just said. William slept with her? What about Francis?
Or, perhaps it was a lie and Lola was just trying to defend her territory. Trying to scare me away from them.
I smiled, mimicking her warm expression, as if she’d just shared a heartwarming compliment.
“That’s good to know” was all I said in return.
Lola cocked her head, her loose curls grazing her cashmere-covered shoulders. I had the sense that my response caught her a little off guard. “This girl’s skirt sucks,” she said, dismissing me and turning back to the rest of the group, pulling at the waistline of the pleated skirt. “She hasn’t even had it tailored.”
“What’s her name?” Sophie asked, barely looking up as she scrolled through her phone.
“Stephanie Griffith,” Maddy said. “She’s a junior.”
“Let me guess, you girls are going to make her life hell?” Francis asked. “You’re so predictable.”
Lola laughed. “What would you do, France? You’re the creative one here.”
I looked between them. Considering the easy way she smiled at him, it was hard to believe that Lola knew Francis had been cheating on her with one of her supposed best friends. Clearly she was willing to go to great lengths to keep up the appearance that their golden romance was perfect.
“You need to give her something to lose if you want something to take,” he said nonchalantly.
“What does that even mean?” Sophie snorted.
“Doesn’t she already have plenty to lose?” Maddy said from the end of the table.
“Let’s see,” Zach interjected. “She’s clearly desperate to impress you. She’s basically a nobody. I say there are ways to bring her down.”
“As always, I love the way you think, Zach. What do you think, Chloe?” Lola asked, prompting everyone at the table to turn their attention toward me.
I gulped. I hadn’t considered that I’d have to step on people to bring myself up the ranks. But if my list worked, it would save girls like Stephanie Griffith in the future. And it would avenge those they’d already hurt.
“I think maybe . . .” I hesitated. “Maybe invite her to a party.”
Lola’s eyes sparkled, telling me I’d hit the mark. Meanwhile, William’s dark eyebrows were drawn together in a frown.
“Huh, I like it,” Lola said, clasping her hands together. “Maddy, darling. Have that skirt dry-cleaned and hemmed for Stephanie Griffith. Maybe we should invite her to the party next weekend.”
“Perfect,” Sophie said. She looked across to me. “I love it when we have a newbie.”
“You coming to training, Will?” Zach asked from William’s other side as the bell rang.
“Yeah, man. I’ll meet you there. I just need to talk to Chloe first.”
“So now that you have a girlfriend you’re that kind of guy?” He laughed, slapping William around the shoulders. “I get it.”
“Hey, it’s not like I’m skipping training to help pick party dresses.”
“That was one time,” Francis chimed in. Beside him Lola poked her tongue in his direction.
“True. You’re not Francis-level whipped just yet.”
“And I hope to never be. See you guys later.”
Helping me up from my chair, William led me into the hallway. Sun streamed through the arched windows cut into the stone.
“You blended in pretty good,” he mused, leaning against a bulletin board. It was plastered with futile posters reminding students that bullying was wrong.
I shrugged, feeling devoid of energy, as if Level One had drained the life out of me. “Told you I was good.”
“You scare me,” he said. Then he sighed and scratched the back of his neck. “And look, I really do hate to ask this, but about my dad . . . I’m worried, okay? I know things have been hard for him lately, starting his reelection campaign and all. I just want to see exactly what’s been leaked. I can’t exactly just ask. If Dad knows I’m being blackmailed by some high school girl . . .” He visibly cringed.
I sighed reluctantly. I needed to keep William on my side, and after toying with the idea for a long moment, I figured there would be no harm in showing him exactly how bad things were for his father. “I guess I could show you what I have.”
“You guess?”
I shrugged.
“Chloe.”
“Fine.” I narrowed my eyes. “But not in public. And you’re not having your own copy. This isn’t a chance to get out of our deal.”
He didn’t look thrilled, but he wasn’t exactly in a position to ask for much more. “Okay.”
“How’s after school tomorrow?” I offered.
He nodded. “I’ll pick you up in the morning?”
“Okay.” I could already picture what everyone would say as they