or not. There’s no escaping it.
She frowns. “No, I guess not.”
I slide out of bed. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Standing in front of the mirror, I pile my hair on top of my head and swipe on enough makeup to make it look like I’m not exhausted.
Brielle looks like she’s about to start skipping down the hallway on the way to class. She has enough energy for the both of us. Too bad she can’t transfer some of her excitement to me.
Luke stands in the hallway outside the studio. He talks to a girl I recognize as one of the music students who was singing at the fundraiser on Friday. I slow my pace. Brielle slows beside me and I can see her glancing between Luke and me out of the corner of my eye.
Nerves twist my stomach as I consider whether I should say something to him when I walk past. It would be rude to pretend like I didn’t even see him when I have to walk right by him.
Oh my God, I’m completely over-thinking this. I can say hi.
“Hey, Luke.”
He doesn’t answer me. Maybe he didn’t hear me. It’s not like I yelled it and he is distracted with another conversation. I open my mouth to say it again, but his gaze flicks up to mine briefly. Annoyance flashes in his eyes.
Wow. Apparently I was wrong.
Brielle huffs beside me and grabs my arm. “Whatever you’re thinking, just stop. I heard he was playing that game last year, anyway. You don’t want to get involved.”
I walk through the door to the studio with Brielle, ignoring Luke and the music student. It’s not like I needed him anyway. This just reaffirms my position on the whole stick-to-myself thing. If I don’t open myself up to getting hurt, it can’t happen.
I sit down next to Brielle and Adam and pull out my water bottle. It’s empty. Dammit.
The water fountain is just outside the door in the hallway. I hold the bottle under the steady stream of water. Luke is still out here, but he’s talking to a group of guys now instead of the music girl.
“She’s definitely a hit. I bet she’s worth a ton of points, too. If you don’t do it, I will.”
What the hell?
They’re part of that disgusting game. No wonder he looked annoyed when I said hi. He was probably trying to arrange his next hit.
I can’t believe I thought he might be a decent person. He’s just another asshole like Patrick. He might even be worse. At least Patrick had some regard for other people before things ended between us.
I don’t want anything to do with Luke.
I walk back into the studio and sit down next to Brielle, shoving my bag against the wall.
A frown creases her forehead. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
I don’t want to talk about this here. Especially since I know he’ll be walking in the door any second and I know how much she hates him. We don’t need a bunch of drama before class starts.
“You aren’t allowed to be crabby, Little Miss I-Got-Into-All-The-Advanced-Classes,” Brielle says, pointing at me. “You should be ecstatic.”
I frown. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
Her face falls. “It’s a huge deal for a freshman. It’s a huge deal for me and I’m a sophomore.”
When they emailed class assignments, I’d been over the moon. It was enough for me to get into The Conservatory, but getting into the advanced classes was only going to help my career.
Luke opens the door and his eyes meet mine. I look down at the floor, but it’s too late. He heads straight toward us. I don’t look up again, but I can feel him standing over me.
“Hey, Sadie.”
Now he wants to talk? Absolutely not. I don’t play that game. I won’t talk to him only when it’s convenient for him. And I definitely won’t give him the opportunity to use me and dump me so he can get some stupid points.
I ignore him and focus on my stretching. He stands next to me awkwardly for a couple seconds before he moves to an empty spot on the other side of the room.
“What was that about?” Brielle doesn’t look at me. Her face is against
She frowns. “No, I guess not.”
I slide out of bed. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Standing in front of the mirror, I pile my hair on top of my head and swipe on enough makeup to make it look like I’m not exhausted.
Brielle looks like she’s about to start skipping down the hallway on the way to class. She has enough energy for the both of us. Too bad she can’t transfer some of her excitement to me.
Luke stands in the hallway outside the studio. He talks to a girl I recognize as one of the music students who was singing at the fundraiser on Friday. I slow my pace. Brielle slows beside me and I can see her glancing between Luke and me out of the corner of my eye.
Nerves twist my stomach as I consider whether I should say something to him when I walk past. It would be rude to pretend like I didn’t even see him when I have to walk right by him.
Oh my God, I’m completely over-thinking this. I can say hi.
“Hey, Luke.”
He doesn’t answer me. Maybe he didn’t hear me. It’s not like I yelled it and he is distracted with another conversation. I open my mouth to say it again, but his gaze flicks up to mine briefly. Annoyance flashes in his eyes.
Wow. Apparently I was wrong.
Brielle huffs beside me and grabs my arm. “Whatever you’re thinking, just stop. I heard he was playing that game last year, anyway. You don’t want to get involved.”
I walk through the door to the studio with Brielle, ignoring Luke and the music student. It’s not like I needed him anyway. This just reaffirms my position on the whole stick-to-myself thing. If I don’t open myself up to getting hurt, it can’t happen.
I sit down next to Brielle and Adam and pull out my water bottle. It’s empty. Dammit.
The water fountain is just outside the door in the hallway. I hold the bottle under the steady stream of water. Luke is still out here, but he’s talking to a group of guys now instead of the music girl.
“She’s definitely a hit. I bet she’s worth a ton of points, too. If you don’t do it, I will.”
What the hell?
They’re part of that disgusting game. No wonder he looked annoyed when I said hi. He was probably trying to arrange his next hit.
I can’t believe I thought he might be a decent person. He’s just another asshole like Patrick. He might even be worse. At least Patrick had some regard for other people before things ended between us.
I don’t want anything to do with Luke.
I walk back into the studio and sit down next to Brielle, shoving my bag against the wall.
A frown creases her forehead. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
I don’t want to talk about this here. Especially since I know he’ll be walking in the door any second and I know how much she hates him. We don’t need a bunch of drama before class starts.
“You aren’t allowed to be crabby, Little Miss I-Got-Into-All-The-Advanced-Classes,” Brielle says, pointing at me. “You should be ecstatic.”
I frown. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
Her face falls. “It’s a huge deal for a freshman. It’s a huge deal for me and I’m a sophomore.”
When they emailed class assignments, I’d been over the moon. It was enough for me to get into The Conservatory, but getting into the advanced classes was only going to help my career.
Luke opens the door and his eyes meet mine. I look down at the floor, but it’s too late. He heads straight toward us. I don’t look up again, but I can feel him standing over me.
“Hey, Sadie.”
Now he wants to talk? Absolutely not. I don’t play that game. I won’t talk to him only when it’s convenient for him. And I definitely won’t give him the opportunity to use me and dump me so he can get some stupid points.
I ignore him and focus on my stretching. He stands next to me awkwardly for a couple seconds before he moves to an empty spot on the other side of the room.
“What was that about?” Brielle doesn’t look at me. Her face is against
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