Game Changer

FORTY-FOUR

Nina was suspended for a week.

A week because of joints that weren't hers.

I walk with a purpose to Courtney's locker, determined to let her know how angry I am. When I get there and see her curly, dark, brown hair and tan skin, I grip her shoulder and make her spin around. At first she has a scowl on her face but as soon as she realizes it's me, it morphs into a sickly sweet smile which only makes me angrier.

"Oh, hi, Sophie. Aren't you supposed to be in class?" She asks. I cross my arms over my chest and glare at her.

"Joints? Seriously?" I ask.

She looks at me with a smirk.
"Quite original, huh?" She says, not even denying it.

I glare at her. "When is this going to stop, Courtney?" I sigh. She shuts her locker and turns to me.

"I guess I'm just having a lot of fun."

"Fun?" I ask incredulously. "This is what you call fun?"

She looks at me with amusement. "It's pretty amusing if you ask me."

I shake my head. "Look Courtney, I get that you're mad at me for leaving the Elite and all that other bullshit," I wave a hand dismissively "but that's between you and me. Stop bringing my friends into it."

She smirks. "Where's the fun in that? I love how you squirm," She starts, stepping closer to me. "when the people you care about get hurt."

I clench my jaw. "I'm not the one hurting them, you are." I spit.

She laughs. "But I wouldn't have to if you didn't give me a reason, now would I?"

Her words hit me hard but I scoff anyway.

"Just leave them alone, Courtney. Because whether you like it or not, I'm no longer an Elite."

She scoffs, "You were never an Elite to begin with."

Although her words shouldn't hurt me, they do. I gave up four years of my life to hell just so that she can turn around and say I was never part of them to begin with?

That hurts because at one stage I thought they were my friends.

I was clearly more wrong than I thought.

I narrow my eyes at her, "What do you think life is? A game?" I scowl.

She laughs menacingly and shrugs. "To me, life is like a game of chess. I'm the queen." I shake my head at her in disbelief.

She laughs, her voice holding an underlying layer of dislike before she looks back at me with surprise.

"I must say," She starts, walking around me like she's a lion and I'm her prey. "you're a lot more confident than you used to be. You finally put your big girl panties on."

I narrow my eyes at her as she stops in front of me with a smile.
"I say when this game ends." She says cooly. "Now, if I were you, I would get to class. You've already missed fifteen minutes." She gives me one last sickly sweet smile before she turns around and walks away.

I watch her sashay to class before I groan and head to English. When I push the door open, the class falls silent and Miss Rosely pauses her lesson. She raises an eyebrow at me as she crosses her arms over her chest.

"And why are you so late, Miss Cooper?" She demands. I hitch my bag further up my shoulder.

"I didn't feel well, Miss. I was in the bathroom." I lie smoothly. I catch Alex's eye from across the class and it dances with amusement. His lips twitch up into a smile and mine have the sudden urge to do so as well.