The Class Reject: A Pariah in Purgatory (Book II)

Chapter 46

Chapter 46

The rest of the weekend passed by relatively normally. Hell, it seemed like more people were surprised that something didn't happen. And although Headmistress Castro considered the dance to be a success and lightened Rosemunde's curfew, very few students relished in the aftermath of it all.

Without all the wacky stuff happening, school was as boring as snow. The only thing that was sort of interesting was the fact that Artemis was nowhere to be seen, and lunchtime was no exception. God only knew where Chara was, but then again, her absence was met with the same response as Miren's prior to the whole death-fire ordeal.

But one student in particular had faced a sudden rise in popularity. Even though Olive wasn't sitting among the populars, most eyes were in her direction. Though, it didn't help that Parker was conversing with her and a group of other non-remarkable upperclassmen.

"I'll be sure to get the word out to Rinzen for the documentary," Parker said, rising from the table. "Again, I really appreciate your initiative. Don't hesitate to ask for anything. See you at the meeting."

"Okay," Olive said, handing him a stack of flyers. "I'm also sorry about kissing you like that at the dance. I can be a slight spaz when I party. And no one told me the juice bowl was spiked." The surrounding girls laughed as they waved off Parker. She turned to them with a smile that could melt the heart of an ice queen. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go apologize to Penelope. Please pass these out. I'd really appreciate it."

"Incoming," Jemma said as she watched the new girl approach their table. As usual, her eyes were light and scheming, but she felt no threat from Olive. In fact, she was almost regretting not rooming with her. She had a certain spark, and if everyone (AKA Penelope) weren't careful, she'd burn the whole school down.

Penelope looked up, but her expression was passive at most. When Olive waved almost nervously, she even humored her by waving back.

"Hey, Penelope," the new girl began, summoning a small, hopeful smile. "I just wanted to apologize for the other night. I was teasing Artemis about having feelings for Parker, and when she denied it, I took things too far. But he's your boyfriend, so I'm sorry for getting in between the two of you, as well as your friendship with Artemis. I shouldn't be prying into everyone's business for my own entertainment," she sighed. "So I understand if you don't forgive me, I just wanted to clear the air as much as I can."

"Well, that's hard, considering the fact you transferred into a shit hole." Penelope was smiling, but it was hard to tell what was behind it. "But I appreciate your apology. Not forgiving you would be immature."

"Good. I'm glad we can be civil about this," Olive said, offering her hand to the girl.

Penelope stared at it like it was from outer space. In what felt like an eternity, her icy eyes floated upward, meeting Olive's slightly confused gaze.

"Just because I forgave you, doesn't mean I can forget what you did." Penelope folded her hands together.

Olive raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"

"What do you think you're doing, anyway? You're here for three days and now you think you're Miren's spokeswoman or something?" Her eyes narrowed, but she didn't look particularly mad. Just over everything. Like whatever bullshit Olive probably had in store. "Everyone's just trying to move on, and here you are, stirring the waters, creating another storm when we've just survived a tsunami." She briefly turned to the flyers for Miren's "documentary". She almost barfed. "People only act when there's something to gain. What's you're angle?"