1642734778_punk-57-pdf

But now, the light of day is so bright I want to crawl back under the
covers. Everyone heard him scold me at the party last night. Acting like I’m
his property.
They may not know what’s happened between us, but they know
something happened to make him that angry with me. And they know I’ve
been lying about it.
I force down the lump in my throat and walk up to my cubby in the
locker room, next to Lyla and Katelyn as they dress for P.E.
“Hey,” I say, trying to force a chipper tone.
But Lyla doesn’t respond. Instead she lifts her nose, sniffing the air and
complaining to Katelyn next to her. “God, did the janitors clean last night? I
smell skank everywhere.”
Katelyn laughs, and I tense.
“Can you believe that bitch didn’t even bother to show up to practice
again this morning?” Katelyn tells her, loud enough for me to hear.
“Doesn’t matter, I guess. Her fat ass was getting too heavy to catch.”
Liquid heat races through my veins, and I hear my pulse in my ears. I
turn to them as they get dressed. “You wanna say something, say it to my
face.”
But they both ignore me as if I haven’t said anything.
“So did J.D. book a limo?” Katelyn asks Lyla.
“Oh, yeah. One big enough for all of us,” she replies, and they both
slam their locker doors, walking past me and down the aisle. “This night is
going to be epic. Especially without Ryen there to stink up the car.”
Their delighted laughter grates on my ears and tears spring to my eyes,
but I slam my locker closed, refusing to give in.
All through P.E. I stay away from them, slowly feeling their bubble
getting bigger and pressing me further away. They’re them, and I’m me.