Chapter 2

Flora froze for a second, then gave a cold laugh. "Lying right through your teeth, huh? If it's not yours, then whose is it? Eric never brings any other girls home except you."

I explained, "Every morning, I get to school at 7:30. Every night, I study until 10:30 at home, with my parents around.

"They take turns driving me to school and picking me up. And every time I go to your place, Mrs. Goodman, aren't you always there?"

I looked her in the eye. "Besides, you can check the security cameras in the compound. You can check the school's security cameras too. If you don't believe me, go check right now."

Flora stiffened her neck. "You never skip class?"

"I'm ranked second in my grade, scored over 1400 on the SATs. You think I could pull that off by skipping class?" I shot back.

As the crowd of onlookers grew bigger and bigger, the security guard hurried over to keep order.

The gatekeeper squeezed through the crowd. "Alright, that's enough. I've been watching. This girl gets picked up by her dad every afternoon at 4:00 PM. She even has tutoring on weekends.

"When would she have time to mess with your son? If you're going to spread rumors, at least have some proof, right?"

My mom was always friendly and well-liked in the neighborhood, so people switched sides.

"Right. I've watched Jenny grow up. She's always been well-behaved and sweet. She even tutored my daughter back in her tenth and eleventh grades. You can't say anything bad about her."

"Ma'am, spreading dirty rumors about a young girl with no proof, that's pretty low."

"Exactly. And besides, that thing between your son's legs, unless he wants to use it, you really think a girl could force him?"

"Flora, don't you think you might be wrong?"

Flora's face turned beet red.

Eric's face looked terrible too. He grabbed Flora's arm and pulled her away. "Mom. Stop making a scene. Let's go home."

Even as Flora was being dragged off, she still turned her head and shot me a nasty, warning glare.

I stood there, my palms sweaty. But I knew this wasn't over.

Because Eric really did have a girlfriend, one he was too scared to let Flora know about. And sooner or later, whatever mess he and his girlfriend made would always get dumped on me again.

*****

Soon after, I met Eric's girlfriend.

The next day at school, a girl was sitting at my desk. My neatly stacked books and papers had been swept onto the floor.

She sat there all twisted up, like she were trying really hard to curve her body into some sexy shape.

Her school uniform, normally baggy, had been altered to fit tight. Her collar was open, and from above, one could see her low-cut bra underneath.

I knew who she was. Violet Reed, from the art program. I'd heard she failed her art portfolio review and wasn't even going to bother applying to art school anymore. With her grades, she'd be lucky to get into community college.

I walked up to her. "Get off. That's my seat."

She didn't move. "Oh wow, so this is Eric's little childhood friend? Not much to look at, but you surely think you're something."

She raised her voice on purpose. "So I heard you left your pink racy lingerie at Eric's place yesterday. Didn't Mrs. Goodman beat you up?"

The other students nearby suddenly weren't drowsy or busy anymore. They perked up their ears to catch the gossip.

Eric still didn't say anything.

I smiled, "Violet, isn't this kind of low? Spreading lies about your boyfriend? You two have already gone all the way, but you can't even own up to it? You'd rather pin it on me?"

"Enough." Eric looked at me with disappointment. "Why are you joining in on this?"

I took a deep breath. "Eric, keep your girlfriend in line. If she spreads any more dirty rumors about me, I'll tell Mrs. Goodman everything about you two."

Violet clearly knew how scary Flora could be. Violet shut her mouth awkwardly.

I picked up my stuff from the floor, grabbed my backpack, and walked straight to the last row. I sat down next to the school bully.

His name was Tony Shaw. He was big. He slept in the back row all the time, and no one dared to mess with him.

He looked up at me for a second, then put his head back down.

Eric came over and lowered his voice. "What are you playing at? Move back."

"No," I replied.

"Don't risk your grades," he said, frowning. "Class is about to start."

I looked at his face and suddenly felt sick.

In my previous life, I took the fall for him. What did he do after that?

After my whole family died, Flora got the death sentence.

He "turned his life around." He changed his name, took a gap year, reapplied, and got into an Ivy League school.

He lived his happy, brilliant life. Not once did he ever say sorry.

"I'll sit wherever I want." I looked down and flipped open my book. "Leave me alone."