Page 11 of Never His Girl

“Um, I’m sorry, Dr. Pryor, but aren’t you going to do something?” Parker asks. “I mean, this girl’sclearlyunhinged, which is why she just tried to hit me. You saw that.”

My heart’s racing so fast, and I’m fighting the urge to break free and mangle this girl. However, I’m also aware of the fact that I almost blew my shot here, by being a hothead.

“From where I stood, it looked like Ms. Riley here just wanted to give you a good morning high-five,” Dr. Pryor counters. “But unfortunately, I need her in my office to discuss something of great importance, so that’ll have to wait.”

It isn’t lost on me that this gigantic lie Dr. Pryor just told is her attempt at saving me from myself. The subtle reminder that not everyone here sucks has the temp of my blood lowering from a full-on boil to a simmer.

“But—”

“Get to class, Ms. Holiday,” Dr. Pryor cuts in.

There was a spiteful gleam in Parker’s eyes a few seconds ago, but Pryor has thoroughly extinguished it.

There’s a standoff between the two before Parker and her girls finally retreat, but not without her shooting me another of her icy glares. A look I give right back to her.

“Well, congrats anyway,” Parker announces, flashing a quick grin toward me when she adds, “You topped the list, sweetheart.”

Those are her parting words and I have no clue what she’s talking about, but something tells me I’ll know soon enough.

“You cool?” Dr. Pryor asks, still holding me tight. “I’m not going to have to chase you down this hallway, am I?”

“I’m fine.” My voice is clipped and filled with anger, but it’s not a lie. I won’t go after Parker.

Not now, anyway.

Slowly, Dr. Pryor releases me and then straightens her blazer. She meets my gaze and I don’t see what I expected to find there—disappointment, judgment maybe. That’s what I would’ve gotten from any other adult, but not her. It makes me think she might know something about what it’s like for me here, might understand what I faced day in and day out evenbeforethe leak.

“I need to see you in my office,” she repeats, letting me knowthatpart of her statement to Parker wasn’t a lie.

I nod and she only hesitates a second before leading the way. I follow her, but my eyes are glued to the back of Parker’s head as she continues down the hall. She’s almost as high on my shit list as West, but he’s definitely got that first spot on lock.

I’m nearly to the door of the counseling office when I do the exact wrong thing, peering further down the hallway, toward the massive crowd that gathers. And there he is, soaking in all their praise as he walks through the center of it all—KingMidas.

His brothers and teammates surround him, while others rush him like rabid fans. Some for his performance at regionals, I’m sure. Others for a verydifferentperformance. Either way, they love him, and he can do no wrong in their eyes.

Their idol.

Their god.

It surprises me he’s not quite focused on them, though. He isn’t even wearing that cocky grin I thought he would be. Instead, he’s straight-faced and searching the crowd like a madman. A search that only ends when he spots me. I should look away but for some reason, I can’t. My eyes are drawn to him. I tried to imagine what I’d feel seeing him for the first time, but it’s indescribable. I’ve hated before, but never like this. It runs so deep.

For a second, I think he’s starting to push his way toward me, but it has to be my imagination. At any rate, when Pryor calls my name and I close myself inside her office, I’m grateful for a temporary haven from the outside world.

Dr. Pryor drops down into her seat and reaches for something in the bottom drawer of her desk. While she digs for it, my eyes are drawn to a stack of rose-colored papers with a bold title on top—THE PINK LIST.

And what’s printed right beneath it?

#1 Blue Riley

There are nineteen other names below mine, but I’m suddenly hearing Parker’s words echoing inside my head, telling me I ‘toppedthelist’. I had no clue what that meant at the time, but now I’m seeing the statement wasn’t some kind of twisted metaphor.

There really is a freakin’ list.

I reach toward the stack, but not quickly enough. Dr. Pryor swoops in with the swiftness of a ninja, swiping the entire pile into her trashcan. Right after, she hits me with a very stern look.

“It’s just high school nonsense. Don’t let it get you riled up.”

“But I don’t even know what it is,” I explain.

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