Chapters (44)
- Cover
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Books by Julie Murphy
- Back Ad
- About the Publisher
“Well, I guess you can come to the office too and we’ll let Principal Armstrong sort it out.”
“I punched Patrick Thomas!” says Ellen, stepping out in front of Willowdean.
Whispers begin to circulate through the crowd.
“I punched Patrick Thomas,” says Millie, her hands fixed on her hips.
“I punched Patrick Thomas,” Hannah calls from beside me.
“I punched Patrick Thomas.”
“I punched Patrick Thomas.”
Tucker steps forward, and I feel a tingle in my chest.
“I punched Patrick Thomas.”
“I punched Patrick Thomas.”
So many people are coming forward that I can barely keep up.
“Oh, hell,” I hear Mr. Higgins say.
“I punched Patrick Thomas.”
“I punched Patrick Thomas.”
“I punched Patrick Thomas.”
It feels like a chant. A rallying cry. Not only against Patrick Thomas. But against anyone who would dare stifle us or silence us. I’ve never felt a part of this school. For so long, this place was something to just survive, and everyone I went to school with was one more thing to endure. But it turns out that all that’s divided us is what unites us in the end.
“I punched Patrick Thomas.” My voice rings loud and clear.
Thirty-Three
That night, Clem takes the truck like she said she would. I stand in the driveway and watch her drive away like a nervous mother. “Don’t forget to use your blinker and check your mirrors!” I shout.
When Hannah shows up to pick me up, though, Millie is behind the wheel with Amanda in the passenger seat. The side door slides open and Willowdean pats the seat beside her. “Your chariot awaits.”
If I didn’t feel the intense claws of peer pressure sinking into my flesh, I would backpedal right into the safety of my house.
Hannah leans forward from the third row. “Time’s a-wastin’!”
I hoist my duffel bag over my shoulder and hop in next to Willowdean, and I literally have to bite my tongue to stop myself from nosing in on her boy drama. Behind me, Callie, Ellen, and Hannah are all squished into the third row.
“Hannah told us you were performing tonight,” says Millie as she speeds off out of my neighborhood, through residential streets. “And we had to be there!”
“That’s so nice of y’all,” I say, the words forming a rash in my throat. Great. More people I know watching me perform. I would have preferred to spend this drive in the silence I know Hannah would have gladly afforded me, because hell yes, I am definitely freaking out about what I’m going to do. But alas, I have no truck, and either I take this ride or I stay my ass at home.
“Besides,” adds Willowdean, “we had to celebrate Patrick Thomas getting banned from prom.”
I gasp. “What?” Now, that is worth celebrating.
“According to my mama,” Callie says.