Lunch proceeded, but it wasn’t quiet. No, not at all. Jennie continued her indirect jabs at me – the way I wore my uniform, my hair barrette…

Gosh, do these girls have anything better to do?

“Say, Hart, where do you shop?”

In case you were wondering, ‘Hart’ is my last name. My mom liked the way it rang with my first name, so here I am, a high schooler stuck with the name: ‘Kayley Hart.’

Ah, well.

“I shop somewhere nice.”

“That’s so vague. Give us details.”

“I don’t feel like it.”

“Why are you sitting here, then?”

“I just accepted an invitation.”

“Oh…Angela, did you invite her?”

Angela’s timid voice sort of broke the taut atmosphere between me and Jennie.

“Yeah, I did. I thought she looked lonely – “

“Were you lonely, Hart?”

“What are you, a master interrogator?” I said, something inside me snapping. I set down my fork with a thunk, giving Jennie my ‘look’.

I remember him warning others about my temper.

Normally, it took a lot to get me angry.

But, these weren’t normal circumstances.