When Sinners Play (Sinners of Hawthorne University 1)

For the first time all day, a genuine smile breaks across my face. I honestly didn’t expect to meet anyone I’d get along with on campus—disregarding the brief moment of excitement I felt when I saw Gray’s face earlier—but I actually like this girl.

I stand slowly, keeping a hand on the wall for balance before hefting my bag over my shoulder. “What’s your name?”

“Maxine.” She grimaces. “But call me Max.”

“Sophie.”

She nods. When I press away from the wall tentatively, I notice her watching me curiously, but she doesn’t ask what’s wrong with me or demand to know why I ended up in this weird little alley in the first place, which earns her even more points in my book.

“Where you from?” I ask as we step back out onto one of the walkways that cuts across campus.

“Boston. You?”

“LA.”

“Close by.” She shoots me a look. “That’s nice.”

“Sort of. It’s not like I’ve got anyone to go visit on the weekends or anything.”

She dips her chin, seeming to understand what I’m saying without me having to spell it out.

“When did you get in?”

I snort. “I dunno. Like an hour ago? I still have to go to the admin office to get my student ID and schedule and shit.”

“You know where it is?”

I wave a hand vaguely toward my left. “Over there somewhere?”

She laughs. “Close. Come on, I’ll show you.”

Ordinarily, this would be the part where I’d brush her off. Where I’d say I don’t need help—because I don’t—and make sure she knows that just because we shared a joint, that doesn’t make us friends.

But I don’t do that.

Maybe it’s because of the episode I just ha

d and the lingering worry about it that still floats beneath my conscious thoughts. Maybe it’s because of my confrontation with Gray and his friends. Maybe it’s because I’m not sure there’s anyone else on this campus who won’t look at me like I’m dirt.

Whatever the reason, I lift one shoulder in a shrug. “Sure. If you don’t mind.”

“Nope. I’ve got nothing else to do today.” She rolls her eyes. “Just waiting for classes to start so I can see how far in over my head I am. It’ll be a good distraction.”

With that, she leads me across campus toward the administration offices.

We talk a bit more on the way over. Nothing serious. Mostly, we talk shit about the rich kids, and she fills me in on a few details about the school—including the fact that Hawthorne University isn’t all that welcoming to its scholarship students, at least as far as the rest of the student body is concerned.

I could’ve guessed that by the chilly reception I just received, but it apparently runs deeper than that.

Hawthorne only takes scholarship students because they’ve got some very big donors who sponsor the scholarships. It’s been a point of contention, with some people arguing that it brings down the entire reputation of the school. But if they pulled the scholarships, they’d likely lose other funding as well, so for now, their compromise is to keep the numbers low.

Don’t want too many coke sluts with degrees running around claiming to be alumni of Hawthorne U, I guess.

It’s not something that surprises me. I’m not that naïve, and after the way Gray and his friends completely turned on me, I imagine the rest of my stay here isn’t exactly gonna be smooth sailing.

Well, lucky for me, I’m used to choppy waters.

The students at Hawthorne want to give me a problem? Gray and his cronies want to push me into the limelight for a laugh?