Page 2 of My High School Rebel Boyfriend
Ebony shook her head and took in a shaky breath. “It’s a nightmare Harper. I can’t believe Miss Barber isn’t letting us play in the tournament. I mean, we went in and cleaned it up.”
“But you never left it in a mess?”
“Of course not. We were only using the volleyballs. We didn’t touch any of the other equipment.”
“Well, why didn’t you tell Miss Barber?”
Ebony hushed her voice. “We didn’t know Miss Barber was going to kick us off the team.”
“So, you know who trashed the room?” Ebony chewed on her lip, her eyes going to her stack of books. “Ebs, you have to tell Miss Barber,” I prompted. “You and Shavaun can’t take the fall.”
Ebony lowered her eyes, her dark skin unable to conceal the flush on her cheeks. Her chin wobbled a little and I could see tears were on the horizon. I gently placed my hand on her shoulder. “If you know who did it, you need to let Miss Barber know.”
I could see that the thought of letting the team down was excruciating for her, but so too was the idea of snitching on someone. “Ebony,” I knew I needed to press for the sake of Maddie, Bella and the whole team, “You and Shavaun shouldn’t be taking the blame forsomething you didn’t do. You don’t want this on your school record, do you?” I leaned in for a whisper. “Tell me who did it.”
“I don’t know their names,” Ebony said, sucking up a sniffle.
“But you saw them?”
“They said Coach Cairns was coming in, so we thought it would be all right.”
“Basketballers?”
“Yeah. The boy with the black frizzy hair in the middle and shaved at the sides,” she motioned to the sides of her own head, signaling the trademark style that was Titan Dell’s hair. “And that real tall boy, the one with light brown hair.”
I nodded with unease. That had to be Mitchell Finlayson. At around six four, he was one of the tallest kids in the school. Both Titan and Mitchell were, for want of better words, boys you didn’t want to associate with. Surly, intimidating—the kind you moved out of the way for in the hallways. Titan and I had actually been friends back in fifth grade—our last names meant we’d had to sit next to each other. He wasn’t in any of my classes now and we probably hadn’t spoken since middle school; needless to say we didn’t run in the same circles. Mitchell was in my Outdoor Education class, but we never talked.
I told Ebony we’d be in the cafeteria at lunch break, but she said she had a debate meeting. As I hurried to my next class, I knew that I had to take matters into my own hands. For the good of the team. And because Ebony and Shavaun shouldn’t be punished for something they weren’t responsible for.
There were two ways it could be done—tell Miss Barber directly, or confront Titan and Mitchell and make them confess.
I pondered my options, but fate had other ideas.
Chapter 2
HARPER
BEFORE LUNCH I WENTinto the bathroom to check my blood sugar levels. It was a regular part of my routine, though the inconvenience was annoying, especially as I was in a rush to tell everyone about Ebony’s revelation. I’d decided Maddie would know the best way to deal with it.
Testing my blood sugars meant pricking my fingertip with a small needle and using a meter to give me a reading. It took all of seconds, but it was still a nuisance. My levels fluctuated depending on what classes I had, how far I’d walked and what I’d eaten. Today I’d had to come from the photography block which had make me race around between classes, so my levels were slightly lower than normal. That meant I had to eat soon, like immediately.
I washed and dried my hands and rushed out—colliding directly with Mitchell Finlayson.
Only, I didn’t realize it was him at first. It was just someone in blue jeans and Converse. “Oops, sorry,” I said, readjusting my backpack, and that’s when I saw who it was.
“Hey,” he had mumbled, as he stepped across and kept walking in the direction I was headed.
“Mitchell?” I called. He turned back to me, a frown on his face, looking irritated that I’d made him stop. I took a few quick steps to reach him, fury making my heart rate elevate in the process. I had a humungous bone to pick with him. “Hey.”
His expression softened to one of curiosity. Considering we never engaged, it was to be expected. What wasn’t expected was howstunning his eyes were, a light hazel, or would you call it golden? I was momentarily mesmerized by the reflection of light, the coppery tones that looked almost supernatural.
He cleared his throat. “Harper?” I had gone mute, wondering how he knew my name, wondering where he’d gotten those eyes from, wondering what that boy fragrance surrounding him was. “What did you want?” he asked with impatience.
I blinked myself back to reality. My sugar levels must have been plummeting. “Hey, I heard you messed up the gym equipment room last night.” He started walking away; I scurried after him. “Hey,” my voice was louder and I pulled on the strap of his backpack which was dangling off of one shoulder. It forced him to a halt. “Hey, you got Ebony and Shavaun into trouble and now they’re banned from playing in the volleyball tournament.”
He looked down at my hand attached to his bag and forcefully pulled it from my grip. “Not my problem,” he said, striding away.
I carried on after him, an anger rising up inside of me. How dare he be so cavalier and not take ownership of his misdeeds.
