The Rich Boy in a Rock Band

Song 16 ♪ Carry On Wayward Girl

There was something to be said about being stabbed in the back.

I managed to sit at the very back of the bus by myself. Maybe everybody was so pissed at me that I'd ruined their perfect little recital that they gave me a wide berth, because the entire back was empty. I got a few glares during the trip back to the school, but I avoided human interaction and just cried in as much silence as I could.

Wow, so, I didn't think that Lincoln and I were friends but I kinda thought that at least Ashton and I were, or some previous step to friendship. But friends didn't humiliate friends in front of other people like this. Friends were supposed to have your back, not drive a cold knife into it. I grabbed my phone and texted Leti for the first time in a few days.

I miss you. She didn't reply back right away.

God, just how was I going to survive music club by myself? I'd grown too dependent on help. It dawned on me then that I wouldn't even know how to begin getting myself up to speed without completely mucking up my studies. I was alone and in a world of trouble.

When we got to the school I was the very last one to leave the bus, but Sister Louisa waited for me with both boys flanking her. "Follow me," she said, and we did. Ashton tried to say something but she silenced him with a glance. She had us sit outside as she went in to see the headmistress and no doubt tell her everything about what we'd done.

I broke the silence. "If I get spelled I will find you and I will cut you."

Link side glanced at me. "Is that it? You'll cut us? I thought you were going to come up with a more colorful threat."

I glared at him with as much venom as I could manage.

"I never said where I'd cut you."

That made him cringe and look away.

I turned to the other boy. "Any sass from you, too?"

He looked up at the ceiling. "None."

The door opened and the Mother Superior asked us to come inside. We obeyed and followed the unwritten rule that if you were called to principal's for a dressing down, you had to stand. We did so, both boys around me.

Mother Superior Evangeline made her way slowly around the desk and sat down on her chair with some difficulty. The younger nun stood next to her, and I had a feeling she was a lot more pissed than her elder. But that didn't mean we weren't off the hook.

"I heard there was a bit of a situation at the event," the older lady started. She picked up her glasses from her desk and put them on, squinting at each of us. "Who masterminded this?"

My mouth remained firmly shut.

Ashton stepped forward. "Me."

Mother Superior drew in a deep breath and sighed. "Winters, we've talked about this. I put you in charge of her so that you could start learning some responsibility."

I couldn't help glaring at the back of his head.

The headmistress turned to the other boy. "And what about you?"

Link took so long to answer that I thought Sister Louisa must be plotting ways to get him to talk. But finally he sighed and crumbled under the pressure of their stare. "I was bored."

Her eyebrows went up. "Are we not challenging you enough?"

He had the wits to hold back answering that question.

But then she turned her laser focus on me. "And you, Vera?" I shook my head slightly, not knowing what to say. Would it work if I replied that I'd trusted two idiots? She sighed and it smarted that she was disappointed in me. How could I possibly have prevented this? "I hope you all understand what you've done. You've let down your classmates and your school, and this cannot happen again." She looked up over her shoulder. "Sister Louisa, what should be their punishment?"