Page 115 of Seven Letters

‘Zach and me are a couple. We’re the sports couple. We train together and we cheer each other on. He is into me, not you. You’re just a freak who thinks she’s better than everyone because she reads boring books about boring people and dresses like a guy.’

‘What did you say to Zach to make him break up with Zoë? Did you offer him sex every day? I bet you did, you slut,’ Cleo sneered.

‘Zach told me that I was beautiful and sexy and fun. He said he loved hanging out with me. He said you made him feel stupid and were always angry about the world. He hated being with you. He can’t stand you, so what the hell did you do?’ Zoë’s face was contorted with rage.

Strangely, Riley felt sorry for Zoë. She knew how she felt. She’d felt like that when she’d seen Zach with her. She understood heartache and humiliation and the pain that comes with being dumped.

‘Look, Zoë, you need to talk to Zach, not me.’

‘I did talk to him,’ she shrieked. ‘We talked for three hours but he wouldn’t change his mind. He kept saying he was sorry but he’d made a mistake breaking up with you and he had to see if he could make it work.’

Riley smiled. Had he really said that? That was so nice to hear.

‘Do you think this is funny?’ Cleo kicked Riley’s leg. ‘You won’t be smiling next week when he dumps you and gets back with Zoë.’

‘I don’t think that’s going to happen,’ Riley said truthfully.

‘Shut your mouth and listen to me.’ Zoë put her face up to Riley’s. Riley could smell her strawberry lip balm. ‘I’m going to get Zach back. I’ll use all of my sports talent and the fact that I’mwaaaayhotter than you to get him to change his mind. You don’t stand a chance.’

‘You might as well give up because Zoë is, like, drop-dead gorgeous and you look like that lesbian inTwilight– whatshername?’ Cleo tapped her head.

‘Kristen Stewart,’ Riley said.

‘Yeah, her.’

‘Well, I guess Zach likes that look,’ Riley said.

‘Shut up. Who gave you the right to speak?’ Cleo snapped.

‘You know what I think?’ Zoë said. ‘I think he’s only going out with you because he feels sorry for you. Zach has such a big heart, he knows your aunt is in, like, a coma or whatever and he wants to be nice. He’ll dump you when she wakes up or dies.’

Riley’d had enough. The mention of Sarah gave her the anger and strength she needed. She kicked out and hit Cleo in the shin. Cleo let go of Riley’s arms and bent over to hold her leg. Then Riley shoved Zoë with all her might. She stumbled and fell back.

At that exact moment Mrs Moloney came around the corner. ‘What’s going on?’

‘She attacked us,’ Zoë said. ‘She pushed me over. Look, I’ve cut my hand, and she kicked Cleo’s leg. I could have been badly injured and missed my hurdles competition this weekend.’

Cleo showed the headmistress the red mark on her shin. ‘I could be scarred for life.’

Mrs Moloney turned to Riley. ‘I’d like a word in private, please.’

Riley trailed after the headmistress while Zoë and Cleo grinned and mouthed, ‘You’re dead,’ at her.

Mrs Moloney said nothing until they got to her office. She closed the door and told Riley to sit down. The headmistress then handed her a glass of water.

‘Now, I understand that your family is having a terrible time. Your mother called me and asked me to keep an eye on you. I believe you’re very close to your aunt and this trauma is hard to bear. However, I cannot allow you to push and kick the other girls. You’ll have to find a different way to deal with your pain. If you need to talk to someone, my door is always open. If you’re having a bad day, come and speak to me or any of the teachers. They’re all aware of the situation and will lend you an ear if you need it. I’m not going to punish you this time, but I must ask you to hold your temper, Riley. I can’t have you injuring the girls. Zoë is a sports star. Injury could be detrimental to her career and she has brought such glory to the school.’

Riley thought, briefly, about trying to explain the situation and defend herself, but there was no point. She nodded, said it would never happen again and left as quickly as she could. She was in such a hurry to get away from the office that she bumped straight into Zach.

‘Hey, I was looking for you. I heard you’d been hauled into Mrs Moloney’s office for attacking Zoë and Cleo.’

Riley looked into his blue, blue eyes and willed him not to say the wrong thing. Do not say, ‘Why did you do it?’ Do not say, ‘You need to control your temper.’ Do not say, ‘That was out of order.’

‘I bet Zoë was giving you a hard time,’ he said. ‘She went mental yesterday when I broke up with her. Like, totally fricking mad. I saw a whole other side to her. I’m sorry if she was a bitch.’

Riley reached over and kissed Zach, in the corridor, outside the principal’s office. She didn’t care who saw. She loved him and she wanted to show it.

‘Well, I guess you’re OK.’ Zach grinned.

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