by Kai Juniper
"Quinn." He pauses a moment. "The people who live in the trailer?"
It's not a trailer but I'm not going to argue about it. My father hates Ella's house, saying it's an eyesore that should be torn down. When my mom moved out and he bought this house, which is just a couple miles down from the Quinn house, my dad went to city council and demanded they force Ella's dad to sell the house to the city so they could tear it down. It never happened and he's still furious it's there.
"Yeah, that's her."
"How the hell did you get stuck with her?"
I shrug. "The teacher assigned the partners. I didn't get to pick."
He rubs his jaw, watching me but not saying anything.
"I'm going to bed." I go around him to the stairs.
"Did I say you were excused?" he asks.
I walk back to him, my muscles tightening as my anger builds. Can't he go one fucking day without yelling at me? Without telling me what a fuckup I am?
"Did you talk to your advisor?" he asks.
"I didn't have a chance." I look away, not wanting to see the disappointment in his eyes. It's all I ever see when I look at him. Disappointment. In me. His only son, who can't seem to do anything right.
"I asked you to do one thing today. One. And you couldn't manage to do the one thing that I asked?" He circles around me, rubbing his jaw. "Why is that, son? Did I not make myself clear?"
"You did, but she wasn't there today. She took the day off."
He stops in front of me. "That's funny, because I called your school this morning and spoke with Ms. Whittaker myself, so I can assure you, she was very much there."
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
"The office secretary told me she wasn't. She must've made a mistake."
"I doubt that." He steps closer, looking down at me. He's six-four, but at six-two, I'm catching up. I'm hoping I keep growing so I can be the one staring down at him.
"I'll talk to her tomorrow. I promise."
He grabs my shirt, yanking me toward him. "What have I told you about lying to me?"
"You said not to do it."
"And yet you did. You know what that means, don't you?"
Before I can answer, the back of his hand slams against my face, throwing my head to the side. My skin burns and pain shoots through my cheekbone from his class ring. I swear he only wears it so it'll hurt more when he hits me.
I stand there, waiting for this to be done. Fighting back will just result in punishments. He'll take away my car, then my spending account. I'm not willing to give all that up, not when I'm so close to being done with this. May isn't that far away and then I'll be out of here. I just need to get through a few more months.
"May I be excused?" I ask.
He lets me go and paces the long open foyer, shaking his head. "Since you didn't do as I asked and talk to Ms. Whittaker, I asked her myself about your current status. It seems you're not first in your class, but second. Were you aware of that?"
"No, but I'll make sure I'm number one by the end of the semester."
"You don't have a choice. We had a deal."
The deal is that he'll give me the car if I'm valedictorian. It's a limited edition, custom designed Porsche worth $290,000 and my ticket to freedom from this hellhole. Once the car is mine, I'll sell it and use the money to move away and live on my own. I'll never have to see or talk to my father ever again, and I won't have to spend my life working for his company.
So yeah, I wasn't lying when I told Ella I need to be valedictorian. If she ends up coming in second, she'll still have her freedom, but if I do? I'll be chained to this bastard forever.
"I know what has to be done," I say. "I won't let you down."
"It's not just me you'll be letting down, but all the Chadwicks who came before you." His eyes lock on mine. "The Chadwick men don't stand for second place. We don't lose. We do everything in our power to win." He takes hold of my chin, squeezing it as he lifts my face up to his. "Your grandfather and I were valedictorian and at the top of our class at Stanford. We expect you to do the same. You understand that, don't you?"
"Yes," I say, gritting my teeth.
"I've already told my colleagues and many of my friends that you'll be valedictorian. Your mother has done the same. It would be an embarrassment to us all if you didn't follow through." He lets go of my face and steps back, folding his arms over his chest. "Who is it?"
"I don't know what you're asking."
"The person ahead of you. The person ranked first in your class. Who is it? Ms. Whittaker wouldn't tell me. She said it's confidential."
"I don't know," I say, not wanting to tell him it's Ella. He'd kick the shit out of me if he knew I was being beat by a girl, especially the girl who lives in the trailer-like house that still stands despite his efforts to tear it down. "It's a competitive school. Could be anyone."
"Find out," he says, glaring at me. "Then do whatever you have to."
He means find a way to take out the competition, even if it means doing something that's wrong or illegal. My father will do anything to get ahead. Cheat. Lie. Steal. He's done that and more, driven by a need to protect the Chadwick name and the financial prosperity that comes with it.
His phone rings and he takes it from his pocket. "It's your mother," he says, answering it. "Yes, Margo, what is it?" He motions me to go upstairs.
I go up to my room and slam the door, wanting to punch something, or scream, or jump out the fucking window. I hate living here, especially with my mom gone. She moved to Italy a little over a year ago after she and my dad decided they'd rather live apart than get divorced. My mom said she couldn't take living with him anymore and had to leave. She didn't seem to care that I was stuck living with him, but she also doesn't know that he hits me. She thinks his abuse is all verbal, and she doesn't call it abuse. She calls it strict parenting. She says it's good for me to spend time with my father, except we don't spend time together. He's always at the office, and when he's not, he's here telling me what a disappointment I am and how I need to do better.
What the fuck am I going to do? Even if I get an A on every test I won't be able to beat Ella. She gets all A's and does extra credit shit on top of it.
With rugby and all the hours I spend working out at the gym I don't have time to do extra credit, which means my only option is to play dirty. I was hoping it wouldn't come to that. Despite all the shit I've put her through over the years—the bullying, the threats, looking the other way when my girlfriend's being a bitch to her—Ella's never done anything to me. She somehow rises above it all, which I have to say is impressive.
But there can only be one winner here and it can't be her. Sorry, Ella, but this is how it has to be.
The next day at school I see Ella at her locker, checking her phone.
Last chance, I text. What's it going to be?
She looks up, searching the hall for me. She doesn't see me and looks back at her phone.
A text pops up on mine. Go to hell.
She obviously doesn't understand the power I have to ruin her life. I don't want to do it but she's leaving me no choice.
"Hey." Parker stops next to me, his dark hair flopping in his eyes. I wish he'd cut his damn hair. He shaves the sides but leaves it long on top and is always pushing it off his forehead, which for some reason annoys the shit out of me. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing." I turn to him. "You see Finn today?"
"Not yet. Why?"
I'd planned to use both Parker and Finn in my plan against Ella but I'm not sure I want Finn involved in this. The guy can go psycho sometimes, like when he almost killed a guy at a party last summer. The guy was hitting on the girl Finn was trying to get so Finn threw him on the ground and started strangling him. I yanked him away before the guy either passed out or died. Finn was drunk, but still, he has a dark side that gets out of control. I do too but I'd like to think I'm better able to control it, although that's debatable.
"I need you to do something," I say to Parker a
s I watch Ella go down the hall. What the fuck is she wearing? It looks like she took one of her dad's t-shirts and made it into a dress by tying a belt around the waist. The girl is so fucking strange, and she wonders why people make fun of her.
"What are you staring at?" Parker asks, looking down the hall.
"Ella Quinn."
He laughs. "Why? You decide to go after her again?"
He says again because I tortured Ella during sophomore year. I called her names, got people to turn against her, threatened to do shit to her. She was so scared of me she'd run the other way when she'd see me in the hall. But by the end of the year she started not giving a fuck what I did or said, which took away all the fun of torturing her. Ever since then I've left her alone but things are about to change.
"That's exactly what I'm doing," I say to Parker. "And you're gonna help me."
"How? What do you want me to do?"
"Show her who's in power. Make it crystal clear that she does what I say or we don't stop. We'll make her life a living hell."
He stands in front of me. "I thought we were done wasting our time on this shit. Everyone knows we run the school. Can't we just forget all this and spend our last semester drinking and getting laid?"
"This isn't a waste of time. She's out of line. She needs to know who’s in charge here." I stare down the hall at Ella, who stopped to talk to Ms. Higgins, our AP Chem teacher. Nobody except Ella talks to the teachers outside of class. She's always sucking up, but it won't do her any good. The valedictorian title is based strictly on grades, not how much ass kissing you do.
"What'd she do to piss you off?" Parker asks.
"None of your damn business."
"So what exactly do you want me to do?" I turn and see him staring at Ella, his lips creeping up. "I could take her around back. Feel her up." He chuckles. "I bet a guy's never even touched her."
For whatever reason it pisses me off to hear him talking about touching Ella. If anyone's going to touch her that way, it's going to be me. I almost did yesterday when I had her all alone behind the bleachers but then decided to give her a chance to think about my offer. But she made the wrong decision so no more holding back. She's mine now. Mine to destroy.
"I don't want you touching her," I say, watching as Ella goes in the classroom. "I want you to make her fail. Get one of the geeks to hack into her school account and delete her homework. Do shit to make her late to class. Do whatever it takes to destroy her grades."
"Why do you give a shit about her grades?"
I grab his arm. "Just do what I said. And don't get Finn involved in this. He'll take it too far and ruin everything."
"What are you saying about me?" Finn appears, throwing his arm around Parker's shoulder.
"Nothing, shithead." Parker shoves Finn's arm off him. "Where the hell you been?"
"With Trina." He slowly grins. "The girl's got talent like you wouldn't believe."
"I don't know how you do it," Parker says.
"Do what?"
"Get girls to want you. Briggs and me, it makes sense. We got muscles and shit. But why the hell would anyone want your skinny ass?"
"I'm not skinny!" Finn shoves him.
Parker shoves him back, so hard Finn stumbles back. "That's what happens when you have muscles. When you shove someone, they actually move."
"You fucker!" Finn charges at Parker.
I get between them, grabbing Finn by the shoulders. "Calm the fuck down!" I say in a hushed voice as people walk past us. Everyone's used to Finn's temper but usually it's directed at others, not his best friends. The three of us fight all the time but not in front of people. When we're at school, we need to appear united. It's how we keep our power.
Mr. Lander, one of the English teachers, walks up to us. "Everything okay here?"
"We're good." I smile at him and yank Finn under my shoulder. "Just joking around."
Lander's eyes go to Parker, then Finn and me. "You boys should get to class. The bell's about to go off."
"Yes, sir," Parker says, trying to sound respectful. He's totally playing the guy. He does it with all his teachers. It's why they think he's the good one in our group, the one most likely to follow the rules. Finn's the immature one who can't stay focused and is always finding trouble. And I'm the serious one who gets good grades but doesn't like being told what to do. I can turn on the charm when I need to, just like Parker can. I just don't always choose to.
"Have a good day," Mr. Lander says, walking away.
I lean down to Finn, putting my face up to his. "Get your shit together or I'll do it for you."
He glances away, his jaw tightening. He doesn't like taking orders from me but he will because he knows I'm in charge.
"The fucker needs to keep his mouth shut," Finn says, glaring at Parker.
"Go," I say to Finn, keeping my voice down. "People are staring."
Finn turns and goes down the hall, catching up with Trina and grabbing her ass.
I look over at Parker. "Why couldn't you just leave him alone?"
He shrugs. "He's fun to mess with."
"Yeah, well, mess with someone else. You know the rules. Nobody sees us fight. Ever. You want to mess with someone, mess with Ella." I check my phone. "Shit, I gotta get to class."
I take off, heading to AP Physics. Every damn class I have is AP, thanks to my controlling father who met with my advisor to pick my classes. I'm counting the seconds until I graduate, cash in my car, and can finally do whatever the fuck I want. My father will still try to control me but his threats won't work because I'll be on my own.
"Briggs." Ms. Whittaker stops me in the hall, shoving her glasses up and smiling at me. "I spoke with your father yesterday and—"
"Can we talk about this later? I'm late to class." I say it just as the bell goes off.
"Don't worry about that. I'll walk you in and explain to Ms. Rollins that we were talking."
How does she know I have Ms. Rollins next? Did she memorize my schedule? My dad probably paid her to, then paid her to track me to make sure I show up to class. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he did.
"So you talked to my dad?" I ask, adjusting my messenger bag on my shoulder.
"Yes, he had some concerns." Her smile fades as her expression turns serious. "Perhaps we could go to my office."
"I'd rather just do it here." I grit my teeth, anger coursing through my veins. I hate my father for doing this, for getting himself involved in my school. I don't show up at his company and tell him what to do. Why can't he just leave me the fuck alone?
Ms. Whittaker takes a step closer. She smells like really bad perfume, like dead roses mixed with cedar. It smells like something an old person would wear but she's not that old. I'm guessing she's thirty, or around there.
"Your father is concerned about your grades," she says, lowering her voice. "I think you're doing quite well, but like most parents, your father wants you to do your best so he asked me to talk to you about your options."
"Options for what?"
"Options to boost your grades. For instance, extra credit projects. As I'm sure you're aware, extra credit could boost you beyond your 4.2 grade point, which is what you'll need to—"
"Be valedictorian," I say, finishing for her because I'm about to explode if she continues talking about this. Any other parent would be thrilled their kid has a 4.2 GPA, but not my father. Nothing's good enough for him.
"I'm sure you want that too," Ms. Whittaker says, smiling. "And I'm happy to help you get there with whatever suggestions I could offer to bring your grade point up."
"I have no problem with my grade point," I say, my jaw so tight it's about to snap.
"Well, yes," she says with a nervous laugh. "Obviously, you're doing quite well but there is someone ahead of you."
“Ella Quinn.”
“I can’t confirm that. I can only—”
“I know it’s her. She told me. So what would it take to beat her?"
Ms. Whittaker adjusts
her glasses. "Well, as I mentioned, you could consider doing some extra credit."
"That's it? Just extra credit?"
"Since you're both taking an equal number of AP classes, that's pretty much all you can do."
"What if something happened to her?" I blurt out, then realize how bad that sounded. I smile. "I didn't mean it that way. I meant if she got in trouble for something. Or if either of us did, would that count against us?"
"No. The valedictorian title is based strictly on grades." She tilts her head, eyeing me. "Why are you asking about this? Has Ella done something I need to know about?"
I could make something up and get her in trouble but it wouldn't do any good if grades are all that matters.
"It was just a question," I say. "Are we done here? I don't want to miss more of class."
"Of course." She heads to the classroom.
"I'm good going in alone," I say, following beside her. "If I need a note, I'll just get one later."
She checks her watch. "I do have a meeting to get to, but yes, come see me later if you have any issues."
She walks off and I continue down the hall. When I get to class, Ms. Rollins stops what she was saying as everyone looks at me.
"I was talking to Ms. Whittaker."
Ms. Rollins smiles. "Have a seat."
She continues with her lesson, not even questioning what I told her. It just proves the power I have here, not just with the students but with everyone. But power and popularity won't make me valedictorian.
I need to be first academically and there's one person standing in my way. If she won't agree to lower her grades, I'll do it for her.
Chapter Four
Ella
Briggs and the other A's have been oddly quiet the past few days. Since that day Briggs threatened me behind the bleachers, he's been avoiding me, not even looking my way when we pass in the hall. It's concerning, and a little frightening, because I know he hasn't just given up. When Briggs Chadwick III wants something, he gets it.
"He's staring at you," Charlotte whispers from across the lunch table. She's wearing a pink cashmere scarf around her neck even though it's going to be eighty degrees today. She's always cold and always wearing sweaters and scarves.
