Chapter 3

Early that morning, when I went to wash up, every girl in the bathroom silently steered clear of me.

A wall formed around me.

I gave a careless shrug.

Then I walked into the classroom.

The chatter cut off in an instant, and the room went quiet.

Under all those amused stares I made my way back to my seat, and only then saw my desk smeared with red paint, my name scrawled across it.

The boys were laughing low under their breath.

"Looks so innocent, but off the record she's had that many abortions."

"Janice, name your price."

Then one of them whistled.

My scalp prickled, and a nameless anger rose in my chest.

I aimed my phone camera straight at his face.

"I've got everything you just said on record. Insult me again and I'm calling the police!"

The boy slunk back into his seat, sour-faced.

Florence, though, wasn't fazed. She snorted out a laugh.

"Even if you call the police, it doesn't change the fact that you keep getting abortions."

"Janice, you've dragged our whole dorm's name through the mud. If I were you, I'd have dropped out already."

My temples throbbed, and my face burned red.

Someone shoved me from behind.

I stumbled, couldn't catch my balance, and my lower back slammed into the corner of a desk. The pain made me suck in a sharp breath.

"Hey, careful, you lot, don't go shoving the baby out of her belly!"

Kate said it under her breath, and a wave of laughter broke out.

No one came to help me.

I braced myself and forced my way back up.

"Enough."

The homeroom teacher pushed the door open, a hard glint flashing off her glasses.

"These past couple of days I've been hearing about certain students with messy private lives. Don't any of you follow her example."

"Girls especially. Sleep around with that many partners and you'll catch something."

She was talking to the room, but her eyes stayed fixed dead on me.

She was clearly accusing me, just wrapping it in insinuation.

Florence sat there smug, one leg crossed over the other.

Once I got expelled, or cracked and killed myself, the guaranteed grad-school placement would fall straight into her lap.

My nails dug into my palms, and when I opened my eyes again, I could hear the tremor in my own voice, clear as anything.

My chair scraped back with a shrill screech.

Everyone turned to look at me.

"Teacher, a school is a place for educating people. Without enough proof, you shouldn't be talking about me like this."

The academic advisor froze for two seconds, then slammed her book down hard on the lectern.

"It's not your place to tell me what I can say!"

"Having a student like you is a disgrace to my whole teaching career!"

My throat tightened, and I wanted to argue back.

Then a commotion broke out beyond the door.

"Janice, there's some guy outside asking for you! Says you're a gold-digging tramp and to get out here!"

My heart jolted.

Not out of fear.

Out of excitement.

He'd finally come.

I pushed quickly out through the crowd, and there in the yard stood the heavyset man, five foot seven and pushing two hundred pounds, shouting my name.

The second he saw me, his eyes lit up.

"Yeah, it's you!"

He held his photo of me up against my face and bellowed, "You conned money out of me and won't even go on a date, so today either you give me my money back or we're going to the police station!"

My eyes swept up and down over him, and my mouth twitched.

I turned and looked at Florence.

She was all smug triumph, cocking an eyebrow at me in a taunt.

"What are you looking at? You come with me right now, or don't blame me for what happens next!"

The reek of sweat off the man hit me full in the face. It made my head swim, and it took an effort to yank my hand free.

"I don't know you at all!"

His fat frame trembled, and his teeth ground together loud enough to hear.

"Janie, last night you swore you'd love me your whole life, and today you don't know me? You take my money and then you run?"

"Fine! You've got no heart, so don't blame me for playing dirty!"

He roared it out and swiped open the photo album on his phone.

"Look, here's the proof you're my girlfriend!"