The Class Reject: A Pariah in Purgatory (Book II)

Chapter 49

Chapter 49

There didn't seem to be enough time in the world to heal the gaping wound of a mess Penelope had created.

To say that everyone was talking about her "little announcement" was a far fry from an understatement. Most of the guys were having a fucking field day about the whole ordeal, going on about how insane Miren was, and how much a saint Penelope was in comparison.

"That Miren bitch is a total psychopath."

"I have to give it to Pen, it must have taken a lot of balls to come clean like that," one said.

"Who knew Theodora was Penelope's lackey?" said another.

"I can't tell if that fact makes her hotter or sluttier."

"What's the difference?" they laughed.

Jeno groaned as he walked toward his room. The day hadn't been that long in retrospect, but he spent all of it being wrong. Unrelentlessly wrong.

When he pushed his door open, he wasn't expecting to see Miren just yet. So when he saw her dimwitted best friend sitting on her bed with a bottle of vodka, he knew this couldn't be good. She winced as Jeno snatched the bottle from her.

"You know, I didn't think alcohol would literally taste like alcohol," she said, practically slurring. She rose to her feet, jabbing Jeno a few times in the chest. "Cliff said you owe him fifty bucks for the bottle." She smiled cutely before shrugging. "W-what can I say? At least this face is good for something."

"What are you doing here, Chara?" Jeno slammed the door shut, hoping the smell of cheap booze wouldn't slip out into the hallway. But when he scanned around the room, he realized there were more pressing matters. Like the fact that Miren's stuff was gone. He was glaring at the girl now. "Where's Miren?"

"Your guess is probably as good as mine," Chara told him, folding her arms before hiccupping. She giggled. "Don't blame her, though. I told her to come to Rinzen and then all I did was make everything harder for her. Maybe I should run away too."

"What the hell are you talking about?" He didn't want to know what she was talking about. But something told him she would tell him anyway.

"If I had cracked the code on time, maybe Penelope wouldn't have confronted me about the box." Somehow the vodka was back in her hands. "Turns out she was getting a dress for the dance at home and noticed it was missing." She took a swig. "I'm sure a smexy boy like yourself can figure out the rest."

"I'm guessing Penelope made you shoot the video with Theodora," Jeno said, closing his eyes.

"Ding-ding! We have a winner!" she cheered mockingly. "But wait, there's even more! Turns out I have some secrets that could destroy Wallace, so guess who blackmailed me into making him leave?"

Jeno exhaled, shaking his head. "He said he's just at Yale for the week to humor his parents."

Chara scoffed. "Wallace has been done with high school for over a year now. He just didn't want to embarrass Parker by graduating before him." Her gaze fell to the wooden floorboards. "Apparently he's too smart to care about how smart people think he is." She brushed her hands together as if they were dirty. "So yet another one bites the dust."

"I get it. Everything is your fault," Jeno said, glaring at the inebriated girl. "So what was the point of coming here, getting drunk, and enlightening me about the obvious?"