The Truce

Chapter 24

The weekend felt like a dream by Monday morning. In an attempt to give me a little more time free of obnoxious comments from the idiots at our school, Sebastian walked me to my first class. Sweet as it was, it didn't help that much. They just waited until he walked away to bombard me with their 'hilarious' remarks.

After I sat down in my usual seat for first hour, Nick, the guy beside me smirked and made it obvious that he was looking at the pictures on his phone.

By this point, I mostly found the taunts irritating, but actually seeing the pictures was still humiliating. Hating that my face reddened, I fixed my eyes on the whiteboard at the front of the room, planning to ignore Nick.

"You know, the pictures are getting kind of old," he said. "Ever thought of making a video?"

A few people nearby laughed, and my hands balled into fists. At the disgusting idea, my plan to ignore him went out the window and I glared at him. Nick seemed thrilled that he'd gotten a reaction, but before he could say anything else, I beat him to it.

"Hilarious, Nick. I wonder if you'd find it so funny if Brooklyn was the target next time."

Nick sobered pretty quickly. He was fiercely protective of his little sister. He'd gotten suspended last year, defending her against some other kid, and he was constantly threatening guys who he thought were too close to her.

"See how great it is when some jerk decides to ruin her life by making fake pictures and sending them out to the whole school. And hey, maybe he'll be more talented than Scott, and he'll be able make a video."

"Michaela..." Apparently, he felt kind of bad, but whatever he might say or feel, it wasn't remotely enough.

"Just picture her face over mine," I told him. "That's how Scott made them in the first place."

Resuming my plan to ignore him and everyone else, I faced forward and waited for the bell to announce the beginning of class.

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I groaned when I was told to go to the office again after second period. What did they want now? Were they planning to broadcast my humiliation on TV?

When I reported to the secretary, she directed me to one of the chairs outside Mrs. Foster's office. As I waited, I looked around and thought about how strange this year had been. I practically never got in trouble. My entire life, the only time I was ever sent to the principal's office was when Sebastian and I were fighting when we were little. Now I was way too familiar with this place. I was even starting to recognize some of the secretary's outfits.

Trying to distance my mind from where I was, I looked down at the ring on my finger. I still hadn't figured out what Sebastian knew. Every one of his answers to my questions had been vague, so all I could say for sure was that he'd read part of the book. But for all I knew, that could mean twenty pages or twenty chapters. Or he could have finished it. He knew I was fishing for information, but I didn't know if he was being stubborn on principle or if he knew what I was looking for. He wanted me to ask outright, but how in the world was I supposed to ask if he was saying he loved me? If he wasn't, that would be so embarrassing. And if he was, I had no idea what I would say. My feelings were stronger than they'd ever been for any boy, but I didn't know if it was love.

The phone on the secretary's desk interrupted my thoughts. She picked up the receiver and had a short conversation before looking at me. "Mrs. Foster is ready for you."

Confused, I stood and moved to knock on the door. I thought when I was told to wait, she wasn't in her office yet. Or maybe that she had another meeting. No one exited the office though. Why call me here and make me wait if she was ready?