My phone’s been quiet since the dance last night.
I stumble out of bed, groggy and confused. Normally, Dutch is blowing up my cell with instructions.
Get coffee.
Buy strings for my guitar.
Print my homework.
He’s like a deranged eighteen-year-old boss from hell.
Today, nothing.
Instead of feeling overjoyed at getting a break, I feel uneasy.
What is wrong with me? Why do I care that my biggest tormentor is choosing to take a day off?
I take out the ironing board and set it up near my bed. Yesterday, I forgot to wash my uniform and had to do it when Hunter dropped me and Viola back home late after the dance. Now, the fabric’s still damp. I’m hoping that steaming it will help it dry faster.
“Knock, knock!” Viola sings from the door.
“Hey.” I smile when she dances into my bedroom. Her hair, as usual, is a mess. “Vi, I’ve told you a million times to braid your hair at night so it’s not a hassle to comb it later.”
“Who has time for that?” she squeaks. When she sees me with the iron, she runs straight to me. “Let me help.”
I eye her suspiciously. “What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
I frown. “If you’re trying to get out of school today, it’s not happening.”
“I’m not.” She scrunches her nose. “Although I think it’s totally ridiculous to host a dance on a Thursday. After partying all night, they really expect us to get up and go to school? Idiots!”
“I think that’s exactly what they want, yes.”
When I was at the dance yesterday, I noticed the way teachers were keeping the girls from flocking to Dutch, Zane and Finn.
Since the teenaged pregnancy rate is so high in our neighborhood and young girls are constantly dropping out of school, the board must be doing everything they can to keep the kids on the straight and narrow.
“So…” Viola looks up with a wickedly mischievous grin.
“So what?” I shoo her away to continue ironing.
She plops on my bed and props her hip up in a sexy pose. “How does it feel to have not one, but two boys chasing you?”
“What are you talking about?” I laugh.
“Hunter is so much cuter and nicer in person. Admit it. He was into you.”
I think back to our short conversation at the dance yesterday. Hunter’s brown eyes were warm as we both laughed over how I’d DM’d him the day he took a detox from social media.
“He was not,” I insist.
“Then why did he offer to drop us home?” Viola undoes her bun and runs her fingers through her dark hair.
“Because it’s on the way,” I tell her.
“I know for a fact that it is not on the way,” Viola argues. “And he barely spoke a word to either me or his brother. He was just staring at you the entire ride.” She nudges my hip with her foot. “And you liked it.”
“It’s called being polite.”
“You didn’t have to accept his ride,” my sister shoots back.
“Yes, I did.”
There was no way I could get back in a vehicle with Dutch after playing together.
“Well, if you don’t like Hunter… do you like Dutch?”
I almost burn my hand with the iron. It’s only my quick reflexes that cause me to jump out of the way when the hot plate teeters off the board.
Viola shrieks. “Cadey, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I brush my hair behind my ear and stoop to pick up the iron. Thankfully, it’s not broken.
“Breeze thought you two were dating.”
“I talked to Breeze and cleared that up.” Before we left the dance, I took my best friend aside and explained as much of the situation as I could. She swore she wouldn’t forgive me for not telling her I was ‘friends’ with The Kings, but eventually we hugged it out.
Breeze still has no clue about Dutch tormenting me. And she doesn’t know about me toying with him as my alter ego either. I’m not telling her all that until I have to.
“No, I don’t like Dutch.”
At least not the Dutch that got Mulliez kicked out.
Or insinuated that I was sleeping with a teacher.
Or ruined my locker, destroyed my keyboard, and treated me like absolute crap.
But the Dutch that stood up for me in the cafeteria and pushed me to face my fears is… well, a different story.
I’m not against that Dutch.
I’d actually like to see more of that Dutch around.
“Oooh. Are you thinking about him right now?” my sister teases.
“You’re distracting me.” I shoo Viola out of the room. “Go get ready for school.”
“Fine. But for what it’s worth, I’m Team Dutch.”
My eyes bug. “You don’t even know him.”
“I know he kept looking at you when he was playing yesterday. And you were looking at him too.”
My mouth opens and falls shut.
“I know he’s the one who helped you get over your stage fright.”
“That’s… it’s not what you think.”
“I like him,” Viola says again. “But what matters more is that you like him too.” She smiles at me and then starts singing, “Dutch and Cadey sitting in a tree…”
I grab a pillow and aim it at her head.
The door squeezes shut before it can get to her and my sister’s maniacal laughter rings through the house.
Still no message from Dutch.
I open my locker and reach for my textbooks. Glancing over my shoulder, I check both ways, wondering if Dutch has gotten to school yet.
“What are you looking for?”
“Ah!” I yelp and turn to face a smiling Serena. “You scared me.”
“Sorry.” She tosses her black hair. Today, her face makeup’s a little lighter than usual, but she smeared her thin lips in black. The motorcycle jacket’s back along with the school blouse and skirt.
“You look nice.” Serena bumps me with her hip.
“Uh, thanks.” Before I left this morning, Viola insisted on doing my make up.
‘You’ve got two guys trying to get with you. You’re popular now. You can’t be running around without eyeliner.’
I forced her to keep it light, but I do kind of look nice.
“I heard you shredded it with The Kings yesterday.”
“Let me guess. Someone texted Jinx for information?” I sigh.
“No.” She snorts. “It was all over social media. The Kings have their own hashtag you know.”
“Oh.”
“How does it feel to be the newest member of the band?”
“I’m not the newest member.”
“Aren’t you?” She drops an arm around my shoulder. “I thought you were Sol’s replacement.”
“Sol? Who’s Sol?”
“The only guy allowed to sit with the Cross brothers during lunch. He quit Redwood at the end of junior year though. No one knows why, although some say it’s because he got kicked out the Cross brothers’ good graces for not being rich enough.” She lifts a hand and says, “And before you ask, no. I haven’t asked Jinx. That was just a rumor too.”
“What’s up with that Jinx thing anyway,” I ask, thinking of all the texts she’s sent. She hasn’t let up at all.
“No one really knows. She buys and sells secrets. Sometimes, if she’s feeling nice, she gives out secrets for free.” Serena’s eyes sparkle. “But we all know one thing for sure. If Jinx gets in touch with you, it means your life is about to be insane.”
I frown at her explanation.
Just then, I see Dutch entering the hallway. As usual, Zane and Finn flank him on either side. Today, he’s wearing a hoodie up over his face.
Immediately, I sense that something’s wrong. His eyes are darker than usual—less amber suns and more of a solar eclipse. His steps aren’t measured. They’re heavier, more urgent. Like he’s a mercenary, marching to eliminate his next target.
I can’t put a melody to it.
The crowd makes way for them, but I remain in place.
Dutch catches sight of me and, for a second, it feels like I can’t breathe. Then he drags his gaze away and keeps walking right past me as if I don’t even exist.
Zane and Finn give me pitying glances, but they don’t talk to me either.
My heart cracks, but I force the hurt off my face. After last night, it felt like we’d come to some sort of understanding but, obviously, I was wrong.
“I guess you’re not Sol’s replacement after all,” Serena says woodenly.
A melody blasts from the speakers in the hallway.
It’s time to get to class.
“You okay?” Serena asks.
I nod absently. “Yeah, I’ll see you later.”
I wrap my fingers more tightly around my books and put one foot in front of the other. Dutch can pull a cold-shoulder all he wants. I mean nothing to him. And from now on, I’m going to make it clear that the feeling is mutual.
