He’s adamant that our conduct put the academy’s name in disrepute and that using performance enhancing substances to cheat in school sports is equivalent to cheating academically.
So we risk expulsion and the principal guarantees that our fate will be exactly that, if we test positive ever again, regardless of what the school board decides about the current situation.
As we leave the principal's office, we’re all shocked and reeling about it all.
How could this happen?
We’re all adamant that we didn't take anything.
Until it hits me like a punch in the fucking gut: Aubrey!
Aubrey
AFTER THEY GOT CALLED into the principal's office, I didn’t see Devon, Teague, and Landon in class nor in the cafeteria at lunch.
I spot them at the edge of the football field on my way to cheer practice but Mrs Stubbs decided to use the gym today, so we don't have a chance to see the football players.
After practice, everyone’s in a rush to go home but I don't have anyone waiting for me at Chaz’s and I admit that I was hoping to find texts from Knox, Landon or Teague.
Knox actually did text me that Coach Benson asked him to stay behind after practice, because he wants to talk to him.
So I guess that I’ll drive home and resign myself to a lonely afternoon.
I really fucking miss Abi!
Last year I was at a new school, Aylesbury Prep but as soon as I found out that I had a sister, I really didn't try that hard to make friends.
I spent all my free time bonding with Abi, trying to make up for the seventeen years we missed, when we didn't even know about each other's existence.
So, after my daddy announced his intention to transfer me to BHPA, leaving Aylesbury wasn't much of a problem but I wish that Abi and the guys weren't six hours away.
All my other friends are in Hong Kong and there’s the time zones to keep us apart and the fact that life goes on and people move on after a friend leaves.
Yes there's social media and Skype but everyone has got their own inner circle and inside jokes of which I’m no longer a part of.
I’m the last one to leave the girls’ locker room and when I cross the field to get into the student parking lot without having to cross the whole property again, I’m so lost in my own thoughts, that I don't see Devon until I practically walk into him.
When I lift my eyes to look into his green gaze, I can't stifle a surprised gasp at the fury I see burning in his eyes, hardening his handsome features.
I open my mouth to ask him what's wrong but he’s quicker than me and his attack's so vehement that it literally takes my breath away.
“What the fuck, Aubrey? Way to get us all suspended from the football team and possibly expelled!”
I shake my head, unable to make sense of what's happening and I’m about to ask what the fuck he’s talking about when I realise that Teague and Landon are surrounding me too and they both look as mad as Devon.
“I don't understand. Suspended? Expelled? Why? And what do I have to do with it?”
Teague shakes his head, his blue eyes have a hardness I’ve never seen in them, their usual amused glint is completely gone.
“Wow, you’re fucking good. I have to give you that! We tested positive for performance enhancing substances and we were also accused of trying to hide that we used illegal shit by taking water pills!”
Landon is behind me.
He doesn't say anything but I can feel his anger emanating from him.
“Guys, I honestly don't understand why you're telling me all this. I mean, ok you wanna tell me about it, but why are you mad at me?”
Landon’s voice feels as sharp as a knife, a knife to my back.
“We know with certainty that the day of the game, we didn’t take anything. We’ve been told that the drugs we tested positive for stay in your system just for a few hours. You gave us a sports drink. It could've only been that.”
I turn to look at Landon and then turn again to look at Teague and Devon.
They're serious.
They really think that I drugged their sports drinks.
I can't take the anger and the hatred I see in their eyes, eyes that used to look at me with desire in them.
I’ve kissed each of them, I’ve done much more than that with Devon and Teague.
I can't believe they’d even think that I could drug them and try to ruin their lives.
I feel hot tears pushing at the corner of my eyes, urging to be let out but I’m not crying in front of them.
I know that running away from them will probably make me look guilty but crying would be even worse.
So I flee back to the relative safety of my car and I don't even know how I make it back home, where I can let my despair all out.
9.
Hit Me Baby One More Time
Knox
COACH BENSON CALLS me into his office after practice and while at first I’m wondering what he could possibly want from me, I leave his room surprised.
When I get to my car, I find Margaux waiting for me and luckily she doesn't look pissed off: she hates waiting, this is why we rarely ride to school together, on the off chance that practice runs longer than planned, I don't wanna hear her bitch at me.
Today she insisted on riding with me and when coach asked me to talk to me, I was bracing myself to hear her complain all the way home.
She keeps looking at me while I drive.
“What's on your mind, Knoxie boy? You're unusually quiet.”
I smirk.
“No, I’m usually quiet because you always chew my ear off about something if we ride together.”
She rolls her eyes.
“Ok, fucking touché! But it looks like you’ve got something on your mind.”
Well, she’ll find out soon enough.
“Looks like I’m starting on Friday night. And I’ll be QB1 for the foreseeable future.”
She beams.
“And aren't you happy about it? That’ll make every girl at school even more wet for you than they already are.”
I wince at her crudeness: I don't mind when girls curse, whatever, but Margaux expresses herself like a sailor who’s just run out of rum.
She's a very pretty girl, if I can say that as her big brother, but I wish that she tried to be a little more ladylike and kept her fucking panties on a little more.
Which I know is hypocritical, since last year I slept with every single cheerleader except for Abi and Gabbie but as her brother I know what the guys on the team say about her and it's not great.
And I can't even tell them to shut the fuck up, because I know that the shit they say is most probably true and maybe they're even being restrained about it if I’m in the room.
So I glance her way while negotiating a busy intersection, and shrug.
“Sure. But you know me, sis, I’m not interested in your slutty friends. Last year I tapped every single one of ‘em and none of them was worth even a second look.”
She narrows her blue eyes and cackles.
“Really? So what about Aubrey? You seem into her. She must have some skills to keep you interested beyond a single fuck.”
It's my turn to roll my eyes and it's both at her assumption about me and Aubrey and at her choice of language.
“I haven't ‘fucked her’. Not yet.”
She laughs out loud and I don't miss the scorn in her tone when she says:
“Ah, I see what her strategy is then! She doesn't give it up in the hopes to make you commit to her! Well, I’m pretty sure that now that you're QB1, she’ll spread those legs faster than you can say ‘hut, hut, hut!’”
Her words rub me the wrong way both because of how she's talking about Aubrey, and how she's assuming that she isn't interested in me for me and that my improved status on the team’ll make her capitulate.
So I set her straight.
“FYI, sis, the reason why Aubrey and I haven't slept together is that we’re getting to know each
other. I like her, so this was never just about getting laid. In fact, I’m gonna ask her out for next weekend.”
“Right. If that's what you need to tell yourself ... I bet you fifty bucks that now that you're QB1, her panties’ll fly right off the first time you get her alone. And please fucking hurry up to DTR (define the relationship), so she’ll leave Devon alone and I can close the deal! I have a bet with Macy and Rachel on who fucks Devon first. And your little Aubrey’s always in the way.”
I scoff at her slutty bet and her petty jealousy.
“Whatever! She's not in your way with Devon! They hardly ever acknowledge each other. And when they do, I don't think they particularly like one another.”
Now her laugh is mocking me.
“Boys! So fucking clueless! You haven't noticed the way those two look at each other? And at that party, when Landon kissed her during that game of ‘suck and blow’, and you and Landon were having a pissing contest about who had the right to kiss her, he went to check on her when she walked away. And I saw them having some kinda private time in the men’s locker room last week. So I think that your Aubrey’s not beyond going after a guy for his status.”
MARGAUX’S WORDS BOTHER me all evening.
Is it possible that I misread Aubrey this much?
That she's into Devon only because he’s the starting quarterback?
If she’s right, I guess that Aubrey will now be more interested in me?
But then again, I know that she likes me because she's said yes every time I asked her out and she's never seemed to mind making out with me.
So how could I tell if she's only after popularity?
I know that she's been seeing Teague and Landon too and I reassured her that it was fine because we were just getting to know each other.
That I didn't expect exclusivity, even though I didn't disclose the fact that right now I’m not interested in anyone else.
I guess if she chose me all of a sudden, because I’m QB1, that’d be my answer.
And that’s another reason of anxiety for me: what changed coach’s mind?
I’ve never been majorly bothered about being the team’s star but I won’t lie that after Max graduated last spring, it hurt a little that coach went all out to recruit another quarterback, not even giving me a chance to prove that I’m up to the challenge.
And what did Devon do to piss coach off so much that he lost his spot?
He played like a fucking beast last week and his chemistry with Teague and Landon on the field was uncanny: you’d think that they’ve been playing together for years, not two weeks.
Fuck!
I’m feeling really anxious: between becoming QB1 literally overnight and the stupid doubts that my sister has put in my head, I can't concentrate on my homework.
So I decide to call Aubrey and ask her if she wants to go out for ice cream or something like that, I know that seeing her will improve my mood.
And that’s when I see it: I unlock my phone and a Facebook notification comes up.
It's from Tripp, one of the guys on the team.
Devon, Teague and Landon have been suspended from the team for doing drugs?
What the fuck?
Teague
THE SMALL, STUPID, pussy whipped part of me almost stopped her from running away after we confronted her.
The part that can't believe that the hot, sweet and passionate girl who let me kiss every inch of her body yesterday afternoon, would drug me, Landon, and Devon.
Our former quarterback storms out shortly after Aubrey, he was visibly upset and I don't blame him.
I don't know Devon very well, but I certainly admire him as a football player: I’ve never had such a natural understanding with someone I barely knew on the field.
Landon and I walk slowly towards the parking lot and I realise that Landon hasn't uttered a word since we left the principal's office.
Or if anything, he's been uncharacteristically quiet.
I know he liked Aubrey too, so I ask him what’s on his mind.
“I don't know dude! I was so shocked about all of us testing positive that ... I mean, I haven't been taking any of that shit they said we did. Fuck, I wouldn't even know where to get ahold of it. And when Devon seemed so sure that it was Aubrey, I guess I went with it because it makes sense. The drink she gave us is the only thing we all had before the game. I’ve been thinking about it: Devon went to get lunch off campus on Friday, I had pizza in the cafeteria and you were somewhere sucking face with Aubrey, you lucky asshole! So that's the only thing that could have been tainted somehow.”
I nod in agreement.
Landon’s theory makes sense.
“But why would she do that? She's seeing both of us and ok, she doesn't seem to like Devon a lot but then, even if she hates him, why not drug just him?”
“I don't know. We all asked for the same flavour drink, maybe she put shit in all of them, because it’d be too complicated to make sure that Devon would pick the right bottle?”
He thinks about it for a second and then agrees.
“Yeah, that could be why. But you know what, dude? She really doesn't seem the type to do something like that. Just because Devon’s a bit of a douche? But he’s standoffish with everyone, not just her.”
I shrug, irritated and still too heartbroken to think straight.
“So what the fuck are you saying?”
He says that he doesn't think that Aubrey did it.
“I think that Devon jumped to a conclusion too quickly. I don't believe that Aubrey did it. I think we should give her a chance to explain herself.”
I shake my head.
“But earlier she didn’t defend herself. She ran away crying. That looks guilty as fuck to me.”
He still defends her.
“But we came down on her like a ton of bricks. We looked ready to kick her ass. Maybe we need to talk to her a bit more calmly, don't you think? After all, I don't think that she had anything to gain from getting us all expelled or suspended from the team. She hasn't got a motive.”
Landon looks determined, I wish I could believe his theory as easily as he does.
But I’ve never given a girl my heart, not since I had it broken for the first time.
And I was so close to letting my guard down with her yesterday ... and weight loss pills? Could she know about my past? And how?
I agree to talk to Aubrey again tomorrow, hopefully keep our tempers in check a bit better this time.
And as I start my bike, I say a silent prayer: ‘please let this be just a huge misunderstanding. Let her not be the one who hurt us.’
Teague
THE DAY AFTER, THE rumours at school run rampant.
The news about our positive drug tests have been circulating all evening on all major social media and everyone has their own theory about what we took and why.
Because this is the thing with rumours: people add to them, facts don't have to be accurate or even true to be spread around.
I almost bail and go home a few times but the thought of speaking to Aubrey and hopefully clearing up this fucking misunderstanding, is the only thing that keeps me on campus.
Landon and I agreed to try to stay calm and hear her out and our best opportunity is last period.
We have PE but football players and cheerleaders are exempt, so for us it's a free period that can be used as study hall or for extracurricular activities.
Aubrey chose to work at the school library, apparently her older sister really got her into books.
We know that the library's never very busy, people aren't interested in doing any research there when they can do it from their phones and it's the same with books, they can be downloaded on our phones through the school app, so there's very little point to being in the actual building.
Despite not being very used, BHPA’s library is a huge building at the edge of campus, right before the football training field.
Rich people don't need libraries but they like to donate th
em as a show of grandeur.
We greet Miss Hayes, the old and austere librarian and go in search of our girl.
We start to think that she must not be here, when we hear whispered angry voices, in some kind of altercation towards the furthest corner of the room, the ones with all the old, dusty books that no one ever borrows.
And as we turn into the last row of shelves, we see her: she’s backed into a corner, her back against a shelf and Devon is in her face, yelling at her.
Or better, whisper yelling at her, because after all, this is still a library and Miss Hayes wouldn't hesitate to kick us all out for being too loud.
“You’ll go to the principal and fucking come clean about what you did!”
He seethes with his nose almost touching hers.
He’s got her wrists in a death grip and she's trying to wrestle free from him, not giving into his demands.
“I would if I was responsible for what you accuse me of. But I haven't got anything to do with it. So I’m not gonna get expelled to get you out of trouble, Devon.”
He growls at her.
“It could only have been you!”
She doesn't budge.
“Well it fucking wasn't.”
This is too much, he's being too rough with her and he’s also ruining any chance of a calm discussion, so I step in.
“Devon. What the fuck. You can talk to her, without all that—”
I notice how their fronts are touching and how he's using his larger frame to intimidate her and keep her pinned against the book shelf.
His head doesn't even turn when he speaks to me.
“I’m trying to do us all a favour here, Teague. Just fuck off and let me talk to my girl.”
His girl?
But I have no time to rationalise what he just said when Landon gets involved.
“Devon, let her go. I’m sure that this is all a huge misunderstanding. Aubrey isn't the type to do anything like drug people. Especially us, since she doesn't know you that well and she's dating both me and Teague.”
The Retribution: A High School Light Bully Romance (Beverly Hills Prep Academy Book 3) Page 11
