We The Pretty Stars (Court High 4)

December

The ride back to Maywood Heights was a quick one. If anything, it was only made a smidgen longer by Jax, who not only chose to ride back to town and school with us but made Royal’s life a living hell by singing to every song that graced the radio. Frankly, I found the whole thing hilarious, a glimmer of joy in the fucked-up-ness that was about to go down the moment we returned home. We planned to visit the jewelry store sometime after school, and that’s when this whole thing would begin again.

Royal took the ride home in good stride, his arm around me while he drove, and I think the only reason he did put up with Jax was because he found that glimmer too. He wanted that lightness, the opposite of the dark that was about to take us all away again. Since we checked out so early, we’d been able to get on the road and ultimately, home before school began. I checked in with Dad right as we pulled up into the Windsor Preparatory parking lot. The academy was filled to the brim with students and poshness, all in their school uniforms. We were in ours too, something we’d packed, and the boys had changed as well before leaving the hotel.

“You made it in okay?” Dad actually checked in with me, hella serious I guess with his forty-eight-hour deadline. He’d wanted to make sure I arrived at school the way I said I would, and since I had, I attempted to chill him the fuck out. “December, did you hear me?”

Apparently, my attempt at chill was friggin’ shitty, and I lifted a hand to Royal to wait. He’d started to head toward the old, brick building filling up with students. Knight and LJ had tailed us the entire time back into the city, flanking my boyfriend, but they all stopped when Royal halted them. Royal tilted his head. “Everything okay?”

I covered my phone. “Yeah, just Dad freaking out,” I said, waving the group on. “It’ll take a second.”

But me waving them on wasn’t happening, the force of boys standing their ground. In the end, they came back, and I guess I wasn’t surprised. Too much had simply happened for them to leave me alone. They all stood there while my dad let in on me, but eventually, Royal dismissed his men in waiting when it really started to be a long time. He gave the boys fist pounds before slinging an arm around my waist and waiting. His scent immediately surrounded me as he rested his chin on my shoulder, possessive. I had a feeling that’s just how things were about to be.

I sighed into the phone, my dad doing his own possessive thing for some weird reason. “I’m fine, Dad. I made it home. I’m about to head into school.”

A few more moments and Royal lifted his watch, tapping at the time. We really didn’t have a lot of it before the class warning bells hit, and I understood that.

“I gotta get to class,” I urged into the line. “I’m right outside.”

“I understand that, but I’m not done yet. In fact, put me on FaceTime.”

Thrown, I blanched. “What?”

“I said put me on FaceTime, December, and I’m not joking.”

So obviously not, I did what I was told, and Royal stood back. Instantly, my dad’s face was on the phone screen, in some kind of office. I assumed his, a large window in the background. He also wore a suit and looked pissed the fuck off…

At least until he saw my face. Something visually settled there, and I didn’t understand. My lips parted. “Dad…”

“Show me the school.”

I did, angling the phone so he could see the flooded parking lot and later, the academy behind me. Seeing that, his broad shoulders relaxed too but stiffened a bit when Royal appeared into view. I knew this since I could see Royal as well on the screen with me in the background. He hadn’t gone far, just given me space for the call, but the moment he came into view on the screen, my dad’s expression changed again. Pissed the fuck off took on a new meaning, and I shifted to put Royal out of focus. I guess Dad wasn’t too keen on his baby girl running off into the night and taking time off school with her new boyfriend. I got that, but he was hella on right now.

Dad threw fingers through his hair and everything, dark like mine but obviously not as long. “Good,” he huffed. “Well, get off to it and call me when you get home.”

“Why?”

“Just do it, December,” he gritted. Pausing, he took a look around his office before focusing his attention back on me. “These are strange times, don’t you think? You should know. We lost your sister, didn’t we?”

That’s what he was worried about? Losing me? He hadn’t been concerned before.

“Okay,” I said. These definitely were strange times. I supposed Mira’s death put him over the edge, but she’d killed herself. “I will.”

“You will?”

“I will. I promise.”

“Okay.” This seemed to calm him down. He lowered the phone to stand on his desk, taking a seat. “Have a good day, then.”

“You too.”

He clicked me off, and after sliding the phone into my bag, I turned to find Royal. His arm fell around my shoulders again, and he took my book bag from me, slinging it on his shoulder with his.

“Any idea what that was about?” he asked during our strides, but since I didn’t, I could only shrug. I guess these strange times had finally made it into my house too, with my dad. Who would have thought?

Though the morning started off weird, at least first and second period settled back into some type of normalcy. The whispers had definitely been there, though, despite a little time past. Mira killing herself had justifiably set a tone, and Royal, Jax, LJ, Knight, and I weren’t spared from it. People talked. People gossiped about her, and I got to hear the whispers of it at the beginning and in between classes. The only place I was spared from it was in class and that’s because the teachers were lecturing and wouldn’t have the chatter. Any veer off of focus was quickly steered in the direction of numbers or text and continued that way until the end of second period for me that morning. Mr. Pool got a knock on his door, and he paused, beckoning in the person with a couple words. Something told me the English lit instructor didn’t expect our headmaster, Principal Hastings, to show up…

Nor the two members of campus security who accompanied him.