Taming My Bullies novel · Chapter 8 of 24

Chapter 8: Pep Rally

"Where did you get that picture?" I said.

Rhys didn't turn around.

"My mother takes pictures of everyone," he said. "Every kid who ever stood on that dock."

"That summer?"

"Any summer."

"Rhys."

"It's a coincidence, Kincaid. Plenty of girls have a gap in their teeth."

He picked up the oar and went back to sanding.

I stood there a full minute, hearing the water slap the pilings.

Then I left.

I didn't yet know what I was asking, and I didn't want him to see my face while I worked it out.

The pep rally was Friday, in the gym.

It was the biggest gathering of the term before the ball.

The whole Academy packed the bleachers in blue and white face paint, waving paper herons on sticks.

I sat in the second row between a freshman who had stopped avoiding me and a girl who now asked me for homework help.

It had been four days since the steps.

One of the four down, and the school was starting to look at me differently.

Not all of them, though.

Delaney sat at the top of the bleachers with her platinum bob perfectly smooth and her phone face up on her knee.

The Conduct Board hearing on my second demerit was set for Monday morning.

I had been running the numbers in my head all week.

Then the president of the student council tapped the microphone, and the gym went quiet.

"We have a special announcement," he said. "Lane Monahan has asked for the floor."

A buzz ran through the bleachers.

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