Chapter 3

They knew about my heart. They knew I needed my sleep.

Yet after the concert, after taking Jenna home, they'd come to wake me up and demand an explanation.

Which of us had changed?

I didn't want to argue about it anymore. I turned toward the house, but Ethan caught my arm.

“Jenna's easygoing. Just apologize to her in person tomorrow, and we'll put this behind us.”

I looked at him. “I didn't do anything wrong. I'm not apologizing.”

I pulled free, went inside, and shut the door.

The next morning, I took a gift to my former teacher's house to say goodbye.

Ms. Carter had a visitor. I could hear them talking, so I waited politely at the gate to her front yard.

Jenna appeared out of nowhere.

“Nora, that's Ms. Carter's guest. Even if you think they smell bad, can't you put up with it long enough to say hello?”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Her eyes filled, but she kept her voice loud.

“I know you've always looked down on poor people. You think we're dirty and smelly, no different from beggars...”

The conversation inside the yard stopped. Footsteps approached.

I cut Jenna off.

“I was waiting because it's rude to interrupt people. Jenna, that's a pathetic way to try to make me look bad.”

She let out a sob. “Nora...”

Ethan stepped up beside her.

“When did you start throwing your weight around?” he demanded.

Caleb stood on her other side. “Nora Bennett, I've never seen you act so entitled. This is really something.”

Owen joined them. “All the money in the world can't make up for being a lousy person.”

For a moment, I could only stare at the three of them protecting Jenna.

She'd been in our class in middle school. Kids mocked her, sometimes to her face, because her family was poor.

I'd overheard them once and stepped in. I was the one who brought her into our circle.

At first, Ethan hadn't even wanted to be friends with her. But I invited Jenna every time we got together, and eventually he accepted her.

When had she become more important than me in every single situation?

There was a faint ache in my chest. I ignored it.

“Remember to send me the ticket money,” I said evenly.

Jenna started crying. “It's all my fault. I'll pay you back. Here, I'll give it to you now...”

She fumbled a check out of her purse and held it toward me with a shaking hand.

I didn't ask why she was offering a check instead of transferring the money. I simply reached for it.

Ethan slapped the back of my hand. Hard.

“Are you seriously still going on about this?”

Caleb tucked the check back into Jenna's purse.

“You work hard for your money, Jenna. Keep it.”

I was about to ask what exactly I'd done when I heard Ms. Carter.

“Nora? What's all this arguing about?”

Ethan answered without hesitation.

“Ms. Carter, tell us what you think. Nora invited us to a concert. Now that it's over, she's going after Jenna for the tickets, even though Jenna has the least money out of all of us. Is that fair? Using her family's money to push someone around?”

Caleb and Owen nodded along.

I almost laughed.

A week before we started college, Ethan had taken me shopping.

Only after I got there did I learn what it was for. They wanted me to replace my clothes, shoes, and everyday things with the cheapest basics.

Because Jenna's family didn't have much money.

If I had nice things at college, people would compare us and make fun of her for being poor.

For the sake of our friendship, I'd put up with it for four years.

Now they said I was using my money to bully her.