Page 80 of Jerk
“Fake.
“You’ll drown without me.”
I’ll show him. I’ll show both of them. I’m an empire on my own.
“Dean Patel will see you immediately,” Priscilla says, her voice stern. She looks at me like she’s still pissed about storming Patel’s office. That only makes my cheeks burn more. Standing tall, I thank her before moving to the office.
Is that with this is about? Is he about to bring me down again?
“Miss Alfonso,” Dean Patel greets. “Thank you for joining us.” But it's hard to keep my head high when I see who’s sitting in front of her desk.
Krystal and her mother, Michelle Nam, turn their heads to the door.
Any relief I felt from standing up to Rye disappears as I take another step into the office. Krystal has tears in her eyes, but when my eyes lock on her, I don’t miss the small curve of her lip. Just like her brother’s smirk. Her mother rubs her back, her glare hardening the longer I stand in the doorway.
“I’m so sorry to be seeing you with such disturbing news,” Patel says. “I’ve just received a video from Krystal showcasing an act of vandalism to Nam-Rowen Property.”
The floor tilts. “I-I don’t have any idea what you’re talking ab?—”
“I’m sorry, Hannah,” Michelle Nam says with a shrug as blasé as her son. “The school got word.”
Dean Patel pushes her tablet towards the edge of the desk. The same one Ryung had me against. She signals for me to look at the video.
And there’s no going back.
It’s security footage of Michelle Nam’s home studio. Specifically, footage of my lighter held to her fabric, Rye pressed against me.
My mouth dries, my mind flying a million miles per second as I try to grasp the situation.
“I’ve already lost the internship,” I say, my voice cracking.Weak. “I’ve taken ownership, but I can explain what really happened.” Trying to hide how flustered I am is impossible, my face as hot as the footage on her screen.
“I’m sorry, Hannah, but thanks to Krystal, we’ve implemented a zero-tolerance policy that your actions breach.”
“I’ve not been myself.” I glance between Krystal and Michelle before settling my eyes on Dean Patel. “Things have gotten stressfully complicated in my personal life, and it’s made me act out of character.”
“From what I understand from Krystal, thisisyour character, Miss Alfonso,” Dean Patel says. “All those girls you bullied? You had us fooled.”
“Yes, I know, my past is spotted, but?—”
“That’s enough, Hannah,” Dean Patel holds up a hand. “I’m sorry. You’re suspended until further notice.”
“I feellike I’m in a spy movie,” Ember says, the warmth of Mac’s Bugatti doing nothing to calm the shivers rolling through me.
The moonlight shines on the Rowen Estate, fog clouding it like a warning.
I shouldn’t be here.
My chest is tighter than Ember’s grip on the steering wheel, and I haven’t taken a full breath in hours.
I called Ember right after the meeting with Dean Patel and told her the plan.
Mac has a loyal girlfriend, and it shows the way she hardly asked any questions. I don’t know what she told Mac to get his car again but she showed up. She always shows up. That’s saying more than my posse. That’s saying more than Rye. That’s definitely saying more than my parents.
A buzzer sounds, the Rowen’s gate slowly opening in front of us.
“You sure you want to do this?” Ember asks. “I thought Michelle already knew you started the fire. How did you only get suspended for it now?”
“It wasn’t Michelle’s decision,” I reply, my eyes on the dark path leading to the glassy modern home. “It was the school’s. Michelle didn’t want me to have the internship, but Krystal doesn’t want any chance of me taking over campus. So,she clearly leaked the video to Dean Patel to stop that from happening.”
