No such luck.
“Hey.” I jerk my head to the corner table in the back. “I think I’m just going to sit over there.”
Ainsley gives me a sad smile as she takes in the six pairs of eyes drilling holes through me. Thankfully, she gets the hint, grabs her tray, and stands. “May I join you?”
I smile tentatively. “Sure.”
“Ainsley,” her brother growls. “I thought we settled this.”
Of course it wouldn’t be easy.
My new friend scoffs. “Oh, screw you, Kingston. The only thing I settled on was the fact that you can’t tell me what to do.”
His hazel eyes narrow. “I’m looking out for you. Who knows what kind of diseases she’s carrying?”
I fight the urge to punch this asshole in the throat. “Excuse me? First of all, she is right here, so if you have something to say, you can say it directly to me. Secondly, if anyone around here is riddled with disease, it’s probably you. I hear chlamydia is on the rise—you might want to get checked out.”
The mean girls let out a collective gasp. This little showdown has drawn the attention of everyone else in the room. They’re gawking openly—not even trying to hide their interest. Geez, these people need to get a life.
“Oh, I like her.” The gorgeous boy with the darker features winks. He’s a mixture of ethnicities like me, but I can’t quite tell which. Maybe African American and Asian? Possibly Pacific Islander. “The feisty ones are always freaks in bed.”
I’m no stranger to crude teenage boys, so his attempt to shock me doesn’t work. “Too bad you’ll never know.”
His thick veiny forearm flexes as he rubs a hand over his mouth. “We’ll see about that, sweetheart. I’m Bentley, by the way. Just so you know whose name you’ll be screaming out later.”
Before I have a chance to retort, Kingston slams his fist on the table. “Shut the fuck up, Bent.”
Bentley shrugs. “Hey man, don’t be a cockblocker. She’s hot.”
What is it with these douchebags talking about me like I’m not in the room?
I make direct eye contact with Kingston. “I’m done wasting my time on this bullshit. Do me a favor and just stay the hell away from me and I’d be more than happy to do the same.”
With that, I turn on my heels and walk away with Ainsley hot on my trail. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Kingston start to rise, but he stops when Peyton pulls on his arm and starts whispering something in his ear.
Ainsley laughs as she sets her tray down and pulls out a chair at our table. “That was awesome, Jazz. I haven’t seen someone put my brother in his place in... well, ever. Besides me, that is.”
I scoff as I take a seat. “Yeah, well, then I’d say it’s long overdue. I can’t believe you two are related.”
“He isn’t so bad once you get to know him. Believe it or not, Kingston actually has a heart deep down. Your sister and her plastic groupies are much worse—I’m pretty sure they sold their souls to Satan in exchange for lip injections and boob jobs.”
“Stepsister.” I laugh. “She and Kingston definitely seem like the perfect match.”
“Ha! Peyton wishes.”
“What does that mean?” I take a bite of my food. Damn, this is good. Definitely not the cardboard pizza lunches I’m used to. I feel like I’ve entered an alternate universe.
“Kingston barely tolerates Peyton most days.”
I tilt my head to the side. “But they’re dating?”
She shrugs. “Sort of, but it’s more about appearances than anything. They’re the reigning king and queen this year. People expect them to be together. They were a real couple but they had a big blowout during the middle of junior year and he dumped her. She somehow convinced him to take her back over the summer, but it hasn’t been the same. As far as I know, they pretend to be a couple in public and she turns her head to whatever he’s doing in private.”
My face scrunches. “What a pig. I can’t believe Peyton puts up with that.”
Ainsley takes a bite from her salad. “Don’t feel sorry for her. She knows exactly what she signed up for. Besides, she’s an untrustworthy cunt.”
I smirk. “Wow, tell me how you really feel.”
“Don’t pretend like you don’t agree.” She grins as she looks over my shoulder. “I’m pretty sure she’s not your biggest fan either. She hasn’t stopped glaring at you since we walked away.”
“Fuck her.” I can feel the heat of her stare, but I refuse to acknowledge it. “What’s the deal with the whole ‘reigning king and queen’ thing?”
“Every year, the graduating seniors pass the torch to three guys and three girls who pretty much rule the school. They’ve been groomed for it since freshman year, although if you ask me, not a single one of them needed help learning how to be an asshole. The other students treat them like royalty, hence the nicknames. Hell, even the teachers won’t do shit to them because of who their parents are. This year, that’s Kingston, Reed Prescott, and Bentley Fitzgerald for the guys and Peyton, Imogen Abernathy, and Whitney Alcott for the girls.”
Jesus. Even their names are pretentious.
“And let me guess... for the rest of us, our choices are to kiss their asses or pay the price?”
“Pretty much. Although anyone who’s chosen the latter usually doesn’t stick around for long.”
“Where do you fit in?”
“I guess you could say I’m next in line for the throne, although if they ever tried to promote me, I’d abdicate the shit out of it. I have no desire to be one of them. Everyone at Windsor knows who I am and nobody messes with me for the simple fact that I’m a Davenport, but I honestly wouldn’t call any of these people my friend.” She points to me. “I have a feeling you’re the exception to the rule, though. We’ve known each other less than a day, Jazz, but I can tell you’re different. What you see is what you get.”
“I have no reason to hide anything. I’m not ashamed of who I am or where I come from. If anyone has a problem with it, screw ‘em.”
She waves her hand dismissively. “Enough about those jerks. How’s your first official day been so far?”
I shrug. “Okay, I guess. I can already tell the coursework will be much harder than my old school but I’m following along easily enough.”
“I can’t believe we don’t have any classes together until last period.” Ainsley pouts as she reviews my schedule.
“Yeah, but it’s not like we can change it, right?” I shrug.
“True.” Her eyes widen. “Oh, shit.”
“What?” I motion for her to pass my phone back to me.
Ainsley winces. “I’m pretty sure my brother is in your next class.”
I reopen the Windsor Academy app and pull up my schedule. “AP Lit with Henderson?”
She takes a long sip of sparkling water before answering. “Yep. It’s not like I have his schedule memorized, but I’m almost positive he’s in that one.”
Against my own volition, my eyes seek out said brother across the room. He’s been staring directly at me for at least the last ten minutes, but I’ve been making a studious effort to ignore him.