Page 153 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

“Most of the guys here look like they’ve just walked off the page of a fitness magazine.”

“Mmm...tell me more.”

“You’re such a ho,” I say through a laugh. “What will Jackson say?”

“So it’s okay for him to flirt with the other waitresses, but I have to go through life with blinders on?”

“Oh God, I’m so glad you called,” I murmur, closing my eyes and inhaling the scent of old books and dusty shelves. “I was losing my fucking mind.”

“Nim...if you’re not happy, why don’t you just come back? We all miss you, even Mr. Black.”

I laugh quietly. “You might be seeing me sooner than you expected.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well...I’m kinda suspended at the moment.”

“You’re...what?” Peggy laughs, but the sound turns uneasy when I don’t join in. “You’re joking, right?”

“I wish. Let’s just say a certain bunch of jerks really have it out for me, and one of them’s the Student Body President.”

“That’s so shitty.”

“Yeah, it really is.”

“Oh, shit, before I forget, your Uncle Quinton called the club looking for you. He said he’s been trying to reach you since yesterday.”

I sit forward. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not a snoop like you,” Peggy says through a laugh. “He just asked me to pass on the message if I got hold of you.”

“Okay. Let me call him.”

“Hey...you sure you’re okay?” Peggy doesn’t like talking about serious things. She’d prefer to live as if life was one continuous party. It says a lot that she’d step out of her comfort zone to get real about the shit I’m going through.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. And, if I’m not...then I guess you’ll have to endure me snoring on your couch again.”

“Mi sofà, tu sofà,” she says dramatically. “But seriously, any time Nim. You know that.”

“Thanks, Peggy.”

“I have to go, but you’ll promise to keep me updated?”

“Yup.” I sound more cheerful than I feel as I end the call. I let out a long breath before dialing Quinton. I should probably leave the library, but if Ms. Carling hasn’t come to crap me out yet, then I doubt she can even hear me back here. Plus, why would I want to venture out into the land of bullies when I could stay here and be safe?

“Hi, Uncle,” I say as soon as Quinton answers. “My friend says you were looking for me.”

“Nim, thank you for calling,” he sounds relieved, which makes me uneasy. “I got worried when you didn’t return my voice mails.”

“The signal’s really bad here. I didn’t even know you called.”

“But you’re sure you’re fine? Because when I called the administration office yesterday to see if I could get a message sent to you, they informed me that you’d been suspended.”

“Oh. That.” I let out a choppy sigh. “No, Uncle, it’s...it’s not as bad as it sounds. I was out of uniform.”

“So they suspend you? Surely that can’t?—”

“I’m fighting it in my own way, don’t worry.”

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