by Ruby Vincent
“Hey!” I screamed as I was yanked to the side.
“Quiet.”
Rough hands pinned me to the wall. Airi and Natalie fell in on either side of me, holding tight to my arms. Isabella closed the distance between us as they held me in place.
“Don’t put up a fight,” she warned. “We don’t want to worry Gus.”
I glanced over her shoulder at the cameras. “Fuck that,” I spat. “I definitely want to worry Gus. Hel—!”
She clapped her hand over my mouth, cutting off my shout. “Shut up. We’re not here to hurt you. We need to talk.”
I shook her off, but I didn’t try to scream again. “Talk about what,” I said through gritted teeth.
Isabella folded her arms, looking at me steadily. “You’ve been marked, and I’m guessing by now you know what that means.”
“It means the whole school goes psycho!”
Her glacial expression didn’t change. “It means you’ve done something you can’t come back from. Something bigger than the Knights can deal with, and now the Spades have to act.”
I blinked. “The who? The Spades?”
“There hasn’t been a marking in years, but I should have known you’d be the one to break the streak,” she scoffed. “Coming into my school and pretending you could take me on, when really you’re nothing but a slum trash cliché with no daddy who learned a few moves from a music video.”
I bristled. “Watch it, Bruno.”
She laughed. “Or you’ll what? I told you, Valentina, you’ve been marked. And now everyone, and I mean everyone, is going to make it their mission to get you out of this school. Professors will look the other way. Your friends will tear you down. You won’t last a month of that, let alone four years. But here’s the thing.” Isabella cocked her head, shooting me a smile.
“I don’t have time for these games. You were barely worth my attention before this started, and you’re even more insignificant now. I’m the leader of the Diamonds and on track to become the world’s youngest principal dancer. I can’t have distractions.” She stepped back.
“So here’s the deal. You go to the headmaster’s office right now and tell him you’re dropping out at the end of the semester. You do this, and you’ll be left alone. You’ll get to take your finals and make whatever arrangements to go back to your old school. All we want is to see you gone, so drop out, and we won’t have reason to make you leave. That’s the deal. Take it.”
“Such a generous offer,” Airi purred. She leaned in and buried her nose in my cheek, breathing deeply. “Do as she says, Virgin.” Her lips brushed against me as she spoke. “We don’t want to play this game—”
“—but trust us,” Natalie continued, “we’ll win.”
I looked Isabella dead in the eye. “I’m not going anywhere. You can do your worst, but it will be nothing compared to the hell I escaped from.”
Isabella’s face shuttered closed. “You haven’t seen hell yet, bitch. Remember this when you’re running from the school, bawling your eyes out. We tried to give you a way out.” She snapped her fingers and the hands on me disappeared. “Game on.”
The three fell in line and casually walked away without a glance back. The elevator doors closed on Isabella’s deceptively lovely face, and I took a minute to gather myself before heading for the stairs. They wanted to rattle me, but it wouldn’t work. I meant it when I said nothing could compare to the hell I’ve experienced—and it wasn’t a game then.
Eyes followed me as I stepped out onto the quad and made for the main building. The gagging picked up again when I stepped into the main hall, but this time people followed it up with taunts.
“Are you anorexic too, Moon? It would make things so much easier if you just starved to death?”
“Do men really pay to screw a little twig like you?”
“Is that why you came here? To add the Knights to your list of customers?”
“What was it like having Maverick’s hand up your dress?”
I flinched. No, please. Tell me Maverick isn’t telling people we did more than kiss. How can I have thought that guy was sweet?
I picked up the pace amid their snickering and hurried to homeroom. Markham didn’t look up when I came it. Tap, tap, tap on her keyboard, she wasn’t going to help me. A fact that was driven home when I glanced across the classroom and found my desk gone. That’s right, gone.
There was an empty space where my seat should have been and more searching told me there wasn’t another free desk in the room.
The class was watching me, waiting for my reaction. I schooled my face. I wouldn’t let them see that any of this bothered me.
I moved around the desks, walked past my spot, and set my things on the window ledge. I ignored everyone as I took out my homework and went over it. As I kept saying, they would have to do better than this.
Thirty minutes later, the bell rang and I was the first out the door, my head held high. I moved on to Spanish and found myself without a desk again. Senora Fernandez chattered away the whole class, pretending she didn’t see me standing in the back. Rossman’s class was much the same.
By lunchtime my feet were sore, but my resolve wasn’t. I burst into the cafeteria and marched up to the lunch line. The Knights had beaten me to the lunchroom this time. There the four of them sat—coldly cruel and heartbreakingly beautiful. Ryder’s fingers drummed on the table as his eyes tracked me. I saw right away that one of them was bandaged and I smirked. That sight had made my day way better.
I turned away and continued on. Their gaze beat on the back of my neck as I headed for the food.
“Why bother, Val?” asked a girl from my math class. “You’re just going to throw it up after.”
I said nothing, just flipped her the middle finger, and walked past while she sputtered. I grabbed my tray and didn’t stick around. There was no point. My friends made it clear I wasn’t sitting with them.
I took my tray out and walked with single determination to my new lunch spot. Past the janitor closet, the library, and at the end of a long narrow hall. The door to the Knights’ room seemed to peer back at me as I approached it.
I closed my hand on the knob and it opened easily. They didn’t think to lock their door. Who would be foolish enough to come in here? Besides me that is.
The lights flicked on at my presence. They shone on a space that was even more spectacular than I imagined. Polished mahogany floors shone with the lights of the hanging lamps. Filling the sunken living room were brown leather couches all displayed around an oak coffee table. There was everything in here from a big screen mounted on the wall, to the grand piano shoved in the corner, to a small kitchenette. Despite the luxury of the space, I could see the individual stamp of the different boys.
The shelf under the television was stuffed to bursting with records and CDs. Scattered all over the coffee table was bits and pieces of machines that Maverick was either taking apart or putting together. There were dry-erase boards on the walls with lists and schedules all in Ezra’s handwriting, and then there was Ryder.
I set my tray among the mess on the coffee table and walked up to the piano. Reaching out, I traced my finger along the deep scratch on the cover. How or why Ryder had gotten the school to move this from his home to this room, I didn’t know, but just standing here the memory of him sitting before it as he teased the most beautiful sounds from the keys. I remembered the soft expression on his face when he played... and the hideous one that overtook him when he caught me on it. He yelled at me until I ran from his bedroom crying. I hadn’t seen it since.
I stepped away from the piano and went back to the couch, picking up my fork and getting down to eating.
Yep, this would do nicely for my new lunch spot.
AFTER LUNCH, I GOT rid of my tray and headed for my next class. I walked a bit taller with the knowledge of my secret. Eating in the lion’s den right under their wet noses.
As I got closer to art class, my grin began to fade. Maverick
was in this class. What would he do? What was I going to do?
We shared a life-altering kiss and then in the space of a few days I find out I was just a bet and he’s joining in on the school’s mission to make me miserable. Maybe the best question is will I be able to take him by surprise and smash his face in.
I pulled opened the door for class and looked toward the window. Our eyes met through the sea of faces. There was no expression on his face as he looked back at me. I waited—for what I wasn’t sure.
Maverick stood and turned his back, walking off to the paint station.
Anger spat and boiled in the pit of my stomach. I thought I was getting to know him—that there was more underneath the surface, but I was right the first time. Crack open his chest and you’ll find the gears and wire you expect from a heartless robot.
“Valentina?”
“What?” My head snapped around. Scarlett was perched on the edge of her desk, holding a handful of wet brushes. She smiled at me—the first friendly look I had gotten all morning—and it almost did me in. “How are you doing, Val?”
She knew. Everyone knew. “I’m fine,” I croaked, looking away.
“Val, I...” She sighed. “I want you to know that even though the project is over you can still come after class. I’ll be here if you want to paint... or talk.”
I nodded. “Thanks,” I whispered. I walked off before the compassion in her voice made me anymore emotional. I weaved through the class for my spot. I noticed my stool wasn’t missing this time.
Maverick returned moments after I sat down. I tensed as I waited for him to say something, but he didn’t so much as glance in my direction.
Scarlett clapped. “Alright, class. The first part of the semester was about bringing to life what we see in others. Now we will be working on what exists in ourselves. What pushes us, drives us, scares us, breaks us apart, and puts us back together again. I want you to get raw, dig deep, as you work on your final project: your worst fears.”
I gazed out the window as Scarlett’s voice became soft buzzing in the background. I didn’t need to dig deep to discover my fears. They were always with me, pulsing beneath the surface.
I DIDN’T GO TO TUTORING after classes ended. I wasn’t an idiot. There was no reason to give Ezra the satisfaction of smiling in my face when he announced I was on my own.
Instead, the end of the day saw me viciously jabbing at the screen to get at my crème brulee Sprite. That was the new flavor Sofia and I had moved on to last week. I squeezed my eyes shut as I thought of us giggling on the roof, sipping creamy soda, and analyzing every word of her texts with Jeremiah.
How could that have been fake?
How could it have been worse? a harsh voice said back. A real friend wouldn’t have turned on you for all the cards in the deck. Forget about Sofia Richards.
A chime signaled my soda was ready so I took it out and put the straw to my lips. Despite my resolution, one sip drowned my mind with thoughts of her... and someone else. How could I drink these things and not think of the first time I met Ezra? Of him stealing my sodas, laughing about all the crazy flavors I tried, or him wrapping his lips around my straw as boldly as he placed them on mine.
I turned away from the machine, marched up to the garbage, and tossed the drink inside. No more soda for me.
Leaving the main building, I walked across the quad to the freshman dorms. The elevator rumbled to my floor and I stepped off, breathing a sigh of relief just seeing my door. What I needed was a warm bed, a hot bath, and some loud music, not necessarily in that order. I would shed this day like snakeskin.
I threw open my door and froze. My backpack slipped through numb fingers and feel to the ground.
It was like a bomb had exploded in here. The remains of my speakers, clock, and laptop were scattered about the floor in a million pieces. Covering the debris were the feathers and cotton from my pillows and sheets. Someone had taken a knife to it and slashed them open.
I slowly came inside. Broken glass scrunched under my feet; the remains of the mirror that used to adorn my vanity. Liquid dripped off the edge of the surface, pouring from spilled perfume bottles. My eyes traveled away from the ruined makeup to the message scrawled in bloodred lipstick on the wall:
Game on, bitch.
IT TOOK ME ALL AFTERNOON and most of the night to clean up my room and take pictures. They had been thorough, destroying almost everything I owned. My Honey Hair products had been dumped out on the bathroom floor. My lipsticks broken, my CDs cracked, and my wardrobe had been reduced to confetti. They even slashed up my underwear. They, like my stereo and laptop, weren’t salvageable. I would have to buy everything new.
That wasn’t so bad. It was all just stuff. No, what really got to me was what they did to my photos of Mom and Adam. It wasn’t enough for them to smash the frames. They had taken out the pictures, ripped them up, and tossed the pieces in my trash can.
My fingers shook as I sat on the ruin of my bed, holding up a corner of Adam’s smile. I knew who did this. There was only one person I had told my passcode.
Sofia.
I leaned forward and put the piece in place, carefully reassembling my family.
Scratch. Scratch.
My fury was a hot spike in my throat, burning with every ragged breath I took. I could feel it being scraped and clawed away along with the hope I had at getting my best friend back.
I WISH I COULD SAY they didn’t do better. That my classmates didn’t step it up a notch with every blow I withstood. But I couldn’t say that.
By Friday, only five days into my torture, I was starting to unravel.
I had gotten my passcode change immediately and there were no more break-ins into my room, but everyone was doing just fine tormenting me outside of it.
I gritted my teeth as I sped across the quad that morning. I spotted people huddling together, poring over something, but I didn’t look close to find out what.
“Hey, Val!”
The first person called out to me and I snapped. “Just leave me alone!”
“Don’t be like that,” they shouted after me as I yanked open the door. “That’s no way to get business!”
I raced inside and my foot came down on something smooth. Stumbling, I quickly caught myself and looked down to see what tripped me up. My own face looked back at me.
I bent down and picked up the paper. My cheeks flamed when I realized what I was looking at.
My head had been expertly pasted on a butt naked woman putting everything on display. On top of the flyer was the word “Services” and underneath was a list.
Blowjobs: $5
Handjobs: $2
Fuck: $10
Fuck w/Video: $12
The flyer crumpled in my fists. After days harassing me about being a virgin and saying no one wanted to fuck a stick, they were back to insinuating I sold my body.
“Do you like it, Val?”
I raised my head. Isabella, Airi, and Natalie were posted up on the opposite wall. This time they weren’t alone. The other Diamonds fanned out around them. Cade Trevelyan, top GPA in our year. Axel Leon, record-breaking track star, and Genesis Smith, prize-winning sculptor. I had gotten to know all the kids toting themselves as the best of the freshman class very well the last few days. They were never far behind when I was being tormented. Majority of the time, they were doing the tormenting.
“We thought you could use some help advertising,” said Isabella.
Airi nodded. “Yeah, we heard something happened to your stuff and you have to go shopping.”
“Now everyone knows you’re open for business,” Natalie said. “You gotta raise money, girl. New speakers and uniforms aren’t cheap.”
They weren’t even pretending they didn’t have a hand in destroying my things. My eyes narrowed on them. “You know, it’s amazing how you do that, Isabella.”
The tiniest frown appeared on her bow-shaped lips. “Do what?”
“How you get Airi and Natalie to p
uppet you without sticking your hand up their asses. Being your mindless thugs must be second nature to them by now.”
“You—!” Natalie lunged forward and was barely restrained by Cade.
“No fighting,” he cried. “You want Jaxson coming down on us?”
“Stop it.”
One command from Isabella and Natalie stopped trying to come for me, but it didn’t stop her from glaring hot enough to roast my head. I was coming to see that Bella was the cool one, Airi thought this was all amusing, but Natalie was a wild card. The looks she gave me seemed to hold true hatred. I had a feeling if she was allowed to put a hand on me, she would have been coming claws out.
“Speaking of Jaxson,” I said as I tossed the flyer over my shoulder. “What do he and his buddies do while you all carry out their dirty work?” I scoffed. “Maybe I was wrong about who’s really running the mindless thugs.”
Isabella’s eyebrow twitched. That was my only hint that I had struck a nerve. “Don’t worry about the Knights, slut. They have something planned for you.”
My face remained still. I wouldn’t give away what I thought of that.
She tsked. “Let’s go, guys. Val most likely has someone to suck off in the broom closet. We shouldn’t hold her up.” The group turned to leave.
“Oh, wait.” Airi spun around and gave me that wide smile. “I’d love to take you up on that fuck with video, but your prices are a bit steep.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a nickel. She threw it at my feet. “This should cover it.” Airi blew me a kiss as her cronies burst into raucous laughter. “See you tonight.”
They walked off and I trudged to my locker. Papering the walls were the Diamonds’ flyers. People yelled after me the whole way, going on about the services they were interested in.
My throat tightened until it was hard to swallow. At least they don’t know where you truly get your money. I can endure the lies and fake rumors as long as they never know the truth.
I stepped into homeroom and walked straight to my new seat at the window. My old desk never made a reappearance, and I couldn’t bring myself to go begging to administration for one. The class would probably get rid of it again with no consequences.
