Page 35 of The Trip

Jake turned to Emma with a wolfish grin, lips twisting at the corner, sharp and cutting, as though savoring her discomfort. “It’s not my fault your dad left, and your mom never went to college.”

Emma was out of her seat before any of us could stop her. With both palms, she shoved Jake. He fell backward onto a table filled with freshman. A girl shrieked as Jake landed on the table, spilling milk down the side onto her lap. She jumped from her seat.

“Hey!” Mr. Reynolds, our twenty-two-year-old school-lunch monitor speedwalked across the cafeteria with his hand in the air. “Stop right now!”

Jake sat up, and with gritted teeth, Emma lunged for him, but Courtney stepped in front of her as I reached up and tugged on Emma’s arm.

“I saidstop,” Mr. Reynolds yelled. “You’re both going to the office.”

The cafeteria had gone quiet.

Jake pushed himself off the table. “Shit, Emma.”

“Watch your language,” Mr. Reynolds snapped.

Emma leaned toward Jake, pulling against my grip on her arm. “Like you’ll ever know anything about making money—you’ve always had everything handed to you. Loser.”

Mr. Reynolds stepped toward Emma. “That’s enough.” His tone was sharp, demanding obedience.

Jake picked his hat up off the floor. “My parents are gonna sue you. And you’re going to lose.”

“Let’s go.Now.” Mr. Reynolds put his hand on Jake’s back, guiding him toward the door. “Come on, Emma.”

Emma turned to Courtney and me, the anger in her eyes now replaced with tears. “I asked my mom not to sue. But my surgery bill was so much ... she didn’t know what else to do.”

I looked to Courtney, willing her to tell the truth. I’d never expected there to be this ripple effect from one stupid action. Keeping this secret was making me sick. Staring at Courtney, I knew she’d never confess. I had to be the one to do it.

“Emma, I—”

“Good for your mom.” Courtney wrapped her arm around Emma, cutting me off. “Those guys shouldn’t be able to get away with hurting you like that. What if you’d hit your head? You could’ve died.”

I gaped at Courtney.

“That’s all the more why we should do this trip. We’ll never get this year back.”

Mr. Reynolds whipped around. “Emma! The office.Now.”

Courtney lowered her arm as Emma followed after Mr. Reynolds and Jake.

The cafeteria’s silence morphed into murmurings as Courtney returned to her seat. While Emma and Jake were ushered into the hall, Courtney lifted her salad fork as if nothing had happened.

“So, who’s in?”

Chapter Fourteen

Present: Day Three at Sea

Adam emerges from his stateroom in dry clothes.

“Thank you again for jumping in after me,” Gigi tells him, wrapping the towel tighter around her shoulders.

“You’re welcome.” His expression turns serious. “But let’s not do it again, yeah?”

I try not to stare at how his T-shirt clings to his pectoral muscles before he turns to head back up. Instead, I put my hand on the damp towel on Gigi’s back. “You should get in some dry clothes.”

Gigi’s eyes widen as she sucks in a sharp breath. “My phone! What am I going to do?”

“I think they call that being ‘unplugged,’” Beth says, making quotation marks with her fingers. “It’s good for you.”