Jayla hadnât mentioned that she was transferring before. But her being here wasnât the only thing that had my mouth on the floor. It was what Jayla was wearing.
âLike, ewww,â Chastity said, just now noticing her outfit. âAre you seriously wearing a T-shirt with Mayaâs face on it?â
âYeah.â Jayla looked down at her shirt, pulling it out for everyone to see. âI had them made. We give them away to Mayaâs fans. Would you guys like one?â
âAs if.â They burst out laughing.
âYeah, Iâm good,â Ava said.
âUmmm, Iâll pass, too,â Chastity added.
I wanted to laugh because they were like me. They wouldnât be caught dead wearing a celebrityâs T-shirt, especially if that celebrity was someone you knew. That was lame with a capital L .
âOkay, okay, just chill,â I said, jumping in before they started drawing attention. âSo you transferred here,â I said turning back to Jayla. âThatâs cool, but ummm, the shirt? So not feeling it.â
She actually looked hurt. âYou donât like the shirt?â
âWhat do you think, genius?â Ava snapped. I held out my hand to quiet her.
âNo, I love the shirt,â I told her. âI really do. Itâs just something about having you wear it around school. Letâs just not.â
She hesitated. It was obvious she was disappointed. âOkay, I wonât wear it again,â she finally said. She pulled a jacket out of her bag. âIâll just put my jacket on over it.â
All of us stood and watched as Jayla put the jacket on and zipped it up.
âMuch better,â I said.
She stood there awkwardly for a minute, then finally said, âWell, Iâm not trying to get in your way or anything. In fact, my best friend goes here; thatâs the real reason I chose this school. So thatâs where I was headed, to meet her.â
âWho is your best friend?â Sheridan said, like she didnât believe her.
âMaggie Long.â
âWho is that?â Ava asked.
âIs that that scholarship girl, the freshman?â Chastity said.
âYeah,â Jayla replied. âThatâs her.â
âYour best friend is a freshman?â Ava asked, not bothering to hide her disgust.
Jayla nodded. âYeah, and?â
Chastity coughed and muttered, âLoser,â under her breath.
âIâm gonna leave you guys alone,â Jayla said, sounding all sad. âSorry, Maya, if I freaked you out. I thought youâd be cool with it.â
I gave her a tight smile as she walked off.
âAnd the freak of the week award goes to Mayaâs new publicist,â Chastity said after Jayla rounded the corner.
âSheâs not my publicist,â I protested. âShe just does my social media stuff.â
âSheâs your number one fan,â Ava sang.
They laughed some more before Sheridan finally said, âSeriously, Maya, you donât see anything creepy about this?â
I shrugged. âShe may be a little strange, but I canât help it that she thinks Iâm fabulous and you guys donât recognize all this fabulosity.â I did a little twirl. I was trying to lighten the mood, but I was serious, too.
âOh, my, God. What were we thinking,â Sheridan said in a high-pitched fake voice.
Chastity pretended to clutch her pearls. âWe are so sorry, Your Highness. I mean, can we pretty please get some T-shirts of you so that we can walk around with your face on our boobs? Pretty please?â
Ava clasped her hands together excitedly. âAnd while weâre at it, we should get some sweatbands, headbands, and glasses that say Maya Morgan.â
âOoooh, great idea,â Sheridan said. She pointed to her behind. âAnd Iâm going to get âMayaâ on this butt cheek, then âMorganâ on this butt cheek.â
They cracked up
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