When I get to Mrs. Bennett’s classroom, she is sitting at her desk and appears to be grading some of the midterm exams. She’s gripping her red pen, and her brow is furrowed in concentration. As I watch her, I genuinely can’t figure out what Mr. Bennett could possibly see in her. She’s attractive enough, but she’s got a frown permanently burned into her face. How can he stand it?
“Mrs. Bennett?” I knock gently on the door to her classroom, even though it’s already open. “Do you want to see me?”
“Yes.” Her lips are a straight line across her face, almost like they have vanished into her mouth. “Have a seat, Adeline.”
The fact that she’s calling me by my full name is making me nervous. My mother does that too when she thinks I have been behaving badly. But I do what she says, sliding into the desk directly in front of hers.
“So.” Mrs. Bennett focuses her attention on me. Her eyes are too small and look beady. “Is there anything you would like to tell me?”
I stare at her. I don’t say a word. Whatever Kenzie told her, there’s no proof.
When it’s obvious I’m not going to confirm or deny anything, she pulls two test papers out from under the pile on her desk and throws them down in front of her. “You copied Kyle’s test paper. You are right behind him, you were looking at his paper, and you copied his answers.”
I open my mouth to say something, but it feels like there’s something stuck in my throat, and nothing comes out. I can’t believe this is happening. I’ve never cheated in my whole life, and the one time I did it, I get caught, like, an hour later. I have the worst luck.
To be fair, I didn’t get caught for killing my dad.
“Well?” Her eyebrows shoot up. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
There are still no words coming. What am I supposed to say? I did cheat. I don’t want to lie on top of what I’ve already done. “I’m so sorry,” I finally squeak out.
Mrs. Bennett looks completely unmoved. That’s no surprise. She reminds me of the wicked witch in one of those Disney movies. All she needs is a cape. “Cheating is an extremely serious matter. Tomorrow morning, I’m going to be discussing this with the principal.”
Principal Higgins already does not like me. She used to like me. Well, for the first year and a half I went to Caseham High, she didn’t even know who I was, which is probably the best possible situation. The first time I went in to talk to her, she was so kind to me. And now she thinks I’m a troublemaker because of what I did to Mr. Tuttle.
What is she going to do when she finds out I’ve been cheating on top of everything else?
“You can go,” Mrs. Bennett tells me.
I stand up on shaky legs and somehow manage to make it out of her classroom without collapsing. I don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow, but it’s going to be awful. The principal is going to find out that I copied off Kyle. They’re probably going to have to bring in my mother, and then I’m going to see that awful disappointed look on her face.
And maybe worst of all, Mr. Bennett is going to know about it.
I am so furious at Kenzie. She did not have to tell Mrs. Bennett about this. She could have kept her mouth shut. I don’t even understand why she hates me so much.
I’m not going to be a doormat anymore. I’m not going to let Kenzie get away with this.
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Chapter Thirty-Three
EVE
I’M surprised that when I get home today from the school, Nate is already there waiting for me.
I’m almost always home first. Often, he stays so late that I can’t figure out what he’s doing there. But today when I get home, he is sitting on the sofa. And when I walk into the living room, he stands up to greet me. He even gives me a kiss.
“How was your day?” he asks.
“Good.” I glance over at the kitchen to see if he’s got anything cooking in there. “What would you like for dinner tonight?”
“Actually,” he says, “I thought we could order something. From anywhere you want.”
Nate usually thinks the delivery places are too expensive, and he’d rather have some spaghetti out of the box than get delivery from an Italian restaurant. “That sounds great.”
There’s a smile playing on his lips. His eyes crawl down my body, and there’s an expression on his face I haven’t seen in a long time. “You look nice today, Eve.”
Do I? I’m wearing a white blouse with tan slacks. Although I do have on my pair of Manolo Blahniks, which I don’t wear all the time, but I needed a boost today. “Thank you.”