Page 41 of Wylder and the Secret Rockstar
“You know me. I’m reckless.”
“You’re a spirited girl, and I don’t want to take that from you, Wylder, but you have to follow the rules.”
“In my defense, I just found out we had a lake, so I didn’t really know it was off-limits.” She met Ms. Jones’s gaze and sucked in a breath. “I mean, I should have guessed it was not allowed.”
“What was your thought process? I’m trying to see your point of view, Wylder. Help me out here.”
“I just cut off my dreads.”
“I can see that. It’s a vast improvement.” Ms. Jones’ lip twitched.
“It was a big deal. I’ve had them for five years.” Wylder’s hands twisted in her lap. “I wanted to celebrate.”
“Help me connect the dots, young lady. What about the haircut made you take a dive into the lake?”
“Keeping up dreads is a lot of work. Most people think they’re gross and you just neglect basic hygiene to achieve the look, but it’s not that easy. They’re heavy and thick and you have to keep them dry. If they get too wet, it’s super hard to dry them.”
“So you haven’t gone swimming in five years?” Ms. Jones leaned back in her chair.
“That’s a long time, you know. So it occurred to me that I could go swimming now. And like I said, I just found out we had a lake on school grounds. So I just went for it.” Wylder shrugged.
“I see.”
“And Logan was just … an innocent bystander.”
“I see.”
“It won’t happen again.” Wylder chanced a glance at her headmistress. “Please don’t kick me out.”
“You’ve changed since you became a student here at Defiance Academy.” Ms. Jones gave her a level look, like she could see right through Wylder’s walls. “I’ve watched you grow from an isolated, angry young woman who refused to let anyone get close—one with poor grades and a bad attitude—into a good student. A hard-working student who surrounds herself with a few incredibly talented, close friends. You’ve grown up, Wylder. I won’t kick you out for this … isolated incident, but you have to promise me you will learn tothinkbefore you act next time. I don’t want to extinguish the fire inside you. People like you burn bright, and I won’t be responsible for stifling that. It’s up to you to learn how to balance your impetuous nature with a little more maturity. The kind of maturity I’ve seen you grow into over the last year.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Wylder nodded. “I promise, it won’t happen again.”
“See that it doesn’t. My nerves can’t take another call like that from my security team.” She shook her head with a rueful smile. “Students in the lake. I almost died thinking of all the things that could happen to you out there at night.”
“So … am I free to go to bed now?” Wylder asked.
“Not so fast. I’ll see you in Saturday detention, Ms. Anderson.”
“Really?” Wylder groaned. Saturday detention always involved some kind of community service work. Wylder had been a frequent flyer in Saturday detentions last year. She waited for Ms. Jones to tell her the rest of it, whatever menial labor job they’d force on her.
“Make sure you bring plenty of homework.” Ms. Jones winked. “I’m putting you and Logan in a Saturday study hall this time.”
“Oh. Okay.” Wylder nodded. “That’s more than fair, Ms. Jones.”
“Get back to your dorm and take a shower before you go to bed. There are leeches in the lake.”
“Leeches?” Wylder’s jaw dropped.
“Leeches.” Ms. Jones laughed.
12
“Are you ever going to stop being mad at me?” Wylder met Logan outside the classroom holding Saturday detention. It was better than working with the janitor at the hockey arena or shoveling horse crap in the stables—two favorite detention punishments at this school.
But still, four hours of sitting in complete silence? That so wasn’t Wylder’s idea of fun.
Logan stopped before entering the room and crossed his arms. “I’m only here because of you.”
