Free Being the Bad Boy's Victim by Claire Monette Page A

actually at the doctors. Just didn’t want to go to school today,” I said, curling up in the warmth of my blanket.
    “Bella!”
    I muffled the rest of Jessica’s screams by pressing my phone into my pillow. When I thought I had waited long enough, I put the phone to my ear again.
    “… and so I was like, ‘Bella’s sooo not preggers.’ But you know, word spreads quickly at Wilson,” she finished saying.
    “Yeah, I know. Wait…what?” I shrieked, her sentence finally sinking in.
    “Bella! Were you not lis——”
    “Jess. What the fuck did you just say about me being pregnant?” I asked, fear sinking into me.
    “I… said… you… weren’t…” she said slowly, as if she was talking to a four-year-old.
    I rolled my eyes in annoyance.
    “Jess, who’s been telling people that I’m pregnant?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. There was a pause. And just before I could ask if she was still there, she spoke again.
    “I was walking towards AP U.S. History, and there were a bunch of people talking, and I heard them say ‘pregnant’. So, of course, I started listening—fine, eavesdropping—and then they were all like ‘Connor said she was okay in bed, but a bit too easy.’ And then another girl was all like, ‘She skipped school today because they didn’t use a condom and she’s now preggers.’ And then I was all like, ‘Bella’s sooo not preggers.’ But Bella, what the fuck really happened?”
    I felt my temper flare as I tried to calm myself down.
    “Bella, you there?” Jessica asked, sounding worried.
    “Listen, I’ll explain later,” I said, getting off my bed.
    “What do you mean ‘later’?” she asked, confused.
    “I mean that I’m coming to school. It’s time Connor gets put in his place,” I said, hanging up.
    Watch out, Connor! Actually, forget that. You are fucked, asshole!
     

     
    I tossed all my stuff on my bed, packing everything neatly. I glanced at my closet. Now, for the hardest part—picking out my outfit.
    Surprisingly, I’ve never been one to stress about what to wear. But like before, I had a motive. So this outfit had to be absolutely perfect.
    Yes, I had decided to get my revenge on Connor. The problem was I just didn’t know how. The way I saw it, I had two options:
     
    1. Call Connor out and insult him repeatedly until he maybe regret the shit he had put me through.
    2. Go along with his act. Then, start a huge rumor that I got an STD from him. That’ll keep the girls away. The idea was to get Connor to crack under the dry spell and admit we didn’t have sex.
     
    But how do I know we didn’t have sex? Simple. I had missed it before, but I realized, I wasn’t sore at all. I mean, for someone as popular in bed as Connor, he must be pretty big. Anyways, I didn’t feel a single thing—not even a slight bit of pain. Therefore, there’s no way I could have slept with him. Trust me, I would have remembered.
    I sighed and checked the clock—11:45 am. I quickly went to my closet, trying to pick out the perfect outfit. In case you were wondering, I chose number two. Why? Well, I knew I would have a better chance of getting revenge with it. And I had a feeling that Connor would just make everything much worse if I tried to outrightly tear him down. No, no! That would just be setting myself up. By choosing option two, I knew I had a chance—a chance to get my revenge on Connor.
     
     

     
     
    12:10 pm
     
    I stood outside of the loud lunchroom. It was now or never. I looked at my reflection in the glass. Damn, Bella! I smirked at my reflection. I chose to wear everything that would make up the perfect schoolgirl outfit. Then, I just toned it down a bit, but kept the slutty look. I took a couple of deep breaths before I entered the lunchroom. And the second I walked in, everything went silent.
    Just kidding.
    Sure, some people stopped talking and a lot stared, but it was not like everyone had stopped what they were doing to look at me. Then, I