Chapter 3, y'all.
"Why you always draggin' in late?" Hazel's all up in Ivy's grill, packin' up the kitchen and throwin' shade.
Ivy's just standin' there, playin' it cool with her bag still on, "Took the wrong bus, my bad."
Hazel peeps the burn on Ivy's hand, all concerned like, "Girl, that looks rough. What happened?"
Ivy's lips are sealed.
Hazel's like, "Chill, you don't gotta lift a finger 'til that heals. Just don't let it get nasty, aight?"
Ivy nods, heads upstairs, and locks herself in her room. She checks the clock—still early. A smile sneaks onto her face, all stealth-like. She could hit the books today.
She's got her papers and books out, settin' the alarm, gettin' down to biz. But every time she reaches for her eraser, she's thinkin' 'bout Nolan, leanin' all cool against the wall, his blond hair matchin' the eraser like it's meant to be.
"Nolan, if you can stick with her for two months, you're golden." That line's playin' on loop in Ivy's head.
She's sittin' by the window, and then—bam!—a gust of wind swoops in, bringin' the chill with it. Ivy's shakin' it off, bitin' her lip, tryna focus.
Then there's noise from downstairs. The front door's workin', and the steps are heavy, like someone's draggin' the day behind them.
"You back, bro?"
"Yeah."
"Man, your gig's lookin' rougher than my hustle. Why you always last to show?"
"Picked up some extra work," Everett Sterling's sayin', ploppin' down on the couch, all beat, workin' his temples like they owe him money.
"Ivy's report card was basically a cry for help, which basically meant that she was destined to be my right-hand chick in flipping burgers and ruling the fast-food empire. Goals, right? "
"Yeah, sure," Everett mumbled. He spotted the new burn cream chilling on the coffee table. He snagged it and got to work on the fresh burn decorating his arm.
"Don't stress, bro. Ease up on the hustling. We've got a roof and grub, what more do we need?"
"Uh-huh. Ivy crashed yet?"
"Out like a light."
Ivy peeped at the door, then flipped her gaze back to the window. The trees were straight-up naked, the streetlights looked like they hadn't seen a duster in forever, casting a weak sauce glow. The streets were dead, shops were snoozing, and the night was hush-hush.
Tick-tock, another day was about to slide in.
-
"Zoop—"
A sparrow got the heck outta there like it just saw a cat.
Ivy's eyes snapped right, her heart doing a little skip-de-doo-dah.
The sparrows are peacing out back south...
"OMG, are you for real? Your skin's like paper. It's all red and I barely touched you." Brianna Caldwell was majorly shook, "What's your deal, Ivy? Got your mute button on? Let out a yelp or something, gimme that satisfaction."
Mid-rant, she slammed Ivy's head toward the wall.
BAM! A groan leaked out.
"Yasss, that's what I'm talking about!"
"Girl, you're giving off more vibes than Natalie in the AV."
"Yo, what the—"
Their cackles were bouncing off the bathroom walls.
Ivy's head was getting cozy with the cold tiles, her fingertips freezing. The grip on her head vanished, then bam, she was eating floor.
The squad went to town on her with a kicks-and-fists party.
"Yo, keep it cute, no marks."
"Bri's got finesse, right? But this chick's a dead fish, bet she's a bore in the sack."
"Ew, you catching that stank?"
"Ugh— who died in the stall? Taking a dump or what? It's rank!"
Brianna wrinkled her nose and served Ivy another kick, "Lucky day for you. Let's roll."
One of the queen bees was like, "How 'bout we lock her up with the poop bandit?"
"Lit idea!"
They were all about it, heaving Ivy into a stall.
"It's a whole mood in here, stink city. Enjoy, don't say we never gave you anything."
The bell was throwing out its wake-up call.
The bathroom emptied out, leaving behind a cold echo.
Ivy clutched the doorknob, trying to keep it together.
Every inch of her was screaming. Her head felt like it was in a vise, her eyes struggling to focus.
Next door, someone hit the flush.
Footsteps booked it out of there...
And then silence.
Ivy stared at the harsh light above, her eyes all light and shadow, but dead inside.
And she hadn't even washed her hands yet.
