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❝Be not caught by the cunning of those who appear in disguise.❞

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*NOT EDITED*

Chapter Three

I SHUT MY LOCKER and walk down the hallway to the ladies' bathroom. There is about a half hour left before my first class starts, Marine Biology. Mom believes that you should either run the day or the day runs you, and the only way to do that is to rise really early.

Pushing the door open, I step into the bathroom to see a bunch of other girls here, including Heidi. I walk to the mirror and check my reflection. Kingston High has a preppy uniform policy to give the school, what I think they believe, a classy, chic, and principled image. That's really not what's going on, though. Most of the students twist it to make it look more revealing and sluttier and the school can't really do anything about it.

"Where were you on Friday?" I ask, meeting her dark eyes in the mirror.

She stops painting her lips with the matte red lipstick and gives me a look. "At the party with you?"

"Yeah, I mean where were you at the party?" I turn to her with narrowed eyes.

"You know, hooking up with guys, getting drunk-"

I sigh heavily and shake my head. Heidi's not really the sharpest knife in the drawer. "Nevermind."

She shrugs and fluffs up her hair. "Good luck in your test."

"Thanks," I mutter.

She grabs her handbag and leaves the bathroom. Taking one last look in the mirror, I leave the bathroom as well. 

Today, dad and mom are flying overnight to New York and are coming back tomorrow evening. Which means that I have the whole house to myself. A few days ago, I invited the girls and guys over, but I'm not so sure they'll be coming anymore after what happened.

"India!" I turn to see Jeromy jogging to catch up with me. His blonde hair is ruffled as usual from running.

"Hey, what's up?" I greet him.

"Where'd you disappear on Friday?" he asks as we start walking side by side.

"I just wasn't feeling the party," I say, leaving out the part that included April. I didn't want to start that again.

"Weird; you never feel the party, but that doesn't stop you from staying."

I don't reply as I dodge a running freshman down the hallway.

"Anyways, are we still up for today?"

"I hope so."

He furrows his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"

I laugh. "Jer, where were you that night? Do you have any idea what happened?"

"All my memories are hazy and blurry. I drank so much, my mother got a hangover the next morning." He scoffs.

I laugh again. "Yeah, I don't think that's possible."

"Anyway, what happened?" he asks.

I explain everything to him from the beginning and he nods every once in a while.

He exhales. "You know that's how she usually is. What made you step up this time?"

"Don't worry, she won't do anything to me. With the leverage I have on her, she won't risk it." I can't help but smirk; I have her wrapped around my finger.

"India, you seriously scare me at times. Makes me think if there would be a time where you'd backstab me," he says jokingly. The paranoia at the back of my mind questions whether or not he's really joking.

"Don't worry, not you, Jer." I smile. He nods and returns the smile before we separate ways.

Later on that day, I'm walking to the cafeteria when April walks up to me.

"I never gave you your jacket back," she says, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Oh, you can give it after school," I say quickly, eager to get to the cafeteria. I didn't have breakfast in the morning due to the fact that I came early. My stomach sounds like whales in a choir.

"I have horseback riding lessons and I leave really early," she replies.

"Do you have it now?"

"No, it's in the car."

"You know what, just keep it, April." I smile impatiently and leave before she can protest.

After paying for a caesar salad and a club sandwich, I take my tray and walk to our table. I notice that Phoebe is sitting there and talking animatedly to Ruby and Heidi. It's going to be a great hour, I think.

"You won't believe what happened, India," Ruby gushes as I sit down across Phoebe, next to Jeromy. Hunter and Jeromy are talking about last night's football game and the girls were talking about concerts.

I meet Phoebe's eyes, but I can't decipher them. "What is it that I won't believe?"

"My dad got us tickets to Justin Bieber's Purpose tour!" she all but squeals. Ruby's parents are very famous in the Hollywood industry. Her dad's a big movie producer and her mom is a former model.

"I don't like him. I'm more of an Ed Sheeran kind of girl," I say, taking a fork of my salad.

"Still, you should come. I don't like school, but you don't see me staying in my house all day, do you?" Phoebe says with a laugh.

"That's because school's mandatory, Bee. I'm not forced to come to this am I?" 

"Of course not. It's just going to be fun having you, that's all." She smiles knowingly.

I nod and go back to my salad and sandwich. One of my favorite things in this school is their high quality, delicious food. More specifically, the caesar salad.

"Are we still up for today?" Hunter asks.

"Yeah. Don't be late because I want to sleep early today. Mom woke me up at four in the morning."

They all settle down on the decision and I continue with my caesar salad. Have I mention it's amazing? Yeah, probably a few hundred times, India, the back of my mind says.

Fifteen minutes later, the bell rings and I get up to get ready for my next class. After dumping the empty plastic containers in the garbage, I walk out of the cafeteria and into the crowded hall.

"I'm serious, we really need to talk." Hunter leans on the locker next to mine and crosses his arms. I notice how his muscles bulge under the button-up shirt he's wearing, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.. Hunter is a pretty good-looking guy — more like one of the hottest guys in Kingston High — but because of the things that went on between us, I don't think we'll ever be more than friends . . . or two people who can actually tolerate other.

I sigh and shut my locker. "We're talking."

He rolls his eyes. "Not like that."

"Then like what? Should I clear my schedule to have a cup of tea and talk about the fucking weather?" I start walking away with him on my heels.

"Is there ever a word that comes out of your mouth that's genuine and not sarcastic?" he asks agitatedly.

"It's in my nature," I answer blankly.

"I'm tired of playing games. Listen, about what you heard. . ."

I laugh amusedly. "What about it?"

"It's not funny, India." He runs a hand irritatedly through his hair.

"It seemed pretty funny to me, Hunter. God, I love this school. It's like I'm in some kind of soap opera where everyone's greediness for popularity and selfishness gets the best of them."

"Don't act like you're any better than us," he says heatedly.

I raise an eyebrow. "You want to go there. Okay, then-"

"No, I don't want to go there. Can you just promise that you won't tell anyone about what I said that night?" he asks pleadingly, lowering his voice.

The second bell rings, signaling that I'm late to class.

"Great, I'm late. Thanks." I walk away hurriedly, eager to leave Hunter behind. I honestly don't care less about being late or not, but I don't want to make promises I know I can't keep.

"India! We're not-"

"Talk to you later, Hunter!" I call back before turning right and disappearing out of his sight.

People should really learn not to trust others around here. Here, every man is for himself.

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Author's Note:

Hey, guys! A lot of secrets and mysteries are brewing up *cue the evil laugh and weird rubbing of hands*

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