Free Broken World by Chloe Adams, Lizzy Ford Page B

attention to the phone.
    I don’t know what’s wrong with me. There was a time that I’d die if he sat beside me or talked to me. The most popular boy in school, Benji was also widely considered to be a nice guy. He should be everything I’m interested in: athletic, bright, from a wealthy family even Molly couldn’t object to, and nice.
    Some part of me died this summer. I can’t get the image of Tanya out of my mind. I can’t really focus as the instructor stands up and gives us an overview of the class.
    At least school helps me pull my head free from the summer. I’m surprised to find I look forward to things like homework and research. I read each syllabus and start the first assignments, ignoring the teachers and students.
    By lunch time, I’m starting to feel less anxious. I even go so far as to talk to a couple other people. Neither teachers nor students seem to know about my summer, even though it was splashed all over the news. Happy not to have to deal with it, I’m almost smiling when I meet Ari for lunch.
    “Benji talked to me like, three times today,” I say as I join Ari.
    “I heard he dumped Jenna when they were on vacation together,” Ari replies. “He even flew home early.”
    “Seriously? Good,” I grin. “I can’t stand her.”
    “I still don’t know why.”
    “Me neither.”
    Ari laughs. “Okay then!”
    “No, wait, I do remember,” I say, thinking fast. “You remember when we were freshmen, she used to say Molly was so beautiful and I’m so ugly, that I had to be adopted?”
    “Ooohhh. Not adopted. She said you were like the illegitimate daughter of the maid or something.”
    “Yes, that’s right! Then she beat me out for head of cheer squad.”
    “Ah, I totally remember now. What a bitch.”
    I giggle, silently agreeing. It feels good to laugh about something so silly. We catch up on gossip about the other girls on the cheer squad over lunch then part ways for the rest of our classes. I run into Benji one more time. This time, I smile at him. He walks me to my last class. I barely survive without falling asleep in the last class then grab my gym bag and go to the locker room to change.
    The other girls are there and greet me as I enter. It’s loud and cheerful in the locker area, and I take the locker beside Ari. I change into leggings and a loose t-shirt then hesitate. I feel exposed in the tight pants. I still feel … weird about wearing clothes that aren’t two sizes too big. I can’t hide in my cheer practice outfit.
    “Come on!” Ari says and grabs my arm.
    I let her tug me out of the locker room and onto the field. The football team is already practicing. I feel queasy at the sight of them. Benji is a quarterback. Seeing him in his uniform dashes anything I could feel for him. Any reminder of Robert Connor …
    No. I refuse to think about anything other than cheer squad. Beautiful, frowning Jenna is already on the field. She looks the same as she did last year. I smile at her and join her with the coordinator of the cheer squad.
    “Mia, Jenna, good to see you both,” Deb, the coordinator, says. “Have I got the best routine ever for you guys! I went to …”
    Deb goes on cheerfully. Jenna is glaring at me. I make a face back, not at all concerned about some petty girl after my summer. Deb finishes then hands us each a stapled print out of music and moves for practice. Deb steps away, and Jenna flips me off. Petty or not, I’m pissed.
    “I hear you got dumped this summer,” I hiss.
    “You heard wrong,” she snaps, face flushing. “I dumped that bastard.”
    “Right,” I roll my eyes. “What matters is it looks like we’re going out this weekend.”
    Her eyes narrow. I smile sweetly and turn away. My eyes find Benji, and I’m surprised to see he’s looking at us already. He doesn’t seem happy as he stares at Jenna. I wave anyway. He waves back. Satisfied to have the upper hand for once, I start away.
    “You deserved to get raped, bitch!”