تسجيل الدخولTurning to Cortney, I try so hard to calm myself so she won't suspect anything. I really hope River heard what I said and has already left."So? What does she want?""Uh… She just asked me to send a picture of me wearing the coat," I cook up a lie quickly. I don't know if she believes me. I can't read the look in her eyes."Okay. Do whatever you want. I just want you to be careful around her. I've been friends with Sasha. I know what type of devil she is." She pauses. "So, Chancé, if she's doing something to you that you're not telling me—""I'm fine," I say quickly. I sigh. "I'm fine, Cort. I can handle Sasha."She pulls me into a hug, then releases me. "Okay. I'll see you at school tomorrow."I wave at her and watch her walk out of the house. I heave a deep breath, then find my way to my room.My phone dings. A message from River. He says he's gone, but he'd like us to meet in the evening. He says he'll send me an address.Well. Anywhere but a closed area, I text back.I look at the
What is this smirk about? Did he already know I agreed to tutor him?I tear my eyes away from him and smile at Cortney. She hands me her key. "I'll meet you in the car.""See you later, Chan." River winks at me.I swallow hard.I watch the twins walk off together. Just as I'm about to leave, my path is blocked by two girls. I already know what this means."Sasha wants to see you," one of them says, curling the tip of her hair and chewing her gum dramatically.If I don't go, more bullying. If I go, bullying—but maybe less. I can take it. As long as my family is out of it, I can take anything."Where is she?" I ask firmly.The two girls exchange a look and smirk. "Follow us," they say in unison.They take the lead. I follow.I wonder where they'll take me. An unfinished building? Beat me up and dispose of my body where no one will find me? I shake my head and laugh nervously in my head. Sasha might be a monster, but she wouldn't do that. Would she?My anxiety rises.My phone beeps sudde
***~~~CHANCE~~~***My heart leaps the moment I see River walk through the classroom door. It's shocking to the rest of the class too. He's dressed in his uniform—no tie, not that I expected him to ever dress like a responsible student. But him coming to class and telling the teacher he's here to take his life more seriously? That's a really big shock.I'll be expecting the news to pop up on the school's feed before the day ends.I turn my head toward him as he sits down. We haven't seen each other since Saturday, when he came to my room and things almost escalated. A part of me is glad I controlled myself and didn't kiss him.He looks in my direction. Instantly, I flip my head back to the teacher."Alright. No noise," Mr. Lewis says.The whole class goes quiet, and our History lecture continues. Cortney and I look at each other after a while, and she mouths, Has her brother gone insane? I shrug. I'm as surprised as she is. And I'm actually glad Cortney is okay now after that message
The thought of it is tempting. Chan being my tutor. I get to see her a lot more now. I've never had my mind on a Plan B before. I mean, ever since I started playing hockey, it's been the only thing I know and the only win I want to achieve.Now? I sigh as I look up at the principal."And what if she doesn't want to be my tutor?" I ask. There's a sore spot between Chan and me. I'm sure she'll do anything to keep us from getting closer. She made that clear that night. And there's also Cortney.She'll get mad again. If she finds out about this, she'll hate me again. And this is not the time I want to make my sister mad. She's already heartbroken. Mom already disappointed her. I wonder how she's doing."You're our star student, Mr. Dawson. Who wouldn't want to—" I tilt my head, giving her a look. "But I'll talk to her. She's very impressive, though. A scholarship student." The principal laughs in amusement. She sees my face again and stops talking. Then she clasps her hands together. "But
***~~~RIVER~~~***The whistle blows as we get onto the ice. On Friday, we have another school to battle. If we beat them, our rank goes up and we have a chance to enter Regionals. Just 29 more schools to go. "Focus!" I yell at my teammates as we take our positions. At least this time, Ricky knows his place. My eyes meet his, and unlike every other time when he'd give me a look, this time, he doesn't.Practice goes as usual. I pass the puck to Marcus, the closest I can see, then he passes to Tom. Ricky is getting stronger with each training. And Riley? He's getting worse. Bad. Worse than last time.Even after yesterday's training, he never really improved. So I plan on talking to him today after practice. Maybe he'll open up and tell me what's really bothering him.Tom passes the puck back to me. My eyes meet Riley's. It's either me or him, but already seeing how bad he's been lately, I can't risk it. So I score.Coach blows the whistle, and we head to the bench for our break. I pul
I walk out of the bathroom like Sasha didn't just bully me seven minutes ago. The word she wrote on my forehead is completely gone. My smile is bright again as I head toward our table.Cortney looks up. "That was a long time. Did you get it cleaned?" She examines where the stain was."Yeah. It was kind of hard, but I got it off," I lie. At least now that saves me from a lot of questions."Are you okay?""What do you mean?""I don't feel the excitement anymore. I mean, you were so happy to come here and try the jelly tarts, and now I can't feel that aura anymore. Did something happen in there?""What? What are you—”"I saw Sasha and her girls, Chancé.” She cuts me off. “They were here. Did you bump into her?"I shake my head immediately. Then laugh. "Of course not." I wave it off.I really hope she doesn't see through my fake laugh. I mean, thinking about it, I'm actually glad she decided to leave my family alone. I can endure her bullying. Besides, school will be over soon. Just two m







