Page 53 of Shy Girls Can't Date Rockstars
I’m drowning. The hallway spins around me. Too many faces. Too many phones. Too many voices.
“Hey, Freddy, you saw what happened, right?” Jasper calls out.
Freddy stands behind Jessa. I remember his name from my first day at school. The class president, who was supposed to give me a tour of the school.
“I, uh...” Freddy shifts his weight, looking anywhere but at me. “I didn’t really see. I was facing the other direction for the photo, so...”
“Come on, man,” Jasper presses. “You were right there.”
“I really didn’t see it happen.” Freddy’s voice is apologetic but firm. “Sorry, Jasper.”
“Oh my gosh, Jasper,” Jessa says in a low tone. “Your dad’s gonna be pissed. Didn’t he donate everything in the photography lab? Including that camera?”
Jasper huffs in frustration and turns back to me. “Get up. This is your fault. No way am I taking the blame for this.”
I try to stand, but my legs won’t cooperate. My hands are shaking too hard to gather my books.
“Wow, look at the act she’s putting on,” Jessa says with a laugh. “Such a convincing performance.”
“Whoa. What’s going on here?”
The voice cuts through the noise, and I don’t have to look up to know who it is.
But I do anyway.
Ryder stands at the edge of the circle, his expression shifting from casual curiosity to visible discomfort as he takes in the scene.
“Ryder!” Jessa’s voice brightens artificially. “Perfect timing. Your stalker just destroyed Jasper’s camera.”
“Look what she did!” Jasper shouts, holding up the lens. “No wonder she came to school with such a bad reputation. Was she a wrecking ball at her last school too?”
Ryder’s face closes off immediately. He takes a step back, raising one hand as if he’s physically pushing the situation away.
“Nope,” he says flatly. “Not my problem.”
My stomach drops.
“Doesn’t she live with you?” Jasper asks and then looks back at Jessa for confirmation. “Don’t you think you should…”
“Should what?” Ryder’s voice is sharp. “Handle your drama for you? No thanks.”
Jessa steps forward. “But she…”
Ryder shakes his head and fires a look of clear irritation at Jasper. “Clean up your equipment and deal with it. I’m sure the school has insurance. File a report or whatever.”
Jasper scoffs. “Well, maybe I need to report on this for the school paper.”
Ryder turns his back on Jasper. “Whatever.”
As I’m trying to remember how to breathe, Ryder’s eyes land on me.
“And you.” His tone is almost harsh. “Get to class.”
Still kneeling on the floor, I stare at him, frozen.
“Now, Alice.”
But I can’t move. The crowd, the phones, the whispers; it’s all too much. My body won’t respond.
