Ultimatum (Dirty Secrets #1) (2 page)

“You make me sick,” I sign back.

“You know you want me.” He wiggles his eyebrows, and I try not to laugh out loud.

I roll my eyes and pretend that he’s annoying me. What he doesn’t know is that what he’s saying is totally turning me on.

Jace can always make me laugh, which is one of the things I love about him. If it wasn’t for him, I’m not sure how I would survive. I hate my life at home. My mom is a nurse, and she works all night and sleeps all day. I hardly ever see her. And when I do, her boyfriend, Ben, is there. I
despise
Ben. He is only nice to Haliee, Trey, and me when our mom is standing there.

I look over the syllabus. It’s not too bad. We only have to read five books, and only two of them are classics. I know, I know. Classics are good books. But they take me twice as long to read. I’d much rather read something from this century. No offense to William Shakespeare; he’s obviously a literary genius. I think the teacher is going easy on us since it’s senior year. There are hardly any essays on here. I will probably get started on them soon, so I don’t have to write them later in the year… I’m kind of OCD when it comes to my homework.

I turn to Jace. “Senior year is going to rock.”

“I agree completely,” he signs.

Lunch

Your thighs look fat in that dress.

Where you sit in the cafeteria says a lot about you. My school, like most, is separated into cliques — band geeks, the glee club, drama club, girl basketball players, dance team, and of course, the people who just slide by under the radar. They’re not in any clubs, and they don’t do any activities — the loners tend to sit at the edge of the cafeteria, close to the door. They always look ready to make an escape if needed.

Everybody knows where they belong. Everybody accepts it.

Except me.

I am in the glee club. I’m in drama club. I am in a band — not the lame school band, but still, I’m a band geek. I also play softball in the summer. And I’m on the prom committee. I’m not okay with fitting into a certain mold, and I like to stand out. Really, I could sit down at any table here and fit in. Except maybe not with the loners.

The people sitting at my table are mostly cheerleaders and the star football players. And, of course, there is Daisy. Since her parents are millionaires, she automatically got invited to the table. Me, I’m not really sure
how
I got here. I didn’t really
try
to sit here, but it just happened.

When I walk down the hallway, kids move out of my way. Last year, when I was preparing to take my SATs, two kids offered to pay
me
to let them tutor me. I declined, of course. Just last spring, a guy in the chess club said
hi
to me, so I was polite and said
hi
back. He fainted.

So, somewhere between freshman year and now, I have climbed my way from the bottom to the top. It’s not like being popular is important to me, but I definitely love the perks.

“You’re so skinny,” Daisy says as I take my seat beside her. “Maybe I should play softball next summer so my legs can look as good as yours.”

I want to laugh at the thought of Dee playing softball. She’s too girly, and she’d definitely break a nail. “You can come running with me in the morning,” I suggest, knowing that she will
never
do it.

She wrinkles her nose. “Gross. No way am I getting up at five in the morning to run.”

Frannie, Cassidy, Emma, and Hayden all take a seat at the table. The four of them are wearing their cheerleading uniforms today, because there is a welcome back to school pep rally.

Frannie is the captain of the cheerleading squad, and she definitely deserves it. I’ve never seen a better dancer than her, and it’s because of her that I know how to dance. Rumor has it she is going to get a full ride to Florida State University next fall for her cheerleading. I’m proud for her.

Frannie looks like a typical cheerleader. She has natural, long blonde hair and big blue eyes. Most of the time her blonde hair is in a high ponytail with a red ribbon tied around it. Only a few loose bangs hang around her face.

Cassidy is the co-captain. She’s so jealous of Frannie, and I don’t blame her. Frannie definitely steals the thunder during their performances, and Cassidy is second. Always. Plus, Frannie is her stepsister. I know there is a lot of rivalry going on at home. To make matters worse, Cassidy is a redhead, and Daisy always jokes with her about being the
redheaded stepchild
. Cassidy plays it off, but I know it affects her.

Emma and Hayden both are comfortable with not being the best. They’re good enough, and that’s okay. They don’t care about competitions or scholarships. They just want to be cheerleaders, and they want to be popular.

Frannie smiles at me as she sits down. “Wow, Mads, you look great today. The summer treated you well.”

“Thanks,” I say.

I notice Daisy tense up beside me. God forbid if she isn’t the center of attention for five seconds. She’s the only person I know who loves the spotlight more than I do… at least when it comes to high school. I don’t want to just stand out in high school. I want to stand out in life.

“I didn’t want to say anything in front of everybody else, but your thighs look fat in that dress,” Daisy tells me.

Oh my God, I hate her sometimes.

Five seconds ago, she was jealous of how skinny my legs look. Now they’re so fat that she has to call me out in front of everybody.

I don’t let her get to me. She just wants to undermine my confidence, and I refuse to give her that power.

“Personally, I think your legs look stunning,” Landry Sherwood says, taking a seat on the other side of me. “I’d love to get between them sometime.”

I roll my eyes.

Landry is a football player. He’s cute, but he’s so not my type. He’s too much of a pretty boy, plus he’s kind of a man whore. He’s been between half of the student body’s legs, including Daisy. Her face turns red with anger. Before she can say anything else, Mason, Robbie, and Luke take a seat at the table.

“My parents are out of town this weekend. I was thinking we need to have some kind of Labor Day party on Friday,” Luke says. His parents are
always
out of town, and he
always
has a party.

Daisy is glad for the distraction, so she starts talking about how awesome the party will be. But I know her. She won’t forget what was said, and she will hold a grudge against me, even though it’s not my fault.

High school sucks sometimes.

Drama Club

The way high school works.

After lunch, I only have two classes left for the day — drama club, and glee club. I’m glad I have all of my regular classes out of the way early so I can just chill from lunch on.

I technically only need to take three classes to graduate — English, French II, and Biology II. My trigonometry class I’m taking for a college credit. Basically, after I pass this class, I won’t have to take another math class ever. But I wanted to still take drama club and glee club, even though I don’t have to. Maybe it’s because I’m feeling nostalgic. It’s my last year of high school, and I want to enjoy it.

Plus, if I wasn’t at school, I’d be at home bored. Mom’s boyfriend would probably be over, and that would just be miserable.

Mr. Matthews is our drama teacher. He’s in his mid-fifties and thinks he’s cool because he wears skinny jeans and Armani shades indoors. He always tells us stories about his glory days on Broadway, but he was only a back up dancer, and he had one line. He was fired after a heated affair with the star of the show. Every time he starts in, everybody rolls their eyes and pulls out their phones.

Since today is the first day, he’s telling us the same story I’ve heard a million times… in case we forgot over summer. I pull out my phone and look through my texts. I have one from Frannie sent a few seconds ago.

Frannie Davis:
Dee is seriously evil!

Me:
Just ignore her. It’s better to put up with it than go against her.

Frannie Davis:
But why? Why does she get to treat us like crap and if we say anything, we are turned into social pariahs. It’s not fair!

Me:
I know, Fran. But that’s the way high school works. Besides, I know my legs aren’t fat. She knows that I know. She can’t get to me. You shouldn’t let her get to you either.

Frannie Davis:
You’re right. I just can’t help it sometimes. Why is she the “queen”?

Me:
Because she’s rich.

Frannie Davis:
You could go up against her. You’re prettier than her. And all of us would stand behind you.

Me:
It’s senior year. I just… don’t want drama. Let’s enjoy our last year.

Frannie Davis:
It would be a lot more enjoyable without Dee sitting at our table.

Me:
I know. But I have to go. Mr. Matthews is almost done with his speech.

Frannie Davis:
Okay. But we are not done talking about this!

Me:
Okay. We’ll talk later.

I put away my phone just in time for the speech to come to an end.

“This year, for the winter play, we will be performing Cinderella,” Mr. Matthew says. “I know most of you are intimidated by the fact that Miss Madeline Grey has had the lead in every play for the past four years, but don’t be. The theater has so many parts to fill, and remember…”

“
There are no small parts, only small actors
…” we all say.

“With that being said, we will be having open auditions this Wednesday at three p.m.” Just as he finishes, the bell rings, alerting us that class is over. “I hope to see each and every one of you at auditions!”

We all file out of the drama room.

I can’t wait for auditions. I am more than ready to get back on stage. I missed it this summer.

“Madi!” I hear Lexie as she runs up beside me. “I was thinking about trying out for the wicked stepmom. What do you think?”

“I think you will make an awesome wicked stepmom,” I say honestly. “Remember when you played the Wicked Witch of the West our sophomore year? You seriously play an awesome evil person.”

“I do, don’t I?” She smiles at my compliment. “So, I have to get to class. I’ll see you later!”

“Bye, Lexie!” I yell as she takes off in the opposite direction.

Glee Club

I’m team Madi.

This is only my second year taking glee club. I joined last year, against Daisy’s wishes, and I’m glad I did. Glee club is a lot more fun than I thought it would be.

As always, the teacher makes us sing thirty seconds of a song so she can put us into our sections. Last year I was alto.

There are only twenty of us in glee club. Mrs. Brooks has me go first, which I am perfectly okay with. She sits down at the piano and tells me the song I’ll be singing. I feel one split second of butterflies when the music starts, but the second I start singing, they’re gone. Everybody is looking at me, and I love it.

After the song is over, Mrs. Brooks looks up at me from the piano. “Wow, Madeline. This is a huge improvement from last year. You must have been practicing… I see you were in the alto section last year, but I think I want to try you out in the soprano section.” She pushes her glasses up on her nose. “Would you be interested in trying out for a solo?”

I nod, not able to contain my smile. “I would
love
it!”

“Good.” She calls the next name on the list, and I take my seat.

The rest of class, I listen as other kids sing and are put into sections according to their vocal range.

I pull out my phone, careful to hide it from Mrs. Brooks, though she generally doesn’t care about cell phone usage as long as it’s not interrupting a performance. When I do, I see I have a few texts. I check the one from Cassidy first.

Cassidy Armstrong:
Just so you know, I’m team Madi. ;) Let’s knock Dee of her high horse.

I don’t want to get into that conversation now, so I check the next text.

Landry Sherwood:
You know, I don’t JUST want you for sex. I think you’re kind of awesome.

I roll my eyes and delete that text message. Landry has had a crush on me since freshman year, but I so don’t date guys like him — players. You know the type. I deserve better.

The last text message makes my heart race, because it’s from Jace.

<3 Jace:
Trey and I heard that Dee the demon called you fat. I know that you know it’s not true. But just in case you need a confidence booster, I think you’re pretty damn sexy.

I reply to Jace.

Me:
I am, aren’t I? ;) Thanks, Jace.

<3 Jace:
She’s just jealous because you’re hotter than her. Everybody knows it, including her.

Me:
I don’t know about that. She has that whole… Barbie thing going on.

<3 Jace:
Who wants a cheap plastic toy??? No comparison, Mads. You’re way superior in every way.

My heart melts at his words, but I know he doesn’t mean anything. He’s just saying it because he’s Trey’s best friend. He doesn’t see me as anything more than his best friend’s twin sister. That’s it.

As if to prove my point, my phone vibrates again.

<3 Jace:
For the record, I still wouldn’t mind playing with you.

Classic Jace.

For once, I wish he would say those words to me without a sarcastic comment at the end.

I just want him to admit he wants to be with me as bad as I want to be with him. Which, to be honest, is pretty freaking bad.

Band Practice.

Maybe someday.

Band practice isn’t the same since Beau left for college last week. We
need
a new bass player. So we’ve decided next week we will hold auditions. Now we just need a band name to put on the sign. We’ve been playing together for almost four years, and we haven’t been able to agree on a band name. Nobody will want to join our
nameless
band.