Nine
Iris Miller
James had to campaign with his father. He was usually gone from campus because of it. When he left, I felt naked, and vulnerable somehow. Like at any moment Malaki Crescent was going to come out of the shadows and tear me to pieces. It didn’t help that I lived with his sister, who I occasionally felt giving me knowing little looks. Exactly like the ones she was giving me now, as we sat in the school dining hall.
“Okay, would you stop?” I demanded.
Celestine, who sat next to me, laughed. “Dawn, you’re not subtle in the slightest. Leave the poor girl alone.”
“I’m sorry!” she apologized. “I can’t help it. I know things, okay? And it’s driving me crazy because you, Iris Miller, are completely stubborn and you just won’t let them happen.”