first years … and Harper du Pont.
“Not even ten steps in the fucking door, and we gotta deal with this shit,” Zayd growls as he takes off ahead of us. He's not polite when he storms up to them and inserts himself into their little half-circle.
“Good morning, Zayd,” Becky spits out, giving him this poisonous look that sets me on edge. She has no right to look at him like that, especially not after she and her friends tried to drown me, and then attempted to brand me like chattel. “What do you want?”
“When Idols walk, you get the fuck out of the way.” He looks over at Isabella, and she returns his stare with a stony version of her own.
“Make us,” she says, tossing her glossy chestnut hair over one shoulder. Harper smirks, but Zayd's already gritting his teeth and nodding his chin in the direction of our new posse.
“Girls deal with girls, it's the rule,” Tristan tells me, putting his hand out to keep me from moving forward. Briana Chow and one of the new girls, Daisy Sandberg, I think it is, step up and go to grab my sister on either side. Part of me wants to defend her, but the rest of me knows the truth.
She's got that bully blood in her.
And I won't allow bullying at my school, not anymore.
“Get your fucking hands off me!” Isabella snarls as Ileana and Becky step in to defend her. The other girls on our side move forward until there's a bit of a stand-off.
For all the Bluebloods we destroyed last year—like Anna, Ebony, Sai, Greg, and John—Harper's recruited new students to take their places. This is looking to turn into a fight, especially when what's left of The Company shows up. Jalen looks ready to kill somebody, to be quite honest. Maybe because we got his girlfriend kicked out of school?
“What's the problem here?” Myron Talbot asks, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. His eyes are dark, and his face is as closed-off as Tristan's ever is. “When the Idols walk, you move.”
“We don't agree that they are the Idols,” Harper says, but even she looks nervous with Myron staring at her like that. He takes a step forward, and all the girls but Isabella and Harper move back.
“This isn't a debate, du Pont. Get your ass, and your new pet's ass out of the way.”
His threat doesn't dissuade Harper from her position. If anything, the move incenses her to step forward.
“I'm not moving out of the way so some trailer park slut with a magic pussy can drag her harem of assholes unfettered down the hall.” She flings a hand out to point at Tristan and hisses through her teeth. “A du Pont never bows down to charity cases, and they've got two of those in tow.”
I look up and see Tristan tightening his jaw in frustration.
“Get the fuck out of the way; I'm warning you.” Myron crosses his arms over his chest, and I sense violence coming like a storm. I step forward and everyone turns to look at me.
“It's okay. I don't need people to move out of my way. That's not a perk of the Idols anymore.” Harper narrows her eyes on me like she thinks I'm playing some trick. I stare her blue gaze down without flinching before I turn to Isabella. “She tried to kill me, you know, Harper did. She and her friends. So whatever it is you hate me so much for, ask yourself how far you're willing to go.”
I start walking and everyone else follows. Well, everyone but Myron. He doesn't move until Tristan pauses next to him and the two share some quiet words.
We head straight for the Gallery, and this time, we're there first. There's no locked door, no Gary sitting at the window smoking a cigarette and sneering at me. For the first time in four years, I walk straight through those stone halls, up the old steps, and over to the front of the balcony.
The feeling of standing up there, so close to the wall of stained glass windows, and looking across the sea of students in their black, white, and red uniforms is humbling in the best sort of way.
A smile curves across my face as Zack steps up beside me.
“Are you okay?” he asks, and I nod. “Even with your sister trying to team up with the Harpies?”
“She's hurting,” I tell him, glancing his way and meeting the narrowed dark slits of his eyes.