Free Vengeance Bound by Justina Ireland

easily. As far as the school knows, I live with my mom and her boyfriend. It’s easy to pay someone to register you for school, especially if they’re so drunk that they don’t remember you a week later.
    I head toward my locker, thinking that’s the end of the conversation, but Adam trots along beside me. “Well, you can at least come with us to grab some pizza, right? It’s right down the road. You could just tell them you had to stay after school or something. It would really make Mindi happy.” I’ve been at West County High for less than a week. Why would she care that much?
    I’m about to make another excuse, when Niko heads down the hall toward us. He walks with Mindi, and she’s chattering on about something, her hands gesturing wildly. Niko looks like he’s mentally counting sheep, his expression detached. They see me looking at them, and Mindi waves in excitement. Niko’s gaze is coolly assessing, a degree away from arctic.
    I elbow Adam as they approach. “What’s the deal with Mindi and Niko? They dating?”
    Adam’s jaw goes slack at my direct question, and I wonder if I’ve broken some unspoken rule. Just when I think he won’t answer the question, he shrugs. “No, they’re just friends. They’ve known each other since they were little.” He studies his shoes, and refuses to meet my gaze, and I know I stepped over some boundary. I squeeze his arm in apology, and he rewards me with a smile.
    “Sorry if I’m being too nosy. Don’t want to look stupid, you know?”
    He nods, and I know we’re good again. Crisis averted.
    Mindi bounces up. “Cory! Tell me you’re coming with us.”
    Adam nods, his brown curls shaking. He looks a little panicked, his eyes flicking from me to Mindi and back. He glances at her like he’s afraid she might start foaming at the mouth. “Come on. You don’t want to miss this,” Adam says.
    I shrug and direct my question to Niko, who has yet to say a word. “It’s pizza. What’s the big deal?”
    Amber, the bleached blonde who basically spends all of her time pointedly ignoring me, walks up. “The big deal is that it’s the best pizza in town. They’re only open Thursday through Sunday. So every Thursday we go there right after school to eat.” She looks at Mindi in disgust before turning back to me. “But I guess you wouldn’t know that, would you, Dixie?”
    Everyone shifts from foot to foot, waiting for my response. The venom is completely unexpected, since she has spent the last few days pretending I don’t even exist. A thirst for violence tears through my earlier tranquility, and I want to rip off Amber’s arm and stuff it down her throat. But that’s all me, not Them, and I push the urge aside.
    Instead I smile and shrug, like the nickname doesn’t bother me. “Sounds like fun, but I really shouldn’t. All this cold weather makes me want to eat all the time. You saw that chocolate cake the other day, right? I don’t want to get fat.” I look at Amber as I say it. I’m going for a shared joke, but she flushes scarlet, and I realize Amber took it as an insult instead of a friendly overture.
    Before I can stammer out an apology, Mindi giggles nervously. “Cory, you’re nowhere near fat,” she exclaims, clearly trying to diffuse the suddenly frosty situation. “You can at least have a slice. Come on. It’ll be my treat.” She sounds a little desperate, like if I don’t go, she’ll burst into tears. Adam shoves his hands into his pockets and looks away, while Amber’s nostrils flare and her jaw tightens. Niko’s expression is pained, but he carefully schools his face into a neutral expression when he catches me looking at him.
    What is going on here?
    I smile and shrug, unsure. I want to go, despite all of the weirdness. I’ve always loved hanging out with friends. The group I hung out with in Charlotte was the best. They were silly, always going out to do the stupidest things. We even went roller-skating once. It was a lot of