Page 10 of The Games We Play

Ryan pays for our food and drives me back to my house. He offers to stay and have a study session, but I need to clean my house before I can sit down and study. Hishelpis never how I’d do it, and leads to me cleaning twice.

When I’m finished, I sit down with a glass of water, my textbooks, and my laptop at my small dining room table and crank through the reading we were assigned over the weekend.

I check my online portal for any other assignments or messages from my professors. There’s a reminder for a test tomorrow morning in my English class, and I groan.

I forgot all about that test and haven’t even studied yet. I mentally prepare myself for an all night of studying after my shift at the diner.

Graduating from college and getting my degree is something I’m doing for myself. Not because Dad ordered me to or even that it’s expected of me. I want it. I want my name on that piece of paper, knowing I did it all on my own.

But on nights like tonight, I debate, just throwing in the towel and focusing on the life Dad wants for me.

A fire ignites in my soul, and I grit my teeth.

Settling in my chair, I grab my notebook and forcefully flip my textbook to the correct chapter.

No. Dad doesn’t control this part of my life. I won’t let him.

***

I stare at mybusiness management textbook, but instead of focusing on the words in front of me, a masked man is crawling up my torso, andhis hand dips between my thighs. My pen cracks between my teeth, and I pull it back, examining the broken plastic.

“Shit,” I mutter.That’s my third one today.

“Hey, you,” Ryan says as he sits beside me. “How was your test this morning?”

“Fine.” I mindlessly flip the page to showSupply Chainin bold letters. Seth is also in my English class. That saying ‘you should have seen the other guy’; well, the other guy is Seth. I didn’t know Ryan could be so ruthless; his glare proved he blamed it all on me.

“Do you think you passed?” he presses.

“I don’t know, I—” my words are cut off as someone’s shadows cast over us. For the second I take to turn my head and look up, I picture a masked man looming over me.

“Ms. Wallace,” Professor Brady, my English instructor, says my name with a slow drawl. “Come with me.” He takes a few steps back to give me space, and I pull my purse across my body and close my book.

“I thought you said it went fine,” Ryan whispers, and I shrug.

I’m not saying I got an A, but I’m confident I didn’t bomb it. I follow Professor Brady until we reach his office. Another girl from my class, Casey Driskel, sits on the bench outside his office door. Her eyes are red like she’s been crying.

“Professor Brady, I was hoping I could talk to you about how I could improve my grade?” she says eagerly as she pushes to her feet.

“Miss Driskel,” he draws her name out and wets his lips. “Wait here, and I will get with you right after, Miss Wallace.” He holds the door open for me to enter, and I internally cringe at her large, doll-like eyes looking up at him.

We step inside, and the door clicks close behind me.

“Sit.” Professor Brady waves a hand at the two empty chairs before me. “Tess,” he whispers as he sits behind his metal desk. “Do you know why you’re here?”

I glance around the room like the answer will be plastered on the wall. “Should I?”

He sighs and leans back in his chair, his hands clasped at his waist. “I don’t tolerate cheating in my class. Some professors may turn a blind eye, but I withhold honor in my classroom.”

“Of course,” I state, still unsure what this has to do with me. He opens a folder and slides a paper toward me.

It’s a test with an eighty-six written across the top and my name beside it. “My test?”

He slides me a second piece of paper, and I pick it up. The name has been whited out, but I swear if I squint, I make out an S.

“And this is a classmate of yours.” He pauses and inhales deeply. “A classmate that claims they caught you copying their answers.”

“What? I stayed up all night studying for this test. I didn’t cheat off anyone, especially Seth.” My cheeks heat with the accusation.

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