9781250209153

“Yep, there we go,” Charlotte says. “Let me just post this little
development to Instagram…”
There’s a heavy, protracted silence as everyone waits. Then one of the
soccer girls looks at her phone and says, “Oh shit…”
In a flash, everyone is on their phone except for me, Irene, and our
friends. We stay resolute as our peers gawk at their screens. The soccer girls
roar with glee. The football guys elbow each other and laugh. The
cheerleaders are silent as stone.
“Is that really true?” one of them asks Irene, thrusting her phone at her.
Irene tries to look away, but the girl practically forces her to look. Irene’s
jaw tightens. She digs a hand through her hair.
In spite of myself, I pull out my phone and look.
Just as Irene said, it’s a photo of Tally and me making out at the New
Year’s Eve party, time-stamped with the date and location. It’s a little fuzzy
from Charlotte zooming in on us, but there’s no doubt who it is. The caption
overlaying the picture reads So Zajak was still hooking up with Gibson this
whole time? I guess Irene really was just using her for show …
Everyone is staring when I look up. My friends’ faces are anxious.
Everyone else’s is judgmental and wary. They look from me to Irene and
back again. It’s dead silent until Irene finally speaks.
“You spelled Scottie’s name wrong,” she tells Charlotte, but her heart’s
not in it. She turns and looks past me to Honey-Belle. “Come on, let’s hang
those posters.”
“I wouldn’t bother,” Charlotte says triumphantly. “You’ve showed your
true colors. I doubt anyone will vote for you now.”
There’s an outbreak of murmuring and laughter. Irene looks stricken. I
feel ready to throw up. This whole fucked-up thing is my fault. I can deal
with the consequences for my own life, but sabotaging Irene’s is something
else entirely.
Gunther places his warm, stubby hand over mine. That’s when I realize
I’m shaking. Irene and Honey-Belle retreat to their cars without a word,
Charlotte and her entourage leave in triumph, and the rest of our classmates
disperse. Then it’s just Danielle, Kevin, Gunther, and me, somber and silent
by my car.