27

For the next week, Mia followed Bob’s instructions to keep out of the way. Not because she wanted to listen to him, but because she didn’t want anything to do with him anyway. Or any of the rest of them.

Things had quietened down at school too. Annie and Trish were still trying to get Mia involved in the cheerleading team, but she wasn’t sure how Savannah was ever going to let her on after the beer pouring incident. Ryan was also keeping away from her. She didn’t know how she felt about that. Sometimes she would see him walking in the corridor and brace herself for an insult. But he wouldn’t say a thing. He’d walk by her as if she was no one. She tried to ignore the feeling of rejection that seemed to be winding up within her.

Before she knew it, she was back at the hardware store for her Saturday shift. She hoped beyond reason that this Saturday wouldn’t be quite as dramatic as the last, and thankfully she was right. That was