* * *
What followed was a really weird day. Everyone hailed me as some kind of champion. People I didn’t even know came up to congratulate me for the way I’d stood up to Carmen. It was actually pretty cool to have that kind of attention.
Except, today that kind of attention irritated me. I think Peyton had ruined what could’ve been the most epic day of high school ever for me. I mean, absolutely everything was perfect…except her reaction to what I’d done.
And I have no idea why her lack of response even bothered me. It just did.
After the last class of the day, my friends gathered around my locker, wanting to talk and hang out like we usually did, but I mumbled a distracted, “I gotta go,” and I jerked my bag free from its cavern before slamming the door shut and taking off.
Peyton was
