Page 10 of Soul of a Psycho

“Sorry,” I say, not being able to snap back at her when she’s bare faced.

She’s practically doll-like in her features, with her icy blonde bob complimenting her rosy cheeks. The idea of being mean to her feels closely like slapping Tinkerbell.

“Rule number two, no noise before nine a.m.,” she says, and pulls on a pair of sweatpants.

“Got it,” I say, and she slowly narrows her eyes at me.

“What’s got you so agreeable?” she asks suspiciously. “If it’s because I lent you my pen, don’t let it go to your head. We aren’t friends or anything. I just didn’t want you to barf all over me.”

I suck in my lips to stop from laughing. It’s impossible to take her attitude seriously when she’s so cute.

“Got it,” I manage to say again.

She continues to shoot daggers at me as a quick knock sounds on the door, and then swings open.

“Girls?” The woman pokes her head in. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

* * *

Our entire floor is lined up outside their respective doors, and I have no clue what is going on, but I stand straight as Martha—our housemother and the one who banged on pot—smiles like a drill sergeant.

“For those of you who have spent your whole high school career at Hillcrest, you know what this moment defines. For those of you haven’t, let me make it clear,” Martha shouts down the hallway as she paces it, hands clasped behind her back.

Most of the girls roll their eyes, looking worse for wear as they yawn, and I eye everyone’s pajamas. A little self consciously, I pull down at the skirt of my uniform that I threw on. It seems I’m the only one that actually got dressed.

“Your roommate is not just someone you happen to share a living space with,” Martha continues. “They are your confidant, your supporter, and your sister for the next year. I will not tolerate any cattiness in Lamb Hall.”

I give a side eye to Ruby, but she’s leaning against our door with her eyes closed.

“I understand the connotations of the termboarding school, but here at Hillcrest, make no mistake, we are a family. So, to give our students a little nudge in the right direction, we’ll be performing a bonding exercise. This is something we do every year, and while I know that it is early, and you teens are a grumpy bunch, I’ll have you know that the freshmen on the first floor were up long before you, excited to bond with their sisters.”

“Yeah, right,” Ruby grumbles under her breath, and I can’t help but agree.

There’s no way any of these girls, freshmen or not, got up willingly, excited to be forced into friendship with someone they didn’t choose.

“Okay. Let’s get this started before you girls are late for class.”

A minute later, I’m staring blankly at Ruby without a clue what secret to entrust her with. Certainly not the one that got me sent here. As far as I’m concerned, that never happened. But without it, my mind comes up blank. Secrets were typically something that could turn on me, so instead, I just refrained from doing anything that I would need to hide. I could make up a lie. It would be easy, and help us bond. The same way it helped Dorothy soften toward me. But any secret worthy of concoctingwould need to be salacious, and I don’t want something indecent spreading. I got enough of that back home.

“Of course, little miss perfect doesn’t have anything to divulge,” Ruby says.

Oh, for heaven’s sake. Do I really give off that vibe?Little miss perfect?Did she not—just last night—give me actual weed? I’ll admit, I don’t wear makeup or faded shirts to bed, but I’m not perfect. I know that for a fact. If I was, my father wouldn’t have anything to complain about.

“Fine, then. What’s your secret?” I ask.

We are both supposed to tell each other something that no one else knows, and then keep it in our hearts forever. It’s a nice sentiment, just not for teen girls.

“I sucked Bentley’s dick during a Romeo and Juliet lecture in the back of Mrs. Lavia’s class.”

My mouth falls open, but she just shrugs. Okay. Wow. I was not expecting that.

“Actually,” A red head across from us leans over. “That’s not a secret.” She gives a vicious smile to Ruby, her ultra processed white teeth gleaming cruelly.

“I heard you swallowed,” she continues. “Tell me, what doesscumtaste like?” She tilts her head, and her poor roommate shifts uncomfortably.

“It tastes just like your daddy’s,” Ruby drawls back quickly, but folds her arms across her chest, her eyes burning with something that looks like pain. “Rupert, right?” Ruby tries to give back a bitchy smile, but it lacks oomph.

The redhead rears back and narrows her eyes. “How do you know my dad’s name?”

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