Page 44 of Vicious Little Snakes

“Fuck off, dick.”

He flips me off. “It’s Paul.”

“I don’t care. Nice bruise. Want another one?”

He spins back around, pissed off, but like I said, I don’t care. The kid’s an asshole.

Everyone takes a step up as a kid peels off from the line, wiping his arm across his mouth. My focus shifts to the building he walks past as classical music filters out from the cracked gym door. Girl’s P.E.—damn, it’s beckoning me to look.

I glance over my shoulder, not seeing any coaches, so I step out of the line, closing the distance quickly. My hands press against the metal gym door, opening it just enough so I can slip past. I’m immediately hit with the air conditioning, so I close my eyes, appreciating the reprieve, almost forgetting why I snuck in.

When I open them, I see girls from a bunch of different classes dancing together. They’re twirling around in their gym clothes and sneakers as giggles keep erupting between them. I look around, searching the gym for Caroline, but I don’t see her, making my brows knit together.

She should be here. Maybe she’s in the bathroom.

From behind me, I hear a “Psst. Brooks. Come on. Coach’s calling.”

I turn and nod at a kid who sits a few seats behind me in class. Slipping back out of the door, I squint at the sun.

“Thanks.”

“No problem, dude,” he says as we walk. “What were you doing in there anyway?”

“Nothing. Just getting cool. It’s too hot outside.”

He nods enthusiastically. “Agreed, and the coaches are dicks for making us run around today too.”

I give a much less spirited agreement than he did because I’m thinking about the fact that I’m probably going to stink after this. Damn. Turning my head to sniff my armpit, I see Caroline coming from the office. It looks like she’s heading back to the gym. Her arms are wrapped around her waist, hugging herself as she looks at the ground.

What the? My eyes follow her, watching her walk. Without a well-thought-out plan, I tap the kid’s shoulder. “Hey, tell the coach I felt sick and went to the office.”

He looks at me, surprised. “Are you going to puke?”

My eyes lock to his. “No. Dude, just tell him. Okay?”

He nods, mouthing “Ohh,” finally getting it as I jog away. I cut around the building to intercept Caroline in the outdoor hallway. Her back is to me as I slow up, walking next to her, leaning down to bump her shoulder. “Hey. Aren’t you supposed to be dancing? Cutter.”

She looks up, eyes rimmed in red—confusion melding into hate.

“Go away.”

Whoa.

“What’s wrong?”

“None of your business. Go sweat somewhere else.”

She spits the words at me. Viciously. But it doesn’t make me mad or scare me away. I don’t know why. It just doesn’t. I look down at my dirty hands before wiping them on my gym shorts and reach across her body, taking her hand.

My fingers close around her hand and tug it down as Caroline’s gaze darts to mine again.

“What are you doing?”

I shake my head and shrug because I don’t really know, but it feels right. Like she needs someone to hold her hand.

“Come on,” I say, pointing to a walkway that leads out to the lower school community garden. Caroline doesn’t try to take her hand away, but she keeps the suspicion on her face. I lead her over to the garden gate and through until we’re hidden. Raised beds full of vegetables and weeds surround us, and the crunching of the pea gravel is all that can be heard until we stop in the middle of the garden. She looks around, hand in mine, finally landing on my face.

“Are you okay?” I ask.