Page 47 of Cruel Prep (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 1)

“What in the heck is wrong with you, kiddo?” She sounds exasperated and disappointed, and I don’t want to tell her the truth. Mostly because I don’t even know what the truth is.

“It’s a misunderstanding,” I say, shaking my head and dropping my chin against my chest. “Can we talk about this later?”

“Not after school, since you’ll be in detention,” my mom says with a sigh. She wipes a hand down her face and then rests it on her hip.

She takes a deep breath, a sure sign that she is overwhelmed and trying to calm down before speaking to me. When she opens her eyes, she looks exhausted.

“I’ll meet you at the same spot after detention, and we’ll talk about it then, okay?”

Before she leaves, she points a finger at me, eyes narrowed. “And stay out of trouble.”

I watch her hurry back to her tasks, feeling sadder than I have in a long time. Even my own mom isn’t on my team anymore.

After that, I manage to keep a low profile for a few hours. Until gym.

I practically run to my last class of the day, hoping to get in and out of the locker room before Cora and her bitchy friends can corner me again.

I have a lock on my locker now, which will keep them out of my stuff, so I just have to focus on physically avoiding them.

This, however, turns out to be my mistake.

When I turn into my row of lockers, Cora is already sitting on the bench. Her head is down, her face hidden, and she is hunched over. Her shoulders are shaking, and I can hear soft crying sounds.

My brain screams at me to run in the other direction, but I find myself inching towards her like she is a wild animal I’m trying to catch.

“Go away.”

There are tears in her voice, and I don’t know what to do. Cora isn’t my friend. She has made that abundantly clear. Yet, I can’t just walk away without trying to comfort her.

Plus, in the back of my mind is the idea that maybe this could be the moment we mend bridges. Maybe we could form a truce right now if I’m nice to her.

So, I sit down next to her and gently lay my hand on her back. “What’s wrong?”

“Everything.” She sniffles and buries her face in her arms, her body practically folded in half. “I’ve been sleeping with this guy, and he is way out of my league. Like, a whole different stratosphere. I really like him, but he is ashamed to be seen with me in public.”

“Is it Mr. Henry?” I whisper.

“No!” she snaps, breaking out of her tears for a second before letting out a shuddery breath and sniffling. “Besides, it’s not even about him, really. My whole life is just fucking pathetic. My family is broke, I wear shitty clothes that don’t fit, and I’m so fucking boring that no one can stand to be around me.”

I frown, confused. Cora is insanely rich and wears expensive, skintight clothes like it’s her job.

Then Cora lifts her head, and I see she is smiling like a shark. Her lips are pulled back in a devious grin. “Oh wait. I forgot. That’s not my life. That’s yours.”

I hear footsteps in the hallway, and then the locker room door is thrown open. Mr. Woodson is calling my name. He sounds pissed.

Before I can answer, Cora pulls something from between her legs, shoves it in my hand, and darts away.

It’s a can of spray paint.

21

Lily

When Mr. Woodson turns the corner to my row of lockers, he sees the can in my hands.

His frown deepens into a scowl. He doesn’t ask any questions or make any demands. He simply curls his finger for me to follow him and leads me out of the locker room and towards the front office.

I want to cry out that I’d never do something like this. It’s just not who I am. At Ravenlake Prep, however, my reputation isn’t so spotless. The exact opposite, in fact.

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