“Hey, Danielle. Is it true?”
She pulls her arm away from Sophie’s and opens her locker, glancing back over her shoulder at him. “What?”
“Shut up, Jason,” Hannah says through clenched teeth, glaring at him. I hold an arm up as he finishes the question, as if the slight movement might help change his mind. It doesn’t. He barrels on without concern.
“That you taste like rotten fish?”
The room goes quiet, conversation decreasing to whispers. Chase pulls off his headphones and puts his phone away, cocking his head in confusion at the scene unfolding. Simon reaches a hand up in a high-five motion and Ryder slaps it.
Danielle slowly turns to face them. “What did you just say to me?”
“I’m just reading what it says on the wall,” Ryder answers, shrugging innocently. He looks over at Andrew. “Hey, man, show her what it says.”
Andrew folds his arms and doesn’t budge. His voice is calm and steady. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re no fun,” says Simon. “It says you taste like rotten fish. Right over there on the wall.” He twitches excitedly, likely surprised and delighted he’s gotten the words out.
Danielle slams her locker door shut. “Excuse me, Rabbit?”
He pales slightly, moving back and forth from foot to foot, jumpy. If he’s a rabbit, Danielle is a fox, and she stalks toward him, eyes narrowed for the kill.
“I said . . .” he stammers, trailing off.
She folds her arms and taps her foot impatiently. “Say it again, Terst. Say it to my face.”
“I didn’t write it!” Simon’s cheeks flood with color.
“That’s what I thought.” Danielle turns toward Andrew and sighs. “You might as well show me.”
“We tried to clean it up,” he says, then takes a step to the side.
Danielle looks at the words for a long moment, the quiet in the room palpable. Everyone waits for her reaction, waits to see what will happen next. A few people pull out their phones, holding them up to record the action. The bell rings over the loudspeakers, signaling the start of the next class period. Nobody moves.
Danielle closes her eyes for a second and takes a deep breath, the calm, pretty expression on her face almost eerie. Then her eyes whip open and she turns to Simon, pointing her finger in his face like a blade.
“First of all, let’s get one thing straight, Rabbit. You’ll never know what I taste like. If you ever even touched me, it would be the single most thrilling moment of your sorry, pathetic existence.”
Simon is bright red, a thin film of sweat forming on his forehead.
“That’s not true!” he sputters. “That’s—”
Danielle cuts him off and turns on Ryder, raising her hand higher so it matches his height.
“And who do you think you are? Nobody thinks you’re funny. I’m surprised you even know what this says.” She motions toward the phrase on the wall. “Did somebody have to read it to you?”
She whirls on Chase, who’s watching the scene with wide eyes. “And if I find out you had anything to do with this, I will castrate you.”
He lifts his arms up in surrender, but doesn’t say anything back. It almost looks like he’s smiling.
SIXTEEN
“DANIELLE IS SO scary,” Andrew says the next day at lunch, taking a huge bite of his peanut butter sandwich. With his mouth full of food, it comes out more like “Thanieth is tho sthwy,” but I understand what he means.
Danielle got to leave early yesterday after the teachers saw the wall, and Ava—who burst into tears when she heard what happened—went with her. The tears are likely a direct result of the fact that Ava has been living mainly on kaleories for the past week. They’re both out sick today, which I know means they’re probably together.
We’re sitting outside at the picnic tables because it’s actually sort of warm out. Hannah is across from us, wrinkling her nose in distaste as she watches Andrew chewing.
“She’s really nice underneath everything,” Hannah says in typical Hannah fashion. “She just has a tough shell. She’s like a turtle.”
“That girl is not a turtle.” Andrew raises his eyebrows. “If you’re going to compare her to an animal, at least make it something carnivorous. Like a flesh-eating piranha or a tyrannosaurus rex.”
Hannah sighs. “Okay, well, maybe she’s a snail.”
Andrew laughs. “Now you’re just being ridiculous. If you’re looking for something with a shell, how about a hand grenade?”
“What animal am I?” Hannah asks.
Andrew doesn’t hesitate. “You’re a bird. Something colorful and artsy.”
“With strong claws,” I add.
“Careful around this one though.” Andrew nods toward me and grins. “You know how she gets around birds.”
“You’re hilarious,” I say, sarcastic.
Hannah laughs. “Okay, what animal is Keely?”
Andrew turns to me and bites his lip, thinking for a minute. “You’re a giraffe.”
“What, why?” I ask. “I’m so short.”
“I know,” he says. “But giraffes are my favorite.” He smiles at me, his mouth full of peanut butter. I smile back, oddly flattered by the compliment.
Hannah sighs and looks down at her hands, her face serious. “I guess Danielle’s the best one of us for this to happen to. If someone had written that about me, I’d probably cry.”
“People suck,” I say. This is why I’m terrified to have sex with anyone—it’s because of what could happen after.
“Shit, I have to go.” Andrew checks the time on his phone. “I have a study date.”
“Cecilia?” I ask.
He crumples up his sandwich bag and stuffs it into his backpack. “Cecilia and I are done.”
“Hey, Andrew?” The voice comes from behind us, soft and melodic. It’s a junior named Abby Feliciano, pretty and small with straight black hair. I feel a sudden pang of sympathy for Cecilia. For the millionth time, I wish that Andrew wasn’t so careless with people’s feelings.
“Hey, Abby,” Andrew says, standing up.
She holds out a notebook. “I copied down some notes for you if you want. If you don’t have time, we can go over them tonight.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll see you guys later, okay? Abby and I have some studying to do.”