Truly, Madly, Deadly

Chapter Nine

“I’m assuming it had something to do with a shower, but why, Sawyer, are you wearing a towel?”

“Because Maggie shredded my clothes!”

“Shredded them?”

“Shredded. Think coleslaw. Sans mayo.”

“She shredded your clothes? Were you wearing them at the time?”

Sawyer sunk down on a bench, scooching forward so her towel would blanket her naked skin against its cold aluminum. “No, I was in the shower. I ran late today and Maggie was there—here—before I got in the shower, then when I got out, she had spray-painted my locker and shredded my clothes.”

“Like coleslaw?”

“Like coleslaw.”

“That bitch!” Chloe spat.

“I know.”

“We have to stop her. We have to fight back—fight fire with fire.”

Sawyer hung her head. “I don’t want to do that,” she muttered. “Maybe I’ll just put a complaint in with Principal Chappie.”

“A complaint? As in a note in his complaint box? That’s a horrible idea, Sawyer. Horrible! That’s not fighting fire with fire; that’s fighting fire with paper. Fire kicks paper’s ass!”

Sawyer sighed, fingering the fringed end of her towel. “I need to get going.”

“Do you want me to bring you some clothes? I can be there in a few minutes.”

“No, that’s all right. If I don’t get on the road now I’m going to be stuck in traffic.”

“Not if you hit the freeway naked,” Chloe giggled.

Sawyer smiled in spite of herself. “Thanks, but I’ve got a towel.”

“Très chic.”

“See you tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

Sawyer hung up her phone and plodded to her locker, shoving the shredded remains of her clothes into her backpack and pressing it against her chest. She tried to inch the towel down for a more demure look; it was either a school-wide glance of butt cheek or super cleavage, and she decided to go with the latter as she sucked in a deep breath and peeked out the locker room door. Luckily, the school was nearly deserted, so Sawyer picked her steps carefully, trying her best to stay close to the walls and out of public view. There was a student council meeting going on in the English room, desks dragged into a semicircle, students semi-interested in their speaker, and Sawyer tiptoed past, feeling both the draft from her nakedness and the heat from her embarrassment. She made it to the school’s double doors and was ready to take off in a full sprint when someone yanked the door open.