All the other campers go quiet, all of a sudden. The air is almost unbreathable, tension oozing out of the Range Rover, which stopped literally inches from my face. Fear turns into anger. No one fucks with my life and gets away with it, not even as a joke! I don’t have the rat pack to back me up, but I’ve never run from a fight. I won’t start now.
Laughter bursts from inside the Range Rover. I hear whispers from the campers. Glancing to my right, I see juniors and sophomores swooning, their eyelashes fluttering and smiles taking over their faces, as three young men casually jump out of the behemoth that nearly mowed me down.
The girls are all sprinkles and hearts. The boys are… tough, hungry, rebellious. I can see it in their eyes. I follow their hungry gazes, somewhat amused by their reactions. My heart stops for a second. Holy crap, they’re hot. I don’t know who they are, but it’s as if the gods got together one night and decided to design three of the most gorgeous creatures to ever walk the Earth.
One of them looks at me. His green eyes dig into my soul, black curls brushing against his forehead. “Did you lose something?” He asks, his tone flat.
My mouth is open. I shut it, then shake my head.
“Then what the fuck are you staring at?” Oh, I don’t like his tone. His face, his body, on the other hand. Jeez, the temperature is already rising and my senses refuse to listen. The guy standing next to him is an interesting contrast, to say the least. He prides himself with a crew cut and inquisitive, hazel eyes. He’s also bigger than Curls. The third one is definitely an athlete. If I were to guess, I’d say lacrosse. As he reaches into the back of the car to take out a duffel bag, I can tell he’s got the perfect ass for lacrosse.
Elly, your filthy mind is showing.
They’re hot. They’re hotter than a summer’s day on Lake Tahoe. My skin is prickling, and my loins are highly reactive. I’ve never felt this way before, but I am genuinely intimidated by these guys. I should be glad I’m not the only senior around anymore, but how would I even go about making friends with them? Do I want to make friends with them? Do I want more? Or nothing at all?
Make a decision. He asked you a question.
My inner voice is as sharp as always, and I welcome it. Curls did ask me a question.
“What the fuck am I staring at?” I ask, my voice surprisingly calm, despite the fact that my blood is boiling as I realize I’m about to go at it with him and his buddies. I’d rather shrug it off, but I can’t let these three dominate me in any way. If I do, I’ll be looking at six weeks of Dante’s Inferno on steroids, because they seem like they need a ragdoll to kick around—and it’s not going to be me. “Mind if I ask you your names, before I answer that?”
Curls raises an eyebrow, but he’s definitely intrigued. Hazel-Eyes is about to smile. Lacrosse-Ass is… eating me up. He looks hungry. Definitely hungry. And my knees are softening, which is exactly the opposite to the reaction I’d like to conjure in this precise moment, dammit!
“I’m Rhett,” Curls says, then nods at Hazel-Eyes and Lacrosse-Ass, respectively. “Kellan. Gage.”
I breathe in. This is my chance to assert myself. If I fail, I’m cannon fodder.
“Elly,” I reply. “So, what the fuck am I looking at, you ask?” Curls nods briefly. I think my use of profanities turns him on. His gaze darkens a little bit, and my knees soften further, making it harder for me to stand. “I’m looking at three assholes who nearly ran me over, that’s what I’m looking at.”
Silence settles between us. If they get aggressive, I can bolt straight into the manager’s office. I’ve already seen the signs leading to it. Curls scoffs. Hazel-Eyes’ eyebrows are all the way up. I’ve shocked him. Lacrosse-Ass is grinning like the devil. I don’t know whether to be scared or turned on, right about now. Not that I wouldn’t know what to do with the latter. I’ve understood most of my body and hot spots, so far, though there’s a lot left for me to discover before I allow a man into my bed. Why am I thinking about this, right now?!
It’s their fault. They exude a certain je-ne-sais-quoi. The looks in their eyes speak of predators, hunters who enjoy playing with their prey before devouring her, before consuming her until she screams out their names in pure ecstasy.
“Are you sure that’s how you want to kick things off, Elly?” Rhett asks me, calmer than I’d have expected.
I can’t help but smirk. He’d have clocked me by now, if that was his intention.
“Maybe learn to use those brakes properly, and we can try our hand at another, more palatable introduction,” I say. “You startled me. It was disrespectful.”
“Palatable,” Gage replies, sounding rather impressed. “I take it you sleep with a thesaurus under your pillow?”
The rest of the guys laugh. Not Gage. He’s standing there looking way too pleased with himself. Pleased with me too, if I’m being perfectly honest. Or, at the very least, intrigued by me.
“I’ve been taught that beauty fades,” I tell him, pointing a finger at my head. “It’s what’s in here that stays and prospers.”
“Shit, we’ve got ourselves a wise-ass, fellas,” Kellan chuckles. “What are we going to do with her?” Something about his voice cuts deep. So deep that it slices my courage right off my back and allows it to fly out the window.
There’s something in the way Kellan smiles at me. It knocks down my defenses, and I don’t know what to do with myself. Murmurs slip from the crowd, and I realize there’s still a pack of tweens a dozen yards away, all of them staring at us. I must’ve stirred them, somehow.
“Doesn’t she know who they are?” I hear one of the boys behind me.
“Nah, she’s not from our school…” Another says.
I’m guessing Rhett, Kellan, and Gage here are popular in whatever nearby town they’re from. Most high schools in the district are pretty posh, including mine. Breeding grounds for star athletes and legacy Harvard admissions. I wonder which category these three fall into.
“We’re going to try not to run her over with our car,” Rhett finally answers Kellan’s question, then motions for him and Gage to follow him. They head toward me, and I’m shrinking, somehow, becoming a mere wisp of a human being.
I pray to all the stars that they don’t do something stupid. They move with confidence, their shirts just a smidge too tight for their torsos. It’s like they coordinated to turn on every girl on a mile-radius. I’m willing to bet that even the female camp attendants are already wet and yearning for a slice of Rhett. Or Kellan. Or Gage.
Rhett passes by me first, and our gazes lock for a split-second. I feel the universe expanding, time losing its meaning altogether. Next thing I know, he’s gone inside, joined by Kellan and Gage.
“Nice meeting you, Elly,” I hear Gage say.
Glancing back, I find him smiling at me over his shoulder, before he goes through the ranch’s main cabin. Time resumes its flow, and reality swirls back around me like a cold and angry whirlpool. The campers are still whispering and snickering—the girls, in particular, annoy me. They’re throwing darts with their eyes, and I doubt that I deserve such glares.
I flip the bird on them, then pick up my suitcase and head into the main cabin, as well, already wondering whether I’m going to run into the Hotshots again. That’s what I’m going to call them from now on. The Hotshots.
The Hotrods. The Tempests. The Greek Gods. No…definitely Hotshots.
Turns out this summer camp won’t be as boring as I’d thought.
4
Elly
As soon as I walk into class, fully prepared to apologize for my lateness, I understand the depth of trouble I’m in. Rhett, Kellan, and Gage are here. Fate had to go the extra mile in its attempt to break me, huh?
The teacher, a plump middle-aged lady with round glasses and a tired ginger perm, gives me a flat smile. “And you are?”
Does nobody want me here?
I glance around the room. Kyle is definitely in another class, but he gave me his cell number in case I need hel
p. It’s a little awkward for me to call him now and beg him to get me the heck out of this place. My dad, despite his faults, taught me to stand my ground. How will I ever survive the journey into adulthood if I let these people step all over me?
The beauty queens watch me with renewed interest. Rhett looks like he’s about to splatter me all over the walls. Gage does a good job of ignoring me. Kellan… well, he’s busy grinning at the tarts from earlier. His lips move. I don’t hear what he says but it’s got to be something kinky enough to make both girls giggle and blush. The brunette even bites into her lower lip, and Kellan has to resettle in his chair. I’m guessing there’s a serious hard-on in his jeans, making it harder for him to sit up straight.
My mouth is dry. I know he’s big and full of fire. I cried his name out, more than once, as he pounded into me the first time we got together. My face flusters as I smile at the teacher. “Eleanor Fox, ma’am. I’m sorry I’m late. Got lost. New school and all that,” I say to her.
She checks the register. Her finger moves down several pages, until she finds my name, scribbled in blue ink, unlike the printed ones before me. They didn’t even have time to update that thing, so they had to add me in with a pen.
“Right. Eleanor. Find yourself a seat. We’ve just started,” the teacher replies.
I look at the class again, spotting an empty chair and table at the far back, in a corner by the window. The Hotshots are in my way. I’ll be sitting close to the beauty queens and right behind the horny brunette.
Smiling at the teacher, I make my way between the rows, damaged backpack on my shoulder. I move past the first rows, measuring my breaths. Kellan is the first obstacle on my path to maybe forty minutes of relief.
“You might want to hurry, Eleanor. You’re wasting precious class time,” the teacher says, making me cringe as I briefly stop next to Kellan.
He looks up at me, but I don’t recognize him. His hazel eyes are hard and unforgiving, with not a speck of the softness that had made me open up to him, in the first place. His lips are as inviting as always, but he’s beyond my reach now. The look on his face says that much.
“Get crackin’, noob,” he mutters, making the horny brunette giggle. What animals they were, to enjoy such cruelty.
I roll my eyes and go forward, just in time for my eyes to meet Gage’. He’s not happy I’m here, scoffing as he leans away from me and chooses to focus on a distant point outside, beyond the wide window.
Almost there. It’s Rhett who scares me the most. I pass by him as he stares blankly ahead. His expression is so cold and distracting that I don’t even see his foot dart out from under his table. He trips me, and I fall like a lonely tree in the woods. The impact with the floor comes as a shock. The roaring laughter that follows doesn’t surprise me one bit, as all my stuff flies out of the open backpack, tampons spreading all the way under my table. My books reach the beauty queens, and I say goodbye to my pens, which have already rolled out to the other corner of the room. I’m not going to get those back anytime soon.
“Are you okay, Eleanor?” the teacher asks after she shushes the class.
“You might wanna watch where you’re going,” Rhett says, not at all amused as he looks down at me. I know my short jeans give him a full view of my ass, because his gaze wanders and stops right there. The embarrassment is too much, but if I run out crying, they win. If I start a fight, they win.
“Sorry,” I say, snapping back on my feet and turning my gaze to the teacher. “My bad, ma’am. I tripped.”
“Come on, hurry, we need to get started with the lesson,” the teacher replies, clearly inconvenienced by my delay and stumble. Not a good opening to the new year, for sure. Thankfully, it’s my last. Only eight months, and we’re done.
I manage to gather most of my things back into the bag, my hands shaking like crazy. Finally, I take my seat and pull out a notebook, cursing under my breath as I have nothing to write with. My face is burning, sweat seeping through every single pore.
Rhett, Kellan, and Gage have their backs to me, now. At least I don’t have to look them in the eyes for the rest of this class. The teacher scribbles her name in chalk on the blackboard. Mrs. Humphrey. Gingersnap is what I’ll call her. I’m terrible with names, in general.
“Welcome back, class!” she says, bright as a spring morning. “Hope you all had a good summer! This is your last year! Aren’t you excited?!”
The lemmings cheer and chuckle. Oh, they’re definitely excited. Thanks to yours truly, they’re probably looking at a pretty entertaining senior year.
“For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Laura Humphrey, and I teach American history here at Trinity High. We’ve got some new students this year and, as is our tradition, I’d like to invite each of them to stand up and tell us a little bit something about themselves.”
“Oh, shit,” I whisper, already shrinking in my chair.
Looking around, she spots me first. Because why the fuck not?
“Eleanor Fox. You first, darling. Make up for your earlier stall,” she says.
I already hate her with the fire of a thousand suns, but American history is definitely one of my key credits. I’ll need her to like me, eventually. But we can do that later. For now, I just need to get past today, so I can put my head down tonight and find a working strategy for the remainder of this year.
Something tells me the Hotshots won’t make it any easier. They’re not looking at me, so I find an ounce of courage to stand and clear my throat. The rest of the class have their eyes trained on the new clumsy girl who got schooled in the parking lot within the first ten minutes of her arrival. Some of them seem to hate me without even knowing who I am. Kyle was right. This place is an absolute jungle.
With a weary voice, I manage to introduce myself. “Hi… I’m Eleanor Fox. People call me Elly—”
“Pretty sure people call you other, more interesting things,” Gage cuts in, without bothering to look at me. Laughter rumbles through the room, as Gingersnaps scowls at him. “Sorry, Mrs. Humphrey,” he adds. She smiles, satisfied with his apology. What about me? I’m the one he just insulted!
Clearly, I don’t have an ally in Gingersnap. I’m on my own here.
“I’m from Barkston, originally, less than a hundred miles west of here,” I continue, unwilling to break. “Moved to Trinity a couple of weeks ago, due to some… changes in the family. I’ve aced the debate competitions back home, and I hope to further enrich my education here before I—”
“Changes in the family?” the horny brunette interrupts me. “Daddy banged the PA or what?”
Chuckles slip out, but I’m not amused. I’m boiling. If she thinks she’ll get away with the same kind of crap that the Hotshots just pulled, she’s got another thing coming. I narrow my eyes at her.
“You stick to the bottom of the swamp, sweetie, and maybe Kellan here will let you go down on him. But you won’t get brownie points for being a bitch to complete strangers who’ve done absolutely nothing to you,” I say, my tone clipped.
“Ooh, zinger!” someone whispers, prompting a few more excited “Oohs” and “Aahs” out of the hormone-riddled crowd. The brunette would love nothing more than to take a swing, but she’s too far away, and Gingersnap gasps, outraged—out of all things, by my response, not by the tart’s provocation.
“Eleanor! Language, please,” she exclaims.
“Really? Was I the only one who heard her insult me?” I shoot back, unwilling to yield this time around. The Hotshots won’t even look at me, but I catch glimpses of their smiles as they glance at one another. Glad to see they’re having fun.
“This isn’t how you want to start your year here,” Gingersnap insists with a warning tone.
Exhaling sharply, I give her the fakest smile I can conjure. “My apologies, Mrs. Humphrey. I’ll mind my language.”
The brunette seems satisfied. I’m already drawing up fighting schemes in my head, because I know she might be stupid enough to try something later, ou
t of class. The thing with the Hotshots is that they’re so appetizing, so hypnotizing, so goddamn hot, that foolish girls like this one and her blonde friend will do anything to get into their graces. It just doesn’t have to be at my expense.
I’ll deal with the Hotshots later, anyway. I just don’t want their loyal Muppets to piss me off, too. There’s only so much awful I can put up with before I bid UC Berkeley farewell and just start dropping bodies.
Gingersnap motions for me to sit down, then moves on to another newbie—a skinny, bespectacled Texan. His jeans and khaki shirt are already drawing snark fashion commentaries from the students around him, but he doesn’t seem to care. He’s Brad Parsley from Houston, Texas, and his parents moved to Trinity this summer. He’s an army brat, it seems, and this isn’t his first relocation.
In that sense, he’s more resilient than me. I’m still grappling with my circumstances, while he’s at his fifth new school. He’s been through these motions before.
Finally, we get to the actual class, as Gingersnap starts talking about the US Constitution. She’s going in full detail, though, unlike previous classes on this topic. I remember I’ve got nothing to write with and, as obnoxious as she might be, Gingersnap is saying a lot of interesting things I’d like to look up later.
Pencils are scribbling frantically around me, while I’m stuck in the back here, hands fumbling on my open notebook. A pen enters my field of vision, held by a delicate hand with soft pink nail polish and a golden sphere ring. I follow the source along the slender arm and find one of the beauty queens extending what might very well be a gesture of goodwill.
She’s even prettier from up-close, with long, Jennifer Anniston hair and sunny blue eyes. Her tan is gorgeous and natural, nicely accentuated by her white top and pale green jeans. She gives me a smile, but it’s a hard one to read. Is it hers, or is it fake?
“Till you get yours from the floor,” she whispers.
The other two girls from her posse have their eyes on me, but they strike me as the kind of malicious software that just comes in and breaks everything if you open yourself up to it. Something tells me Jenny here is part of the same breed, but I do appreciate the pen. I need it.
Trinity High: High School Bully Romance Page 3
