gillian is always upbeat from all the serotonin released while she’s zooming around the campus. It’s the worst to see her cry, and I hold my breath, hoping that she won’t break down.

“Gillian, let’s go outside and take a walk,” I whisper, “Let’s get some fresh air.”

She wavers, staring at the notes she’s supposed to know better than her own birth date. Eventually, she switches off her tablet and pulls herself up as if her legs have fallen asleep. Bobby and I watch her closely and hope she’s not going to fall apart and lose it on the floor. I rush to her side and hold her steady.

“Come on, Gill,” I soothe, “Let’s head out. Bobby will stay here and look after our stuff.” She leans heavily against my shoulder as we move slowly toward the main door. Her feet drag in weighty footsteps as if she’s moving through water and not air. I hold her hand, ignoring the crazy looks we’re getting from the staff as we pass the main desk. I just want to get her outside and away from here.

The freezing cold air wraps around us, stealing our body heat as we head down the path away from the warm building. Gillian’s breathing sounds labored and ragged as puffs of white steam rise up from her mouth. Cautiously, I peek at her to see if she’s crying. She’s not. Not yet, but her face is a bright red that threatens a major meltdown is fast approaching.

“Gillian, I’m sure you’ll do okay on the exam,” I tell her, mustering up as much encouragement as I can fake. Of course she’s going to fucking fail. “You only need to pass, and you’ll be okay.”

“No, I won’t,” she wails. Gillian takes off running toward the trail by the wrought iron fence. I take off after her, but as fast as I move, Gillian runs like she’s on roller skates. She glides while the rest of us clomp around the track. She reaches a large boulder and leans heavily against it. The emotions she’s been pushing down rush up and out of her in a torrent of tears and sobs.

“You don’t understand,” she cries, “I have an F average in that class. I need an A to get a D for the term. Why did I take that stupid class? I should’ve dropped it, but I thought it would be easy. I know all about having money, but this makes no sense to me.”

Gillian leans her ass against the boulder and hugs her body while I drape my arm over her shoulders. I don’t really know what to do because I suck at this. I need to learn someday how to comfort someone with words. Monarch kids hit something when their emotions erupt, but Stonehaven kids crumple into a hysterical lump of soaking tears.

Gillian wipes her red eyes on her cuffs, and it’s only then I realize we don’t have on our coats. Soon, her tears slow down to a trickle, and her head bobs while staring off into nothing. Is she cold, terrified, or both?

“You want to hear something awful?” she says, and I nod. “When they arrested Getz, I hoped they would cancel the class. I thought I’d get a reprieve, and maybe they’d give me my D for the term.” She sniffs up a wad of snot, and her lips start to tremble. “I’m going to lose my spot on the team, and then no college for dumbass me.”

I bite my lip hard as my hand grips the flash drive concealed in my blazer pocket. Gillian and I are in the same boat, but while my half is floating above the waves, her end is sinking down into the depths. I could toss her a lifeline, but Bryce warned me not to tell anybody. The fewer people that know, the better off is true of any major secret.

And besides, Gillian isn’t a part of our pack. But once upon a time, she was nice to me when she could’ve snubbed me. She included me when I was at my weakest, when it was easy to kick me down and walk over me. My conscience starts pestering my self-preservation as Gillian starts sobbing hard again.

“Gillian, it will be okay.”

She doesn’t answer but shakes her head, refusing to even look me in the eye. Gillian knows she’s screwed, and I’m just talking empty words. Utter bullshit that isn’t making anything better. But what I’ve got gripped tightly in my fist will make all her troubles disappear in a blink. I pull the flash drive out of my pocket and unclench my fist.

She inhales a deep breath. “What’s that?”

“It’s the answers to all the midterms for every single class,” I reply calmly.

“You have them all?” Her eyes widen as she stares at me in amazement and then at the flash drive as if I conjured it out of thin air. Slowly, Gillian reaches out, and her fingertips touch the hard plastic that holds her fate. She lifts her eyes to mine. “Can I have it?”

Shivering, I wince, knowing that I’m making a big mistake. “No, but let’s go find a place where we can print the econ exam for you.” I grip her shoulders tightly in my hands, making sure that I have her full attention. “I’ll be in a shitload of trouble if this secret leaks out. Do you understand?”

Gillian’s head bobs up and down, rapidly turning into a blur. “I understand, Astrid. Thank you so much.” Her tears morph from pain to euphoric joy. “Astrid, thank you so much. I really owe you everything.” She giggles, bouncing on her feet. “I was so screwed. One more strike, and I was out on my ass. Rawlins doesn’t give third chances. But you know that.”

I scoff, unsure if I was on my third chance or thirtieth. “Yeah, I do. Why do you think I have this? I was on my way out too.”

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