Page 2 of Like You Know

“Whatcha doin’?”

I jumped and nearly dropped my phone. Mena was suddenly by my side, perched on the car and leaning in to look at my screen. She laughed as I fumbled and shoved the phone into my pocket.

“Bitch, you gave me a heart attack!” I shoved her shoulder, then pulled her in for a side-hug.

“I called your name, like, three times.” She laughed, her pale blue eyes sparkling. She’d done her eye makeup perfectly, making them pop even more, but she’d left the foundation and cover-up off today. Her port-wine stain birthmark was clearly visible on her nose and cheek. She was beautiful, regardless of whether she wore makeup or not.

I slid my sunglasses on. “I was just trying to get info on the new guy. No one seems to have any dirt on him.”

“By staring at a picture of him?” Mena gave me a teasing look.

“Research?” I shrugged, and we both chuckled. She’d seen me checking his ass out like a stalker. If it were anyone else, I would’ve been embarrassed.

Hendrix and Donna walked up, hands clasped, both their bags over Hendrix’s shoulder. He dropped them both onto the ground as they stopped in front of us.

“How much longer?” he groaned.

Mena checked the countdown timer on her phone. We all had the same one. “Thirteen days, sixteen hours, forty-nine minutes.”

Hendrix groaned again, and Donna pulled her own phone out. “Is that it? I was hoping to squeeze in a few more practice exams, but with tennis and pottery ...”

The only thing Donna loved more than overachieving was Hendrix. Which was a good thing, because he helped her stay balanced. Her tendency to be extremely hard on herself had come to a head a few months ago, with some messy consequences.

“I’m sure you can find a corner to do some study while we’re away, babe.” Hendrix was only half teasing.

“I wonder if the resort has a business center,” Donna mused.

“No!” I slapped at her phone, and she twisted out of my reach with a frown. “No studying on spring break.”

In the past, we’d usually spent spring break hanging out by the pool, shopping in San Francisco, going to parties, and relaxing. But this was our senior year, and we’d decided to take a trip—one last Devilbend Dynasty party before we had to take exams and think about our futures. We were heading to the Bahamas on a private plane, courtesy of our friend Nicola. Most of our parents could’ve afforded to do the same, but Nicola’s mom was a movie star and felt as if she had something to prove to the old-money crowd of Devilbend. No one was complaining though.

“Come on, babe.” Hendrix picked the bags up again and headed for his Tesla, parked two spots down. “I wanna hit the gym. Turner’s meeting me there.”

Turner was Mena’s boyfriend and worked at the gym. He went to a different school.

“You coming with us?” Donna asked Mena.

“I can drive you,” I offered. I really didn’t want to go home yet.

We said our goodbyes, and Mena jumped into the car with me.

“You can just drop me off at the bus station if you want,” she said as I backed out of the spot.

“I don’t mind driving you home.” I shrugged, pulling up behind a Maserati and waiting to turn out of the school gates.

Mena gave my knee a squeeze but didn’t say what we were both thinking. I kept nothing from my friends; they knew exactly what my mom was like. But Mena knew I didn’t want to talk about it all the damn time either. Like the caring friend she was, she cranked up the music instead, and we jammed to Doja Cat all the way across town to Devilbend North.

I pulled up outside her apartment building and turned the music down. Mena lived in the bad part of Devilbend, in an apartment complex that had several entrances and thousands of people living on top of one another. The elevators were out of order half the time, the pavement cracked. Donna and Harlow were her cousins, and after we’d all found out she was being horrifically bullied at her old school, her aunt and uncle decided to pay for her to attend Fulton Academy with us. Best silver lining ever. I loved having her around every day. She reminded me not to be such a bitch all the time, and I had a feeling I reminded her not to take people’s shit.

“You wanna come in for a bit?” Mena asked. “I have to get ready for work soon, but we could do homework for half an hour or just hang out.”

“It’s all good.” I gave her a smile. “Go have a nap before you have to be on your feet for four hours straight.” She worked at a diner, and while I’d never had a job myself, I knew how hard Mena worked, how precious her time was in between all her commitments.

“OK, well, make sure—” The roar of an engine cut Mena off mid-sentence. We both looked to the right and watched the new guy come tearing around the corner and into the parking lot of the building. He parked his motorbike, took the helmet off, and pulled his phone out, tapping away at it while still astride the bike.

“What the hell is he doing here?” I mumbled.

“People do live here, you know.” Mena chuckled.

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