A very big, tall, wide, old building.
The entrance was the tallest part. Almost like a church steeple that went for miles into the air with a giant clock perched near the top.
I slowed to observe the building and someone behind me beeped their horn.
I sped up and pulled into the parking lot.
I parked in the first open spot I could find and got out of the car, expecting everyone to be staring at me.
There weren’t many people around and it took me four seconds to see that my super expensive car wasn’t the only one there. It was… everyone’s car. Fancy SUV. Low to the ground custom cars. Each with emblems of car companies that I knew were either crazy expensive or ones I didn’t even know. I took my phone out and searched the name of one and gasped when I saw the base model for the car was over one hundred thousand dollars.
I put my phone away and mentally slapped myself.
This was Bay Falls High.
Everyone was loaded.
Duh.
I skipped going through the main doors and entered through a side door.
As luck would have it, it was right next to the main office.
That’s where I needed to start my day.
I opened the heavy door to the office and was hit by the smell of cleanliness, paper, perfume, and cologne. It was almost cliché how every office smelled the same.
There was a dark brown door with a name tag on it.
Hagan Werthwood
Under that: Principal
Under that: Bay Falls High East
I lifted my eyebrow.
East?
Did that mean there was another building somewhere?
Feeling a little nervous now, I took my notebook out of my bag and opened it to a clean page.
I managed to write a few words before I started to flip back, wanting to find the page that Uly had seen and memorized.
I had no luck so I went back to writing.
I never knew what was good or not.
What mattered or not.
But it was something.
“I will do all I can to help you, Miss Whitaker.”
I peeked from the corner of my eye and saw a woman leaving Principal Werthwood’s office. She was tall, skinny, brown curly hair that bounced on her shoulders even when she wasn’t walking. Her right wrist had bracelets and a watch. Her left wrist had a small tattoo on it.
Nice.
Principal Werthwood looked at me and nodded. “I’ll be with you in one minute.”
My face burned hot. Like I was in trouble.
I didn’t even get to say okay before he shut the door.
The woman - Miss Whitaker - put her head back and sighed. “It’s important. It helps them. Can’t anyone understand that? No. Let’s just shuffle them through. So they can work for their parents…”
She slowly looked at me.
“Sorry,” I said.
“Don’t be,” she said. “At least this way I’m not some crazy woman talking to myself, right?”
“Yeah. Exactly.”
She walked by me and peered down at my notebook. “Anything good in there?”
I hurried to shut the notebook. “Nothing. Believe me.”
“His bark is louder than his bite,” Miss Whitaker said to me, nodding toward Principal Werthwood's office. “Just listen and get out of there.”
She left the office.
Before I could ask myself what the hell that was about, Principal Werthwood emerged from his office and called my name.
Belle Bablebit.
Then he added something that made me shiver.
It’s time.
* * *
Principal Werthwood loved to talk. He loved to keep the fingertips of his hands touching. He loved to talk with his eyebrows tilted like he was pissed off. He loved BFH. East. He made sure to put that in there each time he spoke.
He finally stopped his history lesson on himself and the building and slid me a piece of paper.
“Four classes,” he said. “Start there today and we’ll see where else I can fit you in. I understand you just want to finish and move on. I hope that’s true. Nothing worse than trying and failing.”
“Well, if you don’t try, you intend to fail, right?”
“Good answer, Miss Bablebit,” he said. “I understand there were some… family issues…” I saw the way his face looked a little sad yet even more anger. And I swore he gritted his teeth for a second.
“I’m… uh…”
Shit. Jo. You never told me what the story was here. What do I say? What do I do here?
“Dr. Thorburn is well respected,” Principal Werthwood said. “And from what she’s told me, you plan on showing up, doing the work, finishing, and that’s it.”
“I have nothing else to offer,” I said.
“Oh?”
“I’m not rich. I don’t come from a rich family. So I won’t be donating a wing to your building or whatever it is these rich parents do. So, yeah, I have nothing to offer.”
Principal Werthwood put his fingertips together again. “You’re quite honest.”
“No need to bullshit anyone.”
“Okay then. I’ll have someone show you to your locker. And then you can take a tour. Get your classwork. And get to work.”
“Sounds like a plan, man,” I said.
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry. I say stupid things when I’m nervous.”
“No need to be nervous, Belle,” Principal Werthwood said in a relaxed voice. He put his hands to his desk and stood up. “Let me show you the way out, Miss Bablebit.”
He hurried toward the door and opened it.
It was pretty damn obvious there was something with Principal Werthwood and Jo. Maybe not like that but if she had pull… I mean, one phone call and I’m suddenly at BFH?
That was crazy.
And there was a story to it.
I stepped out of the office and there was someone waiting for me.
She got right in my face too.
Where I came from, that meant you were going to fight.
“Hey, Belle!” she yelled. “I’m Lizzy. I’m your tour guide. All I ask is that you keep your hands and feet in the vehicle at all times.”
Whoa, bitch… switch to decaf…
“Right,” Principal Werthwood said. “You two go on and have an amazing day.”
“We will!” Lizzy yelled.
She hooked her arm into mine and pulled me out of the office into the hallway.
She trotted. And skipped. And… ew.
She was excited and happy.
Double ew.
We turned the first corner and Lizzy unhooked her arm from mine. She put her back against the wall, then her head and groaned.
“Fuuuuck,” she called out.
“What?”
Lizzy looked at me and curled her lip. “Fuck. I hate fucking acting like that. But you have to keep him away from you. It’s…whatever. Doesn’t matter. I’m Lizzy. That’s my real name. The shit show you just saw was for good measure. So please tell me you didn’t buy into that bullshit I just spewed in there.”
“No,” I said.
“Tell me something about yourself then.”
“My name is Belle. My mother’s best friend kind of saved my ass. My mother means well but is a giant fucking mess. I’ve basically lived broke my entire life but now I live in a mansion and drive a really expensive car and go to this fancy place. So my head is still spinning from everything that just happened. And I’m glad you’re not some little ass-kissing princess. But truthfully, I don’t care who you are. So if you want to stop wasting time, tell me where my locker is. After you do that, I’m going to go outside and smoke a cigarette before I head to my first class of total awkwardness and hearing whispers behind my back. Cool?”
Lizzy pushed from the wall and nodded. “Cool. Just one quick change.”
“Oh?”
“I’m going to join you for a cigarette too.”
&n
bsp; * * *
“No fucking way,” Lizzy said as we walked another long hall together.
The building was as big inside as it was outside. It had plenty of windows but felt dark at the same time. It was actually a little cozy to me. There was a feel to it that I could get used to. There was nothing on the walls. No pictures. No bulletin boards. Nothing.
It had the vibe that Principal Werthwood had given off.
We were all here to go to class and get out.
That worked for me.
“Did you hear me?” Lizzy asked as she nudged me.
“Yeah. No. What?”
“I said no fucking way,” she said.
“Okay?”
Lizzy rolled her eyes.
She stopped walking and opened a locker.
It was full of books and notebooks. Pictures hung up with magnets. A mirror that she used to check her bright blonde hair with. She probably liked to look at her eyes too. They were crystal clear blue. She had that princess bitch look even if she didn’t act it.
She grabbed a bottle of body spray and doused herself.
She offered it to me.
“No thanks,” I said. “I don’t mind smelling like smoke. I’m not afraid of who I am.”
Lizzy laughed. “You’re such a cold bitch, Belle. I love it. Be careful though, that will get you plenty of likes.”
“What?”
“The guys around here… they’ll sniff you right out. If they already haven’t.”
“Yeah, well, I met the baseball players,” I said.
“Who?”
“Ryan,” I said.
“Oh. That douchebag. And his three buddies, right?”
“Yeah. I took care of it.”
“Meaning?”
“Look at Ryan’s face and then talk to me.”
“You hit Ryan?” Lizzy asked. “I think I just fell in love with you.”
I opened my mouth to say not exactly…
“Wait,” I said instead. “Where’s my locker? I assume this is yours, right?”
“This one is mine,” Lizzy said. “And this one is yours…”
Lizzy pointed to the one next to her.
I smiled.
So that was the whole no fucking way comment.
She rattled off the combo and I opened the locker.
It was empty.
“More good news,” Lizzy said. “Your first class is with me. Ditch your shit and let’s go for a walk.”
I put my bag into the locker and kept my phone with me.
I shut the locker and leaned against it. “Hey. What’s with the East thing here?”
“What do you mean?” Lizzy asked.
“Principal Werthwood kept saying East over and over. Is there a West?”
Lizzy suddenly looked very serious. “Yeah, there is. It’s on the other side of town. Come on, we’ll walk and talk.”
I stood shoulder to shoulder with Lizzy as she led the way to whatever version of math they were trying to sell us on. I hated math. I hated it hard. My mother told me it was okay because my brain was made for arts, not math and science. Yet I still had to take the classes and deal with the bullshit of them all.
“There’s always been this East vs. West thing. Simply put - nobody likes each other. Here, it’s mostly doctors and lawyers. A different kind of rich person, if you can believe that. Over there at West it’s mostly business people. Any and all kinds of business. If you ask me, some of it is not legit at all.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“Use your imagination, Belle,” Lizzy said. “And on top of that, they have ties to BC.”
“What is BC?”
“Brooks Crest,” Lizzy said, shaking her head. “Don’t ever talk about it either. That’s the place where they send those who can’t function the right way.”
“Meaning…”
Lizzy stopped walking. “You get into trouble and you face whatever happens, right? That’s how it goes. Or at least that’s how you learned it. Not here. You get into trouble and you get sent to BC. Basically you get tossed away to be forgotten. Nobody wants their name associated with anything bad. You know?”
“That seems fucking insane.”
“Welcome to this side of the world, Belle. The grass is definitely greener, but it’s also really fucking fake too. Believe me. Everyone at BC… here… the other place… they all have secrets.”
“The other place, huh?” I asked. “Bay Falls High West…?”
“No. Hidden Creek High. Loser school. They mostly fight with West though. It’s kind of nice to sit up here and watch it. Such lame stuff. But lately things have been quiet there and the whole East vs. West is starting again. My advice is to not ask questions and stay away. I can tell you who’s okay or not. If you trust me.”
“Can I trust you?”
“No,” Lizzy with a grin.
“So is rude bitch sarcasm a thing here?” I asked. “Because you’ve got it. And the woman I’m staying with is-”
“You’re crashing with Dr. Thornburn, right?”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“I know,” she said. “She’s cool. Really mean too. But she saved my grandfather’s life.”
“She did?”
“Yeah,” Lizzy said. We stopped walking next to a large door. “He was having chest pains. Tried to hide it from us too. My mother found him hunched over the bathroom sink, unable to breathe. He got rushed to the hospital and then Dr. Thornburn did something to him. Some kind of heart surgery. Like a really big one. I think it was… six hours? Maybe more.”
“For one surgery?”
“Yeah,” Lizzy said. “Dr. Thornburn is a badass bitch. Anyone and everyone knows her. She’s crazy rich too. Not just from being a doctor. She’s kind of got a little bit of West and East in her. Best part is nobody fucks with her. Because they might need her.” Lizzy snorted. “That’s how it is with everyone. That’s all part of the East vs. West thing. Anyway, ready for this?”
Lizzy pulled the door open before I could answer.
I guess I had no choice, huh?
seven
I survived the first two classes.
And I survived the first lunch.
The food was like something you’d order from a restaurant. A really expensive restaurant at that. Yet everyone seemed to complain.
All eyes were on me wherever I went but I played it off.
My eyes were doing the same thing though.
Except I didn’t care about anyone… I was looking for someone.
For him.
For Uly.
I sat down at the table to find Lizzy talking to someone who wasn’t at the table when I left to go throw my trash out.
This girl had orange looking eyes that glowed like a cat. And hair that was crazy dark brown, almost black, but when the sunlight or any light hit it, it had a brownness to it.
She looked at me, nodded, and looked right back at Lizzy.
“I told you the truth about it,” she said. “You can walk blind. I don’t give a shit. I’m not your caretaker, Lizzy.”
“But you are a cunt, Danica.”
Lizzy stood up and walked away.
I sat there with my eyes wide open.
Danica slid down until she was across from me. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“I’m Danica. And I am a cunt.”
“Good to know,” I said. “I’m Belle. I’m not sure if I’m a cunt or not.”
“That’s okay. We’ll figure it out. Don’t mind Lizzy. She’s out of her mind. Heard you got stuck with her today. My condolences.”
“Okay…”
“Lizzy is okay,” Danica said. “She walks a fine line. I think we all do. It’s in our blood around here. Have to always keep your guard up. Remember that.”
Danica pointed at me.
I pointed back. “Quick tip? Don’t fucking talk to me like that, okay? I’m not some fucking new girl that needs to learn the ropes. You have no idea where I came
from. Who I am. Why I’m here. How long I’m going to be here. Understand?”
Danica slowly smiled. “Good for you, Belle. You’re going to need that attitude to survive this place. And survive Lizzy. But don’t tell her I said that.”
“What’s so bad about Lizzy?” I asked.
I did not want to be submerged into BFH gossip, but…
“Don’t worry about it,” Danica said. “Did you meet anyone else yet? You’ve been looking around like you know someone.”
“What? No.”
“Get better at lying,” Danica said as she stood up.
“Uly,” I said.
She froze halfway standing. “What?”
“Uly,” I said. “I met Uly. Yesterday. Last night. But he’s not here today.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’s here,” Danica said. “Now if I tell you to forget about him… to pretend you never met him… to erase his name from your mind… you won’t listen. I know it. I can tell that about you already.”
“Okay… so tell me something about him,” I said.
“Easy. Stay away. Run away. Hook up with someone, and fast. So you look like you have a boyfriend. Pretend to be happy. Ignore him. Walk the other way. Get what I’m saying?”
“I get it,” I said.
“Get what?” Lizzy asked as she sat back down. “You two finally met?”
“We met,” Danica said. “I told her to watch her back near you.”
“You’re a bitch,” Lizzy said.
“It’s pronounced cunt,” Danica said.
She puckered her lips and kissed the air.
She walked away and I stared at her.
“She’s actually really cool,” Lizzy said. “She just lives on the edge and doesn’t care what anyone thinks.”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Hey, you okay?” Lizzy nudged me. “Did she say something to you? About me? Tell me if she did.”
“No,” I said. “I just… it’s been a day.”
“Of course it has,” Lizzy said. “Almost done. We should hang later too. You can come to my place. Or I can drop by yours. I know where Dr. Thorburn lives. You tell me.”
“Okay. Cool. Yeah.”
We both stood up at the same time.
We walked to our lockers in silence.
I opened my locker and grabbed my bag.
NOT SO Innocent: a bay falls high novel Page 6
