Chapter 97: This Town
Kofi looked at Jessica, and the profound exhaustion he felt solidified into a cold, hard disinterest.
’Her business? The business of beating a girl half to death and leaving her on the floor? Is that what she calls it?’
"You’re right," he said, his voice so devoid of emotion it was almost a whisper. "It has nothing to do with me."
He turned to walk away.
Jessica’s jaw dropped. She was not prepared for this. She was prepared for an argument, for fear, for a fight. She was not prepared to be dismissed like a piece of lint on a sweater.
"Hey! I’m not done talking to you!"
He stopped but didn’t turn around. "But I’m done listening to you."
This was too much for Nina. She stepped forward, planting herself between Kofi and Jessica, her arms still crossed, a dangerous, sweet smile on her face.
"I think what he’s trying to say," she said, her voice dripping with a mock-politeness that was far more insulting than any yell, "is that you’re boring him. And honestly? Me too."
Jessica’s face, a carefully constructed mask of popular-girl confidence, began to crack. She glared at Nina, her eyes narrowing.
"Stay out of this, Shoka. This has nothing to do with you, either. I thought you were done slumming it with the freaks."
’Ah, there it is. The insult. How predictable.’ Nina’s smile didn’t waver.