Isabeth faked it. All night she pretended to be sleep. Normally, she wouldn't do such a thing but last night wasn't a normal night. Last night, when she rushed back to Primrose Dorm all she wanted to do was pull off her rain-soaked clothes and jump in the shower. Jump in the shower and wash every trace of Dr. Fulton off her skin. His touch. His kisses. His secretion dried between her thighs. She wanted it all gone. She wanted to get in the shower and breakdown. Give herself over to the despair setting root in her soul. She wanted her limitless tears to be washed away by the cleansing water but she couldn't do that. As soon as she reached the fourth floor she saw the girl under the Dawson Prep hoodie nodding off by her door.

"You need to stand up for yourself," Isabeth affirmed locking the diamond stud onto her ear with the silver post. "It's your room too. I'm getting exhausted, literally, last week you woke me up three times to let you in my room."

Isabeth was the only girl with her own room which pissed Faith off and confused Harper since their parents paid the same for tuition. The last room at the end of the hallway was the biggest and Isabeth loved it. It wasn't because she didn't have to share; it was the creaking wood floors that reminded her of her grandfather's house in Vermont. The wine painted walls resembled her Aunt Anisa's favorite lipstick and the mahogany wood that constructed her dresser, bed frame, desk, and armoire that mimicked the same pattern of the furniture in her room in Evening, Massachusetts.

"I want to keep the peace," uttered a light voice from the en suite bathroom. "In less than two months we graduation," Maya said emerging from the bathroom combing her hands through her wet raven hair.

The daughter of a struggling single mother of three, Maya Hernandez, received a scholarship from Mount Glory Baptist Church. Maya's self-esteem often wavered from her lack of funds and pedigree. Even though, she was without in some categories she had one of the highest grade point averages in her class.

Isabeth studied her appearance in the dresser mirror. She looked the same. Her hair that flirted with straight and curly still hung well past her shoulders. Her mocha skin was still flawless and her deep brown eyes still shimmered like stars in the night sky. It was her mind that had changed. The actions of last night clogged her conscious. Last night, after a quick shower she played possum. While she was tucked nicely in her bed, her brain played every scenario through. Maybe Benny knew what he was doing when he took Fulton's body. Maybe she would get away with it. Or maybe he didn't know what he was doing and he would get caught. The police would crack his twisted, feeble mind and he would rat her out. Instead of taking part in the graduation march in the navy blue gown, she would be in prison orange braiding hair in the courtyard.

Don't act guilty and then no one will know; her instinct whispered to her. It continued, Act normal.

Isabeth exhaled a tension-riddled breath fixing the collar of her navy button-down shirt. "Act normal. Forget it all," She whispered to herself before turning around. She grabbed her yellow Kate Spade tote from her bedpost and urgently ushered Maya out of her room.

Isabeth usually left her room at 7:45 but unlike those days, she didn't have to share a bathroom. Now, she was ten minutes behind. There will be no stopping by the cafeteria for a papaya blueberry chia smoothie or chatting in the quad with Tinsley Calhoun and Trisna Leitao. She had to go directly to her locker if she wanted to be on time for the first period.

"Just because her father is the preacher of the church that supplies your scholarship doesn't give her the right to kick you out of your own room," Isabeth said, gripping the rail as she ran down the stairs with her ballerina flats clicking on each step. The stairs were the only mode of transportation they could take. Waiting on the elevator would eat up too much precious time.

"I don't want drama," Maya urged, hopping off the last step behind Isabeth. Normally Maya would never back down from a fight, but after putting up with spoiled Faith for four years, she was tired of fighting.

"I'll talk to her. I don't care. She will fix this. My parents pay too much. I need all my eight hours or I'll be a bitch!" Isabeth complained as she walked out of the building and underneath the bright sky.

Kevin leaped off the blue lacquered bench as the girls trotted down the four-step stoop. He brushed his hand over his short, brown hair glaring at Malachi confusingly.

"Why the hell do you have on yellow pants?" Kevin asked with his eyebrows furrowed, walking toward him. Yellow pants were a uniform option, but he never ordered them. Kevin tended to stay with the traditional dark blue pants or shorts paired with the yellow, white, or dark blue button-up short sleeve shirt. Today, he donned dark blue pants, a yellow button-down shirt, a dark blue suit coat, and a dark blue and yellow plaid tie.

"What?" Malachi shrugged. "I look good. I can't help it that your ass doesn't have style," He smiled revealing his dazzling white teeth. He matched his yellow pants with the short sleeve dark blue shirt and vest with his yellow tie tucked in.

Maya laughed out loud as she caught up with them briskly walking to the academic buildings.

"What happen to you last night after the hospital?" Isabeth quickly asked. She wanted to know if he stopped by her room last night because, on Sunday nights, they usually watched all the shows she missed during the week after they came back from Gavin's oasis in the woods. Watching television was impossible with their courses, her equestrian practice, and his track practice.

"I had some work to catch up on," Troy said, rubbing his eyes from staying up into the early morning.

"You still haven't finished that French Renaissance paper?" Isabeth asked knowing exactly which class produced an incurable case of writer's block for him. They shared four classes together: Government, English, French, and Calculus. She took chemistry with Malachi and Fiona. As for her athletic course, she preferred turning fouettés in ballet.

"I finished typing the last sentence and then glanced over the instructions and realized it was supposed to be in French," Troy answered, shaking his head. He didn't like French all that well. He just took it to have an extra class with Isabeth.

"It's French class," she stated looking at him dumbfounded. They approached the academic buildings near the Humanities building where their first class was.

"It'll be translated before the due date," He told her with an assuring pat on her shoulder. He let his hand linger there before he placed it in his front pocket. He rolled his eyes to himself. He almost slipped as he had before.

If he looked into her eyes, he would hold his gaze for seconds longer; taking in her chocolate eyes, then her perfectly glossed supple lips. They were like sweetness that he wanted to taste. But, he can never get up the nerve to tell her his feelings. He could sweet-talk any girl on or off-campus. But when it came to her, his game did not seem smooth enough.

"Okay, because it's not cool being a senior twice here," Isabeth said, raising her volume. The roar of a motorcycle passing by nearly drowned out her voice. She cared about his reputation but she really kept on him to make sure he was on the road to college with her. At the beginning of their senior year, she fretted at leaving her friends. She breathed a sigh of relief when she discovered that she and Troy received acceptance to the same school. The future didn't look so solitaire with her friend by her side.

"True!" Troy blurted out as he opened the glass door of the academic building.

Will Isabeth be able to fake normal or will she break?

Will Isabeth and Troy be anything more than just friends?

What should Maya do about Faith?