Page 7 of Foolish Games

Of course he’s sticking with our homework-only rule now that he’s gotten under my skin. I try not to show my irritation, but finally, I can’t resist.

“What did you mean by ‘huh’?” I ask. “What’s wrong with Chaz? He’s the smartest guy in school, he’s from a good family, and he treats me like a princess.”

Sebastian gives me a funny look and shakes his head. “You have weird priorities.”

“What, because I want a boyfriend who sees me as a human being instead of a notch on his bedpost?”

“On my side of the cafeteria, a big dick is more important than a big brain. Bonus points for having a car.”

“They probably just tell you that to make you feel better about your pea brain.”

I was trying to make a joke, but Sebastian gives me a stormy look. “And you could probably use a guy who treated you like his dirty whore instead of the sweet little princess everyone thinks you are.”

“No thanks,” I say lightly. “I’ll stick with Chaz.”

Sebastian flips to the next page in his paper. “So, all that shit you like about him. Is that a rich girl thing or a nerd thing?”

“I don’t know,” I say, shrugging. “It’s a me thing.”

He stops working and looks at me for a long moment, then goes back to his paper. “What does a good family mean?”

I shrug again. “You know. His parents are still married, they go to church, they live in a nice neighborhood.”

Sebastian snorts. “Who the fuck cares about that? Did your mom pick him for you?”

“No,” I say, glaring at him. “But my parents like him. That means a lot to me.”

He makes a noncommittal sound and marks on his paper. “I always thought he was dating Chiclet over there.”

“Who?”

“That girl,” he says, pointing the eraser end of his pencil at Krissy. “I don’t know y’all’s names, but her teeth look like Chiclets, so that’s what I call her.”

I stifle a laugh, hating myself for liking him a little more for his comment about my arch nemesis. I don’t like knowing that some part of me is as mean and petty as Sebastian Swift and his group of bullies. I don’t like thinking that, if circumstances were different, I could be that kind of person or that deep inside, I’m no better than them.

Sebastian cracks a little grin at me. “Not a fan, huh?”

“That’s not true,” I protest, quickly schooling my expression. “She’s my friend. Be nice.”

He just shakes his head, still grinning, and passes the paper back over to me. For the rest of the class, we work on organizing his thoughts, which are actually pretty well reasoned. They’re just jumbled all throughout the paper instead of organized into paragraphs with their supporting arguments. It’s better than I’d hoped for. And focusing on that keeps me from thinking about what Sebastian said, and why he thinks Krissy is Chaz’s girlfriend.

When the bell rings, we collect our things. I stand and hug my books to my chest. “Bring that back on Thursday with the revisions we talked about, and I think we’ll be able to make it an A paper.”

“You mean I’m going to have to let you tear it apart again?” he asks. “And rewrite it again?”

“That’s generally how paper’s go,” I remind him. “What, do you normally turn in your first draft?”

He glowers at me.

“Oh my god,” I say. “You do. No wonder you’re failing.”

“Yeah, well, it’s no wonder your boyfriend’s cheating on you,” he shoots back. “Maybe if you spent less time rewriting papers and more time on your knees servicing him, he wouldn’t be sticking it to Chiclet when you’re not around.”

My mouth drops open, and I’m about to shoot back a cutting remark, but we’re interrupted by a high-pitched giggle. I’m too infuriated to speak when I see Krissy standing in front of Chaz, gazing up at him with her moony, lovestruck face.

“You’re so funny,” she squeals, swatting his arm playfully.

I turn back to Sebastian, who’s wearing the biggest I-told-you-so grin I’ve ever seen. “You were saying?” he asks, just about dripping with smugness.

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