The Academy - First Days

T
he
A
cademy

First Days

Year
One

Book
Two

Written
by C. L. Stone

Published
by

Arcato
Publishing

.
Copyright ©
2012 C. L. Stone

http://aclstone.tumblr.com/

Published by Arcato
Publishing

http://www.arcatopublishing.com

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 1481814915

ISBN-13: 978-1481814911

This book is a work of
fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or
locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s
imagination and used fictitiously.

Other Books By C. L. Stone

Smoking Gun

Spice God

From The Academy Series:

Introductions

First Days

Friends vs. Family

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For the real “Mike”, who asked me repeatedly to marry him
before knowing my name.

.

M
onday

F
ollowing
T
he
L
eader

A
ugust in South Carolina was scorching. I was grateful for the
shade of the front porch and the sweet coolness of the concrete on my bare
legs. I stared down the mailbox, urging the postman to hurry.

It was the day before the beginning of school. I had an unusual
affinity for classrooms and homework and being among other people my own age.
It meant I could watch how they interacted and try to understand reality,
normalcy.

This year would be different.

A wasp hovered in the hydrangea bushes along the front porch. I
ducked my head as it flew past my ear. It flittered to the neighbor’s yard.

The mailman’s truck meandered up to the box. The moments ticked by
and I could see him fiddling with a collection of envelopes through the window.
I crouched below the barrier of the porch, out of sight. I prepped my knees to
get ready to run.

The glass door swung open behind me. “Is that the mail?” Marie
asked. My older sister stepped out on to the porch. Her angular eyes squinted
at the crisp morning sunlight. Her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail
that hung at her neck, reaching midway on her back. Her t-shirt advertised a
marathon she’d never participated in. Her jeans hung low on her hips, and
covered her feet.

I didn’t understand how she could wear heavy jeans in this heat,
but I didn’t really expect her to stay outside for long. With my cut off blue
jean shorts and a thin pink blouse, I was barely tolerating the humidity. I had
dirty blond hair, or chameleon hair as Gabriel liked to remind me. He said it
changed color depending on the lighting. With green eyes and since I was
shorter, about the only thing similar between my sister and I were our last
names.

I turned again to refocus on the mailman. I could still make it.

The mailman pulled away from the mailbox for the next one down the
street.

I flew off the top of the porch stairs, landing hard on the small
sidewalk path that wound around the house. I sprinted across the yard. I was
halfway across before Marie managed to make it off the porch. When it was clear
I was going to get there first, she stopped her pursuit.

I hauled out all of the mail, shuffling through bills and
advertisement flyers to find an envelope with my name on it. The orange emblem
of Ashley Waters High School was printed in the corner. I held on to it,
crossing the yard at a slower pace. My heart was pounding from both the running
and the thrill of what I held in my hands. A new school, a fresh start, and this
time I had an advantage. This year, I wouldn’t be alone.

“Hand it over,” Marie said, meeting me halfway in the yard.

I removed my envelope out of the pile and gave her the rest. She
took the cluster of mail and headed back into the house. If she had gotten to
it first, she would have kept my envelope and more than likely given it to our
mother. I would have had to fight with her to get it back.

I remained in the yard, waiting for my sister to disappear. When
the front door closed behind her, I spun on my bare feet and sprinted down the
street to Kota’s house.

I couldn’t let my sister know where I was going. My family
couldn’t learn my secret. Not yet.

The boys were waiting for me.

Kota’s black rimmed glasses slid down his nose as he was checking
the mail. I called to him from up the road. He looked up and waved to me,
pushing his glasses up his nose with his forefinger, masking his exquisite
green eyes. “Did you get it, Sang?” he asked.

Dakota Lee and I have a tender friendship. A week ago, he brought
me into his circle of friends. It was how I came to learn about the Academy,
the secret school they held loyalties to. The only problem was I didn’t know a
thing about it and I wasn’t allowed to ask questions. I was going to keep this
promise for the sake of our friendship and for what Kota said was my own
safety. There were dangers around them to which I wasn’t aware of. I had to
have faith when they told me to trust them. It seemed surreal to me but I kept
my mouth shut and I kept my eyes open, hoping to glean over time the answers to
the questions that buzzed through my head every time they shared a glance or
whispered something around me. They were my first friends -- my only friends.
What else could I do?

I held up my envelope. “Anyone else?” I asked.

“I’m still waiting to hear from Victor and Gabriel. They’re
heading over as soon as Victor confirms.” He flicked through the mail in his
hands, singling out a similar envelope.

“Hey!” Nathan shouted and jogged toward us from up the street. He
wore dark running pants and a red tank shirt with a Nike swoosh on the front. I
admired the way his biceps flexed as he held up his envelope. “Let’s check them
out.”

We followed Kota through the side door in the garage. Kota dropped
the rest of the mail off in a bin near the kitchen. Nathan held open a door in
the hallway, revealing a set of blue carpeted stairs. Nathan held his hand out,
ushering me to enter. I padded my way up the steps to the room over the garage,
Kota’s bedroom.

Nathan dropped onto his knees on the blue carpet and started to
rip open his envelope. I sat cross-legged next to him, doing the same. Kota
went to his desk, grabbing a silver letter opener and cut through his envelope,
unfolding the printout inside.

I swallowed as I read my schedule for the upcoming year.

Homeroom Room 135

AP English - Trailer 10 - Ms. Johnson

AP Geometry - Room 220 - Ms. Smith

Violin - Music Room B - Mr. Blackbourne

AP World History - Trailer 32 - Mr. Morris

Lunch

AP Biology - Room 107B - Mr. Gerald

Japanese - Room 212 - Dr. Green

Gym - Gymnasium - Mrs. French

Seven classes. Barely room to breathe. Thinking ahead to the
upcoming year, it seemed overwhelming. Maybe it had been a mistake to be so
enthusiastic about this.

“What’s wrong, Sang?” Nathan asked. His head tilted in my
direction, a rusty brown eyebrow arching.

I pursed my lips, twisting them slightly. “I was just wondering if
this was a good idea.”

Kota knelt next to me, sitting back on his heels on the floor.
“May I see?”

I handed it to him. Our fingers brushed as he took it from my
hands but he didn’t seem to notice. None of them ever seemed to notice touching
as much as I did. If they grabbed my hand or bumped my hip, they passed it off
as if it were nothing. Coming from a family that never touched, this was a lot
to get used.

Kota’s eyes scanned my schedule, reading off the list under his
breath.

Nathan peered over Kota’s shoulder. “Holy shit,” he said. “How’d
you get seven?”

“She doesn’t have a study hall.” Kota focused on me. “How did you
get into the Japanese class? When did you meet Mr. Blackbourne?”

Nathan’s eyes widened, awaiting the same answer.

I blushed. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten to tell them. “When
Dr. Green stopped me in the hall at registration, he brought me to his office.
Mr. Blackbourne was in there. They adjusted my schedule.”

Nathan and Kota shared a look between them. The only thing I
caught was Nathan’s eyes narrowing. Did they not like this?

“What?” I asked. “I know it’s a lot but you said they were there
to help out the school. Is it bad they changed it?”

“No, it isn’t bad,” Kota said, maybe a little too quickly. “Did
you happen to mention us at the time?”

I grazed my forefinger across my lower lip, pushing it toward my teeth.
“I might have said something like I knew you, Kota. I didn’t say anything about
the others. Dr. Green recognized your handwriting on my paper.”

“I didn’t know Mr. Blackbourne was teaching a class,” Nathan said.

“I don’t think it was pre-planned,” Kota said. He hooked a couple
of fingers into the collar of his shirt and tugged.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. The way they were reacting to this made
my heart shiver. “Mr. Blackbourne asked if I was interested and he offered to
teach me. Should I drop the class?”

“It’s just odd that he’d take an interest,” Nathan said.

“Maybe not,” Kota said, relaxing into a smile. He handed my
schedule back to me. “It’s fine. He knows what he’s doing. If he wants to teach
you, you’re in good hands.”

Last time Mr. Blackbourne was mentioned, they diverted. Now they
seemed nervous. They may not have voiced their opinion, but I got the feeling
they didn’t want Mr. Blackbourne to know about me, or me about Mr. Blackbourne.
Academy secrets. I scanned my schedule, hoping to change the subject. “I’ll
still share classes with you all, right?

“You’re in my English class,” Kota said.

Nathan moved closer to me and held his paper next to mine.

“Just geometry and gym,” I said. “But in gym the boys and girls
are separated aren’t they?”