ways Laurel could go with that comment? Before she opens her mouth, I give her the âDonât You Dare Say What Youâre Thinkingâ look.
A smile creeps across Kongâs face. âExcept there is pigs, Buster. Theyâre right here in front of us.â
Ferret snorts with laughter. It takes Buster a few beats longer to get the joke. Then he claps Kong on the back. âYouâre right, buddy. But nobodyâs interested in looking at their ugly faces.â
I shift my American history text to my right hand. Maybe I couldnât get all three of them, but I could shorten Ferretâs nose by a couple of inches before Buster flattened me.
Laurel beats me to it. She pulls a can of pepper spray from her purse and aims it at Buster. âYou butt crusts have brightened our morning, but now itâs time for you to go. Walk away by the time I count three, or youâll be spitting pepper for a week.â
Buster puffs out his chest. âCome on, guys. Letâs get outta here before people start thinking weâre with these bitches.â
Bile rises in the back of my throat. Cissy Russell told half the junior girls that Buster tried to rape her at a party last winter. Being âwith himâ is close to the worst thing I can imagine.
Buster spews a gob of tobacco at our feet. Laurel and I jump apart, but brown drops land on our bare toes. My stomach tries to turn itself inside out, and Iâm grateful I didnât have time for breakfast.
Buster swaggers away with Kong knuckle-dragging in his wake. Ferret lags behind. Buster is their evil leader, Ferretâs the oversize mouth, and Kong is the brainless muscle. Put them together and youâve got a swaggering, foul-mouthed, bullying Buttferk.
âThis isnât the end of it.â Ferret raises his upper lip to show off his pointed little teeth. âYou canât mess us up like that and get away with it.â
âOh, Iâm pretty sure we can,â Laurel counters. âYour parents made a mess of you, and nothing happened to them.â
I clear my throat. âWell, actually, something did happen to Ferretâs parents. They got saddled with him for the rest of their lives.â
âExcellent, Aspen!â Laurel and I bump fists.
Ferretâs so mad his eyes are crossing. âLaugh it up, tree scabs. But when my buds and I decide all the ways weâre going to get even, weâll see whoâs laughing.â He favors us with a parting snarl before he turns and hurries after Buster and Kong.
I watch him go with a queasy feeling in my stomach. âSo, do you really think Buttferk will be out for revenge?â
âIf they are, I hope Ferret posts their plans on Facebook.â Laurel sends a puff of air into her bangs. âBeing stalked is exactly the kind of drama we need to get us noticed.â
âYeah, Iâm hoping for that, too. When the police find our bloody corpses, theyâll just check your news feed and know exactly who to arrest.â
Donât ask me how the morning passes. I shuffle from class to class in a sleep-deprived haze. The absolute second I get home, Iâm going to hit my bed and not move a muscle until tomorrow.
Which makes this the worst possible day to have gym class.
Normally I donât mind gym, although Iâm required to gripe about it like everyone else. Weâre two weeks into an archery unit, whichâin spite of my stringy armsâI donât suck at. But a person in my semi-comatose condition should not be wielding anything that resembles a lethal weapon. Laurel and I hang at the end of the line of shooters, where we plan to stay until the period ends.
Eyes closed, my face lifted to the warm sunshine, Iâm wondering if itâs possible to sleep standing up. I scoot my feet apart for balance and let myself sway from side to side. Iâm lying in a hammock by the ocean, letting the gentle salt breeze
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