Page 155 of Shy Girls Can't Date Rockstars
“It came with the house.”
“Of course it did.” She keeps her voice down instinctively. “Alice, it smells like the eighteenth century.”
“You get used to it.”
I’m about to point her toward the guest bathroom when voices from somewhere deeper in the house cut through the quiet.
Miranda’s voice first, sharp and carrying. Then Ryder’s, lower but just as tense.
My feet stop moving.
Madison bumps into my back. “Sorry. What are we…”
I hold up a hand.
“How could you not hand in that essay?” Miranda’s voice rises and falls as it travels down the hallway. “You had Alice’s help. You should have taken advantage of that.”
“Miranda,” Ryder grunts. “Can we not do this right now?”
“When else are we going to do it? Where’s your head at?”
Madison leans in close to my ear. “Is that Ryder and your aunt?”
I nod, not taking my eyes off the hallway.
“Do you know how many strings I’ve had to pull so you don’t get suspended?” Miranda continues, her voice climbing again. “Do you have any idea of the conversations I’ve had to have with the school? You’re a lot of work, Ryder.”
The huff Ryder makes echoes toward us.
“I’ve organized a make-up essay,” Miranda says. “If you write it and hand it in, you won’t fail. It’s a generous deal, and frankly, it’s more than you deserve.”
“Fine. I’ll think about it.”
“There’s no thinking. You will do it.”
I don’t move. I’m still clasping the bag of chips, and the crinkle of the packet is stupidly loud against the silence of the foyer. I press it against my side to muffle it.
“I can make it without finishing tests and assignments,” Ryder argues. “Kensington basically said on Saturday that the contract is done. Why does any of this matter?”
“Because basically isn’t actually,” Miranda snaps. “And we can’t deal with any more hiccups. I thought you understood that. I thought after everything we’ve worked toward, you understood how critical this window is.”
“I do understand.”
“Then act like it! Kensington wants his son to graduate. That is non-negotiable for him. Chase will follow your lead, which means you need to set the right example. You write the make-up essay, you pass English, Chase follows, Brooks follows, and we don’t give Kensington a single reason to pull back from this deal.”
This time, it’s his groan that rumbles toward us.
Then footsteps, and not the pacing kind. The purposeful, heading-somewhere kind.
I should move, but my feet disagree.
Madison grabs my elbow. “They’re coming.”
Ryder appears at the end of the hallway, dressed in a tight-fitting black T-shirt and baggy black trousers. He stops when he sees us, lifting his guitar cases higher, which creates more definition in his arm.
Miranda appears a step behind him, her leather planner tucked under one arm and her phone in hand. She pulls up short as well.
The four of us stand in the foyer, and the awkwardness is unbearable.
