said, biting off each of his words.
âKiki, are you worried about recommendations too?â Franklin asked in a fake, sugary voice.
âNope.â Her father was chief of neurosurgery at Vanderbilt University, which meant sheâd have a full ride there if she got in. And her parentsâ strict rule that getting more than one B in any six week period would mean having to quit the band, had kept her on the principalâs honor list since freshman year. Getting into college was one thing she didnât have to worry aboutâbalancing college with touring, however, was a whole other story. âThatâs not the problem.â
âSo whatâs your damage?â Franklin sneered. âAre you jealous ?â
âOf your deranged fans?â Kiki retorted. âI donât think so! But I am amazed that you could be stupid enough to think that one of your little idiots did this!â
Franklin smirked, and did his patented hair toss again. âWhen was the last time some guy threw his boxers on stage for you?â
âFanboys donât do that to get attention, dumb-ass! They send CDs to my parentsâ house and flowers and cow hearts on Valentineâs Day! Did you hear the sound quality on that recording? That was serious equipmentâprofessional grade. Any of your fans with that kind of money would spend it on hooker clothes, not micro-recorders!â
âLook whoâs talking!â Mark shouted before Franklin could think up an answer. âMaybe if you didnât dress like that, maybe you wouldnât have to worry about crazy stalkers!â
Kiki was so stunned she couldnât answer. She could barely breathe. Her clothes were definitely sexy, but compared to most girls in the industry, she looked like a nun. Markâs face was almost as red as Kikiâs lipstick, and he was panting as if he had just run a mile, but he kept yelling anyway. âWhat do you mean, cow hearts on Valentineâs Day? Whoâs sending you that crap?â
âWhat do you care?â she screamed back. âYou think anyone who plays the drums is a loser!â
âBack into the office, please,â a stern voice behind them ordered. Kiki shut her eyes for a moment. They should definitely have gotten farther away from Dr. Eckhartâs office before they started lobbing insults.
They followed Dr. Eckhart meekly. Kiki couldnât stop trembling, even though Dr. Eckhart sat in complete silence for five full minutes, waiting for someone to say something.
Once again, it was Mark who broke the silence. âIâm sorry,â he mumbled. âThat was my fault.â
âIndeed? I was sure I heard more than one voice shouting.â
âIâm sorry, too,â Kiki immediately echoed. And she was. She could not remember the last time she was so sorry.
Dr. Eckhart tapped her fingertips together lightly. âYou know, Iâve said from the beginning that you were too young for the responsibilities a band entails. Your grades havenât fallen, so I havenât complained too much, but shouting matches in the middle of first period are difficult to condone.â
âItâs not really our fault,â Franklin insisted. âItâs all because of the announcement thing.â He shrank a little into the chair, then asked, âAre you going to suspend us?â
âThe zero-tolerance policy on fighting does not apply to verbal violence, so the answer is no. But I may have to speak to your parents tonight. You are far too old for this sort of nonsense.â
Franklin perked up, but Kiki and Mark slumped in despair. They didnât have a lot of freedom, and they were both certain that a little more would soon be taken away. Their only hope was that something even worse would happen over the course of the day, distracting Dr. Eckhart before she began her daily round of phone calls.
âGo to class,â Dr. Eckhart ordered, and they