Page 74 of The Silent Note

It’s off-putting the way loyalties twist and turn in the wind.

But that shouldn’t surprise me.

Things have always been twisted and upside down in this school. It’s why something as depraved as The Grateful Project could bloom at an otherwise prestigious academy. The way right becomes wrong and wrong becomes right so easily at Redwood is a virus.

And you’re just as infected by the disease.

I push the thought aside.

“Good morning, Maisy.” I nod to one of my highest performing students.

She glares at me, slams her locker shut and stalks off.

Okay then.

I shudder and wrap my arms more securely around my Classic Literature textbook. Redwood Prep feels extra cold today. The vaulted ceilings, cathedral-like windows, and marble floors welcome me like the stoic step-mother to Cinderella.

“Wasn’t she fired?”

“What is she doing back?”

“Did she really kill Harris?”

Whispers bite into me like tiny mosquitos. A swarm, building and building until it’s buzzing in my ears.

“Ugh, I’d forgotten how stodgy this school was. A fresh coat of paint and some upgrades, but it’s still the same gateway to hell.”

I glance over at Sloane. She’s wearing her pressed button-down, Redwood prep skirt and has her hair up in a ponytail.

“You’re back.”

“Miss me?”

“Just trying to find a pattern is all. You were missing all night.”

She shrugs. “Guess your Zane-brain lasts longer than either of us expected.”

“My,” I glance around and whisper, “Zane-brain?”

“Yeah. Like, you know how love sends all these endorphins and dopamine spikes through your brain and makes rational thinking kinda fuzzy? Once you and Zane start… you know, you suddenly can’t see me.”

“I can’t see you or you’re not there?” I gnaw worriedly on my bottom lip. Memories of Zane’s mouth stroking a line between my chest and thighs makes me hot. If Sloane was present but invisible yesterday…

“You… can’t see me?”

I startle and look up at the freshman who’s staring at me in confusion.

She waves a hand slowly in front of her face. “Were you talking about me?”

Oh crap. I was talking to Sloane out loud again.

Laughing sheepishly, I pull my phone out and tap it.

She looks relieved.

I scramble ahead while Sloane laughs uproariously beside me.“You should see your face!”

“How about you make yourself scarce when I’m at school?” I mumble into the phone. “You’re distracting.”

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