Page 52 of It's in the Contract
“That’s—that’s—” I’m about to say that’s not true, but I can’t get the words out.
“Callie’s not like that,” Zeke says, and my heart warms. “She really cares.”
Emma studies me intensely. “Prove it.”
“Umm . . .” What do I do here? Emma’s partially right, and guilt makes my stomach squirm. A crazy idea comes to my head, and I act on it before I can think better.
“Come with me to Brielle Williams’ party,” I say.
Emma’s chewing freezes, and Tina stares at me. Taylor continues to flap his hands and rock back and forth.
“I mean it,” I say. “It’s the party of the year, and it’s a lot of fun.”Despite who throws it,I don’t add.
“Can you even do that?” Emma asks. “It’s not your party.”
“Brielle lets people invite their friends,” I say. “I . . . I want you to come with me. It’s time to change things at our school, to push down the wall between all our groups. That’s what I really want, Emma. Will you help me do it?”
Emma watches me, her expression unreadable. “We’ll think about it.” Her voice sounds like she’s softened, but maybe I’m just imagining it.
Oh wow. What have I done?
I hear a cry of outrage behind me, and I whirl to see Brielle with Katrina close behind. Brielle places her phone in her cross-body bag with a sneer. I can only guess that she was checking the voting site, and pride flits through my stomach.
Brielle pointedly ignores me; instead she giggles and points at Taylor. “What’s wrong with him?”
My mouth drops open, and fury burns within me. “How dare you say that?” I say, stepping between Taylor and Brielle. “There’s nothing wrong with him. Brielle, you are such a—a?—”
“Fool of a Took!” Taylor says.
Brielle steps closer, fire in her eyes. “What?”
“Let’s go, Callie.” Zeke takes my arm and leads me toward the lunchroom. I shove the test into my backpack and follow him, but I can feel Brielle’s eyes on my back.
Emma looks outraged, but she gives me a nod when we walk by, so that’s something. She takes Taylor by the arm and pulls her friends away.
“Zeke, what an adorable shirt,” Brielle says. “My grandpa has one just like it.”
Zeke freezes, and I want to urge him on, to spare him from Brielle’s acid.
“Shut up, Brielle.” I pull Zeke away without a better comeback.
“You’re ahead for now, Callie!” Brielle calls. “But it’s not going to last.”
Twenty
Stumbled across this pic of me walking onstage to win Miss Plus Size Washington last year. Cue the happy tears.
SnapChat by @briellewilliamsplus.
I setdown the chemistry book with a sigh. My head pounds, and I don’t know how I’m going to memorize all the ways to balance equations before my test tomorrow.
Nerd,my traitor heart whispers.
Zeke leans back in his chair and stretches, narrowly missing knocking over his D&D setup, which he’s arranged on half of the table now so we can use the other half. “You’re going to nail it tomorrow. Chemistry is basically just math. Remember that.”
“General chem was math. This is organic chem, and it’s all memorizing! I’m horrible at that.” I put my head in my hands on Zeke’s desk. My elbow bumps a figurine of a dragon. I see its toothy grin out of the corner of my eye.
Zeke smiles. “You’re better at it than you think.”
