Cutting Up The Competition (Horror High #2) (2 page)

Chapter Three

Second period of the day was British Literature, and I was pleased to see Sydney perched on a seat in the back of the room. I was even more excited to see Coach Dolly Davis standing at the front, clearing red arithmetic problems from the class before off the dry erase board.

In addition to teaching, Coach Davis is the cheerleading coach. She coached me last year when I was a freshman squad member. I had heard plenty of rumors about her approach to teaching versus coaching sports. Supposedly, she was much more lax on her students than her team members. I hoped like hell that rumor was true because English wasn’t my strong suit. I was more of a science and math kind of girl.

“How’s your day so far?” I took a seat next to Sydney, smiling giddily at my friend.

“As well as can be expected. I need a few more weeks of summer.” She yawned, stretching her long, graceful arms up over her head. “How’s your day going so far?”

“Great! I met a cool new girl in Chemistry—” Before I could say more, Winter herself darted inside the classroom, finding a seat near the front moments before the bell rang.

“That’s her.” I pointed her out to Sydney. Winter looked back at me and waved.

“Do you think she’ll try out for cheerleading?” Sydney whispered as Coach Davis took her stance at the front of the room, leaning on the edge of her desk. I shrugged, focusing on the Coach.

“Welcome to Brit Lit. My name is Mrs. Davis, or some of you may know me as Coach…” She winked at Sydney and I.

But her introductions were cut short by the light sounds of giggling in the hallway, and then Dakota strolled through the doorway, waving her goodbyes to Andy.

Those two lovebirds
, I thought, rolling my eyes with a grin. Dakota slid into the first available seat, muttering a few embarrassed apologies to Coach Davis while pulling out her paper and pens. Coach Davis raised her eyebrows, then picked up where she left off.

Dakota spotted me and Sydney a few minutes later and waved back at the both of us. It was awesome being in the same class together!

But as she turned back around to face Coach Davis, her eyes locked on Winter, who was sitting a couple seats to her right.

Her mouth went slack, her expression hardening. It was a cross between anger and disbelief.

I tried to catch her gaze once more, intent on giving her a questionable look, my way of asking what this was all about. But she kept her focus on Winter throughout most of the period. It gave me the creeps, honestly.

What was going on between those two? Why was Dakota acting so strangely toward the new girl? For reasons unknown to me, I felt a sudden, unexpected, protectiveness over Winter. I had to figure out why Dakota was mean mugging her for no apparent reason!

Chapter Four

It didn’t take long to receive my answer. As soon as the bell rang, Dakota pulled Sydney and I aside right outside of the classroom door. “Winter Addams is a student here now!” She gave us this look, as though we were supposed to be shocked by this sudden random declaration.

“I know who she is. I met her in Chem Lab. She seems really nice,” I responded defensively. Dakota stared at me as though I was the Anti-Christ. Clearing her throat, she said, “Winter Addams is Andy’s ex-girlfriend. She’s the one I caught him making out with last year, when we first started talking. Supposedly, she’s moving to—”

“Hawaii,” I finished for her. “Her dad is in the military and his orders changed. They’re sticking around for a while. They moved from Crimson County.” I started to say more, but Dakota’s once angry face was now flushed a reddish-purple hue, like she might explode with rage at any second. It was a side of her I hadn’t seen before.

“If you guys want to be friends with her, then fine. But she’s
my
worst enemy!” Dakota stormed off huffily, moving away from us down the hall. I looked at Sydney, but she was quick to rush ahead, chasing after her best friend. I stood there, clogging up the hallway, feeling completely defeated.

Now, more than ever, I realized how truly alone I still was. Dakota and Sydney had been best friends their entire lives, and I only became a part of their world last year. They would always stick together, choosing each other over me, and as much as I hated to admit it, I was number three on the totem pole. Obviously, whenever Dakota was mad at me, Sydney would naturally follow suit, and vice versa. I felt my own face heat up. I moved ahead, eager to get to my next class.

Next was Childhood Development, and unlike the normal rows of desks in the other classrooms, this room consisted of four chunky tables surrounded by chairs. There were only a few other students in the room, so I picked an empty table, slumping down and tossing my backpack on top of the table in front of me.

It was only day one of sophomore year, and I was already prepared to call it a day. Unfortunately, the day’s end was nowhere near, considering the fact that I still had half a day ahead of me and afterschool tryouts.

I wondered how it would be on the squad this year if I wasn’t friends with Dakota or Sydney. Sure, we’d all get over this insignificant little squabble but what about the rest of the year? If we were already fighting on the first day, then I wasn’t sure how well the rest of the year would go. Other students were filing inside, filling up chairs at the tables. Just when I thought I might luck out and get my table all to myself, the chair beside me screeched painfully and a handsome, shaggy-haired boy squeezed in the seat right next to me.
With so many other seats around, did he really have to choose the one directly beside me?
I wondered, feeling annoyed. But then he glanced at me. Smiled softly. My foul mood disappeared completely.

His skin was the color of honey-covered toast. “Hi,” he said simply, and then turned toward the elderly, frumpy teacher who’d just stepped inside. It was obvious to me now that he had sat down so close because he wanted to be near me. Perhaps I wasn’t going to be so lonely this year after all!

***

Forty-five minutes later, I was sliding my folders into my backpack when he finally said more than one word to me. I could feel him standing there beside me, staring at me expectantly. “Hey, I’m Jordan.” His voice was quiet, but confident.

I swung my backpack over my shoulders and smiled up at him, feeling uncharacteristically shy. He seemed taller standing up, and even more attractive than my peripheral vision had let on.

“Amanda Loxx.” I stood there, wringing my hands together awkwardly. For a moment, a silence ensued between us, and I cleared my throat to relieve it. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before. Are you new here?” I was trying to sound polite, but I really wanted to know—something about him made me curious. He certainly looked too tall and mature to be a freshman.

“I’m not a freshman, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he said, reading my thoughts exactly. “I’m actually a junior. My last school in Crimson County didn’t offer any courses in child development, so I’m taking this as an elective. My mom is always saying that if I knew how difficult it was to raise a baby, then maybe I’d think twice about having so many girlfriends. Did you know that we get to carry one of those plastic babies that whine and cry all the time?”

I was too stuck on the fact that he said he was from Crimson County to pay attention to the rest of his words. “Did you say you were from Crimson?” I cut off his rant about artificial infants.

“Yeah, I was supposed to attend high school in Hawaii this year, hanging out on the beach…talk about a bummer, eh?”

“Wait. Did you say Hawaii?” I asked incredulously. This was all sounding vaguely familiar.

The rest of the students had emptied out of the room, and grumpy Mrs. Brooch was staring at us blankly from her desk, tapping her pencil rudely. “Get to your next class, please,” she grumbled. We giggled and headed for the door.

“You see, the weird thing is…I met this new girl today who was also supposed to move to Hawaii—” Based on the knowing smile that spread across his face, Jordan already knew who I was talking about.

“So, you met my sister then,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“Your sister?” I asked disbelievingly. He nodded, trotting down the hallway beside me. I noticed small herds of girlish faces, staring at Jordan as though he were eye candy. I moved a few inches closer to him, turning up my nose in their direction.

“It’s cool that you’ve already made friends with my sister. Since you guys are already friends, maybe we can hang out more too,” he suggested hopefully.

“That sounds really…wonderful,” I murmured dreamily, sticking right by his side.

“Speaking of my sister, we’re supposed to meet up for lunch. You want to hang out with us?” Just as the question left his lips, I saw Sydney and Dakota up ahead, making a beeline for the back of the lunch line. I let out a groan.

Dakota was going to be so pissed at me if she saw me hanging out with Winter at lunch. I hated to risk losing her friendship forever. But as I looked over at this tall, handsome stranger, I couldn’t help myself. “I would absolutely love to,” I said, sticking out my chin flirtatiously.

Chapter Five

The lunch room was filled with my classmates’ chatter and sounds of heavy, plastic trays sliding across the Formica counters of the lunch tables. There were nearly twenty tables with windows on each side, and I was sitting in a seat near the back, hiding from Sydney and Dakota. The truth is that I felt terrible for avoiding them, especially after my spat with Dakota in Brit Lit this morning, but here I was anyway—sitting with my two new friends, Winter and Jordan Addams.

Winter was still recovering from the shock that her brother and I had hit it off right after she and I became friends. As I shoved bland tasting spaghetti noodles into my mouth from my lunch tray, I stared at the two siblings. They didn’t look anything alike. Winter was fair-skinned with that white-blonde hair and she stood out like a sore thumb, especially next to her brother, who was sporting a dark tan and even darker shaggy locks. She must dye her hair, I realized foolishly.

I, for one, have never dyed my hair. Not because I’m above it, but because I’ve never had anyone to help me do it. When your dad dies tragically and your mom is off doping somewhere, you don’t really have many adults to help with everyday things, like hair care.

Winter and Jordan were discussing their class schedules amongst themselves, and to be honest, I was feeling a little left out. Despite their differences in physical appearance, their mannerisms were similar and they seemed to get along perfectly. I felt another slight twinge of jealousy—I’d always dreamt of having a sibling.

“So, did you used to date Andy McGraw?” I blurted out of the blue. Winter’s spaghetti-covered fork froze in mid-air.

“How did you know that?” she asked.

“Dakota Densford is my best friend. She recognized you this morning in Brit Lit, and she told me you were Andy’s ex. Apparently, you met Dakota last year when she caught the two of you kissing.” I said it fast, a hint of a question in my voice.

“Well, for your information, Andy and Dakota were not actually dating yet when we hooked up. His dad and my dad were friends in the Army, and we’ve known each other since we were toddlers. That day, when I went to see Andy, it was because I’d just learned my dad was going to be stationed in Hawaii. I wanted to tell him goodbye.” Winter seemed stiff, nervous.

“Dakota and Andy are pretty serious now.” I gave her a warning glance.

“I’m not interested in dating Andy anymore.” Winter sniffed, turning back to poking her food. Jordan was quiet, looking back and forth between us.

“So, in other news,” he said, drawing out his words to get our attention, “I’m going to talk to Coach Purnell after school today about possibly joining the basketball team.”

“That’s great, Jordan!” Winter squealed. “He’s such a good basketball player,” she said to me, smiling proudly at her brother. “Since we didn’t know we were going to be students here over the summer, he didn’t have the opportunity to try out. But he was the best player on the team in Crimson County,” she further explained. I nodded understandably.

“Yeah, basketball tryouts are always in the summer. But cheerleading tryouts are on the first day of school. Today.” I glanced up at the cafeteria clock, remembering for the first time since this morning. “If you make the team, you might get to see me. I was on the squad last year, so I should be able to nail a spot again this year.” I winked at Jordan and he smiled right back.

Winter let out an excited whoop, wriggling around in her seat happily. “I’m trying out too!” She clapped her hands together. “We can be besties,
and
cheer buddies!” she exclaimed, grinning wildly.

“Dakota’s on the squad too,” I said, mostly talking to myself.

How was this going to work? If my best friend and new friend were arch-nemeses, and I was caught in the middle, then this couldn’t bode well for me.

That’s ridiculous
, I thought instantly.
We’re not in third grade; we’re sophomores now, for goodness sake! I shouldn’t have to pick sides
. But that’s when I saw Dakota and Sydney glaring at me from across the lunchroom. You’d think I’d killed someone by the dirty looks they were sending. I suddenly realized that just because I didn’t have to pick sides, didn’t mean they wouldn’t try to make me…