Page 63 of Magical Academy for Delinquents
Chapter 25
I hadto meet Potts at the front of the school. She was staring at the butterfly fountain when I walked out and found her.
“Little cheesy, don’t you think?” she asked, jerking her head toward the butterfly fountain.
“Lotta cheesy.”
She eyed me in my skinny jeans and one of Matthew’s old sweatshirts. “You look a little rough.”
I shrugged. “I have detention later today, and apparently detention here means free manual labor, so they don’t have to hire extra staff.”
Potts grinned. “Then they’re doing it right.” She clapped me on the shoulder and turned me around. “Gimme the grand tour.”
I walked her through the admin building, pointing out all the boring things adults liked to know—like the low recidivism rate of graduates—stuff I’d accidentally memorized from the website after visiting it so much.
Potts’s eyes scanned the place and then slid over me. “Not bad.” She hefted her red and grey boho jacket up her hips and shoved her hands in the knitted pockets. “Tell me more about that guy you were mad about last week.”
I smiled thinly at her. “We worked it out. Happy?”
Her eyebrows rose. “How?”
“We sang Kumbaya and ate marshmallows around a campfire. This place likes to do wholesome stuff like that.”
Behind me, one of the other students snickered. I turned to look at the guy and Potts flicked my nose. “Don’t do that,” she warned, “Or I’ll have to bust out the cat videos. I took several this week, knowing I was going to come see you.”
I led her through the quad, dodging around different huddles of students. I noticed Grayson’s posse was missing their fearless leader. That brought a smile to my face. Guess he hadn’t figured out how to unravel my dick tick. I really hoped he didn’t. I wanted nothing more than to see his face all contrite and pleading … possibly on his knees as he apologized.
“Well, that’s a conniving face you have there. You don’t happen to be thinking about that Mars boy, do you?” Potts asked as she grabbed a stick of gum. She offered me one, but I refused, cocking my head and staring at her until she divulged, “Your mom said you have a big crush on that loser.” Potts shook her head. “I don’t believe it.” She smacked her gum between her teeth.
Speak of the devil and he shall… Grayson Mars whipped around the corner of Building A. He was dressed all in baggy sweats. He yanked on my arm and pulled me toward him as Potts exclaimed, “Hey, you prick!”
Her choice of words was just to poetic. I couldn’t help but laugh. I laughed so hard I almost didn’t hear Grayson’s apology.
“I’m sorry,” he said, just as Potts came barreling into him. She wasn’t strong enough to knock him over, but she shoved that shoulder into him like she believed she could. She had enough force to make him stumble sideways and clutch his aching, rock hard dick. “Owww!”
Potts froze when she realized I was laughing, not scared about being manhandled. Her eyes traveled from me to Grayson, taking in the giant swollen balloon inside his pants, and then traveling back to me, a million questions written all over her scarred face. “What—?”
I ignored her, focused solely on Mr. Mars. I held a hand to my chest in mock confusion. My bitch persona slid onto my face in full force. And I felt comfortable again. I hadn’t gotten to play with bitchy face too much since I’d come to MAD. I missed her. “Wait, I’m sorry. I thought you were saying something. But I was laughing so hard I couldn’t hear it.”
His eyes narrowed and I could see his temper flare, but he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Hayley, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what Laura did to you. And for what I did.”
A weird slurping, popping sound occurred and Grayson’s eyes widened. He reached into his pants.
Potts freaked, swinging her purse to hit his shoulder. “Do not take that thing—”
She stopped talking when Grayson’s hand emerged from his sweatpants clutching a red round ball. It could have been confused with a water balloon, if not for the strange sheen and the wriggling legs. Grayson dropped the tick on the ground, and it exploded with a splat. Blood stained the sidewalk.
He and Potts both jumped back. I smacked a hand over my mouth, torn between laughter and complete disgust.
Grayson shook his head and walked off. But he called over his shoulder, “Don’t think this is over!”
I gave him my signature wave.
Potts dug a tissue out of her purse and pressed it to her nose as she asked, “Hayley, what the hell is going on? And what was that? God … the smell.”
I led her away toward the trees. “That’s just how Grayson and I show affection. We’re big on pranks.”
“That didn’t look like a prank. That looked like an alien bug—”
