Maverick (Maverick Academy Series) (8 page)

“H
ave you finished packing?” Mona asked with a smile.

“Mostly
. I just need to finish my clothes and bathroom stuff,” Whit answered. “What do you guys want to do today?”

“I thought you might need to buy some things for school, like notebooks and pencils and
stuff. I also thought you might want a couple of new outfits to take with you. Then after shopping, we could go to the movies and out to eat. Was there anything special you wanted to do?” Mona asked.

“No, that sounds good.
I think I just want to hang around here this morning. You know, just relax.”

“Okay, sweetie.
Why don’t you go do that for a bit and then when you’re ready, we can go out,” Mona suggested.

Whit kissed Mona’s cheek and hugged Luke on her way out of the kitchen.
She headed to the garage and grabbed her bike off its hook, then coasted down the driveway to the street. After a moment, she completely lost herself in the wind rushing over her face, and cruised past house after house. Her mind successfully pushed all thoughts of Maverick away, and she just enjoyed being for a little while. As Whit rode, a feeling of sadness consumed her for a moment. Changes were always hard, but this particular change was necessary. If she just repeated that over and over to herself, maybe she could make it through the coming weeks.

After riding arou
nd for an hour, Whit peddled back into her aunt’s driveway and hung up her bike for the last time. A tear fell from her eye at the thought of leaving Mona and Luke. They were her family now, and she was losing them. Or at least moving away from them. They could talk on the phone and visit each other, but she wasn’t sure it would be the same. Still, she put that thought away. Thinking about it wasn’t going to make it any easier.

For the remainder of the afternoon, they shopped, ate, and just spent time together.
Whit caught Mona gazing at her several times with tears in her eyes, and Mona and Luke bought Whit everything she could possible need for school. She now had at least ten notebooks and enough pencils to last her a year. They had also talked her into some new clothes, arguing that a new school required new clothes. Whit had chosen some new jeans and a few tops, but Mona had insisted that she buy a couple of skirts and a fancy little dress as well. When she asked Mona why she needed that particular article of clothing, Mona explained that Maverick had dances occasionally and she wanted Whit to be prepared.

When they returned from their day of spoiling her, Whit resumed packing for Maverick.
She folded her new purchases into her already bulging suitcase, then glanced around her room. Everything was packed and ready to go, except her. She felt nervous, yet there was a tiny bit of excitement too. Last night’s dream had made her curious about what this new school was going to be like.

She crawled into bed and didn’t think she would ever get to sleep.
Her nerves were working overtime. When she finally drifted off into a light sleep, she was instantly transported into another dream.

She was riding her bike along a trail through a heavily wooded area. She heard someone say her name and glanced back over her shoulder. Her dad and mom were smiling and laughing as they raced over
the roots and rocks that made up the trail. Whit pulled her bike over to the side of the trail and drank from her water bottle while she waited for her parents to catch up. They stopped next to her and both slurped water because of the heat. They were joking and teasing Whit about a fall she took earlier in the day. Whit was supposed to be the best biker among them, but so far she was the only one to fall, and her parents were ribbing her about it. Whit laughed and grabbed her dad in a headlock, getting her revenge. Her mother’s arms encircled her waist until they were all hugging.

Whit woke up
, knowing that this dream was different. It wasn’t a prediction, it was a memory. She rubbed her cheeks and found them wet with tears. The dream had felt so real. That hug had felt so real. She covered her face as the dream played over in her head. Together they had been happy, and they’d want her to be happy now. They would want her to enjoy life, make friends, and be parts of things. Not isolate herself and be sad all the time. She replayed the memory once more and allowed herself a couple of minutes to cry quietly for the memory of the happiness she had shared with them.

Then she
dried her eyes and darted a look at her clock. She needed to get up and take a shower, she realized. Mona stuck her head and reminded her that she needed to be ready to leave in two hours, and Whit jumped out of bed. As she showered and got dressed, she thought about how much her life had changed since her parents’ car accident. A few months earlier, she’d lived in California. Now she’d moved to North Carolina, and was enrolling in an isolated boarding school in the mountains. Her life had certainly taken a strange turn. For the hundredth time in the last week, though, she told herself that moving to Maverick was for the best, and tried to believe it.

Chapter 6

For the entire trip to Maverick, Mona talked about random everyday things, while all Whit could think about was that in a matter of hours she would be all alone. She knew Mona was chattering for her own benefit. Mona sang with the radio and told stories about herself at Maverick. Whit’s brain actually listened to those. Most of Mona’s stories were funny, but lacked the information Whit needed. She still didn’t know anything about Maverick, and thought that asking Mona would just lead to a dead end, so didn’t even attempt it. She finally leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes. She wasn’t tired, thank goodness, so she didn’t think she’d fall asleep. A vision would simply be too much to handle at this moment, especially with her stomach feeling the way it was.

The
curves of the road were playing havoc on her stomach, especially with her eyes closed. As she opened them, the gate of Maverick blurred by, and Whit knew they were winding their way up the school’s driveway. Mona turned off the main driveway onto a side road that led to the back of the school, and explained to Whit that Mrs. Audley had called earlier with directions for moving in. The dorms were located toward the back of the school, Whit remembered from the school tour. They were heading directly there, instead of going through the front doors.

Mona parked in a space directly in front of the girls’ dorms.
As Whit got out of the car, she looked around at her new home. It was the middle of a Sunday afternoon, so several students were lounging under trees and around picnic tables. Whit continued to glance from group to group, trying to figure out how each person was special. She just couldn’t believe that these people were vampires, werewolves, and witches when they looked so normal. One girl caught her staring and waved before Whit could look away. Whit’s cheeks blushed, but the girl stood up and approached Mona and Whit with a huge smile on her face. She was tiny, probably not even 5 feet tall. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was obviously very athletic. She was wearing running pants and a t-shirt. She wasn’t beautiful, but there was something about her that drew Whit’s eyes. She almost appeared to glow.

“You new to Maverick?”
she asked.

“Yeah,
moving in today,” Whit replied, pointing toward the packed car. The girl looked Whit over from head to foot and then stuck out her hand.

“I’m Rory. It’s nice to meet
you. Welcome to Maverick,” she said, smiling.

“Hi and thanks.
I’m Whit. Well actually its Whitni, but everyone calls me Whit. This is my Aunt Mona,” Whit babbled.

“
Need help? I can help with your stuff. Or even better than that, get my friends to help too, and we can do it all in one trip. The elevator doesn’t work, so you have to use the steps. And I’m just guessing here, but you look older, so your room is probably near the top,” Rory said with a giggle.

“Yeah, I’m a
sophomore. My room number is 712, so that means the seventh floor right?”

“Yep, that would be th
e seventh floor alright. I’m a sophomore too, and right down the hall from you in 715. Okay, wait here and I’ll run and get some more muscle to help you lug your stuff upstairs,” Rory said as she raced back to the picnic table she had previously been sitting at. Whit watched as she explained the situation to her friends. Rory pointed toward Whit, and suddenly Whit found herself being checked out by three tall boys. Rory dashed back to Whit with them and introduced each boy with a grin.

“G
uys, this is Whitni,” she said with a wave of her hand. Before Whit could correct her name, Rory did if for her. “She goes by Whit though, and that’s her Aunt Mona. Whit, this is Tavis, Darian, and Alec. They have graciously volunteered to help you move in,” she said with a laugh and a roll of her eyes.

As the group
surrounded Whit, she was able to examine each boy better. All three boys gave Whit a little nod or wave before glancing toward the car and her pile of stuff. Whit stared at the boy named Tavis for a moment longer than was polite. He was just so tall and muscular. He had black curly hair that was all disheveled and made him look like he’d just woken up from a nap. Darian, on the other hand, was just as tall as Tavis but had a lanky runner’s body. His ball cap covered his hair and hid his face, so Whit really couldn’t get a good look. While Whit was looking at Darian, Alec stepped in front of her.

“W
hat room you going to?” he asked.

Whit quickly answered with her room number
, and stared at Alec. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t remember why. Maybe from a dream or maybe she had seen him on her visit to Maverick. He was a little taller than her, but not by much. His hair was reddish brown and cut close to his head. His nose and cheeks were covered in freckles, and he had a friendly smile.

“Y
ou want us to grab stuff and head up?” he asked, lifting his eyebrows at her stare.

“That would be wonderful.
We appreciate all of you helping us,” Mona replied cheerfully.

“Yeah it’
s really nice of you guys. It would’ve taken us at least four trips if we had to carry it all, and that’d be a lot of steps,” Whit said with a laugh. She knew she probably sounded like an idiot, but she was determined to make at least one friend out of this bunch. That way she wouldn’t feel so lonely when Mona left.

Everyone loaded their arms with boxes and suitcases, and headed toward the front entrance.
Rory kept the conversation going with complaints about the weight of the box she was carrying, but soon the boys started ignoring Rory and focused on Whit.

“D
o you know who your roommate is?” Darian asked with a huff as he climbed up the fourth flight of stairs.

“Yeah, I think her name’
s Nalini or Nalini, something like that.” When the boys heard that, they immediately looked at each other and grimaced. Whit glanced toward Rory to see her reaction, but her face remained blank. They obviously knew who this girl was, so she decided to just go ahead and ask some questions about her new roommate.

“Do you guys know her
?”

All four of them nodded
, but no one spoke immediately. Alec finally stopped walking and looked at Whit. “Yeah, we all know her,” he said with a frown. Before Whit could ask about the frown, he continued. “Her name is Nalini and … well, to tell you the truth, we don’t know her that
well
, I guess.”

Whit knew they were lying
, but wasn’t sure she wanted to know what they were thinking. She let the conversation die and the group continued climbing in silence. When they finally reached the seventh floor, the boys moved to the side so Whit could open the door to her room. She knocked loudly so she wouldn’t scare her new roommate by bursting in on her. When no one answered, she unlocked the door and stepped into her new home.

It was a
12-by-12 square. Whit looked over at Nalini’s side of the room, where a huge
Twilight
movie poster hung over the bed. Whit thought that was slightly ironic, since there were actually vampires who went to the school. Nalini’s bed was covered in a dark red quilt and her dresser and desk looked like absolute chaos. Whit skimmed her eyes over her empty side of the room and knew that she would feel better once her things were around her.

Tavis and Darian stepped into the room and quickly made their way toward the bed so they could unload their arms.
Alec and Rory sat their burdens on the dresser, before stepping back and taking a good look at Nalini’s side of the room. Whit wondered if any of them were vampires, and if they were, what they thought about the
Twilight
poster. Mona made her way into the room with a grunt and tossed Whit’s suitcase onto the bed.

“Goodness that was quite a hike.
You’ll definitely stay in shape if you have to make that trek several times a day,” she said as she collapsed on the bed.

“
I guess we’ll head back outside and let you get settled. If you need anything, remember I’m in 715. You’re welcome anytime. Hey, why don’t you come by later tonight after you unpack? I‘ll introduce you to my roommate,” Rory said with a grin.

“Okay,” Whit
answered, shrugging her shoulders. “Thanks again for helping me move in.”

“No problem.
Alright guys, let’s go. See you later Whit,” Rory said with a wave. As the boys walked past Whit, each gave a little wave before following Rory down the hall.

Once Whit and Mona were alone in the room, they quickly went to work unpacking and making up the bed.
Before too long, Whit’s side of the room started looking like someone actually lived there. The bedspread Mona had bought her looked like an old patchwork quilt, and gave her side of the room a homey feel. Whit loved it.

After setting up her computer on her desk, Whit sat next to Mona on her bed.
They both sat there in silence, just looking around the room.

“Whit, I know
you’re scared honey, but this is a good place for you right now. Just keep in mind that you’ll have control over your dreams in no time,” Mona said as she put her hand on Whit’s knee and squeezed. She leaned toward Whit and encircled her with her arms. They sat there for some time, neither of them wanting to let go.

The
n the abrupt sound of the doorknob turning had them both twisting toward the door. A tall blond opened the door and did a double take when she saw Whit and Mona. She recovered quickly from the shock of finding two strangers in her room, and walked directly to Whit, sticking out her hand.

“You must be Whitni.
I’m Nalini, your roommate. Sorry I wasn’t here earlier to help,” she said with a smirk. Whit wasn’t sure she believed that Nalini had really wanted to help her. She kept remembering how Rory and the boys had reacted to hearing that Nalini was her roommate. Whit knew she needed to get to know Nalini before she judged her,, so she put the others’ reactions out of her mind.

“It’s nice to meet you Nalini,” Mona replie
d politely. She quickly introduced herself before turning expectantly to Whit. Whit knew that Mona was silently telling her to talk to the girl, introduce herself, and get to know her.

“
Um, I hope the way I setup up my side of the room is okay with you,” Whit said nervously. “I’ve never had a roommate before so …”

“It looks fine to me,” Nalini said
, sounding like she didn’t really care. Suddenly she turned back toward the door. “Well I hate to run, but I’m supposed to meet some friends for supper. Would you two like to join us?”

Mona glanced at her watch before shaking her head. “
Thanks but it’s almost 6. I’ll have to be leaving pretty soon. Mrs. Audley told me that the gates are locked at 6:30, and I don’t want to get locked in! Whit might like to go,” she finished with a hopeful voice and a glance at her niece.

But Whit shook her head. She didn’t want to rush off before her aunt even left.
“No, I think I’ll stay here until Mona leaves. I can go to supper after that, right?” she asked, looking at Nalini.

“Supper’
s served until 8 on Sunday, so you have plenty of time. Well, I’ll be off then. I should be back later and we can talk more then,” she said before heading out the door.

After she was gone, Mona turned back to Whit.
“See Whit, Nalini seems like a nice girl. You’re going to do great here,” she said with a grin.

“W
ere you serious about leaving soon?” Whit looked at her alarm clock, which read 6:03. She knew Mona would be leaving and was dreading that moment more and more as seconds ticked away.

“Sweetie, I have to leave.
The school has visiting hours and they end soon.” Mona rose from the bed and started moving toward the door. “Let’s go sit outside for the last little bit. It’s such a nice day.”

Whit closed the door to her room and walked down the hall next to Mona.
By the time they got to the bottom of the stairs, both were breathing hard.

“
I’m so happy that my house only has about twelve steps total,” Mona said, laughing as she plopped down on one of the picnic tables beside the parking lot.

Whit ignored the joke.
“I don’t want you to leave me here,” she said as tears ran down her face.

Mona frowned slightly.
“Honey, everything will be okay. You can call me every day and we can email all the time. I’ll even start chatting online if you want me too. Even though we both know I don’t exactly know what that means.” Mona smiled at Whit before putting an arm around her shoulders.

“It’s just not the same as seeing you,” Whit sniffed
. She stared at the ground to avoid Mona’s eyes.

“Okay,
I’ll make you a deal. Give Maverick one semester, and if you hate it, we’ll find another way to deal with your dreams. But you have to give it a fair chance,” Mona said with a serious look.

Whit nodded.
“I can do that. I’ll try my hardest, because I know this place can help me. I just hate being alone.” She wiped the tears from her cheeks. Mona was leaving and she would be alone. Being the new girl at a regular school was bad, but living at the school and being the new girl was worse. The months between now and holiday break loomed ahead of her. That would be the next time she could go home to Mona and Luke. Until then, she was stuck here.

“You won’t be alone long though
, Whit. You already have a friend – Rory. She seemed like an interesting and friendly girl. She even asked you to come by her room tonight. I bet by this time tomorrow, you’ll have bunches of new friends.”

“I hope so
.” Whit glanced at her watch, which read 6:24. Mona saw her look and knew it was time. She hugged Whit tightly before getting up from the table.

“It’s almost 6:30
. I have to go.”

“I know.
I love you, Mona,” Whit said softly as she hugged Mona once more.

“I love you too.
We’ll talk tomorrow, right? You’ll let me know how everything’s going?”

“Yeah,
I’ll call you tomorrow night,” Whit said, nodding. Mona squeezed her hand once more before walking to her car and getting in. Whit watched as Mona backed out of the parking space and slowly drove away. She waved in response to Mona’s hand shooting out the window to flutter, then turned around.

Maverick loomed in front of her like a big scary monster, but rea
lly what concerned her were the monsters that it held.

Chapter
7

The cafeteria was exactly how Whit remembered it – shaped like a stop sign, with lots of windows. She’d almost decided to skip supper, but she hadn’t wanted to go back and be alone in her room. As she looked around the cafeteria, several students eyed her curiously, and she wondered how often Maverick got new students. Most probably came in at the beginning of the year, not mid-semester. That made her the odd man out, she suspected. The only new girl here.

Turning, she
examined the line choices before opting for the taco bar. She tried to avoid eye contact with others because she was afraid of what they might be saying about her. As she grabbed a tray and a plate, someone bumped into her from behind. Whit glanced over her shoulder and came face to face with black polo guy. She caught her breath as she was reminded just how good looking he was. She remembered him from her dream and the visit to Maverick, but she’d forgotten just how gorgeous he was.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” he said as he gestured over his shoulder toward a group of boys pushing each o
ther. “They’re a bunch of asshats.”

Before Whit could respond, a boy grabbed black polo boy in a headlock.
Whit knew she’d been completely forgotten. She slid her tray down the line, grabbing food that she wasn’t sure she could stomach. She didn’t really feel hungry, but knew she would need her energy tomorrow for her first day of class.

Once
she was at the end of the food line, Whit looked around for a table to sit at. This was one of the hardest things about being the new kid – sitting alone at lunch, or dinner in this case. Before Whit could move, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned and once again found herself making eye contact with black polo guy.

“Sorry about t
hat. He heard me call him an asshat, and decided to get revenge,” he smirked. “So you’re new here?”

“Yeah, moved in today,” Whit replied with a nod.
She finally spotted a table in the corner that was empty, which would mean she didn’t have to introduce herself to anyone else. With a smile and a wave toward black polo guy, she walked toward the corner table. Before she could sit down, someone sat a tray down next to hers. She glimpsed a male body out of the corner of her eye and knew immediately who it was. Either he was following her or this was his normal table. She thought it was probably option two. No way such a good-looking guy would sit with her.

“Sorry, I can move
if this is your table,” she said as she picked up her tray.

“Why?” he
asked with a frown. “Did you want to sit alone? If so, I can move.” He shrugged. “I just thought you might like some company.”

“
Oh. Thanks,” she replied before pulling out a chair and sitting down. He smiled shyly in her direction before flopping down next to her.

Just as Whit started to introduce herself, the three other chairs at her table were pulled out and filled with the guys that
had been pushing each other in the taco line.

“
Nolan, who’s your friend?” one of them asked.

“I haven’t gotten around to finding out yet.
You keep interrupting me,” black polo boy answered with a roll of his eyes. He turned back toward Whit, shrugging. “So, this your first night at Maverick? You scared?”

Whit didn’t know how to respond to that.
Would they think she was a wuss if she told the truth? Then again, every one of them had been in her shoes at some point.

“Yeah, pretty much,” she said with a nervous laugh.
When all four boys laughed and smiled, she felt more relaxed. That had been the right answer after all.

“W
hat’s your name?” one of the nameless boys asked.

“Whit,
” she answered. “And you guys are …?”

“The coolest people at Maverick,” one replied with a
chuckle as he high-fived another.

“I’m
Nolan,” black polo guy said and then continued by introducing his three friends. “That’s Mark, Christopher, and Sam. Although I’m the only one worth knowing. The rest of them are dorks, like I told you in line.” That remark caused an uproar, which ended with a glob of sour cream being thrown across the table. Nolan quickly dodged the glob and pushed Whit away from the table before the sour cream could get on her. The boys were definitely taking her mind off being alone in a new place.

“Thanks,” Whit said softly to
Nolan. She grabbed a napkin that was close by and quickly wiped up the sour cream before she somehow got it on her clothes. The guys were laughing and joking, but they continued to throw glances toward her, filled with curiosity.

“W
hat year are you?” someone asked. Whit was unsure who was who at this point, as the only one she remembered was Nolan, so she decided against trying to use any names.

“I’m a
sophomore. What about you guys?”

Nolan
and the boy sitting on his left – Mark, Whit thought was his name – were sophomores as well, they said, while the other two were juniors.

“W
hat do you think of Maverick so far?” Nolan asked right before taking a huge bite of taco.

“I don’t really know yet.
I haven’t seen much or met very many people, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see,” Whit replied with a shrug.

“Who have you met so far? Your roommate?”
Mark asked.

“Yeah, I met my roommate for a second
this afternoon. Her name’s Nalini. We didn’t get to talk very much,” Whit answered. She noticed the guys glancing toward Nolan and then at each other when they heard the name Nalini. Whit was starting to think that Nalini might not be the nicest person.

“D
o you know my roommate?” she asked curiously, wondering why everyone got that look on their face when she mentioned her.

“Yeah we know her,”
Nolan said with a shake of his head.

“And?”
Whit glanced around worriedly.

“She just starts t
hings sometimes, but mostly it’s her best friend Darby that causes all the trouble. Just watch your back around those two, New Girl,” Sam warned. At least Whit thought he was the one named Sam.

“Sam, stop scaring her.
Whit, they really aren’t that bad. Darby is actually cool most of the time,” Nolan soothed.

She
caught several frowns from the other guys, but didn’t feel like questioning it further since Nolan was defending the girls. Whit wondered if there was something going on between Nolan and Darby from his reaction.

She
decided a change of subject might be best. “I also met some other people. They helped me move in. Their ring leader was a girl named Rory. She seemed nice.” That statement caused the boys to burst into laughter.