(FEATURED)
It's been months since the unceremonious fall of Kimie Sato's older sister. The whole of Ridgerock High knows it, and by now, the majority have moved on. But Kimie still watches those who had a hand in it continue to walk free, and the mo...
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Over the weekend, I realized I was extremely unhappy. Because the thought of Macy (possibly) going to jail really sunk in. I started to ask myself if jail was what she deserved. I knew no student would open up about the blog, but I still wondered what would happen if someone did.
And on Monday during lunch, as I stared at her from my table in the cafeteria, I found myself answering the question. Macy deserved it.
She supplied that boy and shattered his family as a result, and I knew it was his fault as much as it was hers, but why did she do that? Why did she change so quickly and so drastically—into someone I couldn't recognize anymore? And why did she get my sister drunk the night she was accused of seducing Axel Denvers, even though she was still very much with Dray? Most especially, why, despite everything, did the thought of Axel still make me pause?
He knew my sister did nothing, but he didn't defend her. He just watched. He made my sister lose her dignity, and Macy made her lose the respect people had for her, so it was only fair that they lost what they had taken from an innocent person, right?
Which lead me back to the thing in my backpack. It was heavy, somehow, making my breathing more tasking, like the action was harder than it really was. Once I got rid of it, I'd be free.
I stared across the cafeteria again, at Macy by a table, with Dion beside her, and Milan and Axel at another. Dion was looking longingly at Milan as she spoke to Axel, who had his head down in sadness. He was a mess, and a complete contrast to him was Milan—who, to my surprise, looked almost happy. It was evident in the smile spread across her lips as she tried to cheer Axel up, and in the way her eyes twinkled like everything in the world was okay—like she was just struggling to keep her happiness under control. And it struck me as extremely odd, because she just lost her best friend.
The slamming of a lunch tray on my table jerked me back to reality, and I looked up to see Jamie sliding into the spot across from me.
"Sorry I was so loud," he said, already unwrapping the aluminum foil in his tray and making himself comfortable. I didn't even get the chance to raise a questioning eyebrow at him. "I was asking if the seat was taken, but you were focused on—" he paused his unwrapping for a moment to jerk a thumb in Axel's direction, "—him."
I saw the faint blush on his cheeks, and felt my own reddening (for a completely different reason). I felt embarrassed because he knew who exactly I was looking at, and he wasn't supposed to know anything about me.
"What do you want, Jamie?" I asked after I'd recovered, trying to get rid of the awkwardness that was currently sitting on both our heads, and the boy I was addressing stopped what he was doing and nervously pushed his glasses further up his nose.
His eyes met mine, and I focused on the spot on his left lens that reflected the fluorescents above to distract myself as I waited for him to speak.
"Don't you . . . notice anything?" he asked, looking at me expectantly, and I studied his shielded eyes for a few seconds. They were an earth brown, a hundred shades lighter than West's, I noticed, but still held their own appeal.
