The Academy - First Days (6 page)

“I should keep it for gym,” I said. I half stood up, reaching for
it, but he easily grabbed my wrist to hold it back and held the clip out of my
reach. I pouted a little, trying to get some sympathy. I didn’t want to have to
sit around with hair in my face all day. I was so used to having it all pulled
back out of my face that it felt strange to have it down.

“You aren’t going to be running today,” he said. “You can have it
back at lunch. Maybe.” He moved around to Kota’s side of the table, tucking my
clip into his pocket. “And don’t pout that sweet lip. That shit never works on
me.”

“It really does look better down,” Victor said. His fingers
stretched toward my face and I forced myself to remain still. He slipped one of
the locks of my hair behind my ear. The edge of his fingernail traced
delicately across my cheek. My breath caught, subdued in the moment as the fire
in his eyes fixed on me.

The school day hadn’t officially started yet, and I was already
overwhelmed with their attention.

More students filtered into the cafeteria. Familiar friends
collected and huddled together in groups. Some stood alone along the edges,
waiting to be invited or noticed. Most of the kids wore loose jeans and
t-shirts. Compared to everyone else, the boys and I stood out quite a bit. I
sighed about this. This wasn’t like my old school. Blending in would require a
different strategy. If I had been alone, I would have worried more. With Kota
and the others, it felt like they were my shield against being too different.

The boys seemed intent on checking out what was going on, too. We
sat quietly and kept an eye out for the others. Sometimes a large group of
students filed in from off a bus. The cafeteria filled up quickly and there
were people hanging around the edges against the wall. There simply wasn’t
enough space for all the students.

I reached into the pocket of my bag for the schedule and checked
it over once more. I was feeling a little uncomfortable. Students were checking
us out, too. I was paranoid about what I was wearing and how I looked. What are
the other students thinking of a girl sitting with a group of guys like this?
The guys were better looking, in my opinion, than a lot of the kids around us.
In the past, I was that forgettable girl in the corner, reading and lost in my
own head. What did they think of this mismatched, plain girl with these
incredibly attractive guys?

“Where are they?” Kota asked, cutting through our silence.

Nathan fished out his cell phone and typed something in. He sat it
on the table and we all hovered, waiting for the response.

Silas
: “
Traffic was backed up on the interstate. Should get there
soon.”

I chewed my cheek, checking the clock on the wall. “They’re
cutting it really close.”

My eyes focused on a table across the cafeteria and I recognized
Danielle and my sister. A couple other girls sat around them, giggling.

Nathan followed my gaze out into the crowd of students. “That’s
your sister, isn’t it?”

I nodded and everyone else at the table turned to look. I was
leaning to see around Kota’s head and I ended up almost cheek to cheek with
Victor. I pulled away but he didn’t flinch.

“It looks like they’re getting along,” Victor said.

“This might be good for us,” Kota said. “If she gets friendly with
Danielle, it’ll save us some trouble.” He turned to me. “You should get your
sister to invite Danielle over. Can you go talk to her?”

“My sister warned me this morning that she wanted to pretend we
weren’t related.”

“What?” Gabriel said, pulling his head back around to look at me.

I shrugged. “I’m not cool enough.”

They all laughed loud enough to draw attention from others at
another table.

My cheeks warmed. “Is that funny?”

“No,” said Nathan. “It’s just ironic.”

The bell rang before I could ask what he meant. Silas, North and
Luke were going to be late. I lifted a finger to my lower lip, worried that
they might get into trouble.

Nathan checked his phone. “No update,” he said. “Come on.” Nathan
took my hand from my face and pulling at it to get me to stand. “I’ll walk you
to class.”

I looked back at the others but they had home rooms on the
opposite side of the building. I waved to them. They waved back, disappearing
into the crowd.

Nathan held on to my hand while we were walking through the
hallway. His fingers enveloped mine, a little too tight but I didn’t want to
say anything. It was hard enough to not want to pull away from his grip from
nervousness. I glanced at other students around us but everyone was in such a
hurry that no one appeared to be interested in what we did. My heart fluttered
in my chest from the excitement in going to my first day at a new school and
from his palm pressed to mine.

The hallway narrowed and the crowds closed in as they crawled
forward, making it impossible to stand side by side. I slipped behind Nathan,
letting go of his hand and pressed my palm at his back so he knew I was right
behind him.

The crowd halted and he stopped short. I bumped into him. I stood
on my tiptoes to look over his shoulder.

He looked back at me and his cheek almost met with my lips,
bumping my nose. I blushed and rocked back on my heels.

“If this is what the rest of the day is like, it’ll be a miracle
if anyone can get into their classes on time,” he said.

When it thinned out on the other side, we were almost to my home
room. He walked me to the door and stood by it, looking inside, noting the
people.

“I thought maybe North and Luke might have made it,” he said.

“They’re going to be late,” I said. “But you are, too, if you
don’t get going.”

He nodded. “If they don’t make it, just head straight for your
next class. Don’t stop in the hallway.”

I was waving goodbye to him when a voice cut through behind me in
the classroom.

“Hey Sing Sang Song.”

I spun around, recognizing the voice but not remembering the face.
Leaning up against the frame of the door to the homeroom class was Greg, his
goatee chin tilted in my direction. I took a half step back in surprise. What
was he doing here? I recalled when I first met him at the mall and how he’d
gotten into a fight with Kota and Silas. My heart leapt into my throat, and my
hand fluttered up to the base of my neck.

“Who’s that?” Nathan asked, his blue eyes darkening.

“Long story,” I said. I swallowed back the desire to ask him to
stay near me. “Get to class.” There was no point in trying to stall him.
Besides, Greg couldn’t do anything to me now. We were in school.

I hoped I was right about that.

Nathan shot Greg a look and turned, walking off. I raced into the
classroom, ignoring Greg and sat at a seat close to the door. There were two
empty chairs, one in front of me and one behind me and I tucked my book bag in
the one in front of me to hopefully save it for one of the guys if they showed
up.

“So where’s your other boyfriends?” Greg asked as he sat behind
me. He leaned over the top of his desk. Menthol cigarette smoke wafted toward
my nose.

I faced the front, folding my arms and focusing on the chalkboard.
My heart was thudding loud in my ears. Would ignoring him work?

“You know, I never got that kiss,” Greg said. He started making
kissy noises behind me.

My nose crinkled at his smell but I pressed my lips together,
trying my best not to say anything.

“Hey Greg!” Someone across the classroom called to him.

“I’ll catch you in a minute,” Greg told me and he got up. He
tugged at a lock of my hair and walked away to sit near his friend who was
waving to him. I trembled, grateful he had a distraction. This was terrible. It
was the last person I wanted to see and he was right there in my homeroom. What
were the chances?

The bell rang and the class stilled. From a side office, the
teacher walked in. He was short, pudgy with graying dark hair and wore a maroon
shirt and black slacks. “Welcome to homeroom,” he said. “I’m Mr. Ferguson.
Check your schedules. It should say room 135. If not, you’re in the wrong
class.”

The door opened, shifting the air in the room. North and Luke
walked in. I removed my book bag from the seat in front. Luke took that one and
North collapsed into the seat behind me.

Mr. Ferguson looked expectantly at them. “Did you get lost?”

“The parking lot is backed up,” Luke said, rubbing a palm over his
forehead. “All these parents are trying to drop their kids off.”

“Next time get here early and it won’t be a problem,” he said. He
started calling roll.

“We were worried,” I whispered to them.

“Don’t be,” North said.

Luke grinned. “The bell was early. We were right on time.”

I side glanced at Greg. He was immersed in a conversation with
another guy.

“Something wrong?” North asked, checking out where I was looking.

I shook my head and smiled. “No.” I caught Greg taking glances my
way and whispering to his friend but I turned away from them. I didn’t want to
worry North or Luke.

North wore a black collared, short sleeve dress shirt, unbuttoned
all the way with a black tank shirt underneath. It accented the muscles in his
chest. Luke’s collared shirt was white and the top three buttons were undone
with nothing underneath so I got a good look at part of his chest and the angle
of his collarbone. Luke messed with his blond hair, trying to push it back
behind his ears but it kept falling away into his eyes. The girls across the
room were whispering and watching.

“Do you have a hair tie?” Luke turned in his chair to face me.

“Gabriel stole my clip this morning.”

Luke laughed. “We’ll have to bring extras. He doesn’t understand
hair in the face. He just started growing his out.” He let go of his hair, letting
it fall. The tips traced along his neck.

I took two pencils out of my book bag and put them on the desk. “I
didn’t want to show him this,” I said. I fingered my hair, combing it back and
then twisting it into a small bun behind my head. I stuffed the two pencils
into my hair like hair sticks. A couple of strands close to my face fell out
but I pulled them behind my ears.

Luke beamed, his wide lips curling up. “Hey. I want that.”

I dug two more pencils out of my bag. I held them out to him but
he twisted in his chair. Did he expect me to do it? I bit my lower lip and
combed my fingers through his hair. He sighed. I did a quick twist, stabbing
the pencils into the bun. A lock of hair fell away but he tucked it behind his
ear. His appearance was different. It was like I was finally seeing him with
short hair. His brown eyes looked bigger, and his smile was brighter.

The girls across the classroom narrowed their eyes at us but I
ignored it.

North was slumping in his seat, tracing his fingertip on the edge
of the desk. I glanced at him but North was looking at the other students.

The door opened again. A tall, lean man with a tight set jaw and
hollow cheeks walked in. He was wearing thick, brown-rimmed glasses, his head
was shaved clean. The muscles under his light gray suit looked bulky.

“Principal Hendricks,” Mr. Ferguson said. “What are you doing
here?”

“I’m just making rounds today. Saying hello,” he said. He smiled
at the rest of us. “Don’t let me interrupt.”

Mr. Ferguson stood straighter and everyone in the room was quiet
as he finished up roll call. There were school announcements over the
loudspeaker but my focus was on the principal. His gaze settling on Luke and
North.

After the announcements were over, the room started a low hum of
chatting. Principal Hendricks walked over to us, standing over my desk. “Aren’t
you boys from the Academy?”

He knew? I glanced at Luke.

“Yes, sir,” Luke said. “Although I thought we weren’t supposed to
mention...”

“Where are your uniforms?”

Luke blinked at him.

“Uniforms?” North asked.

“I thought your school had uniforms.”

Luke and North exchanged glances over my head. What was going on?

“Well,” Luke said, scratching the back of his neck. “We do have a
dress code, I guess.”

“Hm,” the principal touched the knot of his pale gray tie. “I
believe there may have been a misunderstanding.”

The principal thanked them and walked out of the room. Was he
really only there to talk to Luke and North?

“What was that about? Did he expect you all to wear uniforms
here?” I asked.

North frowned. “I don’t think so. I thought our job was to blend
in as much as possible. We weren’t supposed to stick out.”

“It’d be too dangerous for us to start wearing something like
that,” Luke agreed. “We’d be isolated out quickly.”

North mumbled something even I couldn’t hear, folded his arms and
put his head down on the desk.