Maverick (Maverick Academy Series) (10 page)

“Hey Rory,” Whit
said, smiling. When Rory continued to stand there, Whit said, “You can come in.” When the other girl still didn’t move, Whit walked to the doorway, where Rory motioned her out into the hall.

“I thought you were going to stop
by my room and meet Ellie,” she asked. “I got worried when you didn’t come.”

“I just got back from dinner, so I hadn’t had a chance yet.
I can come now,” Whit said with a grin, happy to escape Darby and Nalini. She really liked Rory, but her refusal to come into the room was just strange. Whit started to bring it up, but decided to just watch everyone for a couple of days before she started asking invasive questions. She turned back to the girls in her room.

“I’m going
to Rory’s room for a few minutes, so if you’re not here when I get back, it was nice meeting you Darby,” she said as she started to pull the door shut. She could hear Darby talking as she left, and was pretty sure she heard her name right before Nalini burst out laughing.

Well, she wasn’t going to say anything
yet
. Whit wanted to give everyone a fair chance. In a couple of days, though …

“So, my roommate is Ellie.
She’s super nice and just an all-around fun person. I got so lucky to get her as my roommate. Luckier than you for sure,” Rory mumbled. “So, you went to dinner?”

“Yeah, I looked for you
, but I guess you’d already left.”

“Man
, I hate that I missed you! It really stinks not knowing anyone and having to sit alone,” she frowned.

“I didn’t have to sit alone
actually, some guys took pity on me,” Whit replied as Rory opened a door covered in signs. Whit started laughing when she saw one that stated a clean room is a sign of a wasted life. There were many other signs and stickers on the door, and Whit lifted her eyebrows when she spotted the sticker that asked if vampires were real or not. When Rory saw Whit eyeing her signs and stickers, she chuckled.

“
Which sticker made your eyes get that big?” Rory asked as she tried to figure out which one Whit was reacting to. Whit tapped her finger on the vampire sticker before glancing at Rory.

“Ahhh
… now I understand. So what, do you know about vampires? Do you believe in them?” Rory asked with a mischievous grin.

Whit didn’t know how to respond to Rory’s question.
She knew that vampires went to Maverick ,but so far she hadn’t met one. Or at least she didn’t know if she had. Since she didn’t know anything about them, she decided to be honest.

“I don’
t know anything about them. I’m pretty sure there are some around here, but I don’t know how they compare to the ones in books and movies.” She shrugged.

Rory laughed and grabbed Whit’s arm
. “Well get ready to meet your first, then.”

The first thing Whit noticed about the room was the differences between the two sides.
Rory’s side was cluttered and slightly messy, while the other side was neat and organized. Whit saw the back of a blond head sitting at a computer on the neat side, typing very fast. When the blond turned around, Whit remembered her from the day she’d visited Maverick. She was the friendly girl in the cafeteria. And according to Rory, this small blond girl was a vampire. Whit wanted to ask questions, but knew it’d be rude.

“So Whit, this is my roommate Ellie.
Ellie, this is Whit, the new girl,” Rory said with a smile as she pointed between the two girls.

“Hey, I remember you,” Ellie said.
“We met in the cafeteria when you were visiting, right?”

“Yeah, I recognized you too
,” Whit replied with a smile.

“So Ellie,
you’ll never believe who Whit’s roommate is,” Rory said, continuing before Ellie could respond. “Nalini. I just came from there, and Darby was with her.” She grimaced.

Ellie waved her off.
“Stop it, Rory. They’re really not that bad, Whit, but if you ever need to get away from them, just come over here and hang out with us.”

“Thanks
. I haven’t really talked to Nalini very much, so …” Whit left the rest unsaid because she didn’t want to say something that she’d regret later.

Ellie grinned
. “Well enough about that, how was your first evening at Maverick? Did you just hang out in your room?”

“I went to dinner and then came here.
That’s it.”

“Oh, that’s right you were telling me about dinner.
You said some guys sat with you,” Rory said with a questioning look. “You remember their names? Who were they? Have to make sure we approve!”

“They were really nice and kind of gave me a quick introduction to Maverick.
They didn’t have time to cover everything, but I feel better now that I have at least
some
information,” Whit said with a little laugh.

“Their names?” Rory repeated
impatiently.

After thinking for a moment Whit
said, “Um … Sam, Nolan, Mark, and Christopher, I think. They were really great to sit with me.”

Rory burst out laughing, “No wonder Darby was shooting you evil looks
! Did you tell her you ate supper with Nolan?”

“Yeah, she said they were really close,” Whit answered.
“She seemed weird about it, though.”

“I bet she did. T
hey dated for a couple of months, but broke up when she caught him flirting with some girls. I think she overreacted, myself. That’s just how Nolan is. He’s a horrible flirt. She was lucky he stayed with her for that long. I mean, that was like the one time he had a relationship. Usually it’s a different girl every day.” Ellie rolled her eyes. “I guess Darby still has some feelings for him.” She shrugged, letting it go. “Now, let’s get back to this information you learned. I’m just curious, what exactly did they explain to you?”

“They just explained some of their gifts.”

“Which gifts did they explain?” Ellie asked intensely.

“Um,
stalker, caster, and bonecrusher,” Whit answered slowly.

“So you don’t know about the other classes of students yet?” Ellie asked.

Whit glanced at her. What exactly was she getting at? “No, but I think I have some sort of orientation tomorrow, so surely it’ll go over everything. Right?”

Ellie nodded, but wasn’t finished yet.
“Okay, well you already know about Rory’s gift. She’s a bonecrusher like Tavis and Mark. I guess I could tell you about me, if you want me to.” She paused, as if she was giving Whit time to change her mind.

“Rory mentioned you were a vampire,” Whit replied
slowly. Ellie shot Rory an annoyed look, and Whit quickly backtracked. “She only mentioned it when she saw me looking at the sticker on the door about believing in vampires,” she said defensively.

Ellie shrugged.
“Well it doesn’t matter, it’s not like it’s a secret. I’m a vampire, but definitely not like the ones in movies or books.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m really pretty normal, with the exception of my eating habits.”

Whit’s eyes got large and a little fearful as Ellie explained that yes she did need human blood to survive.
She giggled when Whit continued to look scared.

“
I’m not going to tackle you and suck your blood, Whit. The school supplies me with all the blood I need through a blood bank, so stop looking so scared.” Whit waited for Ellie to explain the other aspects of being a vampire, but she remained silent.

Finally, h
er curiosity got the better of her. “What about the sun, does it burn you?”

Ellie giggled.
“I can totally go into the sunlight and I don’t sparkle like Edward Cullen. That particular myth comes from the belief that we’re monsters of the night. The sun hurts my eyes and I do feel a little tired if I stay out in it too long, but otherwise it affects you and me the same way.” She waited, watching Whit for understanding. “You know, sunburn. I just wear sunscreen like everyone else.”

Whit wanted to ask more questions but couldn’t get up the nerve.
She knew there had to be more to being a vampire, but she didn’t want to pry into Ellie’s life after she’d made her feel so welcomed.

“D
o you have your schedule yet?” Rory asked, changing the subject.

“Nope, I’
ve only met one of my teachers so far. I guess I’ll get my class schedule tomorrow at the orientation meeting.”

“What teacher do you know you have?” Ellie
asked curiously.

“Mrs. McFaddin is my adviser
, so I assumed I’d have her for class.”

“Ahhhh
… so you’re in the mind department?” Ellie made the comment but it came out as a question. Whit realized she hadn’t discussed her own gift yet, and they were probably wondering. She nodded.

“
I’ll be a psychic or something like it one day, if I ever learn to control it,” she explained with a small, uncomfortable smile.

“That’s cool.
There actually aren’t that many students gifted in the mind here. It’s one of the rarest gifts,” Rory said with a grin.

Whi
t could tell Rory had meant that as a good thing, but she felt even more scared knowing that she was one of just a few. She’d hoped that at Maverick she would finally find a group where she belonged and that understood her. If she was one of the only psychics here, though, how many friends could she actually make? She stared out the window in hope of hiding the feelings that Rory’s revelation had caused. When she glanced down, she noticed a clock that read 10:00. It had been a really long day and she needed some time alone to adjust. She edged toward the door before she spoke.

“I guess I need
to head on back to my room. Thanks again for everything. I’ll see you both tomorrow at some point, right?” She grabbed the doorknob, waiting only a moment for an answer.

“Well of course
, Newbie. You’ll probably have at least one class with one of us, maybe both,” Ellie replied with a cheerful grin. She must have noticed the sadness and fear in her eyes, because she said comfortingly, “Whit, you’ll be fine here. It just takes a bit to get used to it.”

Rory shot a grin at Whit as she flopped back on her bed
. “Sure you don’t want to hang out some more?”

“Yeah, i
t’s been a long, kind of tough day. I just want to relax for a little bit, maybe lie on my bed and listen some music, you know?” Whit murmured as she backed out into the hall.

Rory tried to persuade her once more to stay for a while,
but Whit finally escaped down the hall toward her own room. As she started to turn the doorknob, she heard voices and then laughter coming from within. She groaned. She didn’t really want to deal with them again, and they didn’t sound like she would be leaving anytime soon. Where could she go?

She
glanced down the hallway, then continued walking in that direction. When she reached the end of the hall, she saw an open doorway and peeked inside. It was a small room with a couch, chair, and television. A poster on the wall explained the rules of the television room.

Whit laughed as she read the poster.
No television after 9 pm. No television during homework hours. No eating in the television room without permission. No boys allowed in television room on weekdays or after 12 pm on weekends. Television time was on a first-come first-serve bases. Reservations could be made in the main office or by accessing the calendar on the school website.

She
slumped down on the couch and leaned her head back. As she shut her eyes, she willed her mind to stop working and just relax. She knew sleep wouldn’t come easy tonight. Her nerves were stretched to the breaking point, and she missed Mona something fierce. Had she really just gotten here earlier in the day? This had to be one of the longest days she’d ever lived through. Sighing, she began to review all the things she’d learned tonight – vampires, stalkers, casters, bonecrushers … mind talent as the rarest of the gifts.

Before Whit knew it, she
had slipped into a light doze. Her body relaxed and she curled her legs up on the couch, while her head found a cushion to rest on. Once comfortable, she fell into the deep sleep of a person truly exhausted.

Chapter 9

The room was dark and the lack of sound bothered her. She looked around, knowing she had to be careful not to give away her location. She saw a torch up ahead and a doorway. With a peek around the door’s frame, she moved cautiously toward her destination. She felt as if someone was nearby or watching her, so she crouched down next to the floor, closing her eyes and focusing on her surroundings. As she focused, a picture formed in her mind: a guy and a girl talking while they were quietly moving toward her crouched position. When they turned the corner and came into sight, Whit pictured herself disappearing. The two walked right past her like she wasn’t there. She moved forward silently, with a grin on her face, and approached another doorway. This doorway led to a much larger room with a high ceiling, like a warehouse. There were torches mounted along the wall in several areas, and large shapes scattered throughout the room. Whit peered intently at the shapes, trying to figure out what awaited her within the room. Was it a trick? She moved into the room slowly and ducked behind a large box pushed against the wall to scout out the room further. She needed a plan. Out of the corner of her eye, she detected movement. As she turned to investigate the motion, someone grabbed her from behind.