her long, tan legs crossed. Her skirt’s so short that I can see her lacy panties, and I look away in embarrassment, which earns Gabe’s attention.
“So, Mal … wait, can I call you that?” he asks, and when I lift a shoulder toward my earlobe, he rests his arm across the back of my seat and leans closer to me. “What’s your deal? How’d you get into the academy?”
Annoyed, I suck in my cheeks. “Good grades, I guess. How’d you get in? The crew team?”
“Angelview doesn’t have a…” Pausing, he offers me a lopsided grin. “You’re a smartass. I like it.”
“Or you just like her ass,” Laurel grumbles.
“The cuntiness is strong with you today,” he reminds her on a drawl. “Reel it in or our new classmate will think we’re heathens.”
“I don’t know why you care since we’re paying for this red-carpet rollout. She’s a charity case,” she sneers. “Part of that diversity initiative shit. The school thinks if they throw out more freebies to welfare kids, people will think we’re charitable.”
The skin along my arms prickles, and I curl my hands into fists and breathe through my nose to calm myself down. This chick’s a King Kong mega-mega bitch, but not worth losing my scholarship over.
Do not strangle the rude ass blonde in the fancy car.
“Ahhh, scholarship kid.” Gabe nods, as if that makes total sense to him. “No wonder you’ve only got the two bags.”
I release a steady breath. “Well, whatever got me here, I’m grateful for the opportunity. Besides, how many bags do I need if we’ve got uniforms?”
According to Anthony, mine will be waiting for me at the school.
“God, kill me,” Laurel mutters.
“So, do you like it there, Gabe?” I’m desperate to change the subject before she says something new that will leave me questioning my decision not to wrap my fingers around her neck.
“Yeah, Angelview’s all right.” He sighs, leaning his head back against his headrest. “Probably more impressive for you. Like a vacation or whatever from your own life. I just got back from the Mykonos, though, so school’s sounding pretty shitty right about now.”
I fight not to roll my eyes again. “Yeah, sounds really rough.”
Unbidden, he launches into an in-depth play-by-play of his entire summer vacation. He even goes so far as to tell me how many girls he slept with, and I want to throw myself out of the moving SUV and take my chances with the pavement. Laurel doesn’t help matters any. She stops ignoring me just long enough to start complaining about her dad’s new wife.
“I’m going to call ICE on that bitch again and get her ass deported,” she grumbles at one point, making my mouth fall open in shock. For a second, I’m sure she’s joking, but then she shoots me a dark glare and says through clenched teeth, “Get that stupid look off your face because you obviously haven’t met the bitch.”
Nope, but I’ve met Laurel and I can’t help but feel terrible for her poor stepmom.
Finally, we reach campus. It was really a short drive from Los Angeles to Santa Teresa, thirty minutes tops, but it felt like hours trapped in a car with two insufferable assholes. I practically leap from the Cadillac when the door opens, eager to get away from them.
“Hey, so Headmaster Aldridge wanted us to give you a tour—” Gabe begins explaining, but I interrupt him with a hurried shake of my head.
Screw.
That.
Shit.
“I’m good,” I insist. “I’m really tired, and I’m sure you both have better things to do than cart my ass around.”
“Hooray, she’s smarter than she looks,” Laurel mutters.
She misses my sneer because she instantly goes back to pouting at the text message chain on her phone screen.
“Cool, well, that’s your dorm.” Gabe absentmindedly points to the huge, red brick building right behind me, his mind clearly gravitating toward other things now that I’ve given him a pass on his obligations to me. He hands me a small yellow envelope, and I feel the imprint of a key when I take it. “And this is your welcome packet—key, room number, all that good stuff.”
“Thanks.” As soon as the driver hands me my duffle, I turn without a word.
I only make it a few steps before Laurel calls after me, her voice laced with glee and venom. “Teague Hall is the shittiest dorm on campus. Just so you know.”
“Yeah, thanks for the heads up,” I say, adding under my breath, “Hateful bitch.” I don’t look back and make my way toward