“Look.” He gestures to my right.
I turn my head, seeing people circle around the lawn, and we both drift over to the edge of the sidewalk, reading the huge message, in big, silver letters, spray-painted on the grass.
Lyla got lost, got her salad tossed
In the men’s locker room last night.
Someone was in awe, fucking her raw,
But who could it be? It wasn’t J.D.
“Oh, shit,” Ten whispers, surprise heavy in his voice.
I stare at the words on the lawn, my mouth going dry with a sudden urge to laugh.
Uh, okay.
Who the hell…?
Students crowd around, gasping and laughing, some taking pictures, while Ten and I back away.
“That’s the first time he ever got personal by naming names,” Ten says.
“Who?”
“Punk,” he answers as if I should know. “Now we know it’s someone who goes to school here. Someone who knows us.”
I groan inwardly.
Yeah, but “Punk” always signs their messages.
This is getting out of hand.
I hear a noise and look up to see one of the janitors rolling a pressure washer outside and trying to maneuver it down the stairs.
“Let’s go,” I tell Ten.
We walk into school and pass groups of students surrounding more messages on the walls, these ones signed.
You kissed my hair while sticking me in the heart.
But your house will break before I fall apart.
-Punk
I see a couple of girls take out pens and add more under the lines, dissing old boyfriends and writing things like,
Yeah, Jake.
I hold back my laugh.
“This is killing me,” Ten exclaims as we make our way to our lockers. “I want to know who Punk is, and I want in.”
I snort. Leave it to Ten. Of course Lyla is our friend, but Ten knows as well as I do that what’s written on the lawn isn’t a lie, and I’m sure he’s excited to see the showdown with J.D.
“I’ve got to hunt that bitch down and find out who she was in the locker room with,” Ten says as he stops in front of his locker.
I keep walking, calling over my shoulder, “See you at lunch.”
I’m sure no one will discover whom Lyla was messing around with last night. She probably won’t even admit it’s true.
Coming up in front of my new locker, I key in the combination and open it, glancing to my left and noticing another janitor scrubbing away another message on the wall. He’s erased the first few words already, but I know what it says.
You loved me, we were besties, I lent you my eye shadow.
But someday all you’ll be is someone I used to know.
-Punk
And underneath is a collage of ripped-out yearbook pictures from last year, showing sports teams and groups of students smiling at rallies and games, hugging and laughing with each other.
I hang up my bag in my locker and take out the travel size nail polish remover from the shelf. Glancing around to make sure no one is looking, I walk over and hold it in front of Mr. Thompson, the janitor.
“Nail polish remover will take off anything,” I suggest, seeing his face sweaty and red from the exertion of scrubbing so hard.
He pinches his eyebrows together, probably taken aback by my being nice for once. Not that I’ve ever talked to him, but I may have missed the trash can a few times when tossing away my Starbucks cups. But he accepts the bottle, nodding in thanks.
Luckily nothing used to write on the walls is permanent, but it’s still a hassle for the cleaning staff. Not that I care, but…
I turn to go back to my locker, but my eyes instantly lock with Masen’s, and I pause. He’s leaning against the lockers across the hall, watching me with his arms crossed over his chest and a curious expression in his eyes.
Has he been there the whole time?
I force myself to ignore him and start grabbing my books out of my locker for my first class.
“There you are.”
I turn and see Lyla, looking a little worse for wear. There’s sweat on her brow, and her cheeks are flushed. I hear her phone buzzing. “What happened to your other locker?” she asks.
I raise my eyebrows at her. Is she really going to act like there’s not a big, flaming slap to her face on the school’s front lawn right now?
Oooookay.
“Someone broke into it,” I answer, turning back to my locker. “Was it you? After my black Bebe top?”
She tosses me a dirty look. “Like it would fit. I’m softballs, and you’re baseballs, babe.”
I hold back my eye roll as I stuff what I need in my bag, making sure I have my water bottle. I cast a quick glance behind me and see that Masen is gone.
Lyla’s phone keeps buzzing, and I don’t know if it’s Facebook notifications or J.D. burning her up, but I really don’t care.
Some girls pass by, covering their mouths with their hands, and Lyla shoots them a scowl. “Bite me, bitches,” she growls. And they look away, carrying their smirks with them as they walk down the hall.
Manny Cortez comes up behind her and tries to open his locker, but she turns around, facing both of us. “Well, well, well, maybe it was Manny who broke into your locker. Did you need some lipstick to go with that eyeliner?”
I see his expression harden as he keeps his back to her and doesn’t respond.
“Nah,” I step in, shutting my locker. “Two different color palettes. I’m a Mountain Sunset. He’s A Smokey Night.”
Lyla laughs but then she stops when we hear a yell.
“Heads up!”
We both dart our eyes upward and see a football flying down, coming straight for us. We scurry back, but there’s no need. The ball slams into the left side of Manny’s head, and he’s knocked to his right, his hand immediately shooting to cover his ear as he winces in pain.
“Oh, shit.” Trey runs up to us, laughing. “Sorry, dude. I honestly didn’t mean it. This time,” he adds.
I watch as Manny breathes hard, his black eyebrows wrinkled up in pain. He brings his hand away from his ear, and I see blood. My eyes go wide, and I suck in a breath.
Oh, my God.
Is that coming from his ear or out of it? Before I can find out, though, Manny slams his locker door shut and charges off, disappearing into the bathroom as the bell sounds off.
“Nice going, asshole,” I scold.
“Hey, it was an accident.”
I see him cast a look at Lyla, and then I see J.D. pop up behind him as all of the students hurry to class.
“Get in class,” J.D. tells Lyla, his jaw flexing.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. I’ll finish talking to you later.”
She stands there, looking angry, but I don’t stick around to watch the outcome.
Walking past them, I head to Art, but I don’t see Masen in his seat. And by the time the bell rings, he’s still not there.
I just saw him in the hall. How does he get to just come and go as he likes and skip classes?
Luckily, though, Trey isn’t crashing class, either, so I make it through the entire period getting work on Misha’s cover done and being left entirely alone.
Even Manny is missing, probably having gone to the nurse to get his ear checked. I hope he’s okay. That had to hurt.
After class ends, I make my way to English, weaving through students as I slip into the classroom. Masen is sitting in his seat, and I pause, taken aback.
Jesus.
What does he do? Put in appearances whenever he feels like it?
No books again, no visible pencil, and looks like he just showed up because he has nothing better to do. Isn’t he worried about graduating?
“Alright, take your questionnaires and go set the rest of your things down,” Mr. Foster instructs as we file into the room and he passes out papers. “And don’t forget to take a pencil. Once I call your names, you can pair up, take your things to the library, and begin working.”
Oh, that’s right. It’s Research Day.
Once in a while, Foster sends us to the library to let us work on our skills. He pairs us up, hands us a worksheet of information to find, and then we’re on our own for the whole period. It’s a reason to get out of class. I never complain.
“Lane, Rodney, and Cooper,” Foster calls from his roster.
Three students stand up, take their materials, and leave the room.
“Jess, Carmen, and Riley.”
He keeps going, one group after another, as the room slowly empties, and my nerves start to turn anxious when I realize there’s only a handful of people left, including Masen and me.
Please not him.
But Foster calls the next group. “Ryen, J.D., and Trey.”
I let out a breath of relief.
“Hell, yeah,” J.D. boasts, and I see him swipe a high-five at Trey next to him. I start to stand up, taking what I need.
“And last two…” Foster announces. “Lyla and Masen.”
I falter for only a moment and then swing my bag over my shoulder, hurrying out of the classroom.
Lyla and Masen.
Great
. She won’t be able to control herself.
I step out of the classroom, hardening my expression. Why do I even care? I don’t like him. I don’t give a damn if she flirts with him, which she’ll definitely do, so let her have at it. Fine.
She’s J.D.’s problem anyway.
And it doesn’t matter. Someone else already has my heart, and Masen Laurent isn’t him. He’ll never be Misha.
“My parents are out of town in a couple weeks,” Trey jogs up to me and places his hand on my waist as we walk. “I’m having a party, and I want you there.”
“Yeah, the pool’s heated,” J.D. adds behind us.
I look back, seeing Lyla and Masen following us, Masen’s eyes on me.
“Yeah, I know,” I tell J.D. “I’ve been in it. Remember?”
“Great,” Trey chimes back in. “So bring a swimsuit. Or don’t. Either way.”
Heat blankets my back, and I suddenly feel surrounded. I cast a quick glance back again, and I see Masen looking away as Lyla chats about something, but then he must sense me looking, because he meets my eyes again.
Trey follows my gaze, noticing my attention is not on him. Before I even realize my mistake, he whips around and grabs Masen by the collar, throwing him into the lockers.
“Hey,” he says in an overly friendly voice. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Trey Burrowes. You’re Masen Laurent.”
J.D., Lyla, and I stand and watch as Masen remains still, simply staring at Trey.
“Now that that’s over,” Trey goes on, closing in and getting in his face. “Let’s get a few things straight.”
“What the hell are you doing?” I inch closer.
“Yeah, Trey, come on,” J.D. speaks up. “He’s a good guy.”
But Trey just holds up his hands. “Relax. We’re just having a talk. I promise.”
I look down and see Masen’s fingers curl into fists, but he doesn’t move as Trey and he stand eye to eye.
“Now you’ve been having a little fun with my girl in class, and I also hear you were hassling her in the parking lot yesterday,” Trey states. “Whatever bullshit you’ve got going on stops now. Leave her alone.”
Masen’s gaze flickers to me, and a weight hits me in the chest. His eyes look sharp and angry at first, but that seems to change to disappointment along with something else. Sadness, maybe?
What’s going on in his head? Why is he looking at me like that?
“Don’t look at her,” Trey growls, getting in Masen’s face. “What’s the matter? You can’t speak?”
“What’s going on?”
We all turn to see Principal Burrowes standing in the middle of the hallway, her black suit and burgundy blouse crisp and ironed.
Trey stands up straight and backs off Masen. “Nothing, Gillian,” he mocks his stepmom and then looks back to Masen. “We’re cool. Right?”
Masen’s eyes are on the floor, and he doesn’t speak.
“Where are you supposed to be?” Burrowes asks Trey.
But I answer instead. “Foster is sending us to the library to research.”
“Then move.”
I nod, and we all quickly start walking down the hall.
“You, too,” I hear her say behind us, probably to Masen.
Why didn’t he do anything? Not that Trey’s a small guy he could easily take, but I get the impression Masen has been in fights before. He’s volatile and impulsive, so why did he hold back?
We jog up the stairs and enter the library. All of the other students are already here, whispering, moving about, and gathering the materials they need. Some are on the computers, and some are in the stacks. Our library consists of two floors and a nice view into the main level from the balcony up above. I dump my bag on a table toward the back and see Lyla and Masen take seats two tables up.