A Whole New Crowd(45)

Swimming was pure.
I had missed it. I had needed it.



CHAPTER THIRTEEN

It was in our first class when I saw the reunion of Mandy with Amber. Since the Jennica debacle, Amber had sided with her, but my sister was whispering with Amber in the back of the classroom. My eyebrow went up and I grunted, then sat and turned my back to them. I had tried to help my sister out enough.
“Morning, class.” The teacher shut the door and put her bag on the desk. She lifted up a novel, Of Mice and Men. “Who read the chapters? I want to know your thoughts.”
I snuck a peek at Mandy and Amber. Talk about friendship and sacrifice. Then I smirked when Amber raised her hand. “Mrs. Tationa, Mandy and I were wondering if we could be excused. We’d like to finish up some posters before the pep rally this week.”
“Oh, Amber, of course—”
I burst out, “Are you kidding me?!”
“Taryn,” Mandy hissed.
The teacher looked startled. “You don’t agree with my decisions in this classroom, Miss Matthews?”
I shot my sister a glare, but turned to Amber. “You’re not even on the pep rally committee. Trust me, I know. I live with the president of the pep rally committee. Two, you’re not a cheerleader, and three, if anyone should benefit from this discussion—it’s you!”
A strangled gasp ripped from Mandy. “Shut. Up.” She gritted her teeth.
“No,” I ignored her. “I’m sick of you guys running around this school like it’s your personal playground. All the teachers just let you guys get away with whatever you want. I’m so tired of it.”
Someone snorted behind me. “Aren’t you being hypocritical?”
A guy wearing a polo was glaring at me. I snapped, “What?”
“You’re one of them.” He leaned forward. “Have you ever been in trouble for anything?” I laughed at that and then heard him say, “Aren’t you dating Tray Evans?”
My grin fell flat. “No.”
Amber scoffed. “Then what were you doing Friday night in your bed?”
“We’re not dating.” We weren’t, but I held tight to my desk so I wouldn’t squirm all over.
“Whatever,” Amber shot back. “You get on your high horse about us, but we haven't done half the shit that you have.”
I went livid. My eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”
“Like it was just ‘by chance’,” air quotes, “that the Monday after Mandy and Devon break up, our school gets canceled. That stuff’s never happened here before, and I’m sure you had nothing to do with it.” She rolled her eyes. “And we all know how Pedlam got broken into.”
Mandy paled. “Amber, stop it.”
My eyes narrowed to slits. “You’ve got balls, Amber.”
She frowned, and I saw the confusion on her face.
I spelled it out. “If you spill one word, who do you think you’ll be pissing off?”
It wouldn't be me. When she realized her mistake, her eyes got big. I grinned, but then she rolled her eyes. Her snootiness came back and her lip lifted in a half snarl/half pout. “Whatever.” She looked around the room. “No one will tattle. I’ll say it was you. You all hear that, everyone? It was Taryn Matthews who brought up the break-in.”
“Girls.” The teacher stepped between us and held her hands up. “Stop this or you’ll be sent to the principal’s office.”
I ignored her. “Let’s talk about you, Amber.”
She stiffened, but leaned back in her chair. “Fine. Bring it. I doubt you can say anything that’ll upset me.”
“Did you apologize to Mandy?”
She frowned.
I smiled and looked at Mandy. “Mandy, did she apologize to you?”
My sister’s face was as white as a ghost. “For what?”
“Since your good friend here brought it up, everyone will now be talking about your break-up with Devon, if they weren’t already.” I smiled at Amber, who flinched from what I said. “Let’s go with that. Mandy, you were the one that was hurt by it, but Amber remained by Jennica’s side during the whole thing. This is the first time I’ve seen you guys talk to each other since that night even. So,” I drew out, “did you apologize to my sister for abandoning her?”
The anger flared bright in the depths of Amber’s eyes. She pressed her lips together in a flat line and swallowed a knot, before throwing a sideways look at Mandy.
I shook my head. “That had been a hunch, but damn. It’s nice to know that I was right.”
Mandy’s head went down, and her hands folded in her lap. She didn’t fight for herself. Amber was never a blip on my radar, but I knew if she was friends with Jennica and supported Jennica, she wasn’t a good person. Seeing my sister take this from her made my stomach roll over on itself.