studying me intently.
“Madison, meet Chandler and Marianna, your other assistants,” Raven says.
“Assistants?” I lift a questioning eyebrow.
“Yes. These are the girls who have agreed to service me at school in exchange for favors and invitations to my parties. I have plenty of my own girls to aid me, so I delegated these three to you. They’ll help you with whatever you need. Don’t hesitate to call on them for anything, and I do mean anything .” Raven nods to them, kisses me on the cheek, and whisks off in the direction of her locker with her minions in tow.
The redhead gives me a warm, friendly smile and extends her pale hand. “Hi, I’m Chandler.”
I shake her hand. “Mads.”
“Mari.” The stern dark-haired girl also shakes my hand. She seems very unhappy to be here. A part of me wishes I could just dismiss her from duty.
Come to think of it, couldn’t I?
“Nice to meet you all.” I glance around at them. “Listen, you girls don’t have to ‘assist’ me if you have something better to do. I’m sure I’ll manage on my own.”
Mari pipes up in a low, no-nonsense voice. “We are under strict orders from Raven to help you with anything you need. We are not to leave you between classes, especially on the first day.”
“I’m excited to be your assistant.” The sparkle in Chandler’s emerald green eyes gives her away. “You seem a lot nicer than…well, you know.”
Kiki lays a hand on my shoulder. “She told us you’ve never been to school before. Don’t worry, we don’t mind helping. Right, girls?” She smiles at Mari and Chandler. Chandler nods enthusiastically and Mari just shrugs.
“Well, all right. I guess I could use help with this thing.” I gulp down saliva as I turn toward the combination lock. I’ve never used one of these before, and I don’t have the first clue what to do with it. I glance down at the slip of paper I scribbled my combination on, and then I start twisting the knob aimlessly, finding the numbers one after the other and yanking on the lock like a mad woman.
“Here, let me help.” Kiki steps in to rescue me. She takes the note with the combination on it and shows me how to twist it the correct way. Then she jiggles the old, clattery lock and pulls it open effortlessly. “You always have to jiggle it. The one thing they haven’t replaced at this school in thirty years is the locks.”
I smile in appreciation. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
They wait for me to arrange my things in the locker, and then when I’m almost done, I hear a gasp catch in Mari’s throat. I glance at her and find her giant dark eyes glued on something—or someone—behind me. I follow her gaze and my stomach drops when I see the person who caused that reaction.
Gio’s here. He’s headed to the locker directly across from mine.
I try to avoid glancing in his direction, but I find my eyes drawn to the way his structured blazer wraps around his model physique like a glove. The wild curls of summer are gone and have been replaced by a slightly waved comb-over. Somehow he looks just as hot in this uniform as he did riding the waves in nothing but a pair of swim trunks. He turns to the right and I catch a glimpse of his dimples when he smiles at a friend. My heart melts and breaks all at once. He must not have seen me yet, or I’m sure that smile would be replaced by a glower.
He turns around and I finally look into his silver eyes for the first time since July. When he sees me across the hall from him, his dark eyebrow raises of its own accord, almost in amusement. I’m surprised to find no pain in his eyes, just an unmistakable air of disdain. He knows I’m the one who got the raw end of our “breakup.” I’m sure he was laughing at me along with the rest of the world for the past two months.
I turn back around to slam my locker door shut, my cheeks flaming with embarrassment. Chandler and Kiki mercifully block me from other people’s view as I rush down
“Madison, meet Chandler and Marianna, your other assistants,” Raven says.
“Assistants?” I lift a questioning eyebrow.
“Yes. These are the girls who have agreed to service me at school in exchange for favors and invitations to my parties. I have plenty of my own girls to aid me, so I delegated these three to you. They’ll help you with whatever you need. Don’t hesitate to call on them for anything, and I do mean anything .” Raven nods to them, kisses me on the cheek, and whisks off in the direction of her locker with her minions in tow.
The redhead gives me a warm, friendly smile and extends her pale hand. “Hi, I’m Chandler.”
I shake her hand. “Mads.”
“Mari.” The stern dark-haired girl also shakes my hand. She seems very unhappy to be here. A part of me wishes I could just dismiss her from duty.
Come to think of it, couldn’t I?
“Nice to meet you all.” I glance around at them. “Listen, you girls don’t have to ‘assist’ me if you have something better to do. I’m sure I’ll manage on my own.”
Mari pipes up in a low, no-nonsense voice. “We are under strict orders from Raven to help you with anything you need. We are not to leave you between classes, especially on the first day.”
“I’m excited to be your assistant.” The sparkle in Chandler’s emerald green eyes gives her away. “You seem a lot nicer than…well, you know.”
Kiki lays a hand on my shoulder. “She told us you’ve never been to school before. Don’t worry, we don’t mind helping. Right, girls?” She smiles at Mari and Chandler. Chandler nods enthusiastically and Mari just shrugs.
“Well, all right. I guess I could use help with this thing.” I gulp down saliva as I turn toward the combination lock. I’ve never used one of these before, and I don’t have the first clue what to do with it. I glance down at the slip of paper I scribbled my combination on, and then I start twisting the knob aimlessly, finding the numbers one after the other and yanking on the lock like a mad woman.
“Here, let me help.” Kiki steps in to rescue me. She takes the note with the combination on it and shows me how to twist it the correct way. Then she jiggles the old, clattery lock and pulls it open effortlessly. “You always have to jiggle it. The one thing they haven’t replaced at this school in thirty years is the locks.”
I smile in appreciation. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
They wait for me to arrange my things in the locker, and then when I’m almost done, I hear a gasp catch in Mari’s throat. I glance at her and find her giant dark eyes glued on something—or someone—behind me. I follow her gaze and my stomach drops when I see the person who caused that reaction.
Gio’s here. He’s headed to the locker directly across from mine.
I try to avoid glancing in his direction, but I find my eyes drawn to the way his structured blazer wraps around his model physique like a glove. The wild curls of summer are gone and have been replaced by a slightly waved comb-over. Somehow he looks just as hot in this uniform as he did riding the waves in nothing but a pair of swim trunks. He turns to the right and I catch a glimpse of his dimples when he smiles at a friend. My heart melts and breaks all at once. He must not have seen me yet, or I’m sure that smile would be replaced by a glower.
He turns around and I finally look into his silver eyes for the first time since July. When he sees me across the hall from him, his dark eyebrow raises of its own accord, almost in amusement. I’m surprised to find no pain in his eyes, just an unmistakable air of disdain. He knows I’m the one who got the raw end of our “breakup.” I’m sure he was laughing at me along with the rest of the world for the past two months.
I turn back around to slam my locker door shut, my cheeks flaming with embarrassment. Chandler and Kiki mercifully block me from other people’s view as I rush down
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