Page 33 of Unhinged Kallie

Turning further in my seat, I looked at Troy. “How can you hang out with those idiots?”

He didn’t stop looking out the window. “They don’t bother me, so I don’t worry about the dumb shit they do.”

“Yeah, well, it was our side they would’ve hit if Carter hadn’t been paying attention, so maybe you should care.”

Troy’s head slowly turned away from the window, and it was the first time I realized how much he looked and acted like my dad. I kinda hated him for it. He was always the better student, the number one gold star suck up my dad spent more time with than anyone else.

“That was far from running into us, but I will speak with Chad.”

Sitting by the other window was Bo. Cain had brought him home after finding him in the woods smacking a deer with a branch. Bo was like the rest of us, and I found it ironic that a serial killer had moved in beside an entire family of them. He even joined our classes. Bo was…different. So, of course, he became instant best friends with Troy. He was also totally in love with Talon, even if no one else saw it. Even now, he was staring at her like an ice cream cone he wanted to lick, but she was oblivious. Then again, she was oblivious to everything. I really wanted to burst out in song, ‘Which one of these doesn’t belong with the others,’ but she was my cousin, and at some point, we had to find something in common. I hoped.

As I turned around in my seat, I took an extra second to look at Carter, wishing he looked at me like Bo looked at Talon. I would find a way to make that happen because no little miss sugar, spice, and everything nice would take him from me.

We pulled into the parking lot, and Carter backed into a spot far enough away to be called a marathon from the front door.

“Why are we parking so far away?”

“Cause I don’t want some asshole to scrape your dad’s car.”

“He wouldn’t care. It’s not your fault,” I argued.

“Yeah, he would,” Carter and Troy said simultaneously.

“Whatever.” I got out of the car, and it felt amazing to do something like a normal kid.

“Hey, dipshit, watch where you’re going next time,” the football guy, Chad, said. His face fell as Troy got out. “Aw shit, sorry, man, I didn’t know you were in there.”

Troy smiled and clasped the guy’s hand. “No worries, bro.” I had to admit I was impressed with his instant cool guy transformation. I’d never witnessed it in person other than from my dad. I needed to learn to do that. Wear a mask for everyone else like it was my camouflage. Troy, Bo, and Chad wandered off.

“Talon!” A girl squealed and ran over. “Oh my god, you are even prettier in person. Come on, girl. I’ll introduce you to the other club addicts.” The girl laughed, and I had no idea what a club addict was, but Talon walked away, leaving me alone with Carter. Not that I minded.

“Come on. I’ll give you a quick tour.” He nodded toward the school, and nervous excitement flooded my body.

We had almost reached the entrance when a pretty blonde wearing a Suzy McSunshine dress burst out the door and leaped on Carter.

“Oh baby, it’s so good to see you. I missed you the last three weeks while I was in Paris, but I have so much to tell you.” The girl kissed Carter, and I envisioned ripping her tongue out of her head as she stuck it in his mouth.

The girl, who had to be June, slid down his body, and Carter had a starry-eyed look on his face. Yeah, she needed to die or have an unfortunate accident like tripping and falling on a set of train tracks, and she happened to get stuck. How sad.

“Hi,” June squealed as she looked at me. “You must be Carter’s baby sister. Oh my gawd, you’re adorable. I love this look. Are you going for grunge chic?” She smiled, but it was fake. My dad’s training taught me many things, and one of them was reading people. This girl was worse than I pictured in my head, and it was now my sole mission to destroy her.

“Adorable is not a word I would use for someone that could academically wipe the floor with you. I’m guessing you’re struggling in at least three classes and failing another. Not that I’m surprised when you spend more time trying to look like a Barbie replica than doing actual schoolwork.” Her mouth fell open as Carter smacked a hand over his eyes. “I’d also say you’re looking to get knocked up in the next year. That way, you don’t need to worry and can stay home, watch the kids, have your nails done, and get fucked by a hot yoga instructor while your husband is at work. Then again, what do I know? I’m just a baby?”

Smirking at her, I pushed open the door to the school. “I’ll show myself around, Carter. I wouldn’t want you to have to take time away from your game of tonsil hockey. At least with her, you can score a goal.”

That last bit was a low blow, Carter was an amazing hockey player, but I was annoyed now, and as far as I was concerned, he was lucky I was only using my words. Finding the office was easy. I grabbed my schedule and a map and was on my way to my locker.

There was a girl putting things into the locker beside mine. She was about my height but had bright green hair. She was wearing what looked like coveralls but with more style, while round metal glasses perched on her nose. I instantly liked her look, it was different, and she stood out.

“Hey, I’m Kallie,” I said as I pulled open my locker and began organizing it.

“Hi, I’m Alexandra, but I prefer Alex.” I held out my hand to shake hers. “What class do you have for first period,” Alex asked.

“Math in room 110.”

“Perfect, so do I. Do you want to sit together?”

“Sounds great.” I slammed my locker, securing it with my fancy new lock, and was off to class. See, I could do this. I’d even made a friend. What was my dad so worried about?