Girl on Trial by Kathleen Fine

Author:Kathleen Fine [Fine, Kathleen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CamCat Publishing

24

PAST: OCTOBER 24, 2018

The week following Madison’s party passed by in a fog. Emily avoided responding to Hannah’s texts and refused to look at her Instagram or social media. She’d cried herself to sleep every night, rummaging through her mom’s medicine cabinet for sleeping pills to help get her through her restless evenings. All she kept imagining was Mr. Thomas’s beady eyes above her. She wanted to roll over and blurt out to Nate what’d happened but lost her nerve every time she got close to telling him.

That afternoon at school, it took everything in her to force a smile and not break down and cry. She’d gotten her first D on her US History test because she couldn’t concentrate on anything other than Mr. Thomas. As she headed out of the building when the final bell rang, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see Chuck standing behind her smiling. She felt her stomach drop, ready for something terrible to happen.

“Hey, Em! How are you?” he asked, grinning. Does he seem nervous to talk to me? she thought as she eyed him suspiciously, trying to figure out if he was being sincere. She stared at the freckles covering his face, reminding her of a cheetah . . . or a leopard.

“Fine,” she muttered as she turned toward the bus.

“Wait.” He stopped her, grabbing at her shoulder. “Do you want a ride home?”

Surprised by his kindness, she lifted her eyebrows. A leopard doesn’t change his spots, she thought to herself. “No thanks,” she said, before turning toward the bus again.

“Are you sure?” he raised his voice as she walked away. “I just want to let you know whatever happened that one night at the playground . . . I was drunk . . . and if I made you feel any sorta way, I didn’t mean to.”

She eyed at him suspiciously. What is he trying to get out of me right now? she wondered.

“So anyways, maybe we can start over? Want me to give you a ride home?”

She turned and smiled unenthusiastically at him. “Maybe next time.” Then she turned and headed for the bus, passing Brody and Stacy from the party who were standing nearby in their cheerleading uniforms. They both waved, and Emily waved back. As much as she would’ve loved to be friends with them, seeing them only reminded her of that night at Madison’s party. Of Mr. Thomas’s house. Seeing them made her remember it all. And all she wanted to do was forget it all. She hadn’t realized that when she’d manifested all these things for herself, they’d come with a price. A hefty price.

When she stepped on the bus, she noticed that most of the seats were empty and then remembered there was a pep rally after school. She looked for Nate but recalled him telling her he was staying after school to tutor someone for some extra money. As she headed down the aisle, she spotted Steph sitting in the back row, gazing out the window.

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