Why Boys Are Idiots

Chapter Twenty Three - Cyra's POV

“I’m calling him,” Addie said. “I’m calling him right now.”

My head snapped up so I could glare at her. “Andy? No! Why would you do that?”

“So he knows that we’re going to kill him, duh,” she said. And then, before I could stop her, she pressed CALL.

Why did she even have Andy’s number? I buried my face into my palms. Oh. My. Gosh.

Three rings. Then silence. “Hello?”

Without really knowing what I was doing, I yelled into the microphone, “I HATE YOU!”

More silence. “…Cyra?”

Wow, so smooth, Cyra, I told myself. Good going.

Zaira gave me a somewhat surprised, somewhat impressed look. Then her smile faded as she turned her attention back to the guy on the other end of the line. “Why did you do it?”

“Zaira?” Andy’s voice sounded through the speakers.

“Why did you do it?!” she repeated, louder this time.

“Do what?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Addie’s scowl deepen. “Yeah, just pretend you don’t know anything about it,” she chimed in. “The pictures! What the heck else would we be talking about?”

“Addie?”

“Just answer the question!” she yelled.

“The pictures? What—I didn’t do that!” Andy said. He sounded a little frantic.

By now, I was feeling a dangerously strong urge to grab Addie’s cellphone and chuck it across the room. She probably wasn’t going to be too happy about me doing that, though, so I did myself to keep my hands still.

“Then explain how the pictures got all over the internet,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Only you still have those pictures, Andy. Trust me.” Addie gave me a look.

There was another ten seconds of silence. I hoped he was slowly and painfully digesting that information. Maybe he’d finally realize that we were never, ever, ever getting back together.

Great. I was quoting song lyrics now.

“But I didn’t do it,” he began slowly, breaking the silence.

Zaira face-palmed. “Oh, sure,” she drawled. “Just get your stupid photos off the internet and leave Cyra alone.”

“Oh, and we’re coming to kill you in your sleep,” Addie added, like it was an afterthought. Andy was probably going to sleep with his eyes open tonight.

“But I didn’t do it!” he insisted. “I swear, it wasn’t me, I’m not stupid enough to—”

“Then who was it?” Zaira demanded.

“—they took my phone during lunchtime and sent themselves all the pictures so they could post it online. I didn’t do it!”

She tilted her head to one side. “Who took your phone?”

“Cyra’s brothers,” he said. “Mark and Paul.”

I felt myself seething. “What?!”

“And Blake, and Xavier, and Jaden…” he rambled off.

This time, it was Addie whose eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “What?!”

We all fell silent and turned to look at her. Even Andy had shut up.

She got up. “Jerk! I’m not going to a stupid dance with him!”