Fake Skating(16)

The less you share, the better.

Cassie led me out into the hallway and immediately turned on her tour-guide persona. She pointed out everything we passed, and I did my best to focus on her while being very aware of people looking at us.

Just as she was showing me where in the cafeteria you could get breakfast, we walked by a few more hockey players, and one of them yelled her name.

“What?” she said with a smile. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“Yeah, but we have a question,” the red-haired guy said.

“And it would be…?”

“Where did you go Saturday night after you left the bonfire?” he asked. “One minute you guys were there, the next second you were gone. And we couldn’t help but notice Kyle was gone too. So we were wondering…”

“So don’t do that,” she said, rolling her eyes and kind of pushing him a little bit, but in a teasing way. “I have no idea what Kyle did after the party—don’t be an ass.”

“I’m not an ass,” he said around a little laugh. “I just wanted to make sure you both got home safely.”

“Sure you did. By the way, this is Dani—she’s new.”

“Hi,” I said.

“This is Richie,” she told me, pointing to the redhead. “And this is Vinny.”

Vinny had a blond mullet that was so long it went halfway down his back. As if that weren’t jarring enough—what was withthat hair—he was ginormous.

“Wait—your name is Dani?” Vinny asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Yeah…?” I replied, my cheeks warm as they looked at me.

Richie said, “Oh shit—are you Mick Boche’s granddaughter?”

Okay, this is weird.

“Yes…?”

How would he know that already?

“Do you guys know each other?” Cassie asked, looking back and forth between me and these strangers.

“No, but Zeus mentioned her the other night at the party,” Richie said.

What?

“You know Zeus?” she asked, her eyes wide like this was a very big deal.

“No,” I said, unsure why this dude thought I did. “No, I think he must have me confused with someone else. I have no idea who this Zeus person is.”

Richie said, “Yes, you do! He’s—”

But then the bell rang and all I could hear from Richie was… absolutely nothing.

Because it was like we were standing inside the bell, it was so loud.

“Later, Cassie! Dani”—Mullet Boy smirked before bowing—“it was a pleasure.”

What the hell…

And with that, the hockey guys immediately dispersed, leaving me with unanswered questions.

How would some puckboy named Zeus have ever heard of me?

“Okay, let’s get you to class so you’re not late on your first day; no one likes being the center of attention that way, right?”

Oh, thank God she gets it,I thought. “Right.”

“Okay, so I’ll walk you to your first class, and then I’ll be waiting when it ends to get you to second period. Cool?”

“Perfect,” I said. “Thank you.”

But as we walked and she pointed out classrooms and hallways, I couldn’t shake the annoyance that some hockey jock had mentioned me. Like, howwww? I mean, it didn’t make sense, because I’d literally met no one since I’d been here, but I supposed the tie-in to my grandpa made it possible.

Maybe Richie’s dad was one of Big John’s friends.

It irked me because I just wanted to be invisible. I needed whoever the hell Zeus was to forget he’d ever heard my name, if he had actually heard my name at all.

“Here we are: AP Lit,” Cassie said, interrupting my thoughts by pointing to a classroom. “That’s Mr. Hunter and he’s really cool, so I’m sure you’ll have no problem with him. Actually, let me help you.”

She grabbed my arm and pulled me into the classroom.

“Hey, Mr. Hunter—this is Dani, and she’s a new student.”

He looked down at the piece of paper Cassie was holding out, which pretty much just had my name and schedule on it, and he narrowed his eyes.

I tried my best to pretend the people in the classroom weren’t looking at us, even though I knew they were.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Dani Collins,” he said.

I nodded and smiled, wishing he would lower his voice and let me go sit down.

“There’s an open desk in the back of the room—have a seat. I’ll get you a textbook as soon as the final bell rings.”

“Awesome,” I said, my face on fire.

“I’ll be back when it’s over,” Cassie said with a smile.

I was torn between being relieved she was leaving, because she was outrageously perky in a way that made me feel like a noncommunicative boob, and wanting to grab her arm and beg her to stay and protect me.

“Cool—thanks,” I said, then headed toward the empty desk in the back of the room.

Where I would do my very best to become invisible.





CHAPTER SIX Alec




Is that her?

I walked down the hallway, listening to Vinny’s conspiracy theory about Kyle and Cassie while my eyes stayed glued to the back of an unfamiliar blonde’s head. From what I could see, she was shortish, with wavy blond hair, and she was walking toward the history hall.