Page 31 of Deck of Scarlets
I rolled my eyes. “Abso-fucking-lutely not.”
Nickie propped her phone up so it showed her and Jeremy at his kitchen table. “Is there someone else?”
Why would she think… Josh’s infuriating smile and big hands came to mind. The way he looked upon my body as if the act alone was forbidden… the gentle touch of his fingers on my tattoo. No, no. He was with Nickie, and an arrogant ass.
They took my silence as defeat, and both began to laugh. “Honey, come home Friday night and take a break,” suggested Jeremy.
I bit my lip. “Maybe. I’ll see.”
“You better! It’s ladies’ night at Electric Haze!” gushed Nickie.
“You can see me dress in drag again. Loretta is dying to come out and play,” purred Jeremy.
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, well, great. I’ll text you if I decide to go. Bye.” I hung up before any unnecessary chatter leaked through.
It was time for that dreadful freshmen breakfast.
Chapter Twelve
If I’d ever wanted to dig my own grave, today would be the fucking day. The dining hall looked like someone projectile vomited the school colors all over the walls and tables. Soft, classical music drifted in one ear and out the other, and each table had flowers as the centerpieces and fancy silverware with matching plates displayed at each seat. Over to the far right, a table seemed to be stocked with fresh fruit and veggies, and just beyond that, a conga line of colorful drinks in clear kegs with shiny stouts awaited. The windows were long, casting an abundance of light inside the building, which made the room much hotter than outside. Every seat seemed to be filled by the time I arrived, but luckily Heather had saved us a place at a table dead center; how joyous.
She waved me down like a survivor on a deserted island, signaling me to join. I gave her a thumbs up to get her to relax and maneuvered my way to our table, trying to avoid pointy elbows and obnoxious laughter. The only type of crowds I could tolerate were clubs and concerts, and I was about three seconds away from hightailing it out of there. But just the simple smile on Heather’s face made me refrain. Once you spill your struggles with someone, you tend to ease up on their cringe behavior.
Just before I reached my destination, the girl who caught me with Kal stepped into my view. Her sour expression had returned, or never left, and she held up her well-manicured hand to signal me to stop.
“Listen, I don’t know who you are, and I don’t care to know, but we need to get one thing straight—”
“And that is?” I interrupted, annoyed. I didn’t need a replay of earlier, especially from this chick who reeked of a nasty attitude.
She gave me a sly look, one where if I weren’t dead center in a room full of people, I would’ve socked her in the mouth.
“Are you jealous of me?” she laughed maniacally.
Was she on crack? “No.”
“Mhm. Right.”
“I’m serious.”
“Stay away from the elite. You have no business with us.” She stalked off then, flipping her perfectly curled hair over her shoulder for dramatic effect.
I concluded that everyone in this fucking school had lost their goddamn mind, and I couldn’t wait to hurry up and graduate from this loony bin. I watched her stalk off the way she came, confused by her statement. Still, I decided it wasn’t worth the hassle trying to decipher her cryptic riddle and tossed Kal and our nonexistent relationship out the window. I would instead stop now before I crossed onto private property.
Heather scooted her food tray aside to give me some room on our long table. At least she wouldn’t try to bite my head off.
“Feeling better?” Heather asked. Just by the tone in her voice, I could tell she was testing the waters with me, making sure I wouldn’t snap like a rubber band.
“Yeah, much better. Just took out some nasty garbage,” I joked.
She gave me a big smile and pushed her tray in between us again. Heather had piled some mini chocolate muffins, fruit, bacon strips, little sausages, and scrambled eggs. I gave her a warm smile and popped a mini muffin in my mouth.
“I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I grabbed a variety,” she said.
“Good choice on the mini muffins,” I said between bites.
Just then, a loud gong silenced the cafeteria as the same woman from last night stood in the middle of the room, grabbing everyone’s attention. Jordan, if I remembered correctly, held a black microphone in hand and smiled, waving at a few other students before unfolding a piece of paper.
“Good morning, freshman class! Today, we’re going to have so much fun! Icebreakers and games galore!” she gushed.