Page 71 of A Scandal in Homeroom
“It was me who anonymously pointed out to the police the video of you in the car had been altered.”
“Got that.”
“In return, I was hoping I could call in a favor.”
“What do you need?”
I considered it. “I’m going to need a little King of Haddonfield High popularity muscle.”
Fitz half laughed. “It’s good to be king.”
* * *
Reen
The door openedand I just assumed it was going to be Locke. I didn’t think his brother would simply open the door without knocking. Locke, however, might see it as his right to barge in since I’d been the one to come to him last night.
I couldn’t blame him. There was no getting around this now. He’d helped me. I owed him for it. More importantly, I was going to ask for his help. Beg for it, if necessary, although I was really hoping it wouldn’t come to that.
I still had some pride left. I think.
“I’m up,” I said, rolling over to my back, pushing my hair out of my face.
When I finally opened my eyes, I gasped, not expecting Beth and Janie to be flanking either side of my bed.
“Oh, Lucy,” Beth sang. “You got some ’splaining to do.”
“I don’t know what that means,” I told her.
“Hello!” Beth said to Janie. “I Love Lucyis on Prime now. You totally have to check it out. There’s this episode where Lucy is working at a chocolate factory and these balls are on this assembly line—”
“Maybe now is not the best time,” Janie said, quietly cutting Beth off.
Janie sat on the bed and looked at me as I sat up with a slight wince. I hurt, but it was manageable.
She sighed. “You’re in trouble.”
Beth flopped down on the other side of the bed. “Of course she’s in trouble. Look at her face! You avoided us all day yesterday,” she accused me.
“I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what you were thinking.”
“I was thinking my best friend has been lying to me and she’s in trouble and won’t talk to me.” Janie always had a way of going right to the gut.
“I knew you were going to be disappointed in me, okay? I knew it, Janie. But as much as we’re friends, we don’t always think the same way about things.”
She reached for my hand and squeezed. “I know. I’m not judging, Reen. It just hurts that you didn’t feel like you could trust me.”
“Or me,” Beth added. “Everything we’d just been through with Heath. You should have come clean with us.”
“You thought I might be behind the Freshman Bait List,” I reminded Beth. “Admit it. For five seconds, that’s what you thought.”
Beth’s lips twisted together. “For maybe five seconds. When Fitz said how much money you had. I mean, you sort of really, really love money, Reen.”
“I don’t,” I shouted. “I don’t love it. You can’t love money. It’s just something I want because I don’t have it. And I found a way to get it, so I took it. I wasn’t hurting anyone. I would never do that for money.”
Another hand squeeze from Janie. “We know that, Reen. You’re ferocious, but not cruel. So tell us what’s up.”
Where did I start? I suppose at the most important part. The things I’d withheld that were the most like lying.
