Текст книги "Secrets and Lies"

Автор книги: Kody Keplinger

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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 6 страниц)

Chapter Five

By first period the next day, rumors were flying all over the place. Justine had been suspended, expelled, arrested. There were a thousand different stories, and no one seemed to know which ones were true. People only knew one thing for sure—this was my fault.

Well, not everyone knew that. But Wendy and Melanie did. They’d both given me death glares in the hallway that morning, and I knew cheerleading practice later would be a nightmare.

The rest of the semester would be a nightmare.

I just had to keep reminding myself that I’d done the right thing. That Justine deserved whatever she got. And that anyone who thought otherwise was just as bad as she was.

I told myself all these things, but it didn’t make things suck any less.

Justine’s seat was empty when I got to class. But her brother’s wasn’t. While Mr. Daud drew a diagram of a triangle on the board, I noticed Brody looking at me. I looked down at my desk, not wanting to see his face. To see him glaring at me. I kept my head down for the rest of class.

When the bell rang, I grabbed my things and ran toward the door as fast as I could. I wasn’t fast enough, though.

“Bailey, wait.”

I groaned quietly and stopped in my tracks. Brody was at my side a second later. I didn’t look at him.

“Can I talk to you a second?”

“Um… sure.”

I followed him out of the classroom and down the hall to a small alcove. We wedged ourselves in, and the quarters were so close that, for a second, our knees brushed. I couldn’t avoid looking at him now. But when my eyes met his, I was surprised not to see any anger there.

“I heard what happened,” he said. “With you and my sister.”

“Oh, um… I’m sorry, but I just—”

“Don’t be,” he said. “I knew it was her. Well, I thought it was. What she did was horrible, and I’m glad someone finally had the nerve to stand up to her.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah.” He looked down, his dark hair falling into his eyes. “You know… I’ve kind of liked you for a while.”

“You have?”

He nodded. “Actually, when I saw you hanging out with Justine, I was a little worried. That’s what I tried to tell you that night at my house. She’s manipulative and just… cold. I liked you because you didn’t seem like that kind of person at all. I’m glad I was right.”

I had no idea what to say. I was sure my face was the color of a tomato, and I knew that if I opened my mouth I’d just be a stuttering, stammering mess.

“Anyway,” Brody said, looking up again. His face was pretty red, too. “I was wondering if you’d want to go see a movie sometime. I don’t have my license yet, so one of my parents will have to drive us, but—”

“I’d love to!” I squeaked.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.”

We just stared at each other for a minute, neither of us saying anything. Finally, I cleared my throat. “Um, I should get to class…”

“Right… Right.”

We both slid out of the alcove and into the larger hallway. “You know,” I said. “If we start, like, hanging out, Justine is going to be really, really mad. She may actually try to kill us.”

Brody grinned. “I can take it if you can.”

“I can take it,” I said.

“Good.” He leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the cheek. It was quick. It was nothing. But it made me feel like a million little sparks were lighting across my skin.

“S-see you later,” I stuttered.

“’Bye,” he said.

Then I took off for biology in such a daze that I walked into the wrong classroom. Twice.

***

Over the next few days, the truth about Justine’s punishment finally came out.

She’d been suspended for two weeks, banned from all extracurricular activities, and placed in the school’s alternative education program for the rest of the year. Basically, that meant she had to take all her classes in one room, where she wasn’t allowed to talk or socialize with her friends. She even had a separate lunch. For a popular girl, there was no worse punishment.

It was harsh, but Brody said it could have been worse. Principal Roth had wanted to expel her, but their parents had begged and pleaded. I guess they’d won in the end.

Elsie still hadn’t come back to school. No one was talking about her or the video (which had been taken down) anymore, though. Instead, they were talking about me. Word had spread that I was the reason Justine had turned herself in. Some people hated me for it. Melanie and Wendy found every reason they could to torture me in cheerleading practice. Ryan and Justine’s boyfriend, Eddie, tried to spread gross rumors about me, but none of them ever took off. And not everyone hated me. Some people liked me for what I’d done—like Brody, and some of Elsie’s friends.

I wasn’t popular anymore, but I wasn’t alone, either. And at least there wasn’t any pressure about what I was wearing or how I fixed my hair anymore. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t fun, but it could have been worse.

On Friday, Whitley and Nathan were going to pick me up after cheerleading practice and take me to a movie in Oak Hill, the next town over. Since I knew I could talk them into a quick detour, I volunteered to take Elsie her biology work from the past two weeks.

“That would be wonderful, Miss Caulfield,” Mrs. Robb said, placing a few worksheets into a folder. “And I know you take good notes. Would you be okay with photocopying them for her?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you. I know she’s going through a hard time, and I don’t want her to feel too behind when she comes back.” She handed me the folder. “If she has any questions, tell her she can e-mail me.”

“I will.”

She smiled. “You’re a sweet girl,” she said. “Elsie’s lucky to have a friend like you right now.”

I wasn’t sure I’d go that far. I still couldn’t shake the feeling that none of this would have happened to her if it wasn’t for me telling Justine about her locker room behavior. I owed her an apology, I decided, which was part of the reason I was going to her house after school—to drop off her homework and to clear my conscience.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” I told Whitley and Nathan as I climbed out of the backseat.

“If you take too long, we’re leaving without you,” Whitley said.

Nathan rolled his eyes.

“What?” she asked. “I don’t want to be late for the movie.”

I laughed. “It won’t take that long… I hope.” I shut the door and walked up the driveway to Elsie’s front door. The closer I got, the more anxious I felt. By the time I rang the doorbell, my heart had jumped into my throat and started dancing. I swallowed, hard, and waited.

Elsie opened the door. She was wearing sweatpants and a pink tank top, her curly hair whipped up into a messy bun. She seemed surprised to see me, her dark eyebrows shooting up her forehead. “Bailey? What are you doing here?” she asked.

I held up the folder. “I brought you some stuff from biology. Can I come in?”

She nodded and stepped aside so I could enter the house. She shut the door, then led the way down a hallway to her bedroom. The walls were covered with posters from different anime series. I recognized a few from when Nathan was in high school. I guess they were still popular.

She sat on the edge of her bed and took the folder from me. I watched as she opened it up and started flipping through the pages inside. “Wow,” she said. “There’s a lot.”

“Yeah… but I put a copy of my notes in there, too. So hopefully those will help.”

“Thanks,” she said.

“So…” I realized I was wringing my hands and stopped, shoving them into my pockets instead. “How are you? When are you coming back to school?”

“I’m… better,” she said. “I’ll be back next week, I think. But I’ve decided to quit cheerleading. It’s just too embarrassing.”

“Did you hear about Justine?” I asked.

“Yeah. Principal Roth called my parents. They wanted to press charges, but I told them not to. It would just make going back to school worse.” She shut the folder and put it aside. “I just can’t believe it was her. She’s always seemed so nice.”

“I know. She’s not who I thought she was, either.”

“How did she even know?” she asked. “Why would she put the camera there?”

“That’s… That’s actually something I came to talk to you about.” I looked down at my feet. “I told her. One day at lunch, we were talking and it was just stupid and I told her about walking in on you in the locker room. I’m sorry.”

“You… You did it?”

I nodded slowly, then looked up. “I didn’t know what she was going to do, though.”

“Oh my God,” Elsie said. “I should’ve known.”

“W-what?”

“I should have known you were behind this,” Elsie said. “You’ve always been jealous of me.”

I had no idea how to respond to that.

“You’ve been jealous of my gymnastic abilities in cheerleading. And that day when you walked in on me, you were obviously jealous of my body.” She stood up and put her hands on my hips. “I mean, of course you would be. You don’t have boobs yet.”

I felt like I’d been slapped in the face. Twice.

“And you were worried Justine might start to like me more,” she said. “So you told her stories about me. Both of you knew I was hotter and funnier and that more boys liked me, so you teamed up to embarrass me. Oh my God, that’s the only reason she hung out with you, isn’t it? She’d never actually be friends with you.”

Wow. That stung.

“Elsie, that’s not… Look, I just came here to apologize.”

“Not accepted,” Elsie said. “You little wannabe. You know what? I’m not quitting cheerleading. I’m going to stick around just to make you and the rest of those girls look bad. I’ve been holding back, you know. Just so you all didn’t seem so stupid out there. Not anymore, though. And don’t expect any help when you screw up your next cartwheel.”

“I… I should go.”

“You should,” she agreed.

“Anyway, I’m sorry. Again. For telling Justine about… Okay, well, ’bye.”

I got out of the house as fast as I could. I still felt shocked. Dazed. I hadn’t expected Elsie to be happy with me or to forgive me right away, but I hadn’t anticipated that, either.

“How did it go?” Nathan asked when I got back in the car.

“It was… weird,” I admitted. “Turns out she’s just as much of an arrogant social climber as Justine said.”

“Really?” Nathan asked. “Wow.”

“Are you sorry you made Justine turn herself in?” Whitley asked. “Do you think Elsie deserved it?”

“No,” I said. “No matter how stuck-up she is, no one deserves that kind of bullying. So… I’m glad I did what I did.”

“Good,” Whitley said. “Now can we stop talking about high school drama and go see the movie?”

“Nice, Whit,” Nathan said.

“What?” Whitley asked. “This whole thing is giving me serious flashbacks to last summer. Not something I want to relive.”

“Whitley’s right,” I said. “Let’s go. All the secrets are out. I’ve apologized. I’m done. Enough drama. I’m ready to have a little fun.”

“I think we can make that happen,” Nathan said as he pulled out of Elsie’s driveway.

Just then, I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket. I pulled it out and saw a text from Brody. I grinned, glad to have found at least one person in all of this who was truly “worth knowing.” I kind of hated the way Justine had used that phrase, but I knew what it meant now. The people who made you smile. Who liked you for you and not the clothes you wore or the clubs you were in. Friends. Real friends.

“Hey,” I said, looking up from my phone. “Can we make one more detour? Brody wants to come.”

Whitley laughed and Nathan groaned. Loudly. But he took the turn I pointed to, toward the Frasiers’ house.

I sat back in my seat and smiled.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It’s no secret that I have some of the best people in the world helping me make all of my stories come alive. First a huge thank-you to my agent, Joanna Volpe, for her endless support and confidence. And thank you to Kate Sullivan and Leslie Shumate for helping me bring these stories to a whole new level. Thanks also goes to all of the amazing people at Poppy for getting behind these stories and helping make sure they made it into readers’ hands!

There’s no way I could ever make it through a day without the lovely ladies of YA Highway, who continuously give support, love, and encouragement. A huge thank-you is also owed to Lisa Desrochers, who has read everything I’ve ever written and somehow still wants to read more. Thank you, Lisa, for always making me feel like a rock star, even when I’m sitting in my pajamas on the couch eating pizza. You rock.

And, of course, I have to thank my wonderful, supportive family. They have been behind me every step of the way, and none of this could have happened without them. So thank you to my parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and fabulous grandparents—especially to my granddad Mickey (though I know he’ll never read this) for always, always having faith in me. I love you so much.

Kody Keplinger was only seventeen when she wrote her debut novel, The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend), which was an ALA 2011 Quick Picks selection. She is also the author of Shut Out and A Midsummer’s Nightmare. She grew up in a small town in Kentucky, where she began her writing career. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys going to the theater, hanging out in bookstores, and eating Thai food. Kody currently lives in New York City, where she can do all of those things regularly. You can find out more about Kody and her books on her website: www.kodykeplinger.com.

Backlist:

The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)

Shut Out

A Midsummer’s Nightmare

Contents

Title Page

Welcome

Dedication

Abbreviations & Alliterations

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

People Worth Knowing

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Copyright

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 by Kody Keplinger

Cover photo © Shutterstock / Yuri Arcurs

Cover design by Erin McMahon

Cover © 2013 Hachette Book Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

Poppy

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First ebook edition: June 2013

Poppy is an imprint of Little, Brown and Company.

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The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-316-24909-6