"Kenny!" Max screams at the top of her lungs, running towards me with Felicity and Leon in tow. "Why aren't you eating in the dining hall? It's fajita Friday, bitch!"

I glance at the sad half-eaten blueberry muffin on my lap as I refresh Hilton Hears, the autumn sun shining down on me. The dining hall is a breeding ground for gossip so it's best to avoid it until I can come up with a plausible explanation for my current predicament. So far no one has come up to me and asked about Oliver. Granted, Corrine and her friends aren't enrolled in any AP classes so I've managed to steer clear of them. As soon as the bell rang in each one of my classes, I darted out there before anyone could hassle me for information. I've received a few questioning stares but that's all.

It's been five days since Hilton Hears blasted that message about me, and two day since I've seen Oliver. He's very good at keeping a low profile. He's never in the common room and I don't see him around campus. It's like he's hiding. From who, though? Me?

"Hey guys," I say with a sigh as my friends plop down around me. "How're your classes going?"

"I'm already failing math," Felicity says with a shrug, her bright green eyes fixated on her fresh manicure. "We had a pop quiz this morning and I got two of ten questions correct."

"Oh," I hum, nodding my head. How in the- "That's not bad. At least you got two....right?"

"Honestly, how was I supposed to know they'd test us about shit we learned last year?" she asks. "Do they really expect us to remember?"

I close my eyes. Thank goodness her parents own a hotel chain. "Well, you're not supposed to forget everything, Fel. That's not the point of an education. Especially math, sweetie. It's like building blocks. If you don't know the basics you can't move forward."

"Whatever," Fel huffs, pulling out her phone. "I'm just going to start dating Neil or something. He'll help me out. He just asked me out a few minutes ago."

Leon cocks his head to the side. "You're going to date Neil Matthews just so he'll help you pass math? Seriously, Fel? That is so gross."

"So what? He likes me and he's cute," Fel says, unbothered as she replies to a text. Oh, she wasn't joking. "Apparently it's the season of love. Right, Kenny?"

"What?" I ask, my eyes widening. "What are you talking about?"

"You and Oliver, duh," she says, a knowing grin on her face. "You're dating, right? Everyone was talking about it in English."

My eyes dart to Maxine who's inhaling a fajita wrapped in a napkin. Oops. I think she just ate a part of the napkin. "Max? Can you corroborate?"

Max finishes chewing at lightning-fast speed before stating, "Yup. Facts. Everyone knows that you're dating the new kid."

"Oh," I hum, anxiety jolting my stomach. "Great."

"I'm surprised you're dating him," Leon comments. "He's not your type at all. But I'm kind of proud of you for finally moving on from Sawyer. I mean, we were pretty shocked to hear the news from HH rather than from you but still, we're proud."

"I guess that kiss sparked a little something-something, didn't it, Ken?" Felicity asks, wiggling her eyebrows. "I sensed you weren't telling us the whole truth about Oliver."

Leon and Felicity are two of my closest friends and I hate lying to them but the fewer people that know about this the better. I don't think that they'd spill my secret but Lemar's house party is coming up this weekend and they get quite chatty when they're drunk. Better safe than sorry.

"So where is Oliver, anyway?" Leon asks, looking around. "He's in a couple of my classes but I haven't had a chance to say hi and introduce myself."

Good.

"Um," I stammer, biting my lip. Lie. Lie. Lie. "He's probably in his dorm or something. He's kind of...shy."

That could actually be the truth.

"Yeah!" Max agrees immediately. "He's an introvert. Doesn't like people. It's best to leave him alone. You don't want to overwhelm him. He's like a cat. He'll come to you when he's ready."

I toss Maxine a grateful smile despite the fact she's being so fucking obvious. "I'll uh- introduce you guys soon."

I am digging my own grave right now. I know it. But I can't seem to stop. Maybe since Oliver is clearly a recluse, I can keep this charade going on my own. As long as Oliver keeps his mouth shut and avoids well, everyone, then I should be okay.

Right?

"Great!" Felicity claps her hands. "Is he coming to Lemar's party? That would be a good time to show him off. Plus, Sawyer will definitely be there so you can shove Oliver in his stupid face."

"Ooo, that's a good idea!" Leon agrees. "Bring him!"

"I don't think I'm going to go," I mutter, picking at my muffin. "I'm probably just going to stay on campus this weekend."

Usually, I stay with Maxine and her parents over the weekends but I know she'll just drag me out to Lemar's against my will. I hate house parties. Mostly because I have to babysit my friends as they drink their weight in coolers.

"What?!" Felicity exclaims, her expression aghast. "You have to go, Kenny! Everyone will be there!"

"Yeah, I know," I murmur, checking the time. Exactly why I won't be going. "Listen, guys, I gotta go. I need to talk to Mrs. Patella about the budget for Homecoming."

"Do you know who's on the committee with you yet?" Max asks, scrolling through TikTok videos. "I can help if you want."

"Are you actually going to help or just sit around and distract me?" I ask, brushing strands of grass off of my skirt. "Because last time, you barely lifted a finger and I had to blow up one hundred balloons all by myself."

"It's not my fault that I have weak lungs!" Max protests. "Blame the vape."

I roll my eyes. "Stop vaping then, Max. You know it's bad for you."

Max shoots me a knowing glare. "I guess we all have our addictions, right Ken?"

Fuck. I can stop anytime.

"Whatever," I sigh, collecting my school bag. "I'll see you in the common room after school, okay?"

My friends wave goodbye to me as I walk towards the west side of the school. My course load this year is not as heavy as I expected. I took a couple of online classes this past summer so I could have two spares. I need all the free time I can get to write a killer essay for my Harvard application. I could've taken three spares if our college counselor didn't insist that I take another elective. How the fuck is photography going to help me in the future? Hello? Iphones have portrait mode. What else do I need?

As I approach the entrance to the campus, the smell of cigarettes causes me to wince. Ew. Disgusting. Everyone knows to smoke in the parking lot. What kind of idiot smokes right beside the school?

I follow the fowl scent of tobacco and round the corner. Oh. Of course. It's the Bimbo Brigade. Standing in the corner by the stone wall is Corrine Davis and her minions, Larisa Stefanova and Maya Perez. I used to wonder why Corn would want to be part of that circle but she's always cared more about popularity than people. Larisa's father is an oil tycoon in Russian and Maya's father allegedly supplies weapons to the cartel, but she insists that he's in cybersecurity. Hilton Hears dropped a few hints over the years that he's most certainly not in IT but I don't really care either way. None of my business.

"You guys need to put that out," I say, pointing to the cigarette. "If you're going to give yourself cancer, please do it in the parking lot."

Maya rolls her eyes as she sips on her daily green smoothie. As if vitamin C will balance out all the drugs she does on the weekend. "Or else what? A blue slip? Hmm? You gonna write us up?"

Larisa smirks, touselling her long blonde hair, the sun reflecting off of her Rolex. "Yeah, Kenny, what are you going to do?"

I sigh. Why can't they just follow the rules? Is it that hard? I'm asking nicely for God's sake. "Just put it out."

"No," Corrine says in a clipped tone, narrowing her smug eyes at me as she takes a long drag and blows the smoke in my face. "We don't listen to liars."

Classy. I cough, swatting away the smoke. If I get lung cancer when I'm fifty, I'm suing her. "What are you talking about?" I ask, suppressing another cough.

"Didn't you read the latest HH update?" she says, batting her eyelashes. I'm surprised she's not flying away. "It was posted just a minute ago."

Fuck. No...

"And what did it say?" I ask in a calm tone, keeping my breathing level. "You know what? It doesn't even matter. That app is full of lies anyway."

Brush it off.

"Well let's see-" Larisa pulls out her cellphone and snickers. "We hear that: there's a liar in our midst. According to very reliable sources, Kenny was lying about having a Knight in shining armor. Looks like golden girl has some explaining to do."

My jaw clenches. Relax. Don't react. "Reliable sources?" I ask, crossing my arms. "Wow, how vague."

"Hilton Hears doesn't lie," Corrine sneers. "Which means the only liar here, is you."

I blink. They walked right into that one. Idiots.

"Really? It doesn't lie? So Maya's daddy really does work for the cartel? And Larisa really did get a nose job? And you, Corrine, you really did hook up the Thompson brothers on the same night?" I let out an awed exhale. "Wow, you guys. That's some really juicy information."

The three of them freeze, their eyes cold with anger. Like I said, idiots. "Shut the fuck up, Kennedy," Maya growls. "You think you're so smart, don't you?"

"No, I don't think I'm smart," I smile, tilting my head. "I know I'm smart."

"Little Miss High and Mighty," Corrine spits, stalking towards me, holding out her cigarette. "God, Kenny, now I know you're lying about dating Oliver."

"Yeah?" I ask. "And why is that?"

"Because," she says, leaning towards me. "No one would ever want to date someone like you. I'm surprised poor Sawyer managed to last a year with a psycho for a girlfriend. Thank God he came to his senses."

I ball my first up. She will not bait me. She will not affect me. I am the bigger person. I am the better person.

"Put your cigarette out, Corrine," I say dryly. "Final warning."

A devious smile clips Corrine's lips as she lifts her wrist and flicks ash all over my white dress shirt. "Fuck off, Kennedy."

Classic Corrine.

"Okay, have it your way," I say, casually dusting my blouse off before reaching into my purse and grabbing three blue slips. I hope it doesn't stain. Bless you, spare block. I pull out a pen and scribble down their names quickly before holding out the paper. "Here you go. Enjoy detention."

"Oh gee, thanks." Maya hands her smoothie to Larisa then snatches the blue slips out of my hands and tears them up before sprinkling them over my head. "How'd you know I needed some confetti?"

I go to school with children. Bad-tempered and spoiled children.

"You know that there are cameras here, right?" I ask, nodding towards the corners of the building. "I don't want to resort to having to tell the Headmaster about this little snafu, but if you're going to-"

Larisa takes a step towards me, her blue eyes scanning my face. "You know, Kenny. For a smart girl you sure as fuck don't know anything," she jeers. "Those cameras as disabled. We paid the security guard a lot of money to do us that teensy favor." Her hand reaches out and strokes my hair. I pull away. Ugh. "Maya, look at this. I didn't notice earlier but Kennedy finally did something to her hair. Highlights. Wow."

"Oh my God," Maya sings. "I think you're right. Maybe she got tired of having virgin hair."

I roll my eyes. This again? Really? "Are you seriously trying to insult me by calling me a virgin? Is that supposed to hurt me? How is that a bad thing? Seriously, how?"

"It hurts you," Corrine chirps. "You know it does. You're just too proud to cry."

"No, Corrine," I say, picking pieces of blue paper out of my hair. This is getting exhausting. "It's not because I'm too proud. It's because I actually value my body and not treat my vagina like a cum dumpster."

Do I actually care that she sleeps with everyone? No, I don't. Her body, her choice. But if she's going to use my virginity against me, I'll use her sluttiness against her.

Tit for tat, bitch.

Corrine's jaw drops, her eyes dark and fuming as she snatches the smoothie from Larisa's hand and yanks off the lid, pouring the contents all over my head.

Oh my God. Seriously?

"You are a fucking bitch, Kennedy!" she shouts as the thick liquid reaches my neck and flows down my chest. "You are a lying, frigid, fucking bitch! You will be alone for the rest of your miserable life. No one will ever want you. You'll be a virgin forever."

No, I won't. I won't. She's just trying to hurt me. There's no merit to her words. None. Well... Except for the fact that Sawyer-

Shit.

My heart rate accelerates as my eyes begin to well up with tears. No. Don't fucking cry. Don't let them win. Don't be weak. You're a soldier. Just like your father. Do not surrender. Do not fucking cry. My father's voice rings in my head: never cower, Kennedy. You are a Carmichael and we are warriors. We are strong, we are successful, we are powerful.

"Oh," Maya pouts. "Is-Is she crying? Oh my God. You guys look..."

"Wow," Larisa adds, tilting her head. "It's like she's capable of human emotions."

I clench my jaw, my eyes stinging from the citrus notes of the smoothie. They'll go away soon. They'll stop soon. Just don't say anything.

"If only she was capable of pleasing Sawyer," Corrine sings. Fuck. I can't hold it. I can't do it. The dam is about to break. I am about to fucking break. I'm sorry, daddy. "Lucky for him, I'm willing to give him everything he wants. Do you know what I do for him? I-"

Before Corrine can finish her disgusting sentence, a voice calls out in the distance.

"Oi!"

_______________

AHH. The Bimbo Brigade is ruthless. Who knew a little kiss would cause such a mess?

Time to shine, Ollie.

THOUGHTS?