Out of Time

chapter 27 - spectacle

It was in the cafeteria, while I was ignoring my pounding headache by listening to Jake rant about this poor girl Olivia who he has been transfixed on since I arrived, that I realised I had left my purse at the restaurant last night.

Olivia Staunton is a pretty blond girl in our biology class, one of the most intelligent students and top soccer players at Huntington. Complete and utterly out of his league. I vaguely remember (I often zone Jake out) that their parents are friends, but I mean, aren't all billionaires friends with each other.

"Did you see my purse last night?" I whisper to Sophie, who had been glued to my shoulder all day. For some unknown reason, and much to everyone's shock, she had cut her long, sandy hair into a bob with curtain bangs last night. I think it looks beautiful, but Ava vaguely told me that she's known for her beautiful hair and that it's never been cut above her shoulders.

"Oh, that was yours? I think Dean took it home with him," she replies loudly.

Lukas side eyes us, to which I blankly catch his eyes. We hold eye contact for a second before he looks away and back to Jake. Jake falters coincidentally but continues when the focus is back on him.

"Why were you with him last night?" Jayden questions. From what it seems, the whole table hates Dean, apart from Sophie and myself. I've never actually heard why, but I'm not close enough to any of them to ask.

"He doesn't know about our families together," Sophie whispers. "He knows Dean and me are friends, though."

"Soph and I went out for dinner last night, and Dean happened to be at the same restaurant," I lie while standing. "He came over just before I left to talk to Sophie, and I left my purse somewhere."

Dean sits at the edge of the cafeteria, on his own table. It has the view of the courtyard I've always wanted, but rather than sitting with Dean, I'd just live without it. "I don't know why Sophie didn't grab it," I state, glaring at her, "but I'll go get it now."

"That's bullshit," Lukas mutters.

Dean doesn't see me come up to his table - he was too engrossed in whoever he was texting - but the screech of the chair I drag across the ground snaps his head up. I collapse into the chair while he scowls at me.

"Where's my purse?" I press.

"Yeah, I'm great. Thank you so much for asking me."

"I don't care. I just want my purse."

"Why would I have it?"

"Sophie told me you took it."

"Oh, that thing. Yeah, I stole all the money and threw it in the bin."

My heart stops. The familiar feeling of my throat tightening and the pressure behind my eyes appears. That thing was the first item I bought with my freedom. It was a compact cross-body bag made with pink sequins and white accents. I loved it, although it was really, really tacky.

However, I had done so much with it. I brought it to my first solo mission; when Harvey forced me to go out with him for the first time, that was the bag he chose; Callum nearly set it on fire when he threw a cigarette bud at me. I kept tickets, polaroids, and stupid little trinkets my friends had given me in that purse.

That thing, is-was my whole life in a bag.

I'm not even sure why I brought it yesterday. I don't even remember losing it, because somehow my keys were in my hand when I left the god-forsaken restaurant. I definitely drank too much last night.

"The one with all the dumb pictures in it, and that ugly bear-"

"I advise you to shut up," I interject coldly.