Paper Flowers (Pretty Plastic People) ★

020. Going Undercover

020. Going Undercover

At Aquino High, girls who try to change the system get punished.

For a few seconds nobody says anything. My eyes are locked on Taylor's and I'm pretty sure my heart has stopped beating, because I can't feel it just like I can't feel the hand tightly gripping Cassidy's wrist.

Then, as if in slow motion, Brynn stands.

"I don't appreciate what you did in there," she says, shouldering past me so that's she's standing face-to-face with Taylor. "You don't control me and you definitely don't get to control who I go out with."

His face holds no emotion, other than his still-glittering eyes. "It's not like you'd ever want to go out with Luke Horton. I was doing you a favor."

"Why don't you let me decide that for myself?"

I've never seen Brynn look this fiery. She's meeting Taylor's gaze evenly, and even though she's a lot shorter than him it's clear who's dominating the situation. Without breaking her challenging stare, she reaches into the pocket of her jeans and pulls out a crumpled chain. "I think you deserve to have this back," she says, holding it out to him. "Maybe try to give it to some other unsuspecting girl."

He takes the necklace and unfolds the chain, revealing the palm tree pendant. At first he doesn't say anything; then he clenches it in his fist and shoves it into the pocket of his khakis. "You know you're not over me, Brynn."

"No. I really think I am. And if I wasn't before, I definitely am now. Look at who you've become."

"Maybe that's just who I was all along and you've never seen it before." He extends his arms, enveloping all of us in his words. "Maybe none of you ever saw it."

There's more silence. Inside the gym, the boys are booing at Luke and trying to get him to leave the gym. I don't know what's more pressing: that I help Luke or that I deal with Taylor first.

It turns out I don't have to worry, because Allison unhooks her own palm tree necklace from around her neck and shoves it at Taylor. "I wore this today only because I figured I'd have a good opportunity to give it back to you," she says, her upper lip curved into a sneer. "Take it. Burn it. I couldn't care less."

He takes this one, too, and drops it in his pocket with Brynn's. I imagine that the two chains are tangled together now, tangled just like Brynn and Allison's emotions were. Everything's clearing now, slowly but surely. We're almost there.

Taylor opens his mouth to say something but I push past him, shoving open the locker room door and striding into the gym. The senior boys watch open-mouthed as I approach Luke, their chant dying on their lips.

"Hey," I say once I reach him.

He reaches his hands up nervously and tugs down at the collar of his polo. He has pretty green eyes, now that I'm studying them up close.

When he doesn't say anything back, I lean towards him conspiratorially and say, "You really don't want any part in this. All they're doing is claiming girls like they have some sort of authority over who we date."

For the first time, he speaks. "You're Erika Soto. Aren't you more a part of this than anyone else?"

"Maybe I was, but I'm not anymore. I was in the locker room spying on this meeting. I'm going to take this down, because it's stupid and cruel. Do me a favor and be the first not to participate, okay?"