Neverland Academy (11 page)

Finn
didn’t answer. He simply stared off into the water. Daphne wanted to know more
about what was going on behind those raging green eyes, but didn’t want to pry.
Instead, she’d change the subject.

“So,
is Finn your real name?”

“It
is now.”

“What
was it before?”

“It
doesn’t matter.”

“Oh,
come on. Tell me.”

Finn
looked at her pointedly. There was something behind those eyes, something he
was guarding. For the first time since she met him, he really looked serious.

“Okay.
Will you tell me
why
your name is Finn?”

Finn
lay back against the grass and cushioned his hands under his head. Daphne
copied him and watched the clouds stretch and change shape as he spoke. One,
she noticed, looked like a pirate ship.

“I
was in the library one day reading a book—this was after I was expelled.
I spend a lot of my time there, especially in the winter months. Most kids
bring their own laptops to school so it’s pretty empty most of the
time—except for the week before finals, that is. Anyway, I’m leaning
against the bookcase, reading, when Trappe snuck up on me. I couldn’t believe
it. I didn’t even hear him come in. Probably because I was getting over a cold
and my ears were still clogged. Anyway I was cornered. There was literally no
way for me to get away from him.”

Daphne
snuck a glance at Finn. His eyes were alight with passion. The way he looked,
the way he told his story, was like he was reliving it over again—the
excitement, the thrill.

“So
I hurled the book at his face. The corner landed perfectly in his eye socket
and he roared in pain. The rolling ladder was just behind me so I climbed it
and kicked the bookcase behind me as hard as I could to propel me forward. When
I passed Trappe, I felt a thump and he screamed like a little girl. The ladder
had rolled right over his right foot and crushed it. I got away that day, but
that was the closest he ever got to catching me.”

“Wait,
is that why he walks around with that cane?”

Finn
nodded. “Tells everyone he’s got gout. Only he and I know the real truth. And
the guys, of course.”

“I
don’t get it,” Daphne said. She turned on her side to look at Finn. “What has
that story got to do with your name?”

“The
book I was reading—
Huckleberry Finn
.”

Daphne
lay back and stared at the sky. She wondered what it must have felt like to be
so young and be rejected by her parents. Finn must have lived a hard life.

“So
what’s your story, Daffy?”

“I
don’t have a story,” Daphne grunted.

“Everyone
has a story.”

“Not
me. Just one boring series of events after another. Hardly the stuff of epic
adventure novels.”

“I
don’t believe that.”

Daphne
laughed. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

Finn
turned to face Daphne. He was so close their bodies were almost touching. She
could feel the heat building up in the sliver of empty space between them.

“I’m
not disappointed. I just think you’re not giving yourself enough credit. You’re
looking at life the wrong way.”

“And
how exactly am I supposed to look at life?” Daphne turned also, so that she was
only inches from Finn’s face. His breath danced against her lips. She wanted
him to kiss her. And she hated herself for it.

“You
can’t control everything that happens to you. But you can control your
perception. My parents kicked me out. Most kids my age would have been
heartbroken. Gone off to live on the streets or to crash at one friend’s house
after another. Not me. I saw it as an opportunity, a chance to seek revenge on
the man who caused physical and emotional pain to so many kids. I saw it as a
gift. So tell me, what gift has brought you here?”

It
took Daphne a minute to understand what Finn was saying and to look deep inside
to find an answer.

“I
was at a party, back in Atlanta—it was a week before we moved
here—and the girls throwing it weren’t even my friends. Actually they
were the girls my mom kept pushing me to hang around with. Snobby bitches with
their heads stuck up each other’s asses. Kiera used to be my best friend when
we were kids. But in middle school we grew apart. She found a whole new group
of girls to hang out with. She tried to get me to join them, but I just didn’t
fit in. I don’t know why, but they just didn’t like me. In high school I’d
found a new group of friends, but my mom didn’t like them. She kept calling
Kiera’s mom and trying to set up sleepovers and stuff. It didn’t work. But a
week before we moved, I got an invitation to Kiera’s birthday party, no doubt
my mom’s doing. And she made me go.”

“Terrible
parenting,” Finn mumbled. “Making you go to a party.”

Daphne
rolled her eyes. “It was the last place I wanted to be. I had arranged for my
boyfriend, Rocks, to pick me up and ditch it, but before he got there, Kiera
started badmouthing me in front of her friends. I don’t know if she really
meant it or if she was just showing off, but I had shut her up either way.
Messed up her pretty little nose job. Unfortunately, her father and my father worked
together. My dad was so ashamed of me we picked up a week later and moved to
nowhereland.”

“Now
that’s
a story!” Finn said and chuckled.
“Daffy’s got some spunk!”

“Only
when you get on my bad side.” Daphne smiled.

“I’ll
be sure to stay away. So I want to hear more about your boyfriend, Rocks. Don’t
tell me that’s his real name!”

“Oh,
he’s not my . . . we broke up. Actually it was the night you first came to my
house. It doesn’t matter. He was no good for me anyway.” Daphne stared down at
the grass where she combed her fingers through the blades.

“No,
he’s not.”

Daphne
saw a sparkle in Finn’s eyes and for a split second a shot of hope zipped
through her. She swallowed it back. She didn’t need this right now. It was too
soon to have her heart broken again. She steeled herself, pushed down those
cravings to be touched and feel loved. She was stronger than that.

“Maybe
we should get back?” she said, nodding her head toward the tunnel.

“Yeah,
I think the guys want to plan some fun pranks—the harmless kind. You want
in?”

“Sure,”
Daphne said. She filled her hands with pieces of grass just before they entered
the tunnel, cramming in as much as they could carry.

“What’s
that for?” Finn drew his brows together as he looked down at her clawed hands
spilling with green confetti.

“To
find my way back,” Daphne said demurely. “The Hansel and Gretel method. I like
it here.” Finn’s laughter bounced all the way down the tunnel and back.

“I’ll
draw you a map, Daffy! You don’t need to bring in the lawn trimmings.”

Daphne
dropped the grass and brushed her hands together to sweep off the remaining
sticky bits. Finn took her left hand in his and produced a black ink pen from
his pocket. Her hand trembled in his as he drew a jagged maze over her palm.

“Hold
still,” he said. “There.”

Daphne
examined the line drawing with X’s that marked the cellar, Lily’s house, the
lake, the garden, and one other access point. She looked back at Finn’s smiling
face.

“Thank
you.”

Chapter
Twelve

Two
New Outcasts

Halfway through their
journey through
the tunnels, Daphne remembered the promise she’d made to her brothers. She had
completely forgotten to tell Finn that she’d gone to see them and wasn’t sure
how he was going to take it. He might get angry that she told them about the outcasts,
or even that she’d outed herself to her brothers and put them all in danger of
being revealed.

“Um,
Finn?”

“Yeah?”

Daphne
clamped her eyes shut when he turned toward her. The glaring light from his
headlamp shot piercing pain into her skull. “Oh, sorry,” he said and took it
off.

“When
I was with Lily earlier . . . I, uh, kind of asked her to take me to see my
brothers.”

Daphne
couldn’t read Finn’s blank expression. Was he angry that she exposed herself to
Josh and Max? Confused as to how she did it? Worried that she may have been
seen by somebody else?

“Please
don’t be mad at me. I didn’t tell them about you specifically or the tunnels.
And they won’t tell anyone I’m here, I swear.”

A
broad smile stretched across Finn’s face. “No worries Daffy. Everyone knows I’m
here—that’s no secret.” Finn laughed. “And even if they found the tunnels
do you really think they could find me?”

Daphne
glanced at the conglomeration of lines drawn on her palm and snickered at
herself. “No, they couldn’t. But, anyway, Max worships you guys and Josh wants
to meet you too. I think he’s worried about me. But I’m sure once he meets you
guys he’ll be okay.”

“That
can be arranged,” Finn said as they continued to walk down the long corridor.

“Thanks.”

When
they arrived back at the cellar, Trick, Toot, and Hangman were huddled together
pointing and staring at something on the floor that Daphne couldn’t see.

“Looks
like you guys already have something going on,” Finn commented as he stood over
the boys. Daphne could see what the boys were looking at now. It was a floor
plan, scribbled on a piece of newspaper that had been faded and yellowed by the
sun. “Where’re the others?”

“Went
for supplies,” Toot said.

“We’re
targeting Bradley this time,” Trick added.

“Professor
Bradley?” Finn raised an eyebrow. “Why? He was actually one of the nicer ones,
if I remember correctly.”

“Not
to me he wasn’t!” Toot hollered. “He used to make me stand in front of
everybody and recite the Neverland Academy Code of Conduct whenever I forgot my
math homework.”

Finn
howled. “Is that all?” He bowled over in an exaggerated display, all the while
Toot’s face grew red with rage.

“Cut
it out!” Toot snapped. Finn took a minute to ease up.

“I’m
just messing with you, Toot. You know that. So what are we doing to good ol’
Horseface?”

“We’re
going to ‘Carrie’ him.” Trick said proudly.

“Carry
him?” Daphne asked scratching her head. “What does that mean?”

“You’ve
never seen Carrie?” Hangman said. “Or read the book?” Daphne shook her head.

“It’s
a Stephen King book,” Finn pointed out. “The main character, Carrie, gets
pranked at her senior prom. A bunch of the cool girls dumped pig’s blood all
over her head.”

“Pig’s
blood!” Daphne croaked. “You’re not—”

“No!”
Hangman laughed. “Shag and Kevin are collecting a bucket of frying grease from
the kitchen.” Daphne relaxed. Hangman continued, pointing to a rectangle on the
floor plan. “We’ll have to cut a hole in the ceiling here, right above
Bradley’s desk. The ceiling will need to be covered loosely so it’s not so
visible. We’ll lead some fishing line from the handle of the bucket across the
back of the ceiling and down the wall with staples and attach the other end to
his chair. When he sits down and glides it up to the desk—”

“SPLASH!”
Toot shouted. “Right on his big-ass head! He’ll smell like stale French fries
for at least a week!”

“Sounds
fun,” Finn mused.

“Yeah,
but it may take all night to get it all set up just right,” Hangman said,
scratching his head.

Finn
flashed an impish grin at Daphne. “Not if we have help.”

***

Daphne
and Finn hunched behind a magnolia tree a few yards from the back entrance of
the boys’ dorm. Daphne fingered a white blossom delicately to ease her jitters.

“There’s
night security at the dorms, so you won’t be getting in so easily this time,”
Finn whispered. He was wearing his old blazer from his days as a student here.
It was wrinkled and at least a size too small, but it had a purpose.

“So
how do we get in?”

“I’ll
cause a diversion. Then you run in, get them and return to the tunnel in the
old cotton field. Climb down and wait there for me.”

“What
kind of diversion?”

Finn
stared hard at the building. Daphne could see the anticipation building up
inside him like the slow rise on a roller coaster. His eyes grew wide and
bright like he just woke up and found a mountain of gifts on Christmas morning.
He was amping himself up for something good.

“The
fun kind,” he said, and then he took off, leaving her behind the tree alone.
Daphne watched as he entered the dorm’s back door. She heard muffled shouting,
just before he ran out. He flashed her a signal and then ran in the opposite
direction. Seconds later, two men—nightly chaperones—came charging
out of the door after him.

Now
was her chance. Daphne bolted to the building and zipped up the steps. As she
approached the door to her brothers’ room, she prayed that they were still
awake. It was only eleven o’clock. She tapped on the door quietly and waited a
few seconds before tapping again. She couldn’t afford to wait too long or she
might get caught.

“Max!”
she whispered. “Max, it’s me. Open up.”

The
door cracked open and Max’s face lit up in delight.

“I
heard something downstairs. Was that you?” Max wondered aloud.

“We
have to go!” Daphne whispered. “Now.”

Max
flew back into the room and shook Josh, who was already drooling into his
pillow, fast asleep. He rubbed his eyes lazily before putting his glasses on.
When he saw Daphne he shot up out of his bed.

“Daphne!
What are you—?”

“If
you’re coming, let’s go,” Daphne said, and then ran back down the hallway to
the stairs, refusing to wait any longer. Max followed and Josh sluggishly
trailed them.

After
a quick check at the back door, Daphne raced back to the tree she and Finn had
hidden at until her brothers finally caught up. Her body churned with adrenaline
and she was finally beginning to understand what attracted Finn to this
lifestyle. The thrill of danger, of possibly being caught and escaping, was
exhilarating. She felt alive and free. And there was no better feeling in the
world.

***

“Whoa,
what is this place?” Max murmured as he stepped off the ladder. Daphne was
already waiting at the bottom and Josh was gingerly making his way down, his
bare feet trembling against the rungs.

“You
could have at least waited for me to put some shoes on,” Josh complained. When
he reached the bottom, he looked around, observing nothing but darkness.

“Don’t
worry, Finn doesn’t wear shoes either.” Daphne grinned.

“Who?”

“It’s
an old slave tunnel,” Daphne said, ignoring Josh. She recounted Finn’s story
about the history of Neverland Academy and the first of Trappe’s ancestors who
built it.

“So
are we just going to stand here all night?” Josh wondered aloud. Daphne was
getting worried, but she was glad her brothers couldn’t see her face in the
darkness. Finn should have been here by now. She could feel the tension tighten
her skin and though she tried to tell herself that he was okay, he got away,
she was starting to believe he hadn’t.

“Finn
will be here soon.” Daphne stood there with Max and Josh, waiting for twenty
more minutes. Finally Josh had had enough.

“That’s
it, I’m out of here.”

Daphne
flung her arm over Josh’s shoulder as he tried to climb the ladder.

“Wait,
Josh,” she cried. “Just wait a few more minutes.”

“Yeah,”
Max piped in. “Why are you in such a hurry to go back to sleep?”

“Because
I have an trig quiz tomorrow. That’s why. And if I don’t—”

Suddenly
a ghostly light flashed down over Josh from above. It looked eerily like a
theatrical footage for a documentary about alien abductions. Josh comically
dropped to the floor, landing flat on his back.

“Finn!”
Daphne cried. “Where were you? I thought they’d caught you!”

“Who
me?” he replied. “Nah. Haven’t you learned anything Daffy? I never get caught.”

“Daffy?”
Max squealed and bent over, hysterical.

“Shut
up, Max!” Daphne barked.

“So
who’s this?” Finn asked.

“This
is Max, and that klutz on the floor over there is Josh. Guys, this is Finn.”

“So
are we going to do something fun tonight?” Max asked. Finn flashed the light
towards Max and his face wrinkled from the glare.

“You
want fun, kid?” Finn grinned. “I’ll show you some fun.”

***

Josh
woke up in his bed and yawned while he turned over on his side. The green LED
numbers on the clock were staring at him through his overturned glasses on the
nightstand. He lay there a moment, trying to decipher the bizarre dream he’d
had the night before. Something about being in his math class with a team of
boys he didn’t know. And Daphne. And . . .

Josh
shot up out of bed, realizing not only was his dream real, but he was going to
be late for his trigonometry class. He threw off his clothes and rapidly got
dressed. There would be no time to shower or brush his teeth this morning. He
had five minutes to get to class. When he sat down to put his socks on he noticed
dirt between his toes and under his toenails. He cursed under his breath at
Daphne and Max for making him stay up all night setting up that stupid prank.
Shaking his head, Josh slid his socks and shoes on, grabbed his glasses and
messenger bag, and headed out the door to class.

The
quad was empty. Most of the boys were already seated in their classrooms, ready
for their lessons to begin. Just outside the west wing of the main building,
Josh ran into someone. A girl. He shook his head, wondering if he was still
dreaming.

“Oh,
hey . . . Josh, right?” The perky blonde chirped.

Josh
nodded.

“Remember
me? We met that first night you were here.”

“Oh,
yeah, uh . . .” Josh scratched his head. He recognized her face, but everything
was so new and crazy that first night he couldn’t really remember anything else
about her. She was cute, but not really his type.

“Belle?”
she hinted.

“Yeah.
Sorry, Belle. I’m actually late for class, so . . .” Josh ran off, leaving
Belle gaping after him. He hated to be so rude, but she was not worth the extra
discipline he’d receive if he were late to class.

Inside
the building, the hall was empty. Was he already too late? Josh bolted down the
hall, figuring that the punishment for running inside couldn’t be any worse
than getting caught late to class, especially on a test day. Much to his
relief, when he stepped inside the classroom, the professor’s seat was empty.
And precisely placed from the night before.

Josh
took his seat near the door and waited as if he were sitting on a bed of hot
coal. He peered up at the ceiling where invisible drywall tape loosely held the
cutout square of ceiling in place. Above that, a plastic bucket teetered at the
edge of the hole, filled to the brim with frying oil. Josh could smell the
rancid grease from his desk. From the ceiling, his eyes followed the line,
perfectly placed and almost imperceptible to the naked eye. While his
classmates chattered around him, Josh worried that he’d be caught. They’d know
he was involved somehow. And if they didn’t, his demeanor would give it away.
He straightened himself in his seat and told himself to relax. Yet, his heart
raced and he flinched when Professor Bradley passed his desk, reeking of garlic
and eggs.

Josh’s
head pounded. Why was it
his
teacher
that they pranked? And why did it have to be
today
, when his was the first class of the morning?

“I
assume you’ve all turned in your homework?” The professor said it more as a
statement than as a question. Josh stiffened. He saw the pile of papers at the
corner of Professor Bradley’s desk and cursed himself for forgetting. Now he’d
draw attention to himself just by turning in his homework after class started.
Josh reached inside the front cover of his trigonometry book and pulled out a
folded piece of paper. Professor Bradley stared daggers at him as he approached
the desk. “
He knows,
” Josh thought to
himself. “
He knows about the prank. And he knows I did it!
”

“Thank
you, Mr. Werring,” the professor said, a hint of a smile forming at his lips.
Josh relaxed. He couldn’t possibly know, could he?

“Close
your books and get your pencils ready,” Professor Bradley announced, picking up
a stack of papers from his desk. He counted out the sheets and placed them on
the desks of the first student in each row for them to pass back.

As
Josh sat down, he wondered if he should tell the professor about the prank. It
could go one of two ways: he could get in trouble for his involvement or he
could be praised for saving the professor from imminent embarrassment. The
professor dropped the pages on his desk. Fear clamped his mouth shut. He
couldn’t risk it.