was her word of choice. Zoe had heard that word directed at everyone who wasn’t in Jackie’s cheer clique.
‘How will your little friends survive without you?’ Q asked with a sneer.
‘Shut up, loser,’ Jackie said.
‘Ooh,’ Q jeered. ‘I’m shaking in my boots.’
She looked down at his feet. ‘Hideous boots.’
Q eyed her for a moment before scanning the others at the table.
Zoe focused on the slips, making a neat pile in front of her.
‘How did you end up in here, princess?’ Q asked Cece.
‘That’s none of your business,’ she said and glanced behind her at Mr. Curtis. ‘Don’t talk to me.’
Q let out a low whistle. ‘Touchy. It must have been something terrible for you all to get here. I normally spend my Saturdays alone.’ Q leaned back and pressed his head into his hands, giving off the appearance that he was cool with the whole situation.
Zoe narrowed her eyes. She’d attended detention for the past eight weeks. She hadn’t been on the roster, but her butt was in that same chair at eight in the morning every single Saturday. Q hadn’t been. Why was Q trying to appear like he had?
Zoe wanted to say something to knock him down a few pegs, but then Q would probably hound her on why she was here today too. So she kept her mouth shut.
‘That’s something to be proud of,’ Cece muttered.
‘We should get started,’ Teddy said.
Zoe glanced at Teddy who was already hard at work. He had a small chain of paper circles in front of him. He kept out of the conversation. That was his way. It had been ever since they’d met in kindergarten. He never got into trouble which was why it was so surprising to see him in detention.
‘You’re right,’ Holly said, pulling a smattering of slips in front of her. ‘I don’t want to be here all day.’
‘Mr. Curtis never promised we’d get out early,’ Cece said, turning her stapler until it sat right at the edge of the table.
‘I’d rather take that chance,’ Jackie said. ‘We have an early practice tomorrow, and I want to prepare.’
Zoe shook her head slightly. How much preparation did a cheerleader actually need?
She lifted a slip of paper and touched the two ends together until it was circular then stapled them.
One down, hundreds more to go…
She’d completed over a dozen of them before she took a break and flexed her hand. Apparently, Mr. Curtis had found the most ancient staplers in the school. Pressing down on it over and over made her hand hurt.
As if he heard her thoughts about him, Mr. Curtis strode out of the office, and Zoe sat up straighter, grabbing a piece of paper, appearing busy and unfazed by her sore hand.
Everyone looked up at him.
‘I’m going to make a quick phone call. I’m trusting you all to stay seated. Don’t force my hand in giving you another detention, okay, guys?’
‘Can you grab me a soda while you’re out there?’ Q asked with a smirk.
Mr. Curtis ignored him.
When their teacher left the room, the sound of staplers ceased to fill the space.
So much for working together to get out early.
Everyone stared at the door. The moment suspended in the air was thick and made Zoe’s stomach harden.
The crack of Teddy’s stapler next to her shattered the silence.
Zoe had nothing else to do with her hands, so she continued, keeping her eyes on the project.
Q linked his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. ‘Who’s going to be the first to spill what big evil deed they did to get in here?’
‘Why do you care?’ Jackie asked. She lifted her purse from under the desk and grabbed a compact. She checked her flawless appearance before snapping it closed.
Q shrugged. ‘This is an eclectic group of individuals. I want to know what dangerous folk I’m spending the day with.’
‘If we were dangerous, we wouldn’t be in detention, idiot,’ Cece said.
‘Oh look,’ Q said. ‘A lucky volunteer.’ He put his hands down, drumming his fingers on the surface of the table before slapping them on it.
The girls jumped, and Teddy flinched.
‘Come on, princess,’ Q pressed.
‘Don’t call me that,’ Cece muttered.
‘Why not? Isn’t that what you are? The perfectly dressed little rich girl?’ Q asked. ‘Why aren’t you locked in your ivory tower this morning?’
Zoe couldn’t take her eyes off the scene unfolding in front of her.
‘What did you do?’ Q asked.
‘What did you do?’ Cece shot back.
‘I’ll show you mine when you show me yours,’ Q said.
Cece glanced around the table at each person except for Q. Her lower lip trembled.
Zoe knew what was coming next.
Cece was an emotional wreck over anything that didn’t go her way. Q’s nickname for her wasn’t far off. Even though she wasn’t close to Teddy’s valedictorian status, she kept her grades on the higher side. In the few classes Zoe shared with Cece, she’d seen way too many tears coming from that girl, and it didn’t have to be much to set her off. Once Cece received a B-plus on an exam, and she excused herself from class. Before she left her seat, she was already crying.
‘Maybe we should get back to work,’ Teddy said, picking up his stapler.
Q cut a look his way. ‘You’re next, nerd.’
‘I’m going to make sure Mr. Curtis gives you another detention,’ Cece said.
Jackie giggled from her seat. ‘You wouldn’t tell anyone. You don’t have the guts.’
Cece glanced at Jackie, open-mouthed. Whatever girl-power alliance Cece thought she had with Jackie disappeared into thin air.
Zoe could have told her that. Jackie’s wrath didn’t spare anyone, not even her friends. Over the years, Zoe watched the revolving door of ‘friends’ that Jackie kept in her tightly knit circle. One day they were laughing in the cafeteria together, and the next day one of the girls would be sitting alone or skipping lunch altogether.
Q grinned, and Zoe’s hand twitched, wanting to wipe it off his face. She hoped that no one else got in trouble so next week she could get her quiet Saturdays back.
‘Come on,’ Q pressed. ‘I could always look at your record.’
‘No, you can’t,’ Cece snapped. ‘Those are locked away.’
‘I’ve never met a lock I couldn’t break,’ Q said.
‘Come on,’ Jackie prodded.
‘I cut class, okay,’ Cece said. ‘To go shopping. Not a big deal.’
Q scoffed. ‘You’re right. Now I regret starting with you.’
‘What about you?’ Cece asked him. ‘You’re always getting