It wasn't until Friday that they got their taxonomy exams back, and Friday was a lab day. For once in her life, Lane actually felt confident about a science test, but GiGi was a bundle of nerves.

"I can't believe you're so freaked out about this, GiGi," Lane said to her as the two girls headed to the end of the hallway and prepared to ascend the stairs to the science lab. "I honestly felt pretty okay about that test. Who knows? I might've even made a B."

"Yeah, well, my mom's still going pretty hard on me. A bad grade's the last thing I need right now."

"Oh, come on, GiGi. You made the honor roll last nine weeks. I'm sure you did fine." Lane was still staring reassuringly at GiGi as she reached out to grab the stair rail, not noticing the metal's jagged edge—

"Lane, watch out!"

"OW—what the heck!" The moment she grasped, Lane drew her hand back and reeled with pain. She examined her right palm, a blot of blood seeping through the pierced flesh. "Oh my gosh, this school is so freaking jank. Like can they puh-lease fix this!?"

GiGi nodded in agreement. "Hasn't it been like a month since that emo ninth grader tried to burn a hole in this rail? I honestly can't believe they still haven't gotten somebody out here to replace it."

"I'm pretty sure it counts as reckless endangerment at this point," Lane huffed, retrieving a cafeteria napkin from her purse and wrapping her palm inside it.

The girls plodded up the stairs and through the set of double doors at the top, then headed left. They passed the library, and GiGi waved at Mrs. Portolini, the school's bookkeeper.

When they made it to the laboratory, Mrs. Alvin was already standing at the front handing out exams.

"Goode," Mrs. Alvin called out one of the students' last names. Seconds later, a lanky boy with ginger bangs slinked forward to claim his exam. He glanced quickly at his grade and smiled, then went back to his seat.

"What a nerd," Lane whispered to GiGi. "I bet he made like a hundred."

"Lane, be nice!" GiGi whispered back, then sighed. "I wish I made a hundred."

"GiGi, you did fine. Honestly—"

"Gravestepper," came Mrs. Alvin's voice.

GiGi stood up sheepishly, then slowly walked forward to get her test. She brought it back to her seat without even a sideways peek at her grade.

"Oh, will you stop being such a drama queen!?" Lane scream-whispered, snatching the paper from GiGi's hand and reading aloud her score. "You got a ninety-seven."

"I did!?" GiGi's face lit up. "Oh my gosh, yay!"

"Don't act so surprised," Lane said matter-of-factly. "We all saw it coming from a mile away."

Mrs. Alvin called out a few more names before she reached Lane's. "Martin," she finally said, then pushed her old-lady glasses back up her stubby nose.

Lane hopped up from her seat and sashayed to the front of the class to pick up her exam.

"I was very surprised, Lane," Mrs. Alvin said as she handed Lane the test. "Here I thought you were in the running to fail every test this semester. Though I suppose a sixty-four isn't much of an improvement."

Who does she think she is? Lane quirked an eyebrow and cocked back her neck. "Well, it would've been a lot easier if you were on the test, Mrs. Alvin. We all know your taxonomy: Kingdom Archaic."

Mrs. Alvin's jaw dropped, her face burning beet red as subdued chuckles sputtered out from Lane's classmates.

Lane smirked, looking Mrs. Alvin up and down. "Honestly, it's kind of sad. Floor-length dresses and thick-inch heels haven't been a thing since my grandma was in diapers. Pretty sure your birth certificate says 'Expired' and your midwife was a dinosaur." Lane scrunched her arms like a T-Rex to complete the joke.

What had been chuckles only moments before erupted uncontrollably into hysterical laughter, one boy in a blue-and-yellow jersey even falling from his lab bench. Lane smiled a triumphant smile, then unscrunched her arms and rested one on her right hip.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Mrs. Alvin screamed. "OUT! I WANT YOU OUT THIS INSTANT! PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE, NOW!" She pointed to the door sharply with her index finger, anger quaking her frame as she scowled at Lane.

Lane laughed in her face, then looped her purse over her shoulder for dramatic effect before turning to exit the laboratory. She stepped out into the hallway and began prancing across the carpeted floor toward the stairs when she stopped mid-stride, a new idea popping to life inside her head. 

Giggling at herself, she reached inside her purse and scrabbled for a piece of gum, swiftly grasping a square of minty delight between her fingers. She peeled back the paper and tossed the chewy stick of sugar inside her mouth, then sashayed on through the hallway.

My mom is gonna have a heart attack when Principal Rodley calls her, Lane thought to herself as she smacked on the gum. I can't wait to see the look on her face when she hears what I said to Mrs. Al—

"What's goin' on, pretty girl?"

Lane froze in her tracks, turning to stare at the flirty try-hard approaching her from behind.

"And you are?" Lane asked impatiently.

"Come on, babe. Don't do that. I know you've seen me before."

Lane's lips curled into an incredulous frown. "Nope, can't say that I have."

"Name's Jay. I play ball. You gotta've at least saw me at last Friday's game."

"Hate to break it to you, but there are way more interesting guys to watch on the team than you," Lane shot back. "Now, if you'll excuse me, my mom's about to have a full-on meltdown, and I'd rather not miss it. Toodles." With a sneering look in her eyes, she waved, fluttering her fingers as if to sprinkle glitter, then turned to walk through the set of double doors overlooking the stairs.

Once she made it to the top of the staircase, Jay's hand caught her own. "Come on, babe. Don't be that way. I just wanna have a little fun."

Lane ripped her arm away from him and pushed him against the wall. "Get off me, you creep!"

Jay lunged from the wall and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her toward him and thrusting her face into his chest. "Hey now," he breathed down at her. "Didn't your mama teach you to play nice?"

"No," Lane spat, a coy remark surging to the front of her brain, "but she taught me how to spot a dick when I see one!" Lane raised her knee and jammed it between his legs, in that place where no boy ever liked to be kicked.

Jay groaned, loosening his grip. Lane pulled herself free, then slapped him across the face. He stumbled away toward the stairs, and Lane swung her high-heeled foot into his hip, forcing him back and over the topmost step of the steep and winding well.

He fell headfirst and rolled, his back and shoulder blades cracking against the steps as he tumbled, toppling without recourse until finally the curve of the stairway and the momentum he'd built sent him flying toward the wall at the foot of the steps—and the jagged end of the railing that Lane knew all too well was out for fresh blood.

Jay's head struck the protruding metal, a loud clang reverberating through the air as the vibrating rod smashed through his right temple and bathed itself with liquid crimson. His arms and legs seemed at once to crumple, his body reduced to a motionless heap. Redness spurted from the side of his head, erupting across the fibers of his shirt and splashing against the steps in broad and lavish strokes. Dark red polka-dot-shaped droplets decorated the surrounding walls at the foot of the stairwell; it looked as though all of EdgeWay's kindergarteners had dipped their fingers in carmine paint and been let loose to smear a horrendous mural.

Lane stood above the stairs, her right hand ruining her lip gloss as she covered her mouth in shock. In the back of her throat, she could feel a scream building.

And before she knew it, she was crying bloody murder.