Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 129986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
But when people do shit that crazy and you have to try to respond to it, more often than not, you come off looking like the crazy one.
Chapter one
Aubrey
It’s days later at school when one of Satan’s little helpers approaches me.
I’m standing in the cafeteria line. I blink a few times when I realize the girl who stopped in front of me isn’t just waiting for a crowd to ease so she can sneak past—she approached me on purpose and is waiting for me to look at her.
So I do. We’ve never spoken, but I know her name is Mallory Cantrell. She’s pretty, her curly hair tied up in a high pony, her Easter green top showcasing her cleavage even though it’s against the school dress code.
“Hey. Aubrey, right?”
Cautious, I nod.
She smiles, her straight white teeth standing out against her dark complexion. “I thought so. I’m Mallory.”
“I know.”
“Right.” She doesn’t pretend to be surprised that I’m sure of her name, but she wasn’t sure of mine. “We met at the store the other day. Kind of. I was there with Anae.”
The line moves ahead of me so I take a step forward.
She moves with me. “Anyway, I wanted to say sorry about her whole demonstration of psycho bitchiness.”
I crack a smile since she’s being nice. If I were in her shoes, I’d be embarrassed, too. Of course, if I were in her shoes, I would have said something at the store when my friend was in desperate need of a Snickers. “It’s okay, not your fault.”
“She’s really used to getting her way, so when she doesn’t, she has no clue how to deal with it.”
“Her parents clearly haven’t done the world any favors there.”
Mallory smiles, dropping her gaze. “Yeah, so I thought I’d extend an olive branch. Tomorrow night, we’re all meeting up at Anae’s boyfriend’s house for a party. You should come. Bring a friend. It’ll be fun. There will be drinks and pizza and lots of cool people. He has a killer pool, so bring a bikini.”
That’s definitely not going to happen, but just in case Mallory also isn’t accustomed to being told no, I flash her a smile. “Thanks. I’ll see if I’m free, maybe I’ll stop by.”
She blinks. “Oh.” Momentarily lost for words, she looks around as if for some cue from a stage manager on what she’s supposed to do next. Poor thing, she’s a marionette with no puppet master.
“Was there something else?” I ask.
Her gaze snaps back to me, her pretty face set in a frown. “I don’t know. I don’t feel like we’re cool. Maybe you could sit with us today.”
“No, thanks.” I say it with a smile so she’s not offended, but I can’t imagine anything less enjoyable than sitting with our school’s answer to The Plastics. Besides, I have more important stuff to do.
Her frown deepens with annoyance and confusion. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. No offense. I appreciate the invite, I just kinda like having my lunch break to decompress and eat my food. I don’t like sitting with people.”
“That’s… so weird.”
The line moves, so I step forward and shrug. “I guess.”
She looks back over her shoulder. This time, I follow her gaze and see she’s looking to Anae for some clue as to what she should do next.
Anae’s eyes bulge at her with wordless reprimand, as if she’s gone off-script and Anae isn’t happy about it.
That’s not suspicious at all.
Mallory turns back to me, opens her mouth like she’s going to say something else, then promptly turns and walks back to her table without another word.
“Poor thing short-circuited.” I shake my head, amused at my own commentary, and shift my focus to the food behind the counter. I haven’t decided what I want to eat yet, but I’m starving, so I really wish this line would hurry up.
___
When the school day ends, I make my way home as quickly as possible.
I have a lot to do tonight. So much that just thinking about it exhausts me, but I suck it up and paint a smile on my face as I head inside with my school bag slung over my shoulder.
Mom is sitting on her recliner in the living room. I flash her my brightest smile. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hey, honey. How was school today?”
“School was good,” I tell her.
I consider letting her know I was invited to a party just so she has the impression my peers like me, but I decide not to. Knowing her, she would tell me to go and have fun, and there’s no way I’m going to that party. I’d rather spend my weekend with her doing what we already planned to do.
Dropping my bag from my shoulder, I tell her, “I’m going to take a quick shower and decontaminate, then I’ll get dressed and we can start dinner.”