Page 23 of Spencer and the Younger Girl
Hadley
Hadley couldn’t remember ever being so excited to get to school in the morning, but she didn’t want to arrive alone. Roman left early to go see Cassie before class, leaving Hadley with one option.
To beg and plead for her best friend to ride with her instead of her boyfriend.
And she won. She hadn’t told Charlotte why she needed a wing woman, and she wasn’t sure she would. Charlotte was more of the buttoned-up good girl to Hadley’s free-spirited trouble-maker.
They made an odd pair.
Hadley parked in front of the rink and texted Charlotte she was there. Each morning before school, Charlotte had a training session with her mom to prepare for her next figure skating competition.
She was dedicated and determined. Two things Hadley couldn’t be. She liked her sleep too much.
The front door opened and Charlotte walked out, taking careful steps as she always did. She wore a long flowing skirt and high-collared sweater. They were a contradiction as best friends.
Charlotte pulled open the door and slid in with a grace Hadley could never hope to achieve.
“That’s what you’re wearing?” Charlotte eyed Hadley’s loose-fitting yoga pants and long-sleeved Tampa Bay Lightning shirt. “Is the reason you wanted me to ride with you so bad because it’s laundry day, and you’re embarrassed?”
From anyone else, that would be an insult. But Charlotte didn’t have a mean bone in her body. Hadley used to be the only person who saw that, like it was their secret. “Charlie, you realize we’re going to school and not on a date, right?” She suppressed a smile. “No one cares what you look like at school.”
A laugh burst free of Charlotte. “Okay.” They both knew it was a lie. Gulf City High was a jungle of rich hyenas. The funny thing was, most of them weren’t from families as wealthy as Hadley’s. But she’d never cared about that.
“Comfort over Cosmo.” She grinned as she left the rink behind.
What would her prim and proper friend say to goats roaming the school halls? Hadley couldn’t wait to find out.
They pulled into the busy lot at school to find Jesse waiting for them.
Hadley covered her eyes as she got out. “Okay, commence the PDA.”
She waited a moment before lowering her hand. They leaned into each other giggling.
“Sickening, isn’t it?” Roman asked, walking up behind her.
“Oh, come on, Rome.” She shook her head. “You and Cassie are just as bad.”
She turned away to grab her books from her back seat. She didn’t want what all her friends had. At least, she didn’t want to want it. She’d always been better off on her own, doing her own thing.
If she wanted to hit the beach, she hit the beach. If she wanted to kiss a boy, she kissed a boy.
And if she wanted to run off to France for a week… Spring break started in five days and her papa finally agreed she could go on the trip with her French class. It was last minute, but her teacher said there were still spots.
She hadn’t told any of her friends she was abandoning them for the week, but they wouldn’t notice, not with their new relationships in full swing.
“How long did you stay?” she whispered to Roman.
“Until about six this morning.” He yawned and looked to their friends. “Should we tell them it was us?”
“No. Not yet. I want to see if the goats are still there.” She jerked her head toward the school and started walking, knowing the happy couple would follow them.
As soon as they entered the building, she knew something was wrong.
Ripped papers littered the hallway, trampled under the feet of the crowd of students.
Her eyes rounded as she looked to Roman. Teachers scurried down the hall from classroom to classroom.
“There are goats in the school,” someone said nearby.
