“Give me a break,” Harper continued, rolling her eyes. “As if anyone in this school would listen to anything you have to say.”
Oh, they would listen.
And then Harper would pay.
“I’m proud and pleased today to make a supremely important announcement that will affect all of you in the student body of our fair Haven High.”
Kaia wasn’t paying much attention to the principal and her pompous speech. Principals were always going on about “supremely important”-aka supremely irrelevant-announcements. It was part of the job description, and Kaia was content to hold up the students’ end of the bargain: ignoring every word that came out of the principal’s mouth.
But today she was putting on a good show of listening raptly-it was the best way to avoid Jack Powell’s wandering eye.
“I have just learned that Haven High will be receiving a great honor. The governor of the esteemed state of California is setting off on a tour of the region’s finest educational institutions, and he has decided to visit Haven High! Yes, the governor himself is arriving in two weeks for a personal inspection of our facilities.”
Kaia would have snorted, were it ladylike to do so. The only state inspection this place deserved was the one that would condemn it. Peeling paint, creaky stairs, the mysterious stench that refused to dissipate-Haven High was a toxic waste dump masquerading as a high school.
With a few shining exceptions…
He was startlingly handsome, she’d give him that, she thought, watching Powell mingle with his balding, paunchy, middle-aged coworkers. He didn’t belong here, not with his rakish smile, thick, wavy, chestnut hair, that arrogant smile and Jude Law accent. It had been such a turn-on, watching the other girls pathetically slobbering over him, and knowing that she was the one he’d chosen. Although technically, she’d chosen him-and, with a little prodding, he’d finally embraced his good fortune.
“In honor of the governor’s arrival, one senior will be chosen by his or her peers to represent our fine school. He or she will deliver a speech on the subject of education-and I know he or she will do us all proud.”
Kaia was proud of her catch, and would have loved to put it on display. But Jack Powell’s policy was strict and unforgiving: In public, they ignored each other, without exception.
And yet, there he was, twenty rows ahead, craning his neck around and obviously searching for something-for Kaia. The irritated expression on his haughty face gave it away. She knew he hated the idea of chasing after anyone, but apparently he’d overcome his aversion: He’d left four messages on her voice mail since she’d ditched out on their last rendezvous, each one more incensed than the last.
“In preparation for the governor’s arrival, I will be instituting a no-tolerance policy for all violations of school regulations. I expect you all will honor the rules as you always have, and not embarrass the administration or yourselves through any juvenile misbehavior.”
Kaia, on the other hand, had always enjoyed the hunt. Extra points if she could break some rules in the process. Powell had been a special challenge, a cold, aloof trophy, whose acquisition had been fraught with the potential for scandal. Who’d have thought she be bored so quickly, willing to trade it all in for a greasy slacker in torn jeans, who reeked of pot and mediocrity?
“I look forward to reading your submitted speeches, and I know all of you at Haven High will look forward to this opportunity to shine for our state leadership.You’ll do me, and yourselves, proud.”
As the principal stepped down to a smattering of lackluster applause, Kaia grabbed her bag and slipped out the back of the auditorium. She knew Powell would never dare confront her on school grounds, much less in front of his boss-but why take a chance? She hadn’t decided quite what to do with him yet, and didn’t want to be forced into a decision. If the Reed thing blew over, it would be nice to have Powell ready and waiting on the back burner.
And if not… she’d let him down in her own time, and her own way. Gently.
Or, come to think of it, maybe not. After all, he liked it rough.
When the assembly ended, Beth zoned out for a moment, allowing herself to hope that her luck was about to change. If she was selected to deliver the speech to the governor, it could bulk up her college applications, and maybe even make up for her dismal SAT scores.
It was the first good news she’d gotten in weeks, and it gave her the strength to think about the future. She had to find a way to rebuild her life, without some guy to lean on. She’d done it before, but the prospect was still terrifying. Now, with this little kernel of confidence growing inside of her, maybe it was time to take the first step.
As the students filtered out of the auditorium, she followed a few feet behind a quiet, nondescript group of girls, careful not to let them notice her-but almost hoping they would. At least that would take the decision out of her hands.
She’d put this off for as long as she could, but being alone was just too hard. Miranda was useful, but she wasn’t a friend. Adam had been a friend. As had the rest of his crowd, she’d thought, all the guys on the team, their girlfriends. Turns out, it was a package deal. Lose Adam, lose them all.
“Hey, guys. What’s up?” She tried to make her voice sound nonchalant, smiling as if it had been only days since she’d last spoken to them and not-had it been weeks? Months?
“Beth?” Claire spoke first, as she always did. The other girls just stared at her with a mixture of hostility and confusion Beth recognized instantly. It was the look Beth had always flashed when one of the Haven elite had deigned to speak to her, inevitably with some kind of demand disguised as a not-so-polite request: Let me borrow your history notes. Let me copy your physics homework. Let me have the key to the newspaper office so I can hook up with my boyfriend. Those people only talked to you when they needed you, she and her friends had agreed. Those people. She’d never imagined that she would be one of them.
“What do you want?” Claire added, already half turned away.
“I just thought-” Beth hesitated. What did she want? To go back in time? Back before she’d skipped Claire’s Halloween party, to hang with her boyfriend, before she’d partnered up with Adam on the American history project, leaving Abbie to fend for herself? Before she’d abandoned their lunch table, skipped the annual anti-Valentine’s Day moviefest, forgotten Claire s birthday even though they’d celebrated it together since sixth grade? “I thought maybe we could…” But she couldn’t make herself finish the thought.
“Is it true you broke up with Adam because he slept with someone else?” Abbie suddenly asked. Beth took a sharp breath, and her eyes met Claire’s briefly-she looked equally shocked. Then Claire looked away.
“That’s so rude,” Claire snapped at Abbie, who, Beth remembered, always did what Claire told her to. “You can’t just ask incredibly personal questions like that to someone you barely know.”
Beth had known Abbie since they were parked in neighboring strollers at the Sun ’n’ Fun Day Care Center fifteen years ago, and Claire knew it.
“That’s okay,” Beth mumbled. “I don’t mind talking about it.” A lie.
“I heard you dumped him for Kane,” another girl piped up. She had mousy brown hair and a hideous orange sweater. My replacement? Beth wondered.
“No, she dumped him, too,” Abbie corrected her, then looked over at Beth. “Uh, right?”