Page 1 of Topping the Jock
Prologue
Quinn
Ten Years Ago
Montgomery Adams was an asshole.
His stupid, perfect hair. That goddamn cocky smile that never left his face. And his annoyingly smooth voice that he used to pester me and call me names.
Yep. I hated him.
I watched him and his football buddies come down the hall, grinning and talking shit as always. They acted like they owned the school. In a way, I guess they did. The teachers kissed their asses, and no matter how many tests they failed, they somehow passed all their classes. I moved aside to give them room to pass, but it only brought more attention to myself.
“Watch out, Specks,” Montgomery said, pushing me against the locker. It wasn’t hard enough to bruise, but still hard enough to tick me off.
“Damn nerd,” Zane said, pushing me a second time before they moved on.
My glasses had gone askew, and I fixed them as I glared at the jocks. The jabs at me were never anything too intense, mainly just shoves and name-calling. But still.
I’m a goddamn stereotype. Nerds versus jocks.
Montgomery had picked on me ever since middle school. Stealing my clothes from my locker after PE, pulling out my chair from the desk before I sat down, and then telling everyone I had leprosy when the new laundry soap my dad bought gave me a rash on my arms and neck. Monty was a big, stupid hunk of muscle and cockiness.
I would’ve given anything to see him knocked down a peg or two.
As I turned to my locker and grabbed the book for my next class, I imagined ways I could make Montgomery pay for all the years of hell. Of course I’d never actually have the guts to act out any of the scenarios. No, I’d never throw him into a locker—he was too big anyway—and I’d never trip him going down the stairs. Even if itwouldmake me laugh my ass off.
With only a minute until the tardy bell, I hustled down the hall and into Spanish class. Right when I walked through the door, a wad of paper hit me on the forehead and bounced into the trash can.
“Score!” Montgomery exclaimed, throwing up his arms.
His buddies laughed.
Sighing, I continued to my desk and sat down.
“Monty’s an ass,” Reed said, leaning over to me. He was my best friend and probably the only reason why I hadn’t gone insane yet. “Don’t let him get to you. Just think. Only one more month, and you’ll never see him again.”
“I’m counting down the days.”
Mrs. Hernandez walked into the room and started class, though only the students up front—myself included—paid attention. With it being so close to graduation, a majority of the seniors had started slacking off. They were sick of school and just wanted it to be over. Wanted to move on to bigger and better things.
For some, that was college. The chance to leave this town behind and start fresh.
After class, I rushed out of the room before Monty and his goons could pounce. Reed had band practice after school, so he threw his books into his locker, said he’d see me later, and took off down the hall toward the band room.
I shoved my history and science books into my backpack before slamming my locker and heading outside where the buses idled. I was one of the only seniors who still rode the bus, and yeah, it was just another thing the jocks rode my ass about.
“Hey, Becky!” Zane called out as he spotted me.
I ignored the stupid nickname and kept walking. My last name was Beck, and thanks to Montgomery, all his friends called me Becky. Thankfully, Zane saw Angel Velez and lost all interest in me.
“Hey, baby girl,” he said as he sidled up next to her.
Rolling my eyes, I continued down the sidewalk and across the grass toward the parking lot. I was almost to the bus when I remembered I needed to pick up my history project from Mr. Fulton’s class. He’d told me to do it a few days ago, and I kept forgetting.
“Shit.” I changed direction and went back inside the building. I was probably going to miss the bus, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’d had to walk home. One time, Monty’s friends had shoved me into a dumpster, and by the time I’d dragged my ass out of it, all the buses had left.
Good thing I didn’t live too far away from the school.
