A little taken aback at his abruptness, I make sure that I can balance myself on my feet. “Yeah, I—”
“You should also try to stay out of trouble.”
My hands, which were dusting off my shirt, go still. I lift my head to gape at him. “Excuse me?”
His eyes are narrowed into tiny slits. “I’m just saying don’t go looking for trouble.”
My mouth moves as I try to form words, but my brain seems to be short-circuiting. “You think I went up to Freddy and asked him and his friends to beat me up? Why would I do that? For shits and giggles?”
Alex flinches. “That’s not what I meant—”
“That’s exactly what you meant,” I hiss, feeling oddly hurt for some reason. “You think I had nothing better to do with my day, so I put on my thinking cap and decided, ‘Gee golly! You know what sounds fun? Going up to
