Page 126 of I'm Gonna Get You Back
“No! That’s not fair!” she cries. “I wasn’ttryingto sabotage Clara, okay? I honestly thought Josh would take the heat. I still can’t believe he didn’t!”
Neither Josh nor Principal West will look her in the eye at that.
“And the whole thing was Logan’s idea!” Nicole exclaims.
“I think we’re losing sight of things here—” Coach Rousseau tries to interject.
But the group turns to look at Logan, and he shrugs, the picture of nonchalance. “It opened up a spot. Not that it made a difference for me, but I would’ve done anything to get one.”
Reid visibly bristles, and I squeeze his hand harder so he doesn’t do something rash like lunge for Logan.
“Like start a gossip account?” Mitchell asks, shaking his head in disgust.
Logan’s ears turn pink the longer Mitchell looks at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Really?” Kenji steps forward. “Then why are you logged in to the Legacy Lore account right now?”
Logan’s expression becomes even more baffled when Delaney stage-whispers, “Turn around.”
Anchored only by Reid’s warm hand in mine, I’m not sure I breathe while Logan and the rest of the crowd all turn to see that his phone screen is being cast through the projector onto the giant screen onstage. It’s still open on the Legacy Lore account.
A text comes through from Mitchell that crosses both the phone in Logan’s hand and the giant screen in real time.
Hi Logan!!!!
All of the color drains from his face.
“Logan,” Mayor Harper exclaims from across the room. She slams a palm against her chest and takes a long sip of white wine.
“Well, shit.” Logan smirks like he’s impressed. “You got me.”
There’s a collective gasp from the group at him confirming it. Josh looks murderous, his injuries adding to the effect.
“But c’mon,” Logan says directly to Mitchell. “You have to admit it’s kind of awesome.”
Mitchell scoffs. “You thought I’d enjoy you tearing down my friends? Mybrother?”
Logan pushes a hand through his sandy hair. “You follow all those celebrity gossip sites, what’s the difference? I thought you’d understand. Both of our brothers are these pillars of Woodhurst. This program fucked Noah over, and it’s obviously doing the same to Reid. To all of you.”
There’s a long, ringing silence.
“But why would you spread rumors about them if you were trying to help?” I ask. “That’s not the way—”
“Oh, please, don’t feed me that sanctimonious crap. You can do it your way, I’ve done it mine.” He shrugs and looks at Principal West. “I was proving the point thatno onemeets the standards of Legacy. That’s how messed-up the program is.”
“How noble,” Mitchell deadpans. His usually playful air is gone, replaced by a tone so cold it makes Logan blink. “So you still would’ve done this if you had been chosen as a Legacy? You would’ve revealed your own secrets for your ‘cause’?”
The look between them is loaded.
When Logan says nothing, Mitchell nods slowly. “You’re better than this, Logan. At least you used to be.”
Kenji rubs a comforting hand across Mitchell’s back, and for the first time, Logan’s nonchalant bravado slips off his face.
He really thought Mitchell would understand. Maybe even admire him for it. I wonder if deep down that’s even why he did it.
West huffs out an impatient noise, squeezing his eyes shut. “You all are supposed to be the best. The brightest. The leaders in this town. The scholarships are for you to better yourselves—tobebetter. Your squabbling and infighting and attempts at discrediting this program is a profound disappointment. How did it come to this?”
“Didn’t you watch Clara’s video?” Kenji responds over a humorless laugh.
