Page 24 of The Jack*ss in Class

“You’ve read them?” My voice came out squeakier than intended.

“Are you kidding? We all have,” Bettie chimed in. “I already finished that one. I stayed up all night to see how it ended. The scene where the hero has to reorganize the heroine’s entire closet as punishment? Iconic.”

My stomach twisted. I’d worked hard on making thatscene as a subtle nod to my older sister and her infamous closet organization system.

Parker caught my eye and gave me a tiny shake of her head. Right. Stay calm. Act normal.

“I’ll have to check it out,” I managed.

The donkey chose that moment to headbutt my knee, either offering comfort or demanding attention. Knowing him, probably both.

“Your sister’s so polished. But also intense,” Alice said, watching me scratch behind his ears. “Like, channeling Victoria Beckham intense. Don’t hate me, but I’m not sad we only see her a couple times a year, even if she is a KAT alum.”

I snorted before I could stop myself. “You have no idea. Although she’s less Beckham and more...”

“Posh Spice?” Parker suggested with a knowing grin.

The room went silent. Then everyone started giggling.

“Oh my god.” Hannah’s eyes went wide. “Freddie is so Sporty Spice, and Rosalind is definitely Scary Spice.You totally have all the Spice Girls as your siblings, don’t you?”

“No?” But I was already laughing too. “Maybe? Don’t you dare tell them I call them that.”

“Your secret’s safe with us.” Alice patted the donkey’s head. “All your secrets are.”

If they only knew. Looking around at their smiling faces, I almost wished I could tell them everything. But as I set my sister’s gift on my desk, watching the late afternoon sun glint off the gold foil cover, I wondered how many secrets one person could keep before they all came tumbling down.

“Okay, I’ve got class. Who is donkey-sitting?” Parkergrabbed her backpack and gave baby donkey a scritch between the ears.

“It’s definitely my turn, and I could use the quiet study time.” By which I meant I didn’t want anyone around while I worked on my manuscript.

Baby donkey got a parade of coos and cuddles as everyone filed out. Parker was the last to leave, pausing at the door. “You sure you don’t want company for your shift?”

“No, it’s fine.” I gestured to my laptop. “I’ve got some writing to do. Better to focus without an audience.”

Once I was alone, I collapsed onto my bed, the donkey curling up by my feet. My phone buzzed with the family group chat.

Freddie: EMERGENCY FAMILY MEETING

Catalina: What now?

Freddie: Abuela comes back in 2 weeks!!

Ophelia: That’s not an emergency.

Freddie: She’s been gone for half a year! We need to plan something epic!

Rosalind: No glitter bombs this time.

Freddie: That was ONE TIME.

Catalina: We’re not letting you plan anything involving pyrotechnics either.

Me: Or livestock.

Freddie: You’re no fun anymore, T.

Freddie: Also, I said I was sorry about the donkey thing.

---