The Original Crowd (A Whole New Crowd 0.50)

Amber scoffed, “Then whose bed were you in this weekend?”

“We’re not dating,” I said firmly. We weren’t. Hello. Screwing around and dating are totally different.

“Whatever,” Amber shot out. “You get on your high horse about us—we don’t do half the shit that you do.”

I went livid at that one.

“Excuse me?” I asked softly, my eyes narrowed.

“Like it was just ‘by chance’,” air quotes, “that the Monday after Mandy and Devon break up, our school gets canceled. Just a pure coincidence, I’m sure!” she cried out sarcastically. “And I wonder how Pedlam got broken into. Seriously. Doesn’t Pedlam have some tight security? And someone just happened to break in and mess up their stuff.”

“Amber,” Mandy hissed.

But Amber was pissed. “And Friday night. Where were you? Not at the game. Not with your ‘boyfriend’ who you asked to take two of your ‘charitable’ cases to Carter’s party.”

“You got something to say?” I asked, through gritted teeth. I was so holding back. My nails were cutting into my arms, there’d be blood pretty soon.

“We heard some evidence got destroyed. My cousin’s a cop in Pedlam,” she exclaimed.

I laughed. And I knew it sounded awful, but I was beyond caring. I had started this, yes, but the girl had to go down.

I stood and said tightly, “You’ve got some fucking nerve.”

“Whatever.” Amber rolled her eyes, but she’d said her piece. She had nothing else, and we both knew it. Unless she pulled in Brian, which she knew next to nothing. But, then again, I hadn’t realized how public the other stuff had become. Tray knew. He was the only one, and if he sang—he’d be singing himself. Not just me.

“Let’s talk about you, Amber, and how you parade yourself around this school, like it’s for you to pick and choose who to be nice to and who to torture. You sway down these hallways, acting like you’re the shit and everyone had better be nice or you’ll make their lives hell. Trust me, it’s not gonna work on me,” I promised, the teacher had lost control a long time ago. “You’re a piece of shit just for how you act in this school, but what really gets me—is how two-faced you’ve been with Mandy. Jasmine screwed Devon—for a fucking year—and you knew, the whole time.”

It was a hunch, but I saw it was true.

Mandy gasped. She saw it too, just as everyone else did.

I added, seething, “And where the fuck were you when my sister needed her supposed ‘best friend’? Not being her best friend, I can assure you. No, instead you were with Jasmine, supporting her skanky-ass ways. Until Saturday, when you suddenly decided to be Mandy’s friend again. After she’d been comforted for hours by some really great people—people who, you decide to just walk all over and use then throw away and treat them like they’re garbage the next day.”

“What Bryce did—” Amber began.

I cut in harshly, “What Bryce did is what each and every one of you do…every goddamn day at this school!” I glanced at the class and noted a lot of affirming nods. “I bet if I asked this class how many of them had been screwed by you guys, I bet half of them would raise their hands. At least. I bet they’re all pissed as hell…and hurt. If not more.”

Amber glanced around, fearful, seeing similar stares from others.

“You hurt people,” I bit out. “You hurt people and you don’t care. And it’s wrong.”

Mandy and Amber were both white, eyes fearful.

“I hurt people,” I announced. “But I hurt people like you.”

Amber fled the room. Mandy paused, her hand on the doorknob when she turned and took one look at me.

I knew I’d crossed the line, but—fuck—I’d had it with people like them. Even if Mandy wasn’t going to stand up for herself, and even if I had to paint her with the same color, this school needed to change.

One way or another.

When they left, I stood uncertainly for a moment, before slumping back into my chair. It was at that time that I realized there were smiles on the other students. Okay, —a few of the ‘popular’ students—none of the elite—didn’t look happy, but I still saw some grudging respect and gratefulness.

And then I remembered—Tray ran this school.

Oh hell.

*