Page 110 of Shy Girls Can't Date Rockstars
I perch on the edge of the chair, my hands clasped in my lap.
Miranda leans back, her fingers steepled beneath her chin. The desk lamp casts shadows across her face, making her expression even harder to read.
“I received another call from Ashworth Academy this afternoon,” she begins, her voice measured and cold. “Care to guess what it was about?”
My throat goes dry. “I—“
“Truancy, Alice,” she says it plainly, with no need to raise her voice. “It’s like our discussion yesterday didn’t even happen.”
“I can explain.”
“I don’t want excuses.” Her fingers remain steepled, perfectly still. “I want solutions.”
I swallow hard, my gaze dropping to the desk and aimlessly scanning the papers spread across it.
“The school suggested,” Miranda continues, each word precise and cutting, “that perhaps you’re not ready to return to regular attendance. That perhaps the circumstances of your arrival were too traumatic for immediate reintegration.”
She pauses, letting it sink in.
“Theyimplied,“ her voice goes colder, “that I might not be providing adequate support for a grieving teenager.”
My head snaps up. There’s something different in her expression. Not anger, but perhaps wounded pride?
“I’ve opened my home to you, Alice.” She spreads her hands, gesturing at the opulent office around us. “I’ve enrolled you in one of the finest schools in the state, and this is how you repay me? By making me look incompetent to your school administrators?”
“I didn’t mean to…”
“You never mean to. But intentions don’t matter. Results do. And right now, the result is that social services may write a report, questioning my fitness as your guardian.”
My stomach drops. “Mrs. Rodriguez was impressed by…”
“If the school somehow contacts her...” Miranda’s jaw tightens. “Mrs. Rodriguez will want to reassess the placement. Do you understand what that means? Do you understand what happens if she decides this arrangement isn’t working?”
I can’t breathe. The room is too warm. The walls press in closer.
“I need you here.” Miranda’s voice softens slightly, but there’s no warmth in it. “Ryder needs consistent academic support, and I need Sky Chaos to become a success.”
There it is. The truth laid bare.
“I told you this was an inopportune time for me to take you in,” she continues. “But I did it, Alice. I took you in. I’m giving you a roof over your head and meals on your plate. The least you can do is turn up at school.”
“I was tutoring Ryder,” I blurt.
Miranda sits back, intrigued. “What was that?”
“Ryder made me stay home.” I’m panting. “He wanted extra help on his essay. I didn’t have a choice. I wanted to go to school.”
“Oh.” Miranda sits taller, the disdain melting off her. “So, we’re back on track? You’re willing to help him with his studies?”
I nod. “I told you I would.”
A pleased grin brightens her expression. “Good.”
I breathe out hard and fast. Right now, I’d say anything to save my own skin. I don’t want this woman tearing me in two. I want to get out of this room faster than my legs will take me.
“So, he handed in his essay?”
My mind plays in reverse, recounting the day’s events. The last time I saw Ryder was outside the music room. Before that, we were in the kitchen. Before that, I threw a sandwich at him and asked if we could skip studying.
