DANIELLE OLIVER TASTES LIKE ROTTEN FISH

The letters are messy, like someone scrawled them there in a hurry. I feel my stomach clench. Hannah takes a sharp breath next to me.

“Who wrote this?” I ask, feeling slightly queasy. This is so much worse than a few hidden notes stuffed into a bag or a locker. This is public. Who would do something so messed up?

“I don’t know,” Andrew says. “It was there when we got here.”

“What the hell.” Hannah turns to the huddle of guys. “Hey, asshats!” They stop talking and look at her in surprise. “Who wrote this?”

Ryder steps back, holding his long arms out in surrender. “Whoa, Choi. Calm down. Are you on your period?”

Hannah reddens at his remark.

“It was on the wall when we came in,” Edwin says. “There wasn’t anyone in here.”

“We should clean it.” I scan the room for something I can use to scrub the wall. “We should get rid of it before anyone else sees.”

“No way!” Ryder moves slightly to block me. “It’s hilarious.” He pulls out his phone and snaps a quick picture.

Simon pulls out his phone, imitating Ryder. “Good call, dude.”

“Delete those pictures,” I say, my voice rising in alarm.

“Hey, man. That’s not cool.” Andrew takes a step toward Ryder and Simon.

“You telling me what to do?” Ryder asks, stepping forward. “You got a problem?” Despite Andrew’s sizable height, Ryder still towers over him. Edwin takes a step closer too, rearranging himself so he and Andrew are shoulder to shoulder. Andrew looks at Ryder and narrows his eyes.

“If you think this”—he motions toward the writing on the wall—“is funny, then I’ve got a problem.”

“You guys are seriously mean,” Hannah says, spitting the words at Ryder and Simon. She pulls a water bottle and some napkins out of her bag, using them to scrub the wall. The marker doesn’t budge, the words dark and angry as ever.

“Looks like it’s permanent.” Ryder smirks.

“Did you write this?” I ask him, taking a step forward. He’s so much taller than me that it’s almost comical. But fuck him if he thinks something like this is funny.

“I wish I wrote it,” Ryder answers.

“I’m getting some soap,” Hannah says, running out toward the bathroom down the hall.

“You sure about that, man?” Andrew nods at Ryder as more people start pouring into the lounge. The other classes must have been let out. Hannah still isn’t back with the soap and towels, and now everyone is going to see.

And then Danielle walks in, arm in arm with Sophie Piznarski. They’re laughing about something, oblivious to the tension in the room. I suck in a breath, glancing over at Andrew, hoping he has an idea. He leans awkwardly against the wall, trying to keep the words hidden from view.