Buried beneath a mound of her classmates’ limbs, Brittany achingly tried prying herself up, but fear paralyzed her as heavy breathing stirred her untidy brunette locks. She only managed to shift her eyes over to the broken window beside her head, seeing an enormous, long muzzle and snarling white teeth just inches from her face. A scream lodged in the poor girl’s throat as the monstrous creature lunged into the cabin.
~*~Kat~*~
Chapter 1
Animals
“I’m on the verge of eating notebook paper,” Carly declared, eyeing the composition journal in my hands.
I laughed. “I believe that’s a sign of iron deficiency.”
“Or just extreme hunger.”
We both stood on our tiptoes, trying to gauge an estimate of how many more people were still ahead of us in line.
“Okay, keep my mind off my ravenous appetite by spilling some goods. Is it true you’re seeing Blaine Ryder?” Carly urged.
Feeling my cheeks blush at the mention, I turned from her, and she gasped.
“Ooooh, I take that as a big, fat YES!”
“No, no. I wouldn’t say ‘seeing,’ per se. We’re taking things slow,” I clarified.
“You and the Golden Boy, huh? Me likey.” Carly couldn’t wipe the Cheshire smile now glued to her face. “So, where’s Prince Charming? Shouldn’t he be here?”
“He had a family thing to take care of. He’ll be meeting us at the bonfire though,” I confirmed.
“That’s so adorable!” She was downright giddy. Sadly, I couldn’t share in the sentiment. Not as long as Becky Sorensen kept throwing visual daggers at me.
Carly turned, taking note of my annoyance. “Just ignore her.”
“That’d be easy if it was just her. I’m public enemy number one. Hunted like Dillinger and loathed like a Kardashian.” I should have known better. I was fresh meat to Belleview High. An outsider. Sure, I’d been here a year, but you still can’t just roll into town and snatch up the golden boy. “And just when I thought public schools would be more laid back than boarding ones.”
“That’s the thing about the public school system. They bring out the worst in everyone. Sweet girls become nice girls. Nice girls become bitches. Bitches become Queen Bees. And Queen Bees become See-You-Next-Tuesdays.”
“People are acting like I clubbed a baby seal using a freaking panda. I broke up with Adam weeks ago, yet Becky’s still fuming from the ears. If she wants him that bad, he’s free!”
“She wanted him to break up with you. Not the other way around. If she went out with him now, she’d just be getting your sloppy seconds,” clarified Carly. “And a whole new batch of trouble is brewing now that Blaine’s putting the moves on you. Ava Ashford has been trying to sink her claws into him since freshman year, and she’s not gonna go away quietly.” My friend’s stomach growled so angrily that I could hear it even over all the chatter. “I knew I shouldn’t have listened to you.”
I’d convinced Carly to hold off getting in line before the basketball game, because the crowds around the concessions usually plummeted after tip-off. Thanks to the visiting team being a no-show though, boredom sent everyone to the refreshment stand, leaving us at the end of a very long line.
“I said I was sorry,” I lamented, “but I still don’t get why you didn’t just eat before we came here.”
“Because, my mom ordered all this gourmet food earlier for her dinner party, and there’s no way in hell I’m trying any of that crap again. Remember last time? Her caviar tasted like ass.”
“What’s this I hear about tasting some ass?” A burly set of arms rested on each of our shoulders from behind.
“Oh, God help us,” groaned Carly as Mark stepped between the two of us.
“Is this an offer by any chance?” He winked at my friend, igniting an immediate eye roll from her end.
“You forget I’m dating your best friend?” she retorted, pointing to Daniel, the handsome point guard sitting on the bleachers inside the gym.
Mark pouted exaggeratedly before turning to me. “What about you, Kitty Kat? Interested in letting me toss your salad?”
Carly outright gagged and slugged him in the shoulder. “Well, there goes my appetite.”
“I’m not hearing any objections.” He beamed a charming smile at me that seemed to work on all the clueless girls of my class. Thank the Lord I knew better.
“Carly would have a better chance getting with me than you,” I countered.
My blonde bestie grinned wickedly, gently vibrating her tongue to make a sarcastically sexy purr directed at me.