Locked Up

Chapter 1

Lily Brooks

"Lily, stop worrying already! Everything will be perfectly fine. You're gonna get an A+, as usual." Stephanie reassured me as the both of us take a seat in one of the booths at our local Starbucks. I had my hands wrapped around a hot cup of caramel macchiato to keep them warm on this not-so-cold spring morning.

"I don't know, Steph. I got home at six yesterday so I only had four hours left to write the essay. I didn't even have time to check it for any mistakes," I told my best friend, nervously staring down at my cup.

Senior year was no joke, and I found myself having to work much harder to keep those high grades coming. And with university just around the corner, I was as ambitious as ever.

"We both know how this will end up. I will get a C or lower even though I had all Sunday to write the essay. You, on the other hand, will get an A or higher. It's always been like this, why would it be any different today?" she asked while biting down on her ruby red nails.

I merely shrugged, bringing the cup to my mouth to take a tiny sip of its delicious contents. Oh, how I loved this place. I tried to come here as often as my bank account would allow me. To me, it was the best way to start a day full of boring classes and endless note-taking.

"Oh God, don't look at the entrance," Stephanie whispered, quickly pulling some strands of hair from behind her ear to cover the side of her face. I shot her a questioning look before letting my gaze travel towards the double glass doors. I regretted my action a second later as my gaze locked with Brad's, the captain of the school's basketball team.

Brad was probably the biggest jerk you could imagine. He's your typical high school jock. Today, he was wearing a letterman jacket. His backpack hung loosely on his right shoulder. Two-strapping your backpack was like committing a crime; you would immediately be demoted to a lower level on the high school social rank, no matter what you looked like.

And of course, he was with his friends and the infamous Brogan Nichols, who was wearing high-waisted, ripped shorts and a bustier top that showed off way too much skin than was appropriate for a school day. Although the boys at our school would never complain about that, of course.

Brogan's nude high heels made clicking sounds as she made her way over to the counter to order her drink, pushing herself past some juniors standing in line. She didn't seem to care when they shot her glares and muttered the words 'bitch', just loud enough for her to hear.

I absolutely despised Brogan, and so did the majority of my year. The guys were only interested in her because she wasn't very picky when it came to bed partners. Then there was Lauren Snyder, her so-called best friend who used Brogan to stay popular herself. Everyone seemed to know that Lauren hated Brogan, except for Brogan herself of course. Not very surprising if you ask me, considering she was oblivious to pretty much everything that happened around her.

And Brad? He was currently staring at me with a stupid grin plastered on his arrogant face. Sometimes it seemed as though he's had sex with almost every girl in our year. A week ago, I heard he'd been going at it with a junior in the bathroom during a free period. Gross.

Even though every girl seemed to be willing to open their legs for him, he was interested in me, and has been since the start of senior year. It made sense --- people always want what they can't have. And I sure as hell wasn't planning on spending any of my precious time on a petty guy like him.

I mentally cursed myself as he made his way over to our table. I should've listened to Stephanie and not have paid them any attention, but being the stubborn girl I am, I did the exact opposite. I casually took another sip of my overly sweet coffee and placed the cup down onto the table just as he came to a halt next to me.