Page 49 of Endless Anger
Yuri makes a face. “Don’t you mean dick?”
“In this economy? Yeah, right.” Celeste fluffs her hair with one hand. “Avernia students should be so lucky.”
She traipses off, walking sideways, before being swallowed by the crowd. I watch until the very last piece of her blond bob is no longer visible.
Perching on the rock beside me, Aurora nods. “Go ahead then. Tell Auntie Aurora what all the mean dean said to you.”
“Cousin.” I don’t mean to correct her, but I can’t help it. Even though she’s joking.
I hate myself for it.
A chorus of boos drowns out whatever she says next as the boys’ ball flies off the table. Field Hockey Guy glares at me, running a hand over his brown crew cut.
“Maybe Lucy should go,” he tells Aurora, reaching out to stroke the side of her face. “We were winning before she came.”
Her smile deepens, but it’s not a kind one now. Not if you know her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Yuri takes a hit from the bong, averting her gaze as she coughs up clouds of smoke.
He shrugs. “Maybe her negative energy is affecting the play.”
My knee ceases moving. “Or maybe you’re not as talented as you think.”
“You boys and your silly superstitions. Your team hasn’t won a game all year, andthat’scertainly not Lucy’s fault, since she never goes to them.” Aurora slides a slender hand up, hooking her index finger over his thumb, and yanks downward. The crack of bone is audible, even with the crowd.
Field Hockey Guy lets out a yelp, immediately withdrawing. He cradles his hand to his chest, glaring as Aurora plops down beside me once more, taking her phone from her pocket and tapping away. Her lack of attention seems to leave him irritated as he walks back to the other guys, who snicker quietly at his expense.
“Bitch,” he mutters, although I know it’s not aimed at her. It never is.
Exhaling, I hand my empty cup to my cousin and push off the rock, combing my fingers through my hair. “I’m going to get another drink.”
“Get me one too!” Yuri says, leaning back with her palms behind her, closing her eyes.
“The keg’s on the side where all those vehicles are, but there are coolers with good stuff in them too.” Aurora points in the opposite direction, down the flat part of the quarry to where more jagged stone walls block off another section of the forest. “Don’t get distracted picking up empty bottles you find on the ground though. Iwillcome find you.”
Waving her off, I make my way over the crushed rocks where the majority of the party convenes, passing a heated argument on Albert Cohen’s effects on the modern scholar. My head throbs, unable to keep interest in the debate for even a second.
Who knew college would mean so muchdiscussion?
A few students turn to stare as I continue, head down, my arms wrapped tight around my middle. I’m used to the attention because of how small Avernia is, but that doesn’t mean Iwantit. Unless I’m trying to convince people that they should give a shit about their environment, I’d rather people didn’t look at all.
Not because I’m afraid or ashamed but because I never learned how to react properly when they do.
All I know how to do is bite.
The crowd thins the farther out I go, but I find the coolers, lifting one to pull out a few mini bottles of tequila.
Unscrewing a cap and downing the first immediately, I keep moving away from the party, in search of a reprieve from the ghosts and everything else haunting this school. The town even. All of it’s tainted.
Two bottles down, and I realize just how far I’ve walked. Now I’m past the quarry itself, weaving through the trees on the very outer edge of the cliffs. When I turn around, all I’m met with is wide trunk after trunk, obscuring my view of the gathering.
I can’t hear them, and I find the silence soothing, so I continue forward. Mom used to say that if you get lost and circle around longenough, you’ll eventually find yourself back where you’re supposed to be.
Dad says not to listen to her wildlife survival advice, but it’s not like I can really go very far anyway. The mountain will block me off.
An eerie feeling sweeps over my shoulders, blanketing my arms like black slime.
Glancing behind me, I try to see if maybe someone followed me into the forest, but it appears I’m alone.
