That evening after school, I ran into Tinsley, whom I'd just shielded. She was in the woods behind the school buildings, passionately kissing Asher, who'd led the teasing against her earlier.

Her voice was soft and breathy as she called his name over and over again.

As I listened to them, I realized that my act of justice earlier that day had been nothing more than a bet to them. Tinsley had bet that I'd be stupid enough to put on that stained jacket.

I tossed my trash into the can with a loud clang, right as her hand was slipping into Asher's pants. They scrambled like startled birds, but they couldn't see me through the dense trees as I turned to leave.

The next day, I went to the restroom with her and saw her pull out a beautifully packaged tampon from her pocket. I said, "The brand my mom buys for me is good too. It's clean."

Tinsley waved the tampon in my face, and a faint fragrance wafted into my nose,

"But those are cheap," she said with a smug smile. "This one's different, see? It even smells nice."

I thought I was a hero, but it turned out that I'd just been playing the clown this whole time.

"Screw you, Tinsley," I muttered under my breath.

…

That evening after school, Tinsley came to me again. She needed a favor, so she acted as if she'd completely forgotten what happened earlier in the afternoon.

"Please, Gia. I'm begging you," she cooed, tugging on my arm and blinking her eyes at me. Then, she shoved a broom into my arms and skipped out the door.

Someone was waiting for her in the hallway, wearing a pair of limited-edition black-and-white sneakers that cost 2,000 dollars a pair. Mom would have to sell fish for a month to make that much.

Only Asher, the son of the local fishery tycoon, could afford shoes like that.

The wind caught the white curtains in class. I looked around, let out a cold laugh, and dropped the broom. After slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I was ready to head home when I ran straight into Henry, who'd just returned from washing the mop.

Tall and lean, he froze for a second, then quickly snapped out of it and said, "You can't leave, Gia. You have to stay for cleaning duty."

I looked up at his eyes under his messy bangs, which were slightly upturned in the corners. In my mind, I searched my memories of him, but couldn't find a single connection between him and Tinsley.

That was rare. He was good-looking, yet managed to stay invisible around her, while focusing only on his books and studies.

"It's Tinsley's turn today. From now on, I'm not covering for her anymore, so you can find her yourself," I said, pointing to the duty roster on the wall.

He suddenly grabbed my wrist, and there was a strange touch from his slightly calloused palm.

While I was dumbstruck, he stuffed the mop into my hands, like he hadn't heard a word I'd just said. "I'll sweep first, and you'll mop after I'm done, or I won't make it in time."

"In time for what?" I asked.

He glanced at me and hesitated before finally answering, "I have a tutoring gig to get to."

My memories of him were so sparse that I'd forgotten he had decent grades and that his family was struggling, even poorer than mine.

As we talked, he finished sweeping, grabbed his bag, and left.

I was left alone in the huge class, getting more annoyed as I mopped. Finally, I turned around and headed downstairs to the security office and told the guard, who was casually snacking on popcorn.

"Sir, I'd like to report a guy harassing a female student in the woods behind the building right now.

"What? Seriously? I'll check it out right now!"

A balding, middle-aged man at the other end of the desk jumped up in shock. It was the dean of students, Arthur Biggs.

Well, that was an unexpected bonus.

The portly security guard and his equally portly nephew, Arthur, followed me as I led them on a zigzag path behind the school buildings toward the woods.

We fanned out and crept into the dense trees with Arthur moving surprisingly lightly like a wild cat.

"He must've done this before." I thought.

Without my interference, things between Tinsley and Asher had clearly escalated.

Soon, he appeared in front of us with his pants off and impatiently rubbed his hands over Tinsley's gorgeous lace lingerie, while she was facing us. Her eyes went wide, and her entire body stiffened.

This was fun.

As the security guard roared and covered my eyes, a wicked smile spread across my face. The star-crossed lovers were about to have their day under interrogation.

Tinsley was best at crying. Right on cue, tears streamed down her beautiful eyes like a summer downpour.

As she cried, so did I.

She pointed at me and yelled, "Gia, explain! Why are you doing this to harm me?"

"Oh, Tinsley," I said. "Why would I ever harm you? I'm your best friend!

"You always told me Asher's just a rich idiot and that you didn't like him at all. You've always said that you hated him for bringing up the fact that your mom's a bar hostess…"

"...Stop talking!" She tried to stop me.

Asher's and Arthur's expressions grew darker with every word we said.

Finally, Asher snapped, "I didn't harass Tinsley, and she came with me of her own free will! This is just a school crush at most, so why am I the only one taking the fall!"

I wiped my tears and bit my lip to keep myself from laughing out loud.

"Oh, look at your male lead, Tinsley. Look at all that manly responsibility," I thought ironically.

When Arthur looked over at me, I asked, "If you didn't force her, why would she go to the woods with you when she hates you so much?"

Asher sneered. "Mind your own business, Gia. When have I ever forced her?"

I pointed at Tinsley and replied, "You bought her expensive lingerie and forced her to make out with you. Doesn't that count?"

Tinsley didn't have a dad. Her mom was a bar hostess, one before she was born, and she still was now. They lived in a cycle of mutual shame.

Every bra she'd ever worn through puberty had been a gift from me. But one day, she flicked the clasp on my bra and laughed at how old-fashioned mine was.

I never asked how Asher knew her size.

He arrogantly lifted his chin and snapped back, "Who said I bought those? Do you have proof?

"She's a slut, so maybe she begged some other guy to buy them.

"She's just as cheap as her bar hostess mom and comes crawling to me with a single snap of my fingers. Why would I even need to force her?"

Arthur had heard enough. He slapped Asher's face and told him to shut up, while Tinsley lowered her head and stared at her shoes, twisting her fingers in silence.

There it was again, the same old act.

Whenever things got messy, she went mute and acted as if I were her designated spokesperson. She probably had no idea how much trouble I could stir with my mouth.

"In that case, why is your backpack full of the same tampons Tinsley just used?"

Asher went pale. Something seemed to cross his mind, but he quickly spread his hands and scoffed. "What backpack? What are you talking about?"

"Excuse me."

A teenager suddenly appeared at the door, leaning against the frame and bent slightly over as he gasped for air. His pale face was flushed from intense running.

"Mr. Biggs, I found two backpacks near the woods," Henry said.

The two backpacks thudded onto Arthur's desk.

He lunged and unzipped the designer one, but Asher, who decided to give it all up, grabbed the shoulder strap.

They began yanking back and forth in a frantic, ugly tug-of-war.

One by one, the scented tampons spilled out and fluttered through the office air like a stranger, floral rain.

I looked up and smiled, only to meet Henry's gaze behind his half-rim glasses. There was a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Yes, Mr. Biggs! I admit it! Asher used those things to give me pressure!

"He forced me, harassed, and made me do those things with him!"

Tinsley suddenly burst into tears, while Asher gawked at her in pure disbelief. There was fury blazing in his eyes.

"Tinsley, you absolute bitch!"

I let out a soft scoff and muttered to myself, "Well, check out your female lead, Asher. That's some incredible acting."

Leaning against the doorframe, Henry whispered, "What are you laughing at, Gia?"

"There's a tampon stuck on Arthur's head," I whispered back.

It was a perfect fit for where his receding hairline used to be.

"Pfft—" That did it. Even Henry had to stifle a laugh.

In the end, Asher pulled some family strings and escaped with nothing more than a formal warning. But the fallout between him and Tinsley came quickly.

When Tinsley started skipping classes out of spite, she ended up meeting the second most important man in her life, Kieran Gallagher.

He was the thug who, in my past life, drove a knife into my stomach and stabbed me hard.

With Tinsley busy juggling her new social life, I finally had some peace to bury my head in my books and focus on studying.

I counted the days. There was one more year until the SAT.

In my past life, I'd straight away enrolled in a vocational school and never seen what a real SAT-level paper looked like. This time, there would be no shortcuts.

When Mom saw how hard I was studying, she started saving the freshest catch for me and switched between pan-searing, grilling, and poaching methods daily.

She was worried I'd get tired of fish and had no idea that this was the taste I'd missed for over a decade.

When my homeroom teacher, Truman Hayes, called to compliment my progress in the midterms, Mom actually broke down in tears.

She'd tried to stop me from hanging out with Tinsley, but I hadn't listened. As a widow who'd lost her husband young and her job in middle age, she lost the strength to fight fate and decided to recklessly spoil me instead.

When she heard from Truman that Henry, my seatmate, was a top student who'd been helping me with school, she made a pot of fish chowder and told me to bring it to him.

At the intersection where he waited for me every morning, I tossed the thermal flask and my backpack over.

"Wow, Gia. Your true colors are really starting to show."

"There's fish chowder in the flask. My mom made it specially for you," I said, pointing at the container.

Ever since the day he appeared out of thin air with Tinsley's backpack, we'd formed a silent, tactical alliance.

"For what?" He lifted the flask and raised an eyebrow.

"It isn't because I noticed you only eat plain toast for lunch. My family can't afford your tutoring fees, so this is a bribe."

As poor kids clinging to shreds of pride, we exchanged a smile.

As we walked out of the alley into the morning mist of our small coastal town, a figure stood in the fog waiting for me.

With a cigarette between her fingers, Tinsley exhaled a plume of smoke. When she saw Henry beside me, she froze briefly before saying, "Gia, I need to talk to you."