by Bella King
I spun around and came face to face with Trent. “Jesus,” I said, clenching the heart necklace on my chest. “You scared me.”
“You should be scared,” he replied, squinting at the back of the man I had just been talking with. “You’re talking to Angus? Bad move, darling.”
“What’s it to you?” I asked, taken aback by his aggression and nosiness.
“It would mean a lot to me if you didn’t fraternize with the enemy,” he stated, still glaring at Angus as he disappeared down the hallway.
“Need I remind you that it is you who is the enemy?” I said, holding up a finger.
“Shut it,” he said, finally looking at me directly. “You’re not allowed to speak with him. Do you understand?”
I wondered why he was so angry about me talking with Angus. As far as I could tell, there was no active conflict between the two men. I had never seen then fight or even cross paths.
I crossed my arms. “Don’t tell me what to do, Trent. You burned my money, and I don’t like you.”
“You don’t have to like me in order to obey me. In fact, I would prefer you didn’t like me. It makes things easier,” he grumbled.
“I’m not going to obey you just because your goons are running around the school committing petty crimes. It’s pretty lame,” I said.
He laughed angrily. “Oh yeah? And what have you done that landed you at Bayside, huh? Did you give a cop the middle finger or something?”
I shook my head but kept my mouth shut. He was still curious as to how I got here, but I wasn’t going to tell him that my father was a mafia boss. I didn’t want him to know that much about me. He couldn’t trick me into telling him either.
“You’re cute, Samantha, which is the only reason I haven’t snapped your skinny little neck. I expect you to step in line or deal with me directly,” he said, his voice getting deeper the more he spoke.
“Or what?” I challenged.
“Don’t tempt me,” he said, his eyes once again burning a hole through me. His gaze was so intense now that it was making me uncomfortable. I couldn’t tell if he was about to tear me to shreds or kiss me.
“Just leave me alone, okay? We don’t have any more business together,” I said.
“Actually,” Trent replied, pulling out the same package that I had delivered to him before. “We do have business. This isn’t what I wanted, and I need you to put it back where you got it. I’m making a switch, so you’ll have to get the new package tomorrow.”
“In your dreams,” I said. “I already did your task. This is over.”
“No, you didn’t complete it because this isn’t the right box. The damn corridor got confused and gave me the wrong item.”
“That’s not my fault,” I said, hoping that he realized how insane he sounded.
“That doesn’t matter. You’re going to switch them back. Take it,” he said, holding the box out to me.
“No,” I said, keeping my arms crossed tight against my torso.
“Take it, and I’ll get you a line into the black market,” he said with a glint of mischief in his eye.
“What?” I asked, surprised at how much he knew.
“That’s why you were talking to Angus, right?”
“Were you listening in on me?” I asked, growing irritated that I seemed to have no privacy from Trent.
“That’s beside the point,” He said smugly. “Do you want access or not?”
“I’m going to get it from Angus anyway. I don’t need you,” I said, taking a step back in an attempt to end the conversation.
“No, you won’t. Angus is going to look you up and find out that you’ve done work for me. He’s not going to give you shit after that,” Trent said, a smile of triumph gracing his stubbly face.
Did the school gangs have a database with information about everyone in it? Just how advanced were these thugs?
I rolled my eyes. “So, you want me to swap the package, and that’s all?”
He nodded, softening his expression in an attempt to feign innocence.
I couldn’t believe I was agreeing to this. He was such a manipulative prick. I reached out and snatched the package from his hand, glaring at him. “Same place as before, right?”
“Yep,” he replied, looking smug.
I shook my head. “You better hold up your end, and we’re not going to meet in the fucking graveyard again.”
He held out his hands, smiling sweetly. “I promise you. I’m being fair.”
I had enough of his nonsense. I shoved the package in my back pocket, giving little care to how visible it was, and walked away.
I felt that Trent might not have liked Angus, but there had to be more to it. I almost felt like I heard jealousy in his voice when he was telling me not to deal with him. Trent was possessive, as I already knew, but was it possible that he was attracted to me as well? I had caught him giving me suggestive looks in the past. It was entirely possible.
That was wrong, though. I wasn’t going to get involved with him. The more time I spent around him, the worse things got for me. He was the entire reason for everything bad that had happened here, aside from Emily’s death. Then again, he was also the only reason I wasn’t bored out of my mind.
I made my way to the bathroom, where I had to switch the package with a fresh one. He had wanted me to do it as soon as possible, and to be honest, I didn’t feel like going to class anyway. I’m sure they wouldn’t miss me, as long as I stayed in the bathroom until the bell rang. If I was caught in the hall without a pass, that would get me in trouble. In the bathroom, I was safe.
I reached the bathroom, ducking inside as security wandered down the hall. I had arrived just in time to sneak in without getting caught. Now, all I had to do was to switch the package and wait an hour in the bathroom. It was a long time to wait, but it wouldn’t be much different from staring out the window in class. At least I didn’t have to hide the fact that I didn’t care in here.
I made my way to the back of the bathroom, passing a few open stalls and one closed one before arriving at the back where I could make the switch. I shut the stall door quietly, jumped up onto the toilet, yanking out the grate with no grace, and peered into the dark hole in the wall.
There was another box, almost identical to the one that Trent had given me. As I took the old one out of my back pocket, I got the urge to check what was inside. Nobody would notice if I looked inside because it had already been opened before.
I stepped back down from the toilet, spinning around and sitting on the lid with the old package in my hand. I turned it over, examining the obviously out-of-place tape. I was too curious a person to let this opportunity go to waste, and besides, I didn’t have much respect left for Trent after what he had done to me.
I peeled back the tape, being careful not to cause more damage than necessary to the wrapping while I reopened it. The sound of the tape was loud in the echoing bathroom. Even though nobody would know or care what I was doing, I still felt the need to hide the sound. I hunched over the box with it on my lap as I finished opening it, excited to see what was inside.
I was surprised when a thin gray power leaked out into my hand. It was like sand, only darker and finer. At first, I thought it could be drugs, but I had never seen drugs like this. It looked like someone had ground up gravel and placed it in a box. I took a pinch and put it into the small pocket at the top of my jeans, closing the box and wrapping it up as best as I could.
I wanted to find out what this stuff was, but it would take time to do that. I found myself wishing I had more connections to go through. It would be easy to have someone else test it for me.
Angus would be helpful if he turned out to be on my side. With what Trent had said, it looked like I would need to find someone else to confide in. It wouldn’t be easy, because I didn’t know how many people were on Trent’s side. He had eyes and ears around every corner. I couldn’t be too careful.
I jumped back up to the vent shaft and swapped the package
s, shaking the one I received to check if it had similar contents. I heard the same maraca sound of a loose powder inside. Whatever it was that Trent was having delivered to him, the differences were subtle from the mistaken package. I had to test the powder in my pocket to find out what it was.
I straightened up the vent in the hiding spot and climbed back down from the toilet, dropping the new package into my bookbag and slinging it over my shoulder. I sat down on the toilet seat and waited for the bell to ring, signaling that it was safe for me to go outside.
Minutes after I was lost staring at the graffiti on the interior walls of the stall, I heard footsteps, and then a knock on my stall.
Chapter 9
I pulled my legs up, hoping that whoever it was would go away if they thought nobody was in the stall. They didn’t.
“Hello?” A small and polite voice asked from the other side.
I remained silent.
“Hello? I know someone is in there because I heard you earlier. Are you skipping class too?”
I sighed, and put my legs down, standing up from the toilet and taking a step toward the stall door. I unlatched the bolt and swung it open toward me. I was surprised to see a rather small woman with a face as sweet as they came, standing in front of my stall with her hands clasped in front of her.
“Can I help you?” I asked, a little confused.
“Perhaps,” she answered with a dimpled smile. “I’m pretty bored sitting in the bathroom alone.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, same. What’s your name?”
“Lisa,” she answered cheerfully.
“Cool, I’m Samantha,” I replied.
“Oh, I already know that,” she said, her expression not changing at all.
“Oh?”
“Yes, you’re dating Trent, right?” she asked, tilting her head to the side so that her short auburn hair fell against her shoulder.
I laughed. “Hell no, but I know him.”
“You seem to know him well,” she said with a wink.
I scoffed. “You seem to know me well. What’s your deal, anyway?”
She giggled, but it sounded a bit fake. I was beginning to grow suspicious of her. If she knew who I was, then it was likely that she had been sent by Trent to keep an eye on me. That, or she was one of Angus’s workers coming to check me out. He did say he would run me through the system. Was this what he meant?
“I heard you have money, so I wanted to see if you’re in need of any services. I already have deliveries running for the Killers, and the 24 Block Thugs as well. I don’t pick sides.”
Great, somebody with connections. It was frightening how much people seemed to know about me around this school, even though I tried to keep myself subtle. She could help me, but she could just as easily side with Trent and leak information to him. Why should I trust her?
“So, you’re sided with the Killers?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh no, I don’t side with anyone. I’m an independent woman,” she said, beaming at me with rows of perfect white teeth. She was an odd girl, but she seemed to know her business.
I didn’t think it would hurt to give her a try. “Don’t tell Trent what I’m doing, okay?”
“Your orders are safe with me,” she said, maintaining an air of professionalism as she spoke.
I felt like I was getting my taxes filed as opposed to standing in the bathroom, talking about illegal orders at a boarding school for delinquents. This was the first time at this school that I had encountered cheerful and professional service, and I had to say that I liked it.
“I have some stuff with me, but I don’t know what it is,” I explained. “Could you get someone to test it for me?”
“Drugs?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I’m not really sure what it is at all,” I said, pulling a pinch of the gray powder from my pocket and showing it to her in the palm of my hand.
She leaned in for only a moment before responding, “Gunpowder.”
“What?” Surprised that she knew that so quickly.
“Gunpowder. By the looks of it, single-base gunpowder, but don’t quote me on it,” she explained.
What would Trent need with gunpowder? What was he trying to do with it? This new information confused and intrigued me. I wanted to know more.
“So, if I asked you to get some, you would be able to?” I asked, squinting at Lisa.
She nodded. “For the right price, yes.”
I rubbed my chin. “Okay, let me think for a second.”
“Take your time.”
I spun a few ideas around in my head, trying to figure out my next move. I wasn’t sure how much stuff cost on the market, but I didn’t worry too much about it. I had a decent sum of money tucked in my pocket right now. Trent hadn’t succeeded in robbing me blind just yet.
I wanted to get back at Angela for the atrocity that she had committed against Emily, but at the same time, I wanted to ensure it never came back to me. What I needed was a stern punishment without much noise or commotion. The best thing I could think of on the spot was getting her kicked out of school.
Then, it hit me. She would be kicked out of school if security found something on her bad enough to warrant jail time. She deserved to be in jail for what she had done to Emily. All I would have to do was to plant something on her that would make a loud beep going through the security scanner.
“I need a piece of metal and some strong drugs,” I said with a slight smirk.
Lisa raised an eyebrow. “You want a knife or something?”
“Yes, that would be fine, as long as it’s metal,” I said.
“Okay, so a knife and some drugs. Anything in particular?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
She almost rolled her eyes but stopped herself. “You want pills, grass, sleep medication?”
“Pills, I guess,” I replied, not knowing much about them.
“Uppers, downers, psychedelics?”
“I don’t know. Something very illegal,” I said.
“You’re wild,” she said with a laugh. “The harder the substance, the more it’s going to cost you.”
“I know. Just get me something that’ll fuck me up,” I said.
“Careful with that,” she said, giving me a funny look. “We’ve had enough overdoses around here already.”
“I’m not going to overdose,” I replied. Hell, I wasn’t even going to take it. This was all for Angela so that she could be caught with a clear baggy of drugs taped to a knife in her bag. It was an easy hit, almost too easy.
Lisa drummed her fingers against the side of the bathroom stall frame. “I can get you something strong, and something pointy, which I’ll estimate would be around,” she paused to think, “a hundred bucks.”
“Deal,” I eagerly replied, pulling a wad of banknotes from my pocket.
Her eyes widened when she saw them. “Don’t let people see you with that,” she warned.
I thumbed out five twenties and handed them to her. “I already learned that lesson the hard way.”
“Shame, but that’s the way most people do,” she said, taking the money from my hands.
“Hey, how do I know you’re not going to disappear with my money?” I asked, testing her one final time before we went on our own merry ways.
She laughed. “I’m not looking for trouble, sweetheart.”
“Fair enough,” I replied.
The bell rang, signaling that it was time to leave the bathroom and get to the next class. “How do I find you?” I asked as Lisa began walking toward the exit.
“I’ll come to you when I’m ready,” she replied, exiting the bathroom and leaving me there alone, once again.
She had better hold up her end of the deal. I was sick of being screwed over.
Chapter 10
Trent. What an arrogant prick. There he was again, leaning against his locker like the world owed him everything. I hated him, but what I hated even more was the fact that he was chatting it up with
an attractive blonde woman.
I ran my fingers through my own blonde hair. Maybe he had an affinity for blondes, but that just made it worse. Was he a player? I had never actually seen him with a woman other than me until now, and Lisa had even thought that he and I were dating. Strange.
Trent nodded to the woman as she left, staring at her ass as she walked away. Disgusting. I was sure he did that kind of shit to me when I wasn’t looking. It only confirmed that he wasn’t the respectful man that I hoped to meet one day.
Still, I was drawn to him again. I felt my body taking control and guiding me toward him even though I didn’t want to be there. I had his package, I reasoned with myself, and that was why I was heading in his direction. Of course, it was because I wanted to drill him on the woman he was just talking to, like how he had pressed me about Angus. Was it petty if we both did it?
“Delivery for Mr. Trent,” I said in a joking tone as I approached Trent.
He turned around with a frown, but his eyes softened when he saw that it was me. “Samantha. About time. I was beginning to think someone pushed you off the school building or something,” he said with a cocky smile.
“Not funny,” I said, placing my bag down in front of him. I had tried to be lighthearted with him, but he had already ruined it. “How do you want to make the swap?”
“Just hand it over. I’m tired of being coy. The administration doesn’t have shit on me anyway,” he said, making a beckoning motion with his large hand.
“Cool,” I said, unzipping my bag and handing the box to him.
“Alright, well, I’ll put in a good word for you, and maybe someone will get back to you about the whole black market thing,” he said once he stuffed the box into his bag.
I didn’t tell him that I had already gained access. That would just make him suspicious. The illusion of control that he had was a good thing for me because it meant that I could dodge his attempts to manipulate me.
I smiled. “Thank you,” I said politely.
“Don’t expect any other favors,” he said.
“You haven’t done any for me yet,” I replied with an edge of snark.
