Page 43 of Enemies to Prom Dates
“WTF?” I barked at him, but he just walked away, laughing.
We finally made it to class, and I took a seat with Janie right in front of me. Immediately, she turned with a confused expression on her face.
“What was that?”
Locke had come in behind us and took the seat next to me.
“I have no clue, but it’s not a coincidence,” I said. I was both angry and had this odd sense of dread. Wick’s attack was definitely deliberate. Was Jeff’s, too?
Why me?
“They’re intimidating you,” Locke said.
I blinked at him, realizing he was talking to me.
“Harassing you. Bullying you. Giving you the business. Is this not translating to American?”
“How do you even know what happened?”
“I saw it. I see a lot of things. I heard about it, too. I hear a lot of things as well. It’s amazing what people will say in front of a complete stranger when they don’t realize that stranger is listening to every word.”
“What do you know?” Janie asked bluntly.
“I know that your friend is hosting a fashion show that people in some circles feel she’s unqualified for, i.e. not quite popular enough. The expectation was that her role would go to a young woman named Anne. They have petitioned Miss Havisham to replace you, but she told them to go pound sand. So they’re attempting to intimidate you until you give up the part.”
“Fucking Snobs,” Janie muttered. “Really, they would do this? Over a fashion show?”
“Apparently it’s one ofthemajor events of the semester,” Locke said, his lips twisted into a smirk. “This school…is unique.”
The fury inside me raged. I didn’t give two shits about their stupid fashion show. For me, it was nothing more than a night when I wouldn’t be working a shift at The Club. I was fine with them wanting to replace me. But to physically bump me around like some damn doll?
“I’m quitting today.”
Janie shook her head. “You can’t quit. That’s just letting them win. Stand your ground. Fight!”
“Not everything is worthy of a battle, Janie,” I said. “I’m not fighting for something I don’t care at all about on principle. They want their show to themselves, let them have it. I’ve got more important things to care about.”
She huffed and faced the front of the classroom. I knew I’d disappointed her, but I didn’t care. This was not my hill to die on.
The teacher started class and I tried to focus on the material but it was nearly impossible. Beyond being furious I knew I was going to have tell Fitz, who was probably going to give me his own brand of grief. I didn’t want to look weak in front of him, but I meant what I told Janie. I didn’t care enough about this to even try to stand my ground.
I glanced over at Locke who appeared highly bored by the subject matter. He seemed utterly checked out, but I started to wonder if it wasn’t an act. If instead of just letting his eyes roam around the room because he could care less about what the teacher was saying, he was actually taking in what everyone in the class was doing at that moment.
I did my own glance around the room and I could see there were people who had their not-approved-for-in-class phones tucked inside text books. Others, with phones under the desk, who were texting.
Two classmates, Erica and Brent, who were clearly texting each other based on the way one texted, stopped, then the other texted and stopped. Interesting. Brent was Snob and Erica was a Havenot. Did anyone know they were dating?
Locke leaned over toward me and whispered, “It’s fun, isn’t it?”
I jerked at his words. Obviously, he’d been watching me as I’d watched the others.
It made him a little creepy and a little scary.
I ignored his taunt and went back to not paying attention to the teacher but rather planning what I was going to say to Fitz.
Class ended and Janie headed off to her next class, while I made my way to Fitz’s locker. I’d knew he’d be there because his next class was a free period so he would need to drop off some books and pick up new ones.
“Hey,” I said in way of greeting.
