Page 52 of Twisted Ties

She lifts her hand.

“No–” I scream but my words are cut off as she clicks her fingers a second time and more water pours into my face. Somehow it seems even colder than before. The water slides down my throat and I choke on it, the world fading away as I’m starved of oxygen.

But the water has also made my skin slippery, the grips on my arms loosening. I take my opportunity, jerking free my arm. For the briefest of seconds I consider blasting mymagic at Summer. God, I really, really, really want to. But if I also want to be expelled, that’s a sure-fire way to achieve it. Instead, I swing my hand upwards and shoot magic at the shower head.

The water stops dead and pipes and plaster tumble downwards.

The girls holding me scream and dive to one side, and I cover my head, debris raining down on my crown.

“Little bitch,” one of the girls mutters, brushing plaster off her body.

Summer simply smiles. It’s sickly sweet and I know we’re not done here.

“Destroying and vandalizing school property. I think I’ll have to report you.”

“Waterboarding other students,” Winnie snaps. “I think I’ll have to report you.”

Summer laughs. “You do have a wild imagination, Winnie Wence. I didn’t see anything untoward. Did you?” she asks her friends. Ten girls shake their heads. “How about you?” Summer growls, turning to the other girls in the locker room.

Some drop their gazes to the floor and others mumble, “No, Summer.”

Summer swings back round to Winnie with a grin, but her satisfied words are interrupted by the locker room door swinging open and Spencer barreling through.

“What the fuck was all that noise?” he says.

“Just Rhianna Blackwaters being clumsy with the shower equipment,” Summer says sweetly. “Anyone would think the girl has trotters instead of feet.”

Spencer swings his gaze towards me, his eyes swimming down my shivering form.

“Put some damn clothes on,” he snaps at me. “Thenclean it up,” he adds, before turning and strolling right back out.

“You heard the man,” Summer says, sweeping her hair up into a ponytail. “Clear it up.”

She bounces away and her troop of cheerleaders follow after.

18

Rhi

“I really hate that girl,”I mutter to Winnie once we’re alone in the locker room.

Winnie peers over her shoulder.

“I don’t think you are the only one. In fact, I reckon more people hate her than they do love her. I bet none of her friends actually even like her. I almost feel sorry for her.”

I stare at Winnie, my wet hair plastered to my head, cold water dripping off my body and onto the floor. “Are you serious?” I say.

Winnie considers me. “No. You’re right. She is a bitch and one day karma will come for her.”

“I’m not sure I can wait for karma to get her act together. I think I may need to step in and hand out some retribution of my own before then,” I say, stepping out of the cubicle and blowing warm air through my hair and over my body.

“You could go tell the principal.”

I shake my head. “You heard her. No one will believe me. She’ll have at least ten of her cheerleading buddies queuing up to accuse me of lying.”

“Hmmm.” Winnie steps into her uniform. “Just don’t do anything stupid.”

“Me? Do anything stupid?”