Page 56 of I Don't Need Your Protection
“Very competitive, especially in sports. They were twins, but they were so different. My brother, Adam, was a huge flirt and very goofy, while my sister, Gina, was more serious. She loved to read, too. Most of the books in my house are hers. I wanted to bring some here freshman year, but I was worried they’d get lost or damaged.”
I smile. “It’s great that you have a connection to her.”
“Yeah. And I think I share the craziness with my brother.”
Raven is about to say something, but heels clack on the floor. Clarissa struts to our table. She wears a bright smile on her face as she comes to stand above me. “Hey, Addie.” She takes in the others. “Hey, guys.”
Sophie, Carly, and Raven exchange confused and suspicious looks. I know what they’re thinking—why is she here and talking to us? But she seems genuine enough, just like she was at Nila’s party.
I smile up at her. “Hi, Clarissa.”
She sizes up my uniform. I think I look pretty cute. Maybe not as pretty as her, though. She doesn’t seem to think low of me as she still wears that bright smile. “You mind if I sit?”
Again, my friends exchange a glance.
“Why?” Raven asks with furrowed eyebrows and uncertain eyes. Her body is poised in this protective mode that I haven’t seen on her yet.
Clarissa giggles. “Relax, Raven. I’m not up to no good. I just realized that we don’t talk much. You guys are the brains of the school and it’s a shame we don’t know anything about each other.”
I notice her friends watching from the popular table. They’re just as confused as my friends are. Warner is also at the table, but he’s busy messing around with his buddies and doesn’t pay attention to us. Or me. We’re meeting after school to work on our project. I wonder if he’s as excited about hanging out with me as I am with him.
It seems like Clarissa doesn’t care that her friends are shooting her “what the heck?” looks. She’s the queen, anyway, from what I gather, so I guess she doesn’t care what they think of her.
She sits down and smiles again. “So…what are we talking about?”
Raven narrows her eyes, Sophie’s a little wary, while Carly seems to be warming up to her a little.
I don’t know her well, but I want to give her a chance. Maybe she really does want to get to know us scholarship kids better. “Parents’ Day,” I tell her. “We’re all looking forward to it.”
I can’t help being a little jealous and sad. Their parents are coming. Mine are no longer with me, and the only family I have left needs to keep his distance from me.
Clarissa rolls her eyes. “My parents are only coming because they need to show what great parents they are. You think they give a darn about me or the school?” She snorts. “They’d rather take the jet and fly to some exotic island where they can forget they even have a daughter.”
“Wow…really?” I blurt.
She shrugs as she flicks some dirt off her blazer. “Well, I’m sure they have some love for me somewhere in their hearts. Deep, deep down. But forget about me. Are your parents coming?”
They all tell her yes, while my gaze drops to my food. I feel bad for her that her parents don’t make time for her, but at least she has parents. Even if they fight or aren’t close, there’s always a chance to fix that. To be close again.
“What about you, Addie?” Clarissa wants to know.
I snap back in and find all pairs of eyes on me. I force a smile. “Oh, I’m not sure yet. But hopefully.”
Clarissa talks about random things before she tells us she had fun chatting and then joins her friends at their table.
All four of us watch her go, Raven scowling. “I don’t like what just happened,” she says. “Not one bit.”
I shrug. “She seemed nice.”
“Yeah, that’s the problem. She’s never spoken to us before. Either she pretended we didn’t exist or she made faces at us.”
Carly keeps her eyes on Clarissa’s table for a bit. “I don’t know. Maybe Addie is right and shedoeswant to be friendly with us.”
We turn to Sophie to hear her opinion.
She holds up her hands. “I don’t want to try to figure out what goes on in her brain. Can’t I just read my book?”
“Sure you can,” Raven says. “But I’m keeping an eye on her.”
