No Ordinary Girl

Chapter Thirty-Two

Monday rolled around sluggishly, like any typical Monday. I had the hardest time getting up. It was a good thing that Alicia and I were friends again because she was the one who pulled me out of bed.

I took Pompom to school because he seemed lonely, sitting on my window sill. His little head popped out of the front pocket of my bag.

Social studies was my first class, and although it's one of my favorite subjects, I really didn't want to go because Brianna was in that class. On my way to class, I went over my list of haters.

Brianna Williams: hates me. Probably wants me dead -- to be determined shortly.

Alicia Chan: hated me for about a day. Besties again! :)

Leo Estrada: Not my biggest fan right now, but will probably turn around. (crossing fingers)

Ace Rogers: Doesn't hate me at the moment as far as I know, but will not like me very much when I completely ghost him. Oh, well.

I didn't notice Brianna behind me when I stepped into class. "Nice stuffie," she smirked. "What are you? Like five years old." She laughed and so did Jessica and Maddie, her two sidekicks. They were usually glued to her. Brianna was the queen and they were her lowly servants.

When I turned around, she was staring daggers at me.

Yep, she still wants me dead.

"Well, if you must know," I began, hoping the tremble in my voice and the blush on my cheeks weren't noticeable. "It's a thing I have with my little sister. And it's none of your business."

I sat down and didn't look at them again.

"Welcome back," Mrs. Renault cheered. "I hope you've all had yourselves a great weekend." With a loud slam, she propped open the gigantic Social Studies textbook we all had to carry around. A lot of the class material was digital, and we used our tablets often, but we still had quite a few textbooks.

"Open your textbooks to page ninety-six," she ordered. "Last week we delved into--"

Philippe's cheerful voice came on the intercom.

"Hello students of RAMS. Happy Monday. We request the presence of the following students at the front office.... Brianna Williams, Leo Estrada..."

The sound of Leo's name made my heart skip a beat.

"Kendra Smith, Annabelle Jenkins, and Ace Rogers. Please make your way to the front office immediately."

It had taken me a second or two to process the announcement. Brianna was already on her way out the door. I didn't think I was in trouble -- I knew this had something to do with Haley's case. I was excited, but as I gathered my things, I told myself not to expect too much. Expectations usually led to disappointment.

When I got there, everyone was already sitting in the waiting room, with the exception of Ace, always so fashionably late. Brianna scowled at me, and Kendra smiled. Leo didn't even look at me, and it broke my heart. I thought we were past this. We'd had that whole amazing conversation. I chalked it up to MMM (Monday morning moodiness).

Simone peeped out of her office and checked her watch. "I see that Mr. Rogers is late again." She scowled. "Please come in."

Just as we settled in the half-circle of chairs across her desk, Ace finally graced us with his presence. "Sorry, I'm late."

"Sit down, Mr. Rogers," Simone commanded -- she didn't seem to be in the best of moods.

Ace sat next to me. I didn't look up or smile, or say hi. I'd vowed to never look him in the eye ever again. Was it possible to carry on an academic relationship with someone without ever looking at their faces?