The Bad Boy's Girl (The Bad Boy's Girl #1)(3)
The plan is to quickly grab my books from my locker, which might be the only way someone might identify me today. The strategy also involves sitting way at the back, about as noticeable as a flea on Yorkshire terrier. It’s funny how easy it is to channel James Bond when you’re in mortal danger.
Now, you might say that I’m overreacting and that I don’t even know if Cole’s going to be in school today. But the thing is, I’ve known that boy long enough to be aware of his twisted schemes. He will attack when I lower my defenses and that, my friends, will not be happening.
“Tessa.”
My cover’s been blown! I squeeze my eyes shut and start walking toward homeroom, which happens to be in the direction opposite of whomever it is that’s ruining my carefully constructed plan.
“Tessa, wait!”
I keep walking, glancing to the sides, hoping that Cole won’t jump out of some random corner with a paint gun in his hand. That devious baboon . . . he’s got minions now, does he?
You can tell paranoia does not suit me well.
I try to hurry as much as I can but I’m not fast enough. A hand clasps down on my shoulder and I open my mouth to scream but then my eye falls on the bracelet on the wrist of the person holding on to me and I sigh in relief. That charm bracelet with the ‘I Heart Nerds’ charm is familiar, and the owner happens to be my best friend. I know for certain that she doesn’t mean me physical harm, well, at least not intentionally.
“Why,” she pauses to take a deep breath, “are you . . .” deep breath again, “running so fast?” She’s panting like she’s just run a marathon instead of chasing me down a school corridor, but in her defense, she’s a bigger nerd than I am and exercise is a foreign concept for her.
“Let’s get to class and I’ll explain,” I say, grabbing her arm and pulling her along before she attracts too much attention.
“Ooohh, I smell gossip.” She rubs her hands together manically and her green eyes shimmer in delight.
Meet Megan Sharp, one of my best friends post-Nicole. We bonded over our mutual hatred of chemistry and late hours at the library. She’s an honors student destined for her dream school, Princeton. In her spare time she loves nothing more than knowing everything about everyone, even though that knowledge might not be credible. Megan is stunning, with her deep red hair and flawless complexion. She looks like a porcelain doll, and I envy her ability to be petite and delicate while I am anything but.
We enter the classroom and as usual Miss Sanchez is fast asleep in her chair while paper planes are whizzing by her head. The two of us spot our other best friend, Beth, sitting by the window, scribbling furiously over her notebook, and we head over to her direction.
“Hey, Beth!” I wince at the shrill tone of Megan’s voice, but you cannot tone this girl down. Her morning greeting is a way of life.
Beth doesn’t look up and I realize that she’s in that zone. Her “I’m writing a song; come near me and I’ll kill you” zone, so I pry Megan away from her and we both silently take our seats.
Beth Romano is my other best friend post-Nicole. She transferred to our school during sophomore year so she hasn’t witnessed Fatty Tessie, but what she has witnessed is Nicole’s torment. She doesn’t do well with bullies, and that’s an understatement. If I had a penny for each time I’ve had to stop her from punching Nicole in the face, I’d be able to skip town and move to Timbuktu. She’s got that rocker chick look nailed with her distressed jeans and band T-shirts, along with her trademark leather jacket. The ebony black hair and her piercing blue eyes only cement her intensity.
To others she might come across as a little scary, but she’s one hell of a friend.
“So will you tell me why you were running away from me like you’ve just killed someone and why you’re dressed like . . . that?” She turns her nose up at my appearance and I try not to be offended. I dressed like this for the better part of my life and nobody ever had a problem with it then.
“You don’t know?”
Apparently this is the worst thing to say to someone who feeds off gossip.
A crazed look comes over her face as her eyes become frantic. “What? What don’t I know?”
“Cole Stone’s coming back.” I gulp and there’s a telling pause. The pause that echoes what I already know. The shock that comes across Megan’s face lasts for only ten seconds as pity replaces it. She places her hand over mine and solemnly says, “I’m sorry.”
***
“I don’t get what the big deal is. Why is this Cole person so scary?” Beth asks as she takes a bite of her cheeseburger. Her face scrunches up in disgust as she spits it all out. Two years in this place and she’s not realized how bad the food is. We’re sitting hidden, in the farthest corner of the cafeteria that I could find and, surprisingly, I’ve made it to lunch alive.
Megan cuts me off before I even open my mouth. “Cole is Tessa’s stalker,” she says with ease.
Beth’s eyes bulge before I correct Megan. “He’s not my stalker. He’s just someone specifically designed to torture me,” I say in an eerily calm manner.
“It can’t be that bad.” Beth shrugs and digs around her bag until she pulls out a half-eaten pack of chips that’s been folded over repeatedly.
“Yes, it can’t be bad because you know what’s bad? Bad is when you run out of chocolate and Ryan Gosling during the week, Beth. Cole and his reign of terror deserve a far better title.” Once again Megan has taken to speaking for me. Hello—it’s my bully we’re discussing here.