Page 7 of Let's Pretend I'm Okay

I cower behind the wall of a guy. “Don’t let him see me.”

Tyler runs straight for us. “You scammed me!”

“I did not!”

Tyler reaches for me, but I block every one of his attempts to reach me. “The watch was a knockoff!”

“That’s not my fault. I didn’t know!”

“Just give me my money back!”

The guy in front me stiffens and tries to get away from me, but I hold him right where he is. “I don’t have it.”

Tyler shoves us off balance, and we both fall to the ground. The book the boy had been reading flies in the air, landing a few feet away. He scrambles to his knees and reaches for it, but Tyler kicks it.

The boy jumps up. “Hey!”

Tyler—who’s known for not making the best decisions—smirks. “Got a problem?”

I don’t know why he cares so much about this book, but it’s like Tyler hit a sore spot.

The boy shoves him hard. “What did I do to you?”

Immediately, Tyler swings his fist into the boy’s face, and the next thing I know, they’re fighting on the ground.

I’m not going to lie, I didn’t think my first day of school would start off in the principal’s office. I sit in the middle ofthe two boys waiting for the principal to come back into the room. On one side, there’s Tyler, who has a split lip and his head in his hands. The boy on my other side doesn’t look much better, but he stares out the window like he doesn’t care about how he might get suspended.

“You really screwed me over,” Tyler mumbles. “First the watch and now this? If I get suspended, Coach won’t let me play.”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t be such a jerk,” I say.

He glares at me. “Not helping.”

I could agree to save up the money to repay him, or I could use this as an opportunity. “If I get you out of this, will you call us even?” I whisper.

“You’re bluffing again,” he says.

“No, I’m not.”

“Prove it,” he says.

I may not like him, but I like a challenge. “Okay. I will.” Then I turn to the other boy. “Do you want out of this too?”

He ignores me. He doesn’t even flinch.

I wave my hand in front of his face. “Hello. Let’s make a deal, and I’ll make sure you don’t get suspended.”

His eyes flicker to me for a split second. “I don’t want your help.”

I huff. Who does he think he is?

“It wouldn’t cost you very much,” I say. Maybe he’s worried about money, but I’m very reasonable. I’ll make trades.

He shakes his head at me, glaring. “Get a life.”

I bite my cheek. I don’t know who he is, but I already know that I don’t like him. I cross my arms and lean back. “Well, somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed.”

A few minutes go by and Principal Lopez walks in. She hasher coffee in one hand and an armload of papers in the other. “School hasn’t even started and I have someone in my office.” She sits down in front of us at her desk and sighs. “Okay, who wants to go first?”

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