Page 34 of Cruel Academy (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 2)

She raises a manicured brow and slicks her tongue over her lips. “No gag reflex. I’m safe.”

“Am I supposed to be impressed?” If so, she failed. I’m nauseated.

“No. I just thought you might be looking for a few pointers from someone who has been with a Golden Boy before.” She shrugs. “Undoubtedly, you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by the previous competition.”

Penny is talking absolute nonsense. At first, I was momentarily grateful for the distraction.

Now, I’m just bored.

“Maybe it would help if we just cleared the air,” I say. “Why don’t you tell me all of the things you hate about me, and I’ll do the same for you? That way, we don’t have to play this little game every day. I’ll go first.”

She opens her mouth to argue, but I start talking before she can say anything.

“First, and most importantly, you hate me for no other reason than that my family hasn’t always been rich. It’s very shallow and stereotypical of you. I’m disappointed in your lack of original thought.” I hold up a second finger. “Second, you pit women against one another. You don’t know me, but you hate me because of the aforementioned reason and because I am friends with the Golden Boys, who you have some mysterious sexual past with. You assume men and women can’t be friends without something sexual going on between them, and that kind of thinking is barbaric and outdated.” I take a quick breath and hold up a third finger. “Lastly, your voice. You speak in a fake, nasally kind of way and it send shivers down my spine.”

Penny’s cheeks are red, her lips pursed in silent outrage.

I fold my hands on the table in front of me and smile up at her. “There. Now, it’s your turn. Get it all out.”

The two girls behind her are bland. No wonder she chose them as friends.

Penny absolutely seems like the kind of girl who likes to be the most vibrant, the most beautiful in the room. The kind of person who, if her friends were beauties, she’d hate them for it.

She likes these girls because they look to her with fearful eyes, like prairie dogs poking their heads out of the burrow, checking to see if it is safe for them to come out.

They rely on her.

And Penny likes being relied upon.

In so many ways, she reminds me of John. She belittles other people to raise herself up.

Little does she know, I am sick of being someone else’s stepping stool towards self-worth.

“That’s hilarious,” Penny finally says, forcing a smile on her face. “If you’re ‘friends’ with the Golden Boys, then I guess half the girls in this school are, too. You aren’t special, new girl. Just because they want to fuck you, it doesn’t make you suddenly worthy of our time.”

I frown. “You are confused. I’m not fucking anyone.”

Penny tips her head to the side and gives me a patronizing smile, her brows pulled together in mock concern. “Even though you said some not very nice things, I guess I’ll have to be the bigger person and teach you a lesson about how things work around here.” She leans towards me, palms flat on the table, her voice lowered in a shouted whisper. “The Golden Boys kiss and tell. We all know your dirty little secret.”

I know what Penny’s saying is completely false, but my heart speeds up anyway. “I don’t have a secret. Nothing is going on.”

She rolls her eyes and stands up, crossing her arms over her chest. “Enough with the holier-than-thou bullshit. Everyone already knows you’re Caleb’s whore, so it’s better to just embrace it at this point. He’s telling everyone.”

My stomach twists. “Caleb?”

Penny’s eyes go wide with intrigue. “Have you already slept with more of them? Oh, my God. This is too good.”

“No. I haven’t. I’m not.”

I reach for my lunch tray but fumble the edge and drop it back to the table. My milk tips sideways, spilling across the table.

Penny and her friends jump back with a yelp, trying to protect their shoes from the encroaching puddle.

I use the opportunity to dart away.

As I walk across the cafeteria, I feel even more eyes than normal on me. It might just be paranoia, but my skin crawls with the judgments I imagine are being hurled at me.

I need to find Caleb now.

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