"I don’t know." I snarl, frustrated. "I like Spencer, okay? I think Aiden’s an idiot, and he doesn’t deserve her."

"And when you say you like Spencer, what do you mean by that?"

"What am I supposed to mean by that?" I snap. "She’s nice, and she actually wants to talk to me. Is that too much to ask for?" Angrily I rip the one remaining sheet of my mattress. I don’t want to talk anymore. If I do, things that I never admit to anyone will spill out, like wishing for friends or for my Dad to be home more often.

I don’t want to be that person who complains all the time about their life, and then rejects help from everyone because they think it’s patronizing. I don’t want to be bitter. I don’t want to be that annoying character in a book that makes you want to shout: "Life sucks, get over it", and throw the book against the wall.

It would be so much easier though.

Moaning, I thread my fingers through my hair and bury my face in my mattress. Ostriches have the right idea.

"Ashley," Talise starts.

"What?" I bark, cornered and agitated.

"Do you have a crush on Spencer Carlin or something?"

"What?" Blindsided, I swivel to stare at her. "Of course not! It’s not like I love her!" What the hell?

Talise shrugs, but her eyes still burn into me like lasers. "You seem kind of jealous. And did I even ask if you love her?"

"So what, if I’m jealous? Maybe I’m just sick of being everyone’s second-choice," I half-admit.

"Or maybe you like her," I open my mouth to protest, but Talise bulldozes over me. "Besides, it doesn’t seem like you’re Spencer’s second-choice. Last time, she was the one looking for you, remember?"

Falling silent, I mull over that for a few moments. At lunch today, she looked for me too. So did that mean Spencer preferred my company to Aiden’s? And was Talise really going insane? I don’t love Spencer—

"You might want to start your homework," Talise reminds me while pulling her own textbooks out.

—right?

With a sigh, I glance at my backpack and then at my ruined bed. Anything to avoid To Kill A Mockingbird.