Page 11 of Soul of a Psycho

“All the girls know his name. I guess he really gets around,” Ruby volleys.

“God, you are such a skank.”

My skin flushes at the word, and something in me snaps.

“Takes one to know one,” I say, stepping in front of Ruby.

The girl’s eyes dart between us, and I realize I’ve just drawn an invisible line in the sand. For better or worse, I am now on Ruby’s side.

“I am not a skank.”

“Is that because no guy will fuck you or…?” The profanity tastes delicious on my tongue. I should use it more often.

“You bitch, who the fuck—”

“Girls! Focus on your roommates!” Martha shouts from down the hall.

I quickly blink and turn to our housemother, flashing an embarrassed smile. It’s not saccharine. I’ve perfected it to pass the hard glare of my father. One that embodies,Who me? I’m innocent,without all the faux remorse that people can see right through.

The redhead has gotten back in line with her roommate, but she’s staring me down like I killed her dog. Great, I now have an enemy.

When Martha makes her way down the hall, making sure everyone has spilled their guts, me and Ruby nod at her without a single secret shared. But in the realm of bonding, I think me standing in front of her counts for more.

At least, I hope it does, because Martha tells us we are doing trust falls next.

“I’ll catch you first,” I tell Ruby. Maybe if she sees that I won’t drop her, then she won’t purposely drop me.

“If you don’t catch me, I’ll literally put snakes in your bed.”

I roll my eyes, but she turns around anyway.

All down the hall girls whisperone, two, three,at different intervals, and bodies start falling.

“You count,” I tell her, and put my arms out.

She shoots a look over her shoulder. “I swear if you don’t—”

“Oh, my god. Get on with it,” I say, wondering why I would drop her if I’m little miss perfect.

She whips her head around, counts, and then falls. I catch her no problem, and then help her back to her feet.

“See? I got you.” I beam.

“Whatever. Your turn.” She nods for me to turn around.

But once I do, I suddenly realize how nerve-wracking this is. How am I supposed to trust fall with someone I just met? I eye the redhead across from us as she catches her roommate. It’s less than graceful, and she looks down at her hands like she just touched crap. But if that piece of work didn’t drop her roommate, then surely Ruby will catch me.

“Do you want me to count?” I ask as I cross my arms over my chest.

“No, I want you to bark,” Ruby says.

I sigh. Good to know catching her didn’t win me any points.

I start to count, and realize how awful this is. What’s next? Are the teachers going to start whipping knuckles with their rulers? This never would have flown at my public school. Students would have complained about their lack of safety, and parents would have had the practice abolished.

I hesitate when I get to three, hoping like hell that Ruby catches me, and steel myself. My body drifts back, and I go weightless, squeezing my eyes shut.

A thump sounds behind me just as I’m expecting to get caught, but I keep falling. Oh,fuck. I throw my arms out, tensing for impact. She really didn’t even try.She really didn’t even try.My anger is cut short as I clatter to the hardwood, and pain shoots up my elbow. The bone smacks off the door frame, and I land hard on my butt, barely keeping my head up to prevent it from hitting the wall. I’m momentarily stunned by the jolt.

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