guy who started here today. Apparently he’s like, filthy stinking rich and totally hot.
My head tipped to the side, my brows knitted in confusion. “O-kay. And?”
She looked at me like I was the biggest idiot in school. “What do you mean ‘and’? There’s a new, hot rich kid going here. That’s it! Ooh, and he’s a senior.” She waggled her brows. “Apparently, he was going to some super expensive, exclusive private school where celebrities and politicians and stuff send their kids, and got kicked out for fighting.”
She sounded way too excited about that, stressing that point like it was a good thing when it really wasn’t. “Aren’t you still with Cody Yates?” I asked. “Not so sure your boyfriend would like hearing you talk about another guy like this.”
She let out a scoff and waved me off. “Forget Cody. He got boring anyway. I’m in the mood for something new.” Pulling a compact from her purse, she flipped it open and pursed her lips, slathering on another layer of lip gloss. Once done, she blew a kiss into the mirror before snapping it closed and returning it to her bag. “I’m totally gonna hook up with this dude. Mark my words, by this time next week, I’ll be riding him like a bronco.”
“Jeez, Rina,” I huffed, my top lip curling up. “Do you always have to talk like that?”
“And do you have to be such a freakin’ prude all the time?” She rolled her eyes. “God, I can’t wait for you to finally stamp your V card. Maybe then you won’t be such a downer.”
My expression drooped into a pained frown as I muttered, “Whatever.” I spun on my heel and started down the hall, a sting washing through me at her harsh words.
“Oh, come on. Don’t be like that,” she chided, skipping after me and hooking her arm over my shoulders. “I was just playing around. Don’t be so sensitive.”
“Well, don’t act like such a bitch and I won’t be sensitive,” I defended.
Her arm got tighter, pulling my head down so she could ruffle my hair. “Aw, I’m sorry. Don’t be mad at me, Shaney. You’re my bestest friend. Forgive me. Pretty please?” Her bottom lip puckered out in a dramatic pout, and I couldn’t hold in the laugh that was tickling my throat.
This was the Rina I’d been missing for the past year and a half. A lot of what she said nowadays rubbed me the wrong way, to the point that I’d been putting some distance between us recently. But when I caught glimpses of the girl I used to know, it was hard to let go completely.
“As long as it doesn’t happen again,” I told her, giving her a playful shove and lifting my hand to pat my hair back into place. “You keep being a jerk and an apology won’t be enough.”
She drew an invisible X over her heart. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”
I smiled, that sting now gone as we continued down the hall toward the cafeteria. The moment we stepped through the doors, all hell broke loose.
“Fight! Fight! Fight!” was being chanted over and over. There was a massive clump of bodies near the center of the room with other students standing on tables and chairs to get a better look at the action.
“Ooh, a fight! Come on, let’s get closer.”
I had absolutely no desire to see two idiots beat the crap out of each other, but before I could object, Rina had me by the wrist and was yanking me into the fray.
“Get him, Ronny! Kick his ass!” one kid yelled right in my ear.
We made it to the middle where the fight was taking place just in time to see the other guy roll Ronny to his back and drive his fist into his face.
As a senior, a jock, and a bully, Ronny Culpepper was the biggest asshole on campus. He thought he was a badass whose shit didn’t stink, and honestly, he could use a few good knocks upside the head, especially from this kid who looked bigger in both height and size, but that didn’t mean I didn’t find fighting at school to be an eye-roll-inducing cliché.
Some of the teachers came rushing over, shoving the crowd apart and busting up the fight. Coach Beck pushed his way into the pandemonium, grabbing the kid who was pummeling Ronny’s face into ground hamburger meat by the collar and yanking him up. The moment I got my first look at