Page 280 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

I could take it in the hallway—there are still a few minutes before the second bell—but that might mean bumping into Briar on his way in. Possibly seeing Marcus again too, depending on where his homeroom is.

Instead, I take a quick look around, turn in my chair, and put my phone to my ear.

“Hey, you okay?” I say.

“I guess,” Addy replies in a thick voice, like she’s been crying.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just…family stuff.” Fabric rustles against the speaker. “Listen, I’m not coming to school today, but Maxine told me Dylan’s throwing a party.”

A party? The fuck do I care?

“Addy, do you have something on Briar?”

But she ignores the question and keeps on talking right over me.

“You should try to get in. I know I said I didn’t like your plan but…I think it’s the only one that’ll work. I’ll see if I can work something out but?—”

“Addy. Addy, listen?—”

“—I might be gone for a few days, so I don’t know if?—”

“Indi?” At the sound of Ms. Parson’s attempt at a stern voice, my stomach drops.

Dammit.

I end the call and slip my phone into my pocket. When I turn around, Ms. Parsons is a few feet from my desk, arms crossed and her rosebud mouth puckered tight.

“No phones in my class,” she says, enunciating every word with utter precision. “Understand me?”

Holy crap, I’m obviously not in her good books anymore, am I?

“Sorry, Ms. Parsons.”

She lifts her chin, shakes her head, and mutters, “I’m so disappointed in you,” as she walks away.

I glare at her. She was the one who suggested the fucking horse rides. What the fuck did she think would happen? Naive little?—

“Don’t want your face getting stuck that way, Angel.”

My eyes snap up and track Briar as he saunters past my table. For a heart-stopping moment, I think he’s going to sit behindme. But he winds his way through the aisles and takes his seat in the far back of the class without making eye contact with me again.

I sink back in my seat and run Addy’s conversation through my head. When the second bell rings, I almost jump out of my fucking skin. As soon as Ms. Parsons starts reading out the announcements, I smuggle my phone out of my pocket and send her a text.

Do you have evidence against Briar?

I wait, glancing up every millisecond to make sure Ms. Parson’s doesn’t catch me on my phone and decide to confiscate it.

My message sends but, by the end of homeroom, it still hasn’t been delivered to Addy’s phone. It’s not even half an hour’s wait, but those minutes could have been an eternity. A very special kind of hell that I barely survive.

As soon as I’m out the door, the bell for the next period still clanging in my ears, I’m on the phone to Addy.

My call goes straight to voice mail.

What the fuck?

I might be gone for a while…

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