Page 146 of Shy Girls Can't Date Rockstars
I need to get out of here before I explode.
“Alice!” Ryder calls, but I don’t stop.
I burst into the hallway, my heart pounding with rage instead of panic this time.
Miranda took credit for my work.
She took my photos. My art. The first thing I’ve been able to create since my parents died, and she put her name on them.
Like I have another function for her to use for her benefit.
Like my grief doesn’t matter.
Students flow around me in the hallway, but I barely see them. All I can see is that caption burning behind my eyelids.
M_Knox_Mgmt.
Not me.
Never me.
***
After lunch, I get to art class earlier than usual. The usual has been me arriving late, faking an illness, and not returning for the rest of the period. But today is different. Today I’ve been avoiding Ryder in the halls. In my heart, I know he didn’t choose the photos that got posted, or have anything to do withapproving which ones did. But he’s entangled in this ugly mess, and I can’t look at him right now.
I find an empty stool at the far end of the middle table and open my sketchbook. That’s when the giggling and running enters the classroom.
Jessa and Kimberley cannot contain themselves as they ambush my table. They take the stools across from me, and there is a wild frenzy in their eyes.
A cold sweat prickles along the back of my neck. Whatever this is, it can’t be good.
“Did you have a good weekend?” Jessa asks, twirling a finger through her ponytail.
“Fine,” I say to the page.
“We saw you at The Factory on Saturday night,” Kimberley says, thumbing through the pages of her sketchbook. “Sky Chaos were incredible. Except for a few slip-ups.”
“Yeah,” Jessa says, fishing inside her pencil case. “Poor Ryder. Must be so difficult to perform when you have this charity case following you around.”
My back stiffens as my muscles contract. Are we really doing this again?
“Yeah, no wonder he choked at the beginning,” Kimberley continues. “He has to deal with this orphan who moved in.”
My breathing completely stops, and everything around me spins.
Orphan?
Did she really just say orphan?
Jessa’s hand lands on my wrist, pulling me back into my body. “We just heard about the car crash. What a way to end up here.”
I reef my hand away from her, and Jessa leans back onto her stool.
“It’s really not fair to Ryder, you know?” Kimberley says with an insincere pout. “He has so much going on. You can’t expect him to handle your damage as well.”
I can’t even react. How are they saying these things? How do they know?
“Alice, seriously, it’s so sad. But you didn’t need to keep it a secret,” Jessa says. “I mean, we know nepotism is getting you closer to the band, but—“
