KissnTell

Chapter 15

MY 15 MINUTES

Vaughn

 

 

We arrived at Cranbrook on Monday morning and made our way past the parking lot, joining the crowds on the front lawn warily. We hovered dangerously close to the Shrew Crew at the entrance of the main building, waiting for people to funnel into the building. I braced myself for the berating to commence, but nothing, absolutely nothing, transpired. No bitchy heckling, no derisive remarks muttered in passing, nada. In fact, it seemed like they piped down as we approached, settling into a strange quiet I'd never witnessed before.

Normally, they'd be gabbing away, especially on Mondays, recapping the epic events of the weekend, driving me crazy with jealousy. I peered at them suspiciously. Stella wore thigh- high Balenciaga boots over textured tights. She tugged them absently, her Cartier bangles jingling. Ava rummaged through her oversized Miu Miu shoulder bag, retrieving a pair of dark Gucci glasses and pushing them over her surgically altered ski slope nose with her middle finger. Odette kept her arms crossed tightly over a slate-gray leather jacket, an orange silk-cashmere scarf wrapped lusciously around her swanlike neck. She cast a quick glance in my direction, narrowing her eyes. My skin prickled as they forged ahead of us silently.

We headed to our lockers to swap out some books. I huddled next to Anais, paranoid, feeling like a bomb was about to explode. I looked over my shoulder suspiciously. The Shrew Crew was strutting down the halls toward us, chatting and gesticulating, leaving a wake of awed, less-stylish students. As they grew nearer, I noticed them glance right at me, each of them looking me in the eye, and settle down. I grabbed Anais's forearm as they marched past us, hushed.

"What's wrong?" Anais asked.

"Haven't you noticed anything ... off about today?" I asked.

Anais shrugged. "You haven't made much progress on Zac Efron," she said, nodding to the vandalized sticker.

"I mean the Shrew Crew," I whispered. "They haven't said anything to us."

Anais slammed her locker. "Well, shit, Vaughn. Why don't you go ahead and jinx it?" She took out her Blackberry, checking the time. "Jesus, it's 8:15," she said. "I've gotta go to French. Message me later? We should meet tonight after band and Film Society to work on the site." I nodded, still pretty weirded out. She squeezed my shoulder and headed down the hall.

I walked to class slowly, pondering the variables that could make this day different than every other. Is it possible they know about Baron and me? That word has spread that quickly? Winter Formal was a few short weeks away. There was this week, Thanksgiving the next week, the week after that, and then Winter Formal on the following Friday, December 15th. Maybe they had started their annual vegan juice cleanse and were completely drained of energy?

I arrived at Room 305 for History and took a seat in the corner near the window. Stella was in the back, playing with her hair. Ellis Leachman was her only other friend in the class, and she had saved a seat for him at the desk next to her, using her quilted Chanel as a placeholder. I caught her observing me strangely, and she quickly looked away, turning toward the window, which overlooked the parking lot. I whipped around, frowning, as Mr. Bender shut the door, dropping a pile of careworn books littered with post-its on his desk. He mumbled something in greeting and started marking up the chalkboard. The low hum of chatter swelled in the room as we waited for him to start the lesson.

"Hey," a voice whispered, tapping me. It was Chloe Filion. I think this was the first time she'd ever spoken to me. Her dad was some kind of media tycoon and her mom was a C-list actress back in the 90s. Unfortunately for Chloe, she inherited her dad's genes and virtually nothing from her gorgeous mom and wound up looking like a blowfish. She compensated for her bug eyes, bloated cheeks, and blueberry-shaped figure with a relentless sense of humor and had a reputation for being truly in the know. She wasn't officially a Shrew Crew associate, but they were friendly. I blinked at her. "So is it true?" she said.