“Good.” I laugh harder.
“Shut up, Makayla!” Kaitlyn says harshly to her best friend. “I know you did this, Amelia, and you’ll pay.”
“Do what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know it was you, bitchface—” she starts.
“All right, listen here, you sparkly demon slut. I don’t know what you’re talking about so let’s just hold today’s confrontation to a few short minutes. Whatever it is you think I did,”—or what I actually did, but she’s got no proof—“I didn’t. I want to go to class today without causing a scene. If you have a problem with me, I ask that you please write it nicely on a piece of paper, fold it up, and shove it up your ass.”
My smile is so obviously fake that it makes the vein in her forehead bulge and I mentally high-five myself. Instantly, she loses her composure completely and lunges at me. Tossing my arms up in an X in front of my face, with my eyes closed, I brace for impact.
There is none.
Aiden’s got Kaitlyn’s forearms, holding them out and away from him as she tries to swing at me. I resist the urge to laugh as I lower my arms. It just looks so comical: this sparkly five foot five blond, with a bright-red face and crazy eyes, urgently trying to get past the six foot three muscular wall who looks like he’s extremely bored of the situation already and is not even breaking a sweat.
“You cocksucker!” she yells.
“No, I’m afraid that’s you, sweetie.” I smile sweetly at her as I peek around Aiden.
“ARGHH!” She lets out a battle cry, and Aiden holds her out a little farther from him.
She seems to realize who she’s battling to get to me before going slack and stopping altogether.
“You!” she accuses Aiden. “You helped her with this! You participated in tormenting me?”
She yanks her arms from his hands and he lets her go easily. “We are over, Aiden Parker! You hear me? Over! I want nothing to do with you!” she announces, then looks at Mason. “Any of you.”
Mason rolls his eyes. Aiden sighs and tells her for the umpteenth time, “We were never together.”
Kaitlyn shouts, “UGH!” and leaves with her friends, a mist of glitter trailing along behind them.
With the threat gone, my stomach drops as I realize some people in the crowd are recording. Immediately, I cover my face and turn my back to anyone holding up a phone. Aiden notices and steps in front of me.
“Get to class,” he orders, and like magic, the crowd disappears.
Right then, Noah bounds down the hall toward us, his smile fading as he realizes he just missed the drama.
“Shit! I told you I wanted to be here when the drama happens! All the fun stuff always happens when I’m not here.” He pouts.
The three of us glare at him, but this time he ducks before Mason can smack him upside the head for the fourth time this morning.
9
For the first couple of days, we were all on guard, worrying that Kaitlyn would enact some kind of revenge. But it’s been one whole week since Kaitlyn “broke up” with Aiden. Seven days of absolutely nothing interesting or significant happening. With the quiet lately, I don’t know if I should be worried or not. But Kaitlyn moves on pretty fast; she already found another guy to latch onto and obsess over. She’s been getting rides to and from school from some guy in a red Mustang. I don’t recognize him, and he doesn’t go to King City, but he looks around our age.
Kaitlyn may have moved on, but I don’t think she’s quite through with her vendetta against me. Good news is, the Boys have loosened up their watch on me since there appears to be no risk of an imminent attack, and I can now pee unchaperoned.
“Oh my God, have you seen this video?” Annalisa asks.
The eight of us are at our usual table, just starting our lunch period.
“What video?” Mason pulls his sandwich from his backpack.
“The one showing Kaitlyn going all ballistic and trying to attack Amelia in the hall after the glitter bomb prank.” Annalisa laughs, pulling out her laptop.
“What?” My face drains of color.
“Someone must have recorded it because it’s on Facebook.
Kaitlyn made such a fool of herself, it’s hilarious.” Annalisa’s now searching on her laptop to show us the video.
No, no, no, no, no, this isn’t happening.
“Am I in the video? Like, do you see my face?”
Shit, shit, shit, shit, this is not good.
No one seems to notice that I’m having a slight panic attack as we huddle together to watch the video. It begins when I call Kaitlyn a sparkly demon slut, my voice and face clearly visible, and ends when Aiden commands everyone to go to class. Everyone laughs, making comments about how ridiculous Kaitlyn looked or how red her face was or how unconcerned Aiden looked. No one notices that I haven’t spoken a word.
This video needs to be taken down before it screws everything up. No way in hell do I want to change schools again. My mom and I can’t go through that for a fourth time this year, and certainly not as a result of something stupid I’ve done—putting our lives at risk for a bitch and a glitter bomb. There are only so many airlines my mother can work for before she’ll start running into people she knows from before. Her resentment toward me is palpable every time she’s home for more than twenty-four hours. Plus, I actually like it here. I have really good friends whom I don’t want to lose.
“Who posted this video?” I demand in a serious tone.
Everyone stops talking and gives me a strange look.
“Ethan Moore,” Annalisa says slowly. “What’s wrong?”
“He needs to take it down.”
The video can’t be on the internet. Everyone has access to the internet. Anyone can see that video and see me in it and know where I am. And I bet Ethan hasn’t even restricted the privacy settings.
“Amelia, calm down,” Aiden says slowly, concern on his face.
Actually, everyone at the table is looking at me like Aiden is, their faces full of concern. What’s their problem? Why do I feel dizzy? Oh, I’m hyperventilating.
“Amelia? Don’t worry about the video. You look great in it, and it embarrasses Kaitlyn. She probably hasn’t seen it yet that’s why—ohh. You’re scared Kaitlyn’s going to see it and go ballistic?” Noah assumes.
Everyone takes Noah’s assumption and runs with it, talking at once.
Mason: “She won’t do anything, I promise.”
Annalisa: “If she tries something, we’ll kick her ass.”
Chase: “We’ll make sure you’re not alone.”
Charlotte: “She probably won’t even see it.”
Noah: “I better be there for the drama this time!”
Julian: “She won’t confront you again.”
“I don’t care about Kaitlyn!” I snap.
Around me, concerned expressions turn into looks of confusion.
“Okay,” Charlotte starts slowly. “What’s wrong, then? We’ll fix it.”
I freeze, realizing that I’m overreacting, which would betray at least some of the secrets I’m trying to keep. Honestly, they don’t know that it’s not just a video of me looking fierce and telling off Kaitlyn—they don’t know what’s at risk. My friends think this video is a good thing; another weapon in our arsenal to slight Kaitlyn.