Page 21 of Snake

It’s a dark orange, black patches still visible in the places where the bleach hadn’t had enough time to strip my natural color.

“You should go to a salon or something next time,” Mason says before shoving another meatball into his mouth. “They’d do it properly.”

My fist slams onto the bench, rattling everything on it. “That fucking bitch.”

Mason’s face darkens. “Nim did this?” He takes his time inspecting my hair, chewing thoughtfully on his food. “That girl’s on a fucking rampage.” He shifts in his seat, wincing. “Got me during football practice. Tried calling you guys to warn you. Only got through to Silas, and the fucker hung up on me.”

“She got you?”

“Her and that shifty roommate of hers. They fucking distracted me and put shit in my cup. It looks like ground zero for some new STD down there, man. And Magnus said Coach was pissed because I left practice without telling him.”

He shakes his head. “Hell hath no fury.”

My eyes drop to my phone again. I don’t know whether to be angry or proud. We’ve put Nim through hell—this is just a fraction of the humiliation she had to suffer. Doesn’t make it any less bearable, of course.

I can’t imagine what Silas will say when we tell him about this. He’ll probably want to declare war on the poor girl. He’s been goddamn mercurial after his father’s death. Every time I ask him how he’s holding up, he says something different. That he’s dealing with it, that I should shut up, that he’s happy it’s over, that his family didn’t need this right now, that it should have happened a long time ago.

Some of the laughing and catcalls have died down by the time Silas enters the cafeteria. I haven’t even gathered the courage to go dish up food. In fact, I think I’d rather skip dinner. But Silas needs to be warned—

“That bitch is playing us,” Silas says as soon as he’s in earshot.

His eyes latch onto my hair. “Christ. I’m too late, aren’t I?” Then, before I can reply, he leans his knuckles on the table and turns to look at Mason. “What did she do to you?”

“Cayenne pepper and toothbrush bristles in my sports cup.”

Silas winces, glances back at my hair. His expression becomes grave as he takes a slow seat beside me. “Fuck knows why I got the better end of the deal.”

“What do you mean?” Mason pushes his plate toward me, then Silas, but we both wave away the heap of fries, Silas twisting his mouth in disgust.

“She just sucked me off in the library. But it was weird.”

“How weird?” I ask right on top of Mason’s leery, “I knew she was a freak.”

Silas lifts his hands. “I’m not going there.”

“What? Come on.” Mason thumps the table. “Tell us.”

Silas’s blue eyes flutter closed, and he lets out a long sigh. “I guess...I mean, it’s probably going to sound weirder than it is. Romi came to me and said—”

“Her roommate?” Alarm prickles through my entire body even asSilas waves away my concern.

As does a sudden change in the background noise. While several students were still throwing me looks, most had gone back to what they were doing. I’d diffused the situation by simply not reacting. It’s only fun to kick someone when they’re down if they keep groaning and putting up a fuss. It stops being entertaining when they’re playing possum.

Or dead.

Something else has their interest now. The hive mind of Cinderhart Academy is homing in on a new target. All around us, phones start beeping and vibrating.

At the first scandalized gasp, Silas and I lock eyes. That’s when I hear that faint, oh-so-fucking-familiar soundtrack playing. The sound of someone beating off. Their strained groan as they come.

“Fuck,” Silas whispers, every hue of color on his already pale face draining away.

He drops his head into his hands, long fingers sticking up through his sandy hair as his nails dig into his scalp. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!”

The last is a throttled yell so full of rage and anguish, my stomach bottoms out.

Nearby, someone brays like a donkey. At first they’re shushed, but too quickly the rest of the cafeteria catches on. Then come the whinnies and the snorts.

It makes no sense until my phone vibrates in my hand.

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