Chapter 4

"Hey! Don't walk away from me!" Scarlett snapped.

Jessica stepped in front of Ava, blocking her path.

"What's your problem, Miller? Too good for us now that you're going to Yale?"

A few of Scarlett' s other cheerleading cronies, who had been lurking nearby, drifted closer.

"Yeah, Ava, what's the deal?" one of them asked, her tone mocking.

"Scarlett was just trying to be nice."

Ava felt a familiar sense of isolation, but this time, it was mixed with cold resolve.

They were trying to box her in, just like before.

But she wasn't the same naive girl.

Scarlett, seeing her initial plan failing, quickly changed tactics.

Her face crumpled into an expression of hurt.

"Ava, I thought we were friends. Why are you being like this?"

She turned to the gathering group.

"I just wanted us to do something together before we all go off to college. But I guess Ava thinks she' s too important now."

Her voice quivered, a masterful performance of wounded innocence.

"She's probably scared her real scores wouldn't be as good as everyone thinks."

The accusation hung in the air.

The other girls murmured sympathetically towards Scarlett.

Blake Jr., passing by, caught the end of it and frowned in Ava' s direction. Scarlett immediately latched onto his arm.

"Blake, Ava's being so mean. She won't even take the SATs with me."