Chapter Thirty

< Nina >

“You’re job-hunting? Why?” Gene questions, his voice a bit louder. I can’t blame him since I can hear the sound of rumbling washing machines in every direction. Gene told me that his shifts are both early in the morning and after school.

“To distract myself from my own problems, that’s all,” I say as I am walking in the boulevard, my eyes are looking around if in any case Clarence or his followers are attacking me out of nowhere.

“About Luca?” Gene adds without beating around the bush. “Or is it related to your school?”

And at that question, I momentarily stop. “Who says that it has something to do with school?”

I can already imagine Gene giving me a suspicious look. “Nina, I can sometimes hear you running during lunchtime. It seems like it’s an everyday occurrence. They’re not hurting you, right?”

“Ah, no,” I say while I laugh, nervously. Gene is such a worry-wart. I guess that makes us even.

“Our bullies grew up learning our own methods. The ones here can’t even catch me.”