The Academy - First Days (17 page)

My heart skipped a beat. “But...”

“I hope you won’t take advantage of their kindness.”

“I’ve been trying not to,”

The corner of his mouth lifted a millimeter, softening his stern
features. “If I had thought otherwise, I wouldn’t have allowed this.”

My breath caught. Was he pleased with me?

The door to the music room swung open. I peeled my eyes away from
Mr. Blackbourne’s face. Mr. Blackbourne turned to address whoever it was,
blocking my view. I stood up behind him.

“Mr. Blackbourne,” called a familiar voice and I peered around Mr.
Blackbourne’s shoulder. Principal Hendricks stood on the other side of the
music room. His large hands curled into almost-fists as he advanced toward us.
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you.”

“I’m fairly busy,” Mr. Blackbourne snapped at him. “I have a
student.”

Principal Hendricks’s eyes popped open and he tilted his head,
spotting me. “Hello again, Miss Sorenson.”

Mr. Blackbourne stiffened. Did he think I was a troublemaker? Or
did he think I was friendly with the Principal and would tell him things he
just made me swear to keep private?

I managed to nod at Principal Hendricks. What was going on?

“I needed to talk to you about why the boys aren’t wearing
uniforms,” Mr. Hendricks said.

Mr. Blackbourne frowned. “I emailed you that they don’t have any.
The Academy isn’t...”

“You don’t understand,” Mr. Hendricks’ voice deepened into a
menacing tone. “The school board is after me to make sure the boys become the
‘ideal’ students for this school. If they’re going to set the standard, they
have to be the standard. I’ve already talked to the board and they agree. We
have to show these kids what will be happening in the next couple of years.
They can either stick with it or get out.”

“You’ll isolate my students, Mr. Hendricks,” Mr. Blackborne
replied. “There will be a lot more trouble if you insist on this.”

“Isn’t it your job to handle that?” Mr. Hendricks asked. “Didn’t
we hire you to...”

“I think we should discuss this somewhere else,” Mr. Blackbourne
retorted.

“Why?” he asked. “She’s one of yours, isn’t she?”

My head tilted back, an eyebrow going up. He still thought I was
from the Academy?

Mr. Blackbourne shifted until he was standing completely in front
of me, like a shield against the principal.

“I said just seven students,” Mr. Hendricks said. “If you thought
you could wriggle one past me...”

“I’ll see what I can do about the required uniforms,” Mr.
Blackbourne said. “But I’m warning you. By separating my students like this, it
makes them walking targets. They won’t be responsible for what happens. They
won’t be the example you expect if they stand out.”

Why didn’t he say I wasn’t his student? Was he going to let Mr.
Hendricks continue to assume? Is that why Hendricks and McCoy seemed to be
almost following me around school?

Mr. Hendricks rocked back on his heels a bit, looking satisfied.
“I want to see uniforms on those kids by Friday. We’ve got the board members
coming by to see this for themselves.” I peeked around to watch as Mr.
Hendricks nodded to Mr. Blackbourne and turned his eyes on me darkly. “Have a
nice day, Miss Sorenson.”

I swallowed as Mr. Hendricks turned and left the room. The air
pressure in the room seemed to lift but only just.

“Miss Sorenson,” Mr. Blackbourne said quietly, still looking at
the door after Mr. Hendricks. “I trust you can keep what you’ve just heard to
yourself?”

“Yes,” I said quietly. Who would I tell? Did he mean Kota and the
others, too? Would they be made to wear uniforms? How could the principal seem
to want this so badly? If they’re that different, Mr. Blackbourne was right.
Other kids would pick on them. Fights may ensue. It was almost like Mr.
Hendricks didn’t care, or even wanted that to happen.

And why did Mr. Blackbourne not tell him who I really was?

“Good.” Mr. Blackbourne turned slowly toward me, his eyes cool and
calculating. “If he talks to you again, direct all questions to me. Just to me,
not the others. Understand?”

I nodded. “I will.”

He
studied me for a moment and nodded. From under his breath, he whispered
something. I don’t think I was meant to hear it but in the quiet of the room, I
heard every word. “Let’s hope Kota knows what he’s doing with you.”

N
otes
a
nd
P
roposals

V
ictor was waiting for me outside of the music room. His eyebrow
rose when he spotted the violin case. “Well?”

I blushed, shaking my head. I still wasn’t sure if Mr. Blackbourne
meant I should keep secrets from them. Just in case, I opted for silence. I
would give Mr. Blackbourne control of how much information he wanted to tell
them about what happened. “Someone did something when I told him not to.” I was
trying to sound stern but I couldn’t stop the smile on my face. I knew that was
what he was asking about anyway.

Victor smirked. “Oh, you meant it?”

I rolled my eyes. “Thank you, Victor.”

His hand found mine, giving it a small tug to indicate we should
get going. His thumb smoothed over my skin on the back of my hand. It seemed to
make him so happy that I accepted his gift.

We rushed out to trailer 32 and slid inside. North was waiting in
a chair in the back, his arms crossed. His shoulders relaxed when he spotted
us. He didn’t seem surprised by the violin case.

When I slid into the seat in front of him, he leaned over his desk
and whispered to the back of my head. “Finish your homework?”

“Uh huh,” I said, unsure if I should turn, fearing I might bump
into his face. I twisted around slowly so I wouldn’t spook him.

He sat back a little but his face was still close to mine that it
felt awkward. “Let me see it?”

I fished out my essay in my book bag and handed it over.

He scanned it and passed it back. “Good girl.”

I pulled a face. “Checking for spelling errors?”

He turned for his satchel bag, picking out a notebook. “You didn’t
have any,” he said.

I blinked at him. He only had my paper for a minute. How did he
know so quickly?

Mr. Morris asked for our homework but only half the class turned
in anything. The papers were collected and Mr. Morris had us open our books,
telling us to read the first chapter.

“I want eyes on pages, lips closed. You can take notes if you
want. I recommend it. You’re going to have a test next week on chapters one and
two.”

North and Victor grunted but neither said anything. I had to
agree. Was he teaching the class or was he just going to have us read from the
book and write essays?

Twenty minutes later, my eyes were glazing over the page. I wasn’t
tired but it was a boring book and the first chapter was exactly what I had
written about in my essay, so it felt repetitive. I spent most of the time
writing down dates and details in my notebook just to keep myself awake.

I felt a nudge on my arm and turned, half expecting it was North.
The girl next to me held a folded note out to me, looking annoyed that she was
doing so. I glanced around. Mr. Morris was bent over his desk reading the
essays.

Before I could reach out to take the note, North snatched it from
the girl’s hand. The note disappeared into his pocket. I glanced back at him,
looking confused. His eyes darkened and he tilted his head at me, his
expression telling me to never mind and to get back to reading. He could have
been the teacher, his gaze was so demanding. I turned back in my seat, bending
over my notebook and blushing. Was it meant for me or someone else and I was
supposed to pass it on? I felt sorry for whomever it was meant for and whoever
wrote it.

When the class was over, I lingered back with North and Victor.
Other students were almost running to get out the door and down the sidewalk
toward the building. We trailed behind everyone else, including the teacher, on
their way to lunch.

“North?” I asked him. He was walking to my left and so close that
our arms were brushing. “What was the note?”

“Nothing for you to worry about,” he said, his face transfixed
ahead of us.

I slid a glance to Victor, who seemed distracted. He had his hands
in his pockets. I had the urge to reach for his hand like he’d done so many
times with me but I couldn’t get myself to do it.

At lunch, I actually missed Nathan and felt sorry that I had
teased him about the taco soup. I felt like he was missing out, even though it
was only school. I was probably the only one who felt the lack of him. I sat on
the bench between Luke and Kota. At the bench facing us, Victor, Gabriel and
Silas sat together. North sat cross-legged on the grass between us.

No one else said a word about the violin case. It was just like
Mr. Blackbourne had said. It seemed they all expected me to have one. They got
whatever they needed.

Kota opened his book bag, pulling out the thermos.

“So you did have leftovers,” I said, smiling.

Kota nodded to me. “My mom said you’re supposed to come over
sometime this weekend if you can.”

“Am I in trouble? Did I leave a mess?”

He laughed. “Nothing like that. She wants your recipe.”

“What do you have?” Luke asked. He had bought a candy bar from the
vending machine and was chewing on it.

The others perked up when Kota pulled out some plastic cups. I
helped him as he poured out lukewarm taco soup and passed it around.

“Since when did you cook, Kota?” North asked, putting a plastic
spoon into his soup and scooping out a little.

“It was Sang,” Gabriel said. He had his hand out waiting for me to
pass one to him, looking anxious. “She made it last night. It’s fucking good,
too.”

Silas grinned at me. North and Luke sniffed at their cups.

“It’s not poison,” I said.

“Not this time, huh?” North asked. He almost did a fraction of a
smile. He dipped his spoon in and took a bite.

Luke nudged me with his elbow between bites. “Okay. You’re cute
and you can cook.” He spoke up, looking at the others. “That’s it. We’re
keeping her.”

I beamed. After the highly emotional morning so far, this little
bit of peace with the guys was just what I needed.

The taco soup was gone within moments. Silas was holding the
thermos, looking longingly at the opening as he held it upside down over his
cup. I kept my grin to a minimal and got up, crossing to where he was sitting
on the bench. I held out my half-finished cup of soup.

Silas glanced up at me. “You should eat,” he said.

“I’m not really hungry.” In truth, I really wasn’t. I was too
excited to eat. I held out the cup to him again. “Give me your empty one.”

He smiled at me as he swapped his empty cup for mine. “Thank you.”

I picked up his spoon from his cup. “Do you want your spoon?”

He shook his head, taking my spoon out of the cup and used it to
take another bite. I tried to hide how it made my heart melt that he didn’t mind
using my spoon. I didn’t quite understand why.

I held my hand out to North and Victor, who were still holding
their empty cups. “I’ll go toss them,” I said.

Victor handed his over. North continued to sit but reached for the
cups in my hands. “I’ll do it,” he said.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’ve got it. The trash’s right over there.”
I pointed to where there were two next to each door on either side of the
courtyard. “I’m not going far.” It surprised me that I was just assuming he
meant he didn’t want me going alone. I was getting too used to them following
me. Was it really only the second day of school?

North smirked and handed over his cup. I collected everyone
else’s, too, as Kota reclaimed his thermos and the guys started talking about
classes.

I crossed the courtyard with the cups in my hand, making a beeline
for the trashcans. A shiver ran through me as I felt more eyes on me than just
the boys’. When I dumped the cups and turned around, there was a group of guys
laughing and walking toward the doors that I was standing near.

One of them spotted me, smiling. He was a big guy with red hair
and broad arms. His freckled cheeks puffed out as he grinned. “Hey, pretty
lady,” he called.

I tried to ignore it, but I had to walk around their group and it
forced me to make a wide circle to avoid walking through them. The red haired
guy altered direction and moseyed toward me. He grabbed my hand, got on one
knee and in a loud, but very sincere tone, he asked, “Hey sexy, will you marry
me?”

I gasped and my head jerked back, as if I was positive he wasn’t
really asking me, but someone behind me and I was in the way.