Chapter Ten

Delaney

"Are you alright, Delaney?"

I looked up, startled. Ms. Shea was standing a few feet away, holding one of my books and smiling sadly. Her wedges clicked on the linoleum floor as she approached.

"Here," she said, handing me the book.

"Thanks," I murmured shyly. I continued stuffing all my things back into my bag, expecting my teacher to go back to her desk. She didn't. Instead, she just stood there, watching me with a concerned expression.

"Are you alright?" she asked again.

I was a bit wary of her, but I smiled. "Fine," I assured, shouldering my backpack. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Ms. Shea frowned. "I heard the last bit of your conversation with Carlie when I was in the other room"—she waved a hand at the door to the adjoining music room—"and I didn't like what I heard at all. Delaney, she was threatening you. As your teacher, I'd highly recommend that you tell the principal before matters get out of hand. Now, I can—"

"I'm fine, Ms. Shea." The words came out roughly, like I was angry, though I wasn't. "Thanks for your concern," I amended, "but I'm alright, I promise."

Her frown merely deepened. "Are you sure? Because if she's bothering you, I can arrange for you to meet with Mr. Kastner," she insisted. "You shouldn't have to put up with her."

"Really, Ms. Shea. I'm okay." Before she could say anything more, I hurried past her. My hand was on the doorknob when she called my name.

"Delaney."

I froze, but didn't turn around.

"Look at me, please." Ms. Shea's voice was so serious that I had no choice but to obey. I inched around in a half circle until I was facing her.

"Popularity isn't everything," she stated, her dark eyes full of an emotion I couldn't place.

"I know," I said softly. My fingers were itching to open the door.

"You're not listening."

"No, I am. You said that Popularity isn't everything."

"That's not what I meant. You heard the words, sure, but you didn't understand them."

I didn't bother to argue; I just wanted to leave.

"Please just listen," Ms. Shea begged. "Everyone makes it seem like being Popular is the only thing that matters, and if you aren't Popular, then you're worthless. That isn't true. Popularity is unnecessary, to say the least. And the importance that's placed on it is just...disgusting." Her expression was conflicted, guarded, as if she wanted to say something more but couldn't. It gave me the creeps.

"That's all," Ms. Shea whispered, not seeming like a teacher at all. "Go ahead and go. And be careful, Delaney."

After a final confused glance back at my teacher, I pushed open the door and stepped into the empty hallway. Soon, I'd be safe. But just as I was walking out the front doors, someone grabbed my arm. I whirled around and held up my hands, as if that would protect me from the harsh words I was expecting.

They didn't come.

I slowly lowered my hands and found myself staring into the face of a boy who looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't think of who he was. His facial structure suggested that he was part Asian, and he had jet black hair and dark eyes. He wasn't conventionally attractive, exactly; or at least, not in the way that Caleb was. His mouth was a little too big, and his eyes a little too close together. But his features were very open, and with his bemused expression and single raised eyebrow, I knew he meant me no harm.

"Are you Delaney Escott?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said slowly. "Why?"

"Here." He shoved a paper into my hand. "Caleb told me to give you this."

I looked at him warily. "Did you read it?"

The boy shook his head. "No, man. Not mine to read."

In that moment, I decided that I trusted him. "Why didn't Caleb just text me?"

"I dunno. Something about his parents taking his phone away. Anyway, I gotta go. So...see ya."

The boy flashed me a lopsided grin before turning and walking back in the other direction. He had a nice smile.

○●○●○●○

Delaney—

I'm really, really sorry about all of this, and I hope you didn't go through too much today. Oh, who am I kidding; I know you did. But try not to hate me, okay? I still need your help.

Whatever you do, don't text or call me. My parents are really upset, and they took away my phone. Long story... I'll tell you later. Look, based on how angry Carlie was today, I suggest we don't interact at school. She might explode. But if you're still interested, which I'm praying you are, then go ahead with then write me back with another meeting time and date and leave the note in locker 356.

And please, just know that I had absolutely no idea what Carlie was planning. When I broke up with her, it was real. None of this was fake. I didn't speak to you just so I could use you as a booster; I would never do something like that. What happened yesterday was a terrible coincidence, and it was completely out of my hands. I hope you believe me.

Again, I'm sorry.

—Caleb

I froze in the middle of the sidewalk, frowning. He went to these lengths just to keep me interested. Could it be that he might be telling the truth?

I sighed quietly and read the message again. Then, burning with indecision, I shoved it back into my pocket and kept walking.

○●○●○●○

Every day since the beginning of Freshman year, I'd walked home. And every day, when I unlocked the front door, I was greeted by an empty house. My mom was at work until early evening, and my dad, who came home earlier than me, would shut himself in his basement office until dinnertime. It wasn't a big deal; I was used to being home alone. In fact, I kind of liked it. My parents were annoying, and I often looked forward to those two hours in solitude.

So you can imagine that I was very displeased when I opened the door to my mother shrieking in my face.

"Oh, Delaney what have you done?" she cried. I backed away, expecting a lecture. But instead, my mom dived forward and enveloped me in a lung-crushing hug. “Honey, have you seen your Rank? It's wonderful!"

Swallowing down a feeling of dread, I pulled my phone from my pocket and opened the app for checking Ranks. Instead of the usual two, there was a big fat seven staring me in the face. I did a double take and my jaw nearly fell off my face.

"Aren't you so happy?" my mother gushed.

I just stared at her incredulously. "Happy? Mom, they all hate me!"

She looked at me with innocent eyes, completely oblivious to the wrongness of the situation.

"But honey," she said, "if you're Chosen, none of that will matter!"

Unable to believe what I was hearing, I squeezed my eyes shut and thought about what Ms. Shea had said. "Mom, I don't know what Popularity means to you, but to me, it's being well-liked. Having friends." My words went completely against what Carlie had told me, but I didn't care. "And right now, I have no friends. At all. And this just isn't worth the Popularity."

"I don't understand."

I sighed, ran a hand through my hair, and let my school bag slip off my shoulder to the ground. "Of course you don't. Popularity is all that matters to you. You and everyone else," I muttered, thinking of Lizzy.

I pushed my way past my mother, ignoring her stunned expression. Leaving all of my stuff on the foyer floor, I climbed the stairs to my room and locked myself in.

In just one day, my Rank had escalated from a mere two all the way up to a seven. Five points in one day. I checked my Chatterbox page, and I had nearly a thousand messages. Suddenly, everyone knew my name. But my best friend hated me, everyone was trashing me, and I was number one on Carlie Heights' hit list.

It was instant Popularity, and it was the worst thing I had ever experienced in my life.

A/N: New cover! :)