Page 134 of Faux Real
“Hello?”
“Where are you?” Max shouts. “Please tell me you haven’t gone to Rothy yet!”
“I’m literally like thirty seconds away,” I say. “I’m doing this, Max. Don’t try to stop me!”
“Stop!”
“What did Ijustsay?!”
“I’m trying to help you, Kenny!” Maxine huffs. “Just don’t do anything yet! Cliff has an idea. The bus is just pulling up to the school now. Meet us in the common room, okay?”
I frown. “Youhave an idea? Really?”
“Hey!” she exclaims. “Don’t sound so surprised! I’m full of great ideas when I need to be!”
“Yeah? The last great idea you had almost landed you in the hospital."
“If Michael Scott can parkour in the office, I should be able to parkour in class,” she argues, breathing heavily. “Okay, me and Cliff just need to drop off our stuff. Give us five minutes.”
“Fine,” I grumble, eyeing Rothland’s office. “This better be a good idea.”
“If you still wanna go to Harvard then it’s an excellent idea."
“Okay,” I swallow away a tiny ball of sudden anxiety in the back of my throat. “I’ll see you in five.”
Harvard. It almost slipped my mind. I was so busy thinking about helping Ollie that I forgot about the consequences of telling the truth. Of turning myself in. See? Such a mess. What am I going to tell my dad? He’s going to hate me. I know it. This is everything I’ve worked for since preschool. Since I could talk. Read. Write. Harvard was everything.
I take a deep breath, calming myself before I head toward the dormitories. Maybe losing everything is okay. It’ll be a fresh start. A blank canvas. Sure... I’ll probably have to repeat senior year, I’ll never be admitted into another Ivy League school, and I’ll be shunned by my dad, no big deal. My heart rate accelerates as I exit the front doors, my anxiety spiking as I almost crash into the Bimbo Brigade.
“Where you going, druggie?” Larisa scowls, giving me a shady once over.
I sigh. “Just get out of my way.”
“Probably to find more Addy since Mrs. P stole all hers,” Maya comments with a laugh as she turns to Corrine. “Maybe she wants some of your coke.”
“Shut up,” Corrine mumbles, shifting awkwardly.
“Just give it to her,” Maya chuckles, teasingly nudging Corrine. “Moms-to-be shouldn’t use drugs anyways.”
“Shut up!” Corrine demands, louder this time as she glowers at Maya. “I’m not pregnant, okay? Let it go.”
“You sure?” Maya asks, raising a challenging brow. “You’re looking a little—” She gestures a circle around her belly. “These days.”
“She’d know if she was,” Larisa chimes in, scrolling her phone. “Clearblue tests are super accurate, trust me.”
Corrine’s head snaps toward Larisa. “What?”
“What?” Larisa asks, looking up confused.
“What did you say?” Corrine asks, crossing her arms. “How’d you know—”
I shake my head. Max was right. “I need to go,” I say, pushing past the bitchiest girls I’ve ever met. I look back at Corrine. “You need better friends, Corrie.”
Corrine’s mouth opens as she stares at me. “You didn’t—”
“No,” I say, feeling mildly bad for her. “I don’t break promises. You should know that.”
“I—”
