Page 52 of The Cheerleader is Off Limits

I’d wondered the same.Did she really think she could keep up this act until the end of the year and I’d never find out?“I guess she was banking on things naturally fizzling out, and she’d never have to tell me anything.” I shrug. “I didn’t ask.” I sigh. “Her ID said she was twenty-one, and she was actively using it while we were out,” I say, remembering that fact as if that’s any way to prove someone’s age, especially in someone’s late teens or early twenties.

“Yes, because kids never have fake IDs. She’s been living in a country where she’s been able to legally drink for a year. I imagine obtaining a fake was her first stop when she landed in the States,” Rowan offers, and I want to tell him that kids having fake IDs included his daughter, but I’m not a snitch, and I’m not going to bring Margot down just because I am going down in flames.

Not to mention, I’ve seen her fake, and it’s awful. Honestly, I doubt anyone would even accept it, so I’m more concerned about her getting caught than her ever successfully using it to actually obtain alcohol.

And I think she knows that too.

“Look, I know this is stressful as hell,” Rowan continues. “But this is the best-case scenario. You cannot legally get into trouble. If the school finds out, they will probably not outright believe you, but you have proof, and they will pore over your contact with her. But seeing as she just moved here from Europe two weeks ago, and you had no knowledge of her or that she was transferring to your school, there isn’t even much to pore over.At most, this is all just a really catastrophic coincidence. From now on, though, you do not know her. Understand? If you do have to communicate with her, do it in front of witnesses or out in the open. No texts, no phone calls, no meeting up alone. Nothing. You want to keep your job? Then you have to pretend that the past two weeks never happened. Sloane is just a student.Onlya student. Got it?”

CHAPTER 12

SLOANE

“Well, I have to say, you may be the first student I’ve seen who wanted to transferoutof Mr. Kincaid’s class. Most of the kids I have coming in here are trying to find a wayintohis class.” My counselor Mrs. Langford, an older Black woman with glasses that sit on the tip of her nose, stares at me from the other side of her desk while she types into her computer. “Any reason you want to transfer?”

Yes, I slept with him, and I lied, and now he hates me, and I’m pretty sure if I stay in his class, there’s a good chance he’ll fail me out of spite.I think about how angry he looked when I went to his office. How shocked he looked when I showed up in his class, and the moment of hurt that flickered across his face when he realized how much I’d lied about. “I… just think an honors class may be too advanced for me.” I swallow down the tears that have been building ever since I talked to River earlier. Those eyes that were once so warm were now full of anger and contempt.

She drags her eyes from the computer to me and gives me a look that tells me she doesn’t believe that reason. “You’re taking three AP courses,” she says in reference to the college-level classes that I enrolled in.

Sell it better, Sloane.“Science just really isn’t my thing.”

“Aren’t your parents research scientists? I imagine science would be in your blood.” She laughs before taking a sip from her coffee mug that has a picture of who I imagine is her granddaughter. I don’t respond, but I offer a weak smile that I hope she accepts. “No other reason?”

“Nope.” I shake my head, and I do my best to keep my face impassive.No, there's no reason I’d want to transfer out of the class of one of the most popular and beloved teachers at the school.

“Well, honey,” she says with an understanding smile, “with your course load, I don’t see any reason this would be too much for you. And unfortunately, with your schedule, this is the only thing that works if you want to graduate on time in May. If you really find yourself struggling in the next few weeks, come and see me, and we will figure something out. But I think you should stick it out for now, okay?” Her tone is warm and comforting, and if she wasn’t putting me in the most difficult situation, I’d say this was a very positive first experience with a guidance counselor.

“Okay.” I wince,because what can I say?I don’t have a better reason, and I don’t think offering the truth will help River or me, no matter how sweet my counselor seems.

But I mean, technically, I couldn’t get suspended for sleeping with a teacher before I even knew who he was, right? Yes, I lied, but the school couldn’t punish me for that, right? I lied to a guy I wanted to sleep with… not my teacher?

Fuck! Why didn’t I just come clean about everything this past weekend?

Well, it wouldn’t have mattered. You’d still be attending the school where he taught, and he would still be your teacher. And you’d still be in this mess.

True, but at least we could have prepared for seeing each other in this setting.

“You sure you’re okay, hon?”

“Yes.” I nod. “Of course. It’s all just a bit overwhelming. Being in a school for the first time in so long.” I laugh it off as I stand, and Mrs. Langford stares at me closely.

“Well, my door is always open. Don’t be a stranger.”

“Right.” I do my best to sound chipper, but I worry it comes off forced and fake. “Thank you for your time,” I tell her before I leave the office.

Great.

I spend the following morning practically hiding out in the bathroom between classes to avoid running into River. With two floors, the school is huge, but I had no way of knowing where I may possibly run into him, so I’ve been here. I thought about texting him last night to let him know that I couldn’t get out of his class, so there wouldn’t be yet another surprise for him, but we already had enough damning evidence in our text conversation. I figured it might be best not to add to that.

Plus, I was pretty sure he probably blocked me.

I hope, at some point, we can have a conversation so it’s not a very tense nine months, but I know the dust needs to settle first, and he’ll probably be holding on to his anger for a very long time.

Luckily, no one knows who I am, so no one is really looking for me except my cousin, and she’s deep into the talking stage with Cole, so she hasn’t really been curious about my whereabouts today either.

The bell dings, indicating I have three minutes to get to my third period, and my stomach feels like it drops into my ass.

Just get a seat in the back. Don’t talk. Don’t disrupt anything. Take your notes and just get out of there. There’s a zero percent chance he’s going to arbitrarily call on you, so it’ll be like you’re invisible.