13 to Life by Shannon Delany Page A

shame.
    He had the good grace to look at the floor.
    “But it’s all okay now,” Jenny said with a pleasant smile. “I don’t want her to be punished. Living like she is—well, that’s punishment enough.” She shrugged.
    Macie looked up from beside her and grinned at me. “Yeah. Her life’s so miserable, she’s suffering enough already,” Macie agreed. “I’m over it.”
    Perlson swallowed, looking stunned. Probably by all of it. “Well, ladies. That’s very—generous of you. Will your parents agree, though?”
    Jenny and Macie laughed in that strange calculating way they had. “Of course, Vice Principal Perlson.” I realized then that they ruled their homes. Ruled their parents. It was a chilling thought.
    Jenny and Macie rose as one. Jenny put her hand out and Derek stood, too, taking it. His head hung from his neck like part of his spine had disintegrated. I struggled to understand what could have happened during the time between his exiting the office and his return with both girls. Had his talk with me been simple bravado?
    “Then I guess we can wrap things up here,” Harnek said. “Wow.” She looked at the clock. “Just in time.”
    Derek opened the door, but Macie and Jenny paused before exiting. “We
forgive
you, Jessica.” And then, giggling, they were out of my sight.
    Derek didn’t even give me a glance as he pulled the door shut behind them.
    Harnek patted my knee. “Well, that came out differently than I’d imagined. How about you?”
    I groaned.
    “You have enough time to get changed and make it to the bus,” she said, startling me into action. I’d seen her look at the clock—heard her comment about the timing—but it hadn’t sunk in. The whole day had slipped past me. I wondered for a moment if Pietr’d made it to his remaining classes on time. Harnek was speaking again. “. . . going to Homecoming?”
    “What?”
    “Are you going to the Homecoming game?” she repeated.
    “I don’t see any point in going now,” I whispered.
    “Hmph. Well, as your appointed counselor, I suggest you
do
go. Get your mind off everything else.”
    I shrugged and stood. Indifferent.
    Harnek opened the door, and we stepped into the main office’s waiting room. “I might want to see you about all this later,” she said. “Just to wrap stuff up.”
    I nodded.
    “Hey, look. Someone’s glad to see you.”
    My head snapped up.
Derek—?
But, no. Of course not.
    Pietr peered up at me from the line of uncomfortable office chairs. “Oh.”
    “I’ll leave you two—” Harnek said, giving me a puzzled look and exiting before I could correct her misconception.
    “Why are you here?” I asked a bit too harshly.
    “I’m getting my bus assignment.”
    “Oh.” I surprised myself by actually being a little disappointed. But why should I be surprised? The guy I thought was going to ask me to Homecoming had been leading me on. And
he
had been my self-appointed savior. Pietr aspired to no such station.
    One of the secretaries came to the counter. “Bus thirteen,” she announced.
    “You’re kidding me.”
    “What?” he asked, eyes guiltless.
    “That’s my bus.” Crap. My bus generally had only one or two empty seats on it, so packing in another body wasn’t going to make the ride any more comfortable. “I need to get changed.”
    “Better hurry—time’s running out,” he advised, pointing to the numbers on the face of his cell phone. “I’ll wait for you.”
    “Don’t do me any favors,” I said, leaving the office and abandoning Pietr so I could have a few peaceful moments before the ride home.
    I left him standing there, head down, looking like my last words wounded him deeply. I was immediately sorry, but I didn’t know how to say it. The day’s events had confused me.
    In the bathroom, I quickly slipped out of my bloodstained gym shirt and shorts and into my street clothes. Today had officially been Hell and tonight would be Homecoming—the bonfire and game.
    Hell.