The Good Girls

Chapter 14

THE FOLLOWING MONDAY MORNING, Evie sat in her car, idling in the parking lot of Auradon Prep. Kids were gathering in clumps to recap their weekends. School buses huffed at the curbs, doors were slamming, and a group of girls stood by the art wing with a large banner bearing Jay Maraj's face. The first bell blared, indicating that there were fifteen more minutes until homeroom began.

She totally wouldn't be ready in fifteen minutes.
Evie buckled her seat belt and put the car back in drive. Then she felt a hand on hers. "Hey. You can do this."

She looked up. Doug had wanted to pick her up this morning, but she'd insisted on picking him up instead, so she could make a quick getaway in the middle of the day if she needed to. "Come on," he said, with a warm smile. "I'll be with you every step of the way."

Evie looked cautiously at the students streaming into the building. "I don't know," she whispered. "I can't face Crystal."

"Yes, you can. If we see her, we'll just turn and go in the other direction, okay? Or even better, we'll face her, and tell her what a pathetic bitch she is."

Evie's eyes flicked to the girls holding the Jay banner. She hadn't been back to school since Jay was killed, and she'd assumed that stuff would have started to blow over by now. But it seemed like there were more Jay groupies than ever.

"Come on." Doug opened the car door. With a long sigh, Evie turned off the ignition, grabbed her purse and books, and followed him into school.

It had only been a little over a week since she was last here, but Auradon prep felt different—and looked different. There was a new fern in the lobby. There were all sorts of Jay posters in the halls. And Evie was different, too. When she'd left, she had still been Perfect Evie Grimhilde, with a constant stream of people following her down the hall. Now she was dirty and shameful, leaving only the stench of cat piss and rotten food in her wake. At least that's how she felt.

They made their way down the hall, Julie walking with her head down, Doug leading her by the elbow. "Evie!" someone called from behind her.
Evie flinched at the sound of her name, certain it was Crystal. But when she turned, her good friend Freddie Facilier stood waving at her. CJ  was by her side, sporting a totally normal smile.

"Did you study for the chem test?" Freddie asked in a singsong. "I'm so screwed. Like, who needs to know how to balance equations?"

"Um, no . . ." Evie stammered, feeling dizzy. "I mean, yes, I studied. A little. But I think it's going to be hard."

"You're coming on Friday, right?" CJ chimed in. "You got my email, didn't you?"

"Friday?" Evie had no idea what they were talking about. More than that, why were they acting so normal, not even mentioning the fact that she'd been gone a week? Then she remembered that Freddie had sent an email. Several, in fact. But Evie hadn't read them.

"My Halloween party," Freddie explained. "We need to talk costumes at lunch. I'm thinking maybe sexy superheroes. Or sexy Powerpuff Girls?"

"You can't make everything sexy, Freddie," CJ teased, rolling her eyes at Evie. "Right, Evie?"

"Um . . ." The second bell, which indicated they had only five minutes before homeroom, rang before Evie had a chance to answer. CJ just shrugged and scampered off with Freddie, both of them waving Evie good-bye. Evie turned to Doug, an astonished look on her face. "I can't believe it."

Doug grinned. "See?" He leaned down and kissed her softly on the cheek. "I told you you'd be fine. So this means you'll go to Freddie's Halloween party with me on Friday night? Maybe as a sexy Bubbles?" he teased.