Edge of the Dark // Noa Olivar

iii. detention with her fabulous ex

Nothing could have ever prepared Joey for how her day was going to unfold. She went to school early to get tested but the second she walked into the building she knew to the depths of her soul that dealing with Karen today was going to be a major ass.

Her Spirit Queen campaign posters were ruined completely. Her eyes were scratched out, there were devil horns on her head with a nicely drawn mustache over her lips and the word BITCH was written between Spirit Queen. It honestly kind of made the posters look better, if anything. It drew attention to them. Before today, Joey hadn't even bothered to stop and look at them.

But right beside Karen's destroyed posters were multiple campaign posters for Imogen with a bright A in her last name. Joey could already feel Beasley's internal wrath from simply seeing them, shuddering slightly at the thought. Now, she would certainly make it everyone's fucking problem, especially to those she disliked.

Joey fixed the strap to her backpack higher up her shoulder and walked around to find Talia, but she found Bennett instead. Or, more like, he found her in the midst of all the walking.

"Hey, Joey! Wait up!"

Joey smiled, glancing over her shoulder to meet his smile and decided to walk slower to give him a chance in catching up. "What's up?"

"So, I was thinking. I don't have a date to the dance and—"

"I hate to break it to you, Williams, but I can't go to that," Joey cut him off, motioning down to her ankle monitor. "It'd go past my curfew. Sorry."

He groaned, running his palm down his face in embarrassment. "No, shit, I'm the one who's sorry. I keep forgetting about that."

"No, don't worry, it's okay." Joey shrugged, continuing her walk to find Talia before first period started. "Look, if you want we can go to the movies today. I'm not busy. We'll meet up after school and head over to the Orpheum, yeah?"

"Sounds perfect!" Bennett responded, grinning at Joey as he walked off. "I'll see you later then."

The crazy thing about it all was that Joey was actually looking forward to the movies. Maybe, that's why it when to shit. Whenever she got too happy about something it always either doesn't end up happening or it just ends up so terribly.

She was called over to the principals office during fifth period, the man on the other end of the desk looking incredibly disappointed in her. His lips were pressed into a thin line as his eyes shot over from Karen to her own blue eyes. Joey watched as Karen scoffed, pushing past her and heading out the door.

"Please," he extended his hand over to the empty chair in front of his desk. "Take a seat."

Joey's eyebrows furrowed, confusion settling in because he truly did look let down by her and she didn't even know why. She hasn't done anything wrong since she was let out of juvie, which meant she was entirely in the dark as to what any of this meant.

"It has come to our attention that you are still dealing drugs." Principal Clanton sighed, resting his hands on his table.

"What?!" Joey's mouth dropped, for once running short on her words.

"Now, we let you come back into this school with the expectation that you weren't going to do any of that anymore." He continued, fingers tapping away at his desk. "Something like this has to be called in to the authorities. I'm sorry to say."