Read Online The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Daisy Whitney
Ads: Link
salad looks gross.”
I grab my backpack and rush out. As I push the doors open, Natalie saunters in, towering over me. “Hey, Alex, where are your shades today? They were a nice touch.” Then she leans her head back and laughs as she brushes past me. I notice she even has muscles in her neck.
I mutter under my breath, “You better get a leash for your boyfriend, Natalie. He sounds like the type who strays.”
But she’s already gone and I’d never have the guts to dish right back to her. I’m nothing, helpless. I couldn’t say no to Carter, I can’t even talk back to Natalie. I reach the quad, then stop for a second, considering where to go. My room, music hall, my next class that doesn’t start for forty-five minutes? Somewhere, anywhere but here. Maybe the school office to withdraw?
I’ll say I’m sorry, I’m not cut out for Themis. I’ll call my parents, tell them I’d rather be in a public school in New Haven and please can I come live at home again? I’ll go straight to my house when the school bell rings each day, practice piano in the living room, never go out, never seeanyone except my parents. Maybe I’ll even ask my mom to homeschool me, and even that will be better than being surrounded by all these people, everywhere, climbing all over me, stepping on me, talking about me, thinking they know me.
T.S. bursts through the doors with Maia next to her. “What happened back there?” Maia asks.
I look at T.S., who knows what happened Friday night. I look at Maia, who doesn’t. “I slept with Carter on the water polo team and he told Kevin Ward,” I tell Maia. “And Natalie Moretti told the whole track team.”
“Bastard,” Maia says, though it hardly sounds like a swear from her. “You want me to go take care of him for you? I can undress them with my words, with my vicious rhetoric,” she says. Then she holds her hands up and flexes her fingers like a cat, her long nails painted dark blue. “Or my claws.”
I momentarily savor the thought of Maia cracking Carter’s head, then Kevin’s, then Natalie’s. Then T.S. jumps in.
“You didn’t sleep with him. He raped you,” T.S. says, her green eyes deadly serious.
Maia’s dark brown eyes go wide in shock. She takes a deep breath. “Alex, my God! Are you okay?”
I don’t answer. I look back at T.S. “Are you sure? I mean, totally sure?” I ask, because this thing is like whiplash. Doubt, certainty, doubt, certainty. It changes from one second to the next.
“You were too drunk to give consent, Alex,” T.S. says.“You were not able to say yes. He’s not supposed to have sex with you under those conditions. I knew as soon as you told me what happened, I knew you weren’t in a state of mind to have sex with anyone. Then Sandeep just confirmed it beyond a shadow of a doubt when he told us how
much
you drank.”
Maia cracks her knuckles. She’s ready for a fight. “Guys, just say the word. Seriously,” she says. A group of freshmen girls walking to the cafeteria glance over at us. Maia stares them down. They look away instantly.
“No, don’t do that,” I say.
“You could go to the police, then. You could tell them what happened and press charges,” Maia offers up.
“No way am I going to the cops. No way in hell! I’m not pressing charges or going to court or involving my parents or the authorities.”
“You don’t have to,” T.S. says. “There’s another way.”
I know what she wants me to do.
“You could go to the Mockingbirds,” she says.
“Shh… I don’t want anyone to hear,” I say.
“Well?” T.S. asks. “Do you want to?”
“I don’t
want
to do anything,” I say, because I want this to go away. I don’t want to be the poster child for date rape.
“And what about the next time he says something about you?” T.S. asks. “What about the next time he tells his friends he thinks you’re an easy lay? What about when he tells other boys he banged you twice the first time he met
I grab my backpack and rush out. As I push the doors open, Natalie saunters in, towering over me. “Hey, Alex, where are your shades today? They were a nice touch.” Then she leans her head back and laughs as she brushes past me. I notice she even has muscles in her neck.
I mutter under my breath, “You better get a leash for your boyfriend, Natalie. He sounds like the type who strays.”
But she’s already gone and I’d never have the guts to dish right back to her. I’m nothing, helpless. I couldn’t say no to Carter, I can’t even talk back to Natalie. I reach the quad, then stop for a second, considering where to go. My room, music hall, my next class that doesn’t start for forty-five minutes? Somewhere, anywhere but here. Maybe the school office to withdraw?
I’ll say I’m sorry, I’m not cut out for Themis. I’ll call my parents, tell them I’d rather be in a public school in New Haven and please can I come live at home again? I’ll go straight to my house when the school bell rings each day, practice piano in the living room, never go out, never seeanyone except my parents. Maybe I’ll even ask my mom to homeschool me, and even that will be better than being surrounded by all these people, everywhere, climbing all over me, stepping on me, talking about me, thinking they know me.
T.S. bursts through the doors with Maia next to her. “What happened back there?” Maia asks.
I look at T.S., who knows what happened Friday night. I look at Maia, who doesn’t. “I slept with Carter on the water polo team and he told Kevin Ward,” I tell Maia. “And Natalie Moretti told the whole track team.”
“Bastard,” Maia says, though it hardly sounds like a swear from her. “You want me to go take care of him for you? I can undress them with my words, with my vicious rhetoric,” she says. Then she holds her hands up and flexes her fingers like a cat, her long nails painted dark blue. “Or my claws.”
I momentarily savor the thought of Maia cracking Carter’s head, then Kevin’s, then Natalie’s. Then T.S. jumps in.
“You didn’t sleep with him. He raped you,” T.S. says, her green eyes deadly serious.
Maia’s dark brown eyes go wide in shock. She takes a deep breath. “Alex, my God! Are you okay?”
I don’t answer. I look back at T.S. “Are you sure? I mean, totally sure?” I ask, because this thing is like whiplash. Doubt, certainty, doubt, certainty. It changes from one second to the next.
“You were too drunk to give consent, Alex,” T.S. says.“You were not able to say yes. He’s not supposed to have sex with you under those conditions. I knew as soon as you told me what happened, I knew you weren’t in a state of mind to have sex with anyone. Then Sandeep just confirmed it beyond a shadow of a doubt when he told us how
much
you drank.”
Maia cracks her knuckles. She’s ready for a fight. “Guys, just say the word. Seriously,” she says. A group of freshmen girls walking to the cafeteria glance over at us. Maia stares them down. They look away instantly.
“No, don’t do that,” I say.
“You could go to the police, then. You could tell them what happened and press charges,” Maia offers up.
“No way am I going to the cops. No way in hell! I’m not pressing charges or going to court or involving my parents or the authorities.”
“You don’t have to,” T.S. says. “There’s another way.”
I know what she wants me to do.
“You could go to the Mockingbirds,” she says.
“Shh… I don’t want anyone to hear,” I say.
“Well?” T.S. asks. “Do you want to?”
“I don’t
want
to do anything,” I say, because I want this to go away. I don’t want to be the poster child for date rape.
“And what about the next time he says something about you?” T.S. asks. “What about the next time he tells his friends he thinks you’re an easy lay? What about when he tells other boys he banged you twice the first time he met
Similar Books
