9781250209153

else?”
“You obviously don’t remember high school very well.”
She snorts. “Of course I do. The unspoken social hierarchy sucks. But
you know what I’ve figured out since then?” She dances her fingers in front
of my eyes. “It’s all perception, Scots. Making people see what you want
them to see. If you want them to think you matter, start acting like they
should already know that you matter.”
Daphne nods. “Fake it till you make it.”
“Exactly,” Thora says.
I scratch BooBoo’s ears, thinking. “You wanna know something stupid?
Carpooling with Irene is the coolest I’ve felt all year. Like, it’s the first time
people have paid attention to me. Even Tally was jealous. How fucked up is
that?”
“Tally was jealous?” Thora laughs humorlessly. “God, that girl is a
fucking case study. She’s probably worried that you’re secretly dating
Irene.”
I snort. The idea of that is unthinkable. “I would never. I can’t stand that
girl.”
“Maybe Irene isn’t as bad as you think,” Daphne says. “Why do you
hate her, anyway?”
I pause, considering. I never confided in my sisters about the tow truck
incident. It would only open a can of worms if I told them now.
“She’s just a jerk,” I say. “She … kinda messed with me last year.”
Thora’s eyes flash. “What’d she do?”
I shake my head. “Nothing. Seriously, nothing. I just don’t like her.”
I can tell Thora wants to press me on it, but she doesn’t. She plants a
kiss on my head and goes back to watching the movie with Daphne.
You’ve been a walking insecurity …
Is that true? Judging by the constant ache in my chest, I have to believe
it is. But when did I become this way? I didn’t used to care about my social
status; I was content to fly under the radar. But that was before Tally. It was
also before the tow truck incident.
I always wanted to confront Irene about that prank. I wanted to scream
that it was a completely disproportionate reaction to me knocking a drink