They Just Don't Know You

Chapter 6

Jade's POV

Monday, September 9

"It's like Children of the Corn around here," Karl mutters, scanning the hallway.

He's not wrong. We've been here only 15 minutes, but there are already more blonde-haired, blue-eyed people than I've ever seen gathered in one place. Even the building Echo Ridge High is housed in has a certain Puritan charm; it's old, with wide pine floors, high arched windows, and dramatic sloped ceilings. We're heading from the guidance counselor's office to our new homeroom, and we might as well be leading a parade for all the stares we're getting. At least I'm in my airplane wardrobe, washed last night in preparation for the first day of school, instead of a Dalton's special.

We pass a bulletin board covered with colourful flyers, and Karl pauses. "It's not too late to join the 4-H Club," he tells me.

"What's that?"

He peers closer. "Agriculture, I think? There seem to be cows involved."

"No thanks."

He sighs, running his eyes over the rest of the board. "Something tells me they don't have a particularly active LGBTQ-Straight Alliance here. I wonder if there's even any other out kids."

Normally I'd say there must be, but Echo Ridge is pretty small. There are less than a hundred kids in our grade, and only a few hundred total in the school.

We turn from the board as a stunning, dark skinned girl in a Strokes t-shirt and stack-heeled Doc Martens passes by, her hair long, dark, and wavy with light brown streaks down one side. "Hey, Kamille, you forgot to dye the other half!" a boy calls out, making the two football-jacketed boys on either side of him snicker. The girl lifts her middle finger and shoves it in their faces without breaking stride.

Karl gazes after her with rapt attention. "Hello, new friend."

The crowd in front of us parts suddenly, as three girls stride down the hallway in almost perfect lockstep; one raven, one blonde, and one brunette. They're so obviously Somebodies at Echo Ridge High that it takes me a second to realise that one of them is Ellie Hemmings from the Fright Farm shooting range. She stops short when she sees us and offers a tentative smile.

"Oh, hi. Did Claud ever call you?"

"Yeah, he did," I say. "We have our interviews this weekend. Thanks a lot."

The curly-haired girl steps forward with the air of someone who's used to taking charge. She's wearing a sexy-preppy outfit: collared shirt under a tight jumper, plaid miniskirt, and high-heeled boots. "Hi. You're the Thirlwall twins, aren't you?"

Karl and I nod. We've gotten used to our sudden notoriety. Yesterday, while I was food shopping with Nana, a cashier I'd never seen before said, "Hello Louise...and Jade," as we were checking out. Then she asked me questions about the UK the entire time she was bagging our shopping. Which then led her to tell me I had an awfully funny accent.

Now, the seemingly-leader-of-the-pack tilts her head at us. "We've heard all about you." She stops there, but the tone of her voice says: And when I say all, I mean the one-night-stand father, the failed acting career, the jewellery shop accident, the rehab. All of it. It's kind of impressive, how much subtext she manages to pack into one tiny word. "I'm Leigh-Anne Pinnock. I guess you've met Ellie, and this is Jesy." She points to the brunette on her left.

I should have known. I've heard the Pinnock name constantly since I got to Echo Ridge, and this girl has town royalty written all over her. She's not as pretty as Ellie, but somehow she's much more striking, with honey-brown eyes that seem to not stop sparkling.