You and Sydney had been paired together for a history project —pure luck of the draw, or maybe just the universe’s idea of a joke. She didn’t even try to hide her annoyance when your name was called with hers. You were a cheerleader and walked around like the halls were a runway and everyone else was beneath you. And worse? You bullied people like her.

The comments about her clothes, her hair. And even if your voice wasn’t always the loudest, you were definitely part of the group who laughed along. Hell, you were even tangled up with Brad Lewis— which made everything even more awkward, considering the mess between him and Dina.

Now, the two of you sat at a back table in study hall, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. Sydney kept her eyes on the textbook, her foot tapping nervously beneath the desk. You were lounging in your chair, legs crossed, twirling a pen between your fingers like this was just another boring assignment you could breeze through.