Page 8 of A Scandal in Homeroom
The bell rang and we both got up and left without a word between us.
* * *
Reen
Mindlessly,I walked down the hallway crushed with students making my way to my next class on autopilot.
How had Locke known about Kylie?
Of course I knew because she was on the cheerleading squad, and she’d basically told all of us after practice one night if Beau wasn’t going to trade answers for tongue, she was going to take the straight up approach and just cheat off him.
What had Locke seen or heard? Or, more importantly, why was he watching and listening? To everyone.
He’d gotten Fitz, the reigning king of Haddonfield High and QB One’s, attention at the bonfire when he told him about the List. I hadn’t been there, but I’d gotten the story from my BFF, Beth, later.
Then there was the day at lunch where he guessed Ed’s passcode.
Not much of a guess, in my opinion, for anyone who had a full understanding of Ed’s situation, which I did. But I don’t know if anyone else got the significance of it.
What had Locke said?
It wasn’t a guess. He’d deduced it.
That first day of school I’d purposely sought out Locke. I had a reputation to live up to in this school, and that wasman eater.New British exchange student comes to town, everyone would expect me to show an interest. It was part of the sex kitten game I played with the entire student body.
I was expecting an accent and someone who would fall at my feet like a good boy.
Locke was not that. He was…resistant.
Resistance was a challenge, and, unfortunately for me, a challenge was super tempting.
Still, it would appear I might have to watch him carefully. I didn’t need someone else in this school who was as observant as I was. Mostly because I also had secrets, and I didn’t need anyone going in search of them.
“Reen! Hey, wait up!”
I stopped at the sound of my name and Janie jogged a few steps to catch up to me.
“You are never going to guess what I just found out!”
I looked at my friend, my sister basically, as we’d spent several years growing up together in Thornfield Home, and my jaw dropped.
“Wait a minute. Who are you and what have you done with my friend Janie? Janie doesn’t gossip.”
She frowned and I almost laughed at how disappointed she was about not being able to share her news.
“Good point. Would this be considered gossip though?”
I watched her have a silent, moral argument with herself.
“I don’t think so,” she eventually concluded. “Beth told me and didn’t tell me not to say anything to anyone else. So technically, I don’t think I’m betraying her confidence or relaying something incendiary about her to you, who is also a friend.”
I shook my head. “Seriously, Janie, sometimes I don’t know how your mind works.”
“Miss Havisham picked Beth and Darcy to host this year’s Fall Fashion Show. Interesting combination, don’t you think?”
“Really?”
“Yep,” Janie said, with a somewhat smug smile. “Beth’s allwhateverabout it, but I think it’s not a coincidence. This means they’ll have to work together, practice, rehearse.”
