The Backup Girlfriend (Grove Valley High #2) - Emma Doherty Page 0,4

tells me.

Repeat the year?!

I feel like I might vomit all over the floor.

“I can’t do that.”

“Well if you don’t, you won’t have a high school diploma,” Coach explains matter-of-factly.

I’m finding it really hard to keep up with everything they’re telling me.

I might not get my diploma? What the actual fuck?

“But at least if you came back, I wouldn’t need to get a new head cheerleader.”

I blink at her. That is never, ever going to happen.

My face burns as I think about the humiliation of having to repeat senior year with all my friends gone. I’d honestly rather hibernate for the rest of my life.

“Well?” Coach snaps. She’s clearly very, very pissed. “Don’t you have anything to say? Do you know how bad this is, Abigail? The head cheerleader of one of my most successful squads in years might not graduate?”

“Oh, well, I’m sorry if this is inconvenient for you,” I snap before I can check myself.

My response elicits an unexpected reply from her. “Well at least there’s still some of the old you left.”

I have no idea what she’s talking about.

She stands, apparently done with me. “You can explain the rest,” she tells Ms. Sallinson. “I have to get ready for my first class.” She turns back to me, pointing a finger accusingly. “I had to beg to get this deal for you, Baker. I had to get it signed off by three different people, including the principal, and you had better not let me down.”

She walks away, leaving me watching the door swing closed behind her. She’s never been the most maternal of figures, but that was just plain mean. Let her down? How about letting myself down?

Does she think I actually want to be in this position?

Ms. Sallinson clears her throat. “I know that might have seemed harsh, but Coach really did fight hard for you in the hope that you might meet the requirements to graduate.”

“Right. So, what do I have to do?”

“A few things. First of all, you have an oral exam in French. Your teacher seemed to think that would be okay?”

I nod. It should be. It’s basically just a box to check to say we’ve done it, and we’ve been practicing the same thing for weeks. She’s been telling us we should be able to do it in our sleep, and most of the kids in class seem to agree with her. It’s a bit embarrassing that I definitely couldn’t pass it in my sleep, but if I sit down and actually study, I should be able to do that.

“And you need to write up your biology experiment.”

“Okay.” That’s doable too. Sasha is my partner, and she takes notes meticulously. She documented every stage of our recent experiment, and I just need to write up our findings.

“Then you’ll have to meet with both Mr. Henry and Mr. Cannon for more details on the math and chemistry assessments, and they should be able to give you some guidance on what it will be on. Then you’ll take tests in both subjects, and hopefully you’ll have pulled up your grades enough to have the required credits to graduate.

I nod, in a daze, not really taking in anything she’s saying.

I can’t believe this is happening.

Seriously? I might not graduate?

“I strongly suggest you get a tutor to help you study,” Mrs. Sallinson continues. “Do you want me to get you set up with one?”

I shake my head rapidly. Definitely not. I don’t want the humiliation of her going to the tutoring center and announcing that I need saving from an extra year of high school. Most of the kids would probably just laugh and refuse to help me. “No, no. I can figure that out.”

She looks skeptical but doesn’t argue with me.

“And the final requirement is that you’re going to have to do a couple of extracurricular events to earn extra credit.”

I look at her in dismay. It’s bad enough that I’m going to have to spend the next three months studying my ass off when I should be winding down my high school career, but now she wants me to do extracurricular activities too?

“Ms. Sallinson, extracurricular events are not really my thing.”

“Abigail,” she snaps, “I’m saying you won’t graduate unless you do this.”

Well, okay then.

“You’re going to raise money for charity.” She hands over the pile of papers she’s been holding. “Here are some fliers for worthwhile local charities, and you can decide who to fundraise for or if you’d prefer to spread your efforts out amongst