Following my showdown with Lily, Zac and I parted ways with a kiss. It lit my senses on fire. He gave me a long, lingering look before letting go of my hand. I could tell he was worried about me. About us. About Lily. I tried to reassure him with a smile, but I don't know if it did any good. Anxiety was still buzzing through me. My chest grew tight as Zac strolled away towards third hour. Tall, lean, broad shouldered. Backpack swung over one shoulder.

The tension within me clenched even more as I watched him go. Zac's sudden departure from made me feel so alone. This emotion horrified me. I had always prided myself on my independence, but that boy was really starting to take up valuable real estate in my life, and the intensity of my emotions scared me even while I missed him. The two of us were, unfortunately, on different lunch schedules, so I wouldn't get to see him again until the end of the day, and, even then, Zac and I wouldn't get to talk or do anything fun with our body parts. We needed to serve that stupid detention with Tilton first.

With a sigh, I headed to class. Third hour was no better than AP Chem or AP History. Kids continued to snicker, stare, and point at me as though I was a Cinderella story in fucking reverse. Hushed comments about "how the mighty had fallen" swirled around me, and obnoxious claims that I had been using other students like Dev and Aleah—and especially Amari and Nat—to secure my academic standing was also a hot topic of conversation. My legitimacy as my dad's biological daughter was also being questioned by lowlife cretins who I had never spoken to in a day of my life.

For the most part, I was able to ignore my classmates. Their snide remarks enabled the resentment in my chest to fester deeper. My contempt for them became incindiery. As far as I was concerned, Lily's day of reckoning couldn't come soon enough.

At lunchtime, I spotted Amari and Nat standing across the cafeteria. They were already in line to get their food. I frowned as my head tilted slightly to the left. Weird. They usually waited for me by the cafeteria entrance.

As I approached them, I locked eyes with Amari and started waving my phone in the air. I made sure to shoot her a look of pure annoyance to convey how I felt about the fact that neither of them had responded to my texts. I balked when Amari looked away from me. Then, Nat glanced at me with a grimace on her face before quickly turning in the other direction as well.

"What's going on, guys?" I asked, stopping right in front of them. "Why have you been ignoring my texts all morning?"

"Why didn't you answer our texts last night?" Amari snapped back. "We were worried sick!"

"I'm sorry, I had a lot on my mind," I responded apologetically. "I'm ready to talk now, though."

Amari sniffed huffily. "Maybe we don't want to talk to you anymore."

"Excuse me?" I was confused. "What did I do? Why are you guys so mad at me?"

"Well, is it true?" Amari asked.

I wanted to answer her, but the words kept catching in my throat. Nat and Amari were so out of the loop with all the fuckery that had been going on behind the scenes with Zac and Lily that I didn't know how to explain anything to them anymore. In fact, I didn't even know if I could tell them the truth without jeopardizing our plan.

"It's complicated," I finally said, feeling like the lamest person in the world. "Can we talk somewhere else? With more privacy?"

Amari sighed. "It's a 'yes' or 'no' question, Cate. Not an essay response."

I didn't want to lie to my friend point blank, but we were standing in the middle of the school cafeteria. There were too many prying eyes and curious ears around us.

With a forced smile, I replied, "No, Amari, Lily is a fucking liar. I can't believe you guys would side with her over me."

Amari's expression darkened at my response. I didn't know why it upset her so much.

With an apprehensive look on her face, Nat spoke up in a hushed voice, "I... know about the cash in your bedroom drawer, Cate. I stumbled on it during one of our study sessions at your place."

My mouth parted in shock. "Why were you snooping in my room?"

"Honestly, I wasn't trying to snoop for your money! At the time, you had been teasing me all week about my crush on Jason Walker, so I was trying to find your vibrator and tease you back about something, too. I found the key under your mattress and unlocked the drawer while you were in the bathroom. I always meant to ask why you were hoarding all that money, but, now, I get it. You've been saving up for a rainy day, which means Lily is probably telling the truth."

My cheeks paled. "Nat. Amari. I can explain. Please."

"There's no need, Cate," Amari said. "Friends are supposed to trust each other. Clearly, you don't trust us. Why should we trust you? Even without this stupid drama between you and Lily, Nat and I have been kind of annoyed with you lately."

I protested, "But I sent you guys flowers! I thought things were cool between us again?"

Amari wrinkled her nose. "I know you sent flowers, but I never got over how you blew up at me for relying on family money to get good grades. I've always sat right next to you during all of our late night cram sessions. You should know that I earned my A's on my own."

"I'm sorry for saying that about you, Riri. I know you've been working your ass off just like me."

It was as though I hadn't spoken. Amari carried on hotly, "Then, you had the audacity to rip into poor Nat because she might become valedictorian in your place. That's messed up. Ever since middle school, Nat and I put up with your attitude because we thought there was a good person hiding under that bitchy persona of yours. Turns out, you're just like all the other sharks at Ashton Wellesley."

"I'm not like them! I don't want to be like them!"

"We trusted you, Cate, but you've been keeping secrets from us. Not only that, but I think you've been using me for influence and going to Nat for easy A's. Would you even want to be friends with us—a brown immigrant girl and a poor fat girl—if there wasn't anything in it for you?"

"Amari, please listen to—"

She cut me off, "Anyway, we want to take a break from you. I hope you understand."

The savagery in Amari's words cut into me like a thousand knives. That shit fucking hurt.

"Is that how you really view me as a person? But I've always been there for you guys," I cried out brokenly. "If anything, I'm the reason the psychopathic assholes on campus have stayed out of your way since middle school. I've stood up for you and Nat every single time someone makes a crack about your skintone or her scholarship status."

Amari appeared unimpressed. "Did you want a fucking 'thank you' card for your services or something? Because I never asked you to stand up for me, Cate. And Nat's tougher than you give her credit for. I've been made fun of for being Pakistani and Indian my whole life. Kids gave me shit about it long before I met you, and they'll keep giving me shit about it after you."

Her lips leveled into a taut line. It was obvious that Amari had nothing else to say to me.

Nat looked at me with wide, troubled eyes. "If it's any consolation, Cate, we're not planning to tell anyone about your secret."

"Thanks, Nat," I rasped with as much dignity as I could muster. "Have a nice life, Amari."

I quickly turned away fromthem with tears in my eyes. I refused to let them fall.