Page 77 of The Fall of Iris Henley
And I haven’t caught sight of Hayden or Sophie. All day I look for them, craning my neck in the hallway, passing the vending machine they always use between third and fourth period. Once I think I see the back of Sophie’s head, her dark hair in a curling ponytail, but she vanishes before I can catch up.
By the time the final bell rings, I’m more than ready to getout of there. I don’t even bother to swing by the loaner locker the principal gave me. I’m not going to bother with homework today anyway, so who needs to tote around the books?
I’m halfway to the senior parking lot when I remember. Cheer starts in five minutes. Now that my name’s been cleared, Gloria has to let me come back.
I turn to go back inside, and almost bump into Sophie.
She’s coming out into the parking lot, holding her books to her chest. Sophie is small, but somehow, she looks even more tiny than usual. Maybe it’s just because I’m not used to seeing her alone. Her face is bare of makeup, and her hair is knotted at the top of her head.
When she sees me, her eyes go sharp.
“Oh,” I say, my mind going suddenly blank. “Hi.”
She tries to step around me, but I hold up my hands. “Please, Sophie. I just…”
“Stop.” She shakes her head. “Just stop. I don’t want to hear it.”
I nod slowly. But it seems unfair. She has to have realized by now that it wasn’t my fault she was pulled into all this.
“Did you see that Max confessed?” I ask, hoping to see her expression soften.
But she just gives a weary nod. “Yeah. You must be pretty relieved.”
“Yeah… I mean, of course,” I stammer. “It’s pretty fucked up. I thought I could trust him.”
“Yeah.” She looks down. “It sucks.”
We’re quiet for a moment. I’m still blocking her path so she can’t just bolt, but she’s not giving me anything to work with.
“So… are you still benched?” I ask, frowning. “Even with Max’s confession?”
“Yeah. Gloria still wants me to test. It’ll be a few more days until it’s safe to.” She shrugs. “I guess I’m lucky. This wayI won’t have a failed test on my record. I just have to miss the rest of the season.”
My heart sinks. “That’s not fair.”
“It’s whatever.” She holds her ground a few feet away from me, still cradling the books. “Mom made me move inside the house too.”
“What?” It comes out as a shriek. “That’s such bullshit!”
“When she found out I was benched, she searched my room and found my stash,” she says. “Along with a few other party goodies I was saving for a rainy day. So it doesn’t really matter if the rumors are cleared up. She doesn’t trust me anymore.”
This is far from the reunion I was imagining. I’d been hoping that she and Hayden would forgive me, would finally understand my side and welcome me back into the fold. But Sophie’s face is hard and unyielding.
“What can I do?” I finally ask. “How can I make it right, Soph?”
She draws up her shoulders, then lets them go in a heavy exhale.
“No offense, Iris, but there’s just nothing you can do right now, okay?” Sophie finally looks directly at me. Is there the slightest hint of sadness there? Or is it just exhaustion? “I’m tired of all the drama. I just want to go home and do my homework and keep my head down.” She takes a step to the side, this time wider than before. “I need to take care of myself for a while.”
She makes her way around me.
This time I don’t try to stop her.
Back inside, I walk into the Little Gym in my street clothes. Bella runs over to meet me by the door, and once she’s donethat a few other girls follow. Molly hugs me around the neck, and Vanessa looks like she’s about to cry.
“I cannot believe it was Max,” Molly says. “What a fucker.”
“Pretty much,” I agree.
