Bad Reputation

Bad Reputation (11)

Chapter 11

Sofia rolled her eyes when I inhaled one last drag from the cigarette. Jayden, who had been eyeing me curiously the entire time, turned his head away from me. I had managed to smoke the entire thing, and by the end of it, there was no hassle. The urge to cough the smoke out of my lungs was gone.

“I didn’t think you had it in you,” Riley said when the butt of the cigarette was stumped on the ground.

She had only taken a few hits of the joint, handing it to Landon, whose singing had stopped. Now he was chuckling to himself, while Trinity and Oliver were telling bad jokes to each other.

I just shrugged and looked away. Honestly, I hadn’t been aware that Riley had been paying attention to me.

“Did you like it?” Riley asked. She was looking at me intensely, almost daring me to say that I did.

I can’t say it was the worst thing I’ve done. Sure, the taste was kind of awful but the feeling I got from it… It was amazing. That smoke had been like a stress reliever, if only for a moment.

I shrugged again at Riley’s question and refused to meet her eyes. I don’t know why I was embarrassed, but I could feel my cheeks heating up under her gaze.

Then she turned away when Landon handed her the joint again.

“Is this where you go when you don’t show up for class?” I asked no one in particular.

I wasn’t sure who I expected would be answering, but I was shocked when it was Sofia who explained.

“Yeah, Bentley only demands we show up and do the homework and assignments.”

I couldn’t get over the shock that they called our principal by his first name. It was lacking the respect all the teachers at the Supreme Academy of John Albert Robinson demanded. However, I decided against voicing my opinions, knowing it wouldn’t be appreciated in this crowd.

“So, he doesn’t care that you don’t show up for class?” I asked hesitantly.

“’Course he does. It disrupts the perfect image the world has of his precious academy. Personally, I don’t give a flying fuck about his feelings,” Sofia replied softly.

“Careful now, Sofia. You are spoiling the little girl’s innocent ears,” Jayden sneered down at me.

Sofia only responded with an eye roll before she bent up and grabbed the joint her boyfriend was currently smoking.

“I’m not innocent,” I muttered to Jayden.

He seemed to be completely ignoring me. His gaze was travelling slowly around the room with his permanent scowl on his face.

I don’t know what came over me, but the way Jayden was talking to me was so condescending. I hated that, and I wouldn’t let him walk all over me.

“And actually, I don’t think you have any right to insult me when you can’t even smoke a joint,” I said sourly.

Jayden snapped his head around to glare straight at me. His gaze was so intense, it scared me.

“You don’t know shit about me, Melissa, so stop pretending you have me all figured out. Just because you smoked one fag doesn’t mean you can go around acting like the queen of the world,” he replied harshly.

I looked away from him. That guy sure knew how to be intimidating.

“What? Can’t reply just because I’m facing you? You are nothing but a little girl, Melissa and you don’t belong with us. I don’t care if you were just dumped and cheated on, you can’t expect to come here and get the same amount of respect as you got before. Neither of us gives a shit about your social status, so you better keep your tongue in check.”