Excerpt: The Earth Beneath My Feet

"Have you lost your mind?" asked Ashleigh.
"No," said Liona. "Come on, he just moved here, he needs friends!"
"Look at what Ana's been texting me ever since I told her about him!" Ashleigh held out her phone to Liona, showing her a text message.
"r they in luv?" it said.
"We are not," said Liona indignantly. "He was just put next to me in Chemistry and I decided to be friendly."
"Whatever you say," said Ashleigh, texting Ana back.
"You should put that away before someone sees," said Kaylin anxiously, eyeing Ashleigh's cell phone.
"Oh, please, no one ever gets caught in the hallways," Ashleigh dismissed.
"Aha!" said a nasally voice from behind Liona and Kaylin. All three girls looked at the speaker.
A short, stout woman with gray hair, a pig-like nose, and a pantsuit was staring at them.
"I'll take that!" she insisted.
"What?" said Ashleigh. "No!"
"Sorry, missy, school policy!" the woman cackled, sneering horribly. "Now hand it over."
Ashleigh had no choice. She gave it over grudgingly.
"Thank you," snuffled the woman nastily, and shuffled off, clearly satisfied with herself.