The Academy - First Days (29 page)

From across the schoolyard, Silas, North, Kota, and Nathan
appeared and headed for us.

“We’re done,” North said. He hopped up on the bench next to me,
and leaned on the seat behind him to prop up on his elbows. The others
collected on the benches again.

“Mr. Blackbourne’s in the office now fixing the detentions,” Kota
said. “He’s explaining to Hendricks that the school board won’t like to see
detentions on our records.”

“What about Sang?” Victor asked. “What about her record?”

Kota frowned. “Well we can’t ask special permission for her
without making it look like she’s with us, right? They already assume she’s
with us. We don’t want to sway their judgement.”

So they were still not outright saying I wasn’t a part of their
group. Why not? Wouldn’t that be the fastest solution? “I don’t mind,” I said.
“It’s just one detention.”

Dr. Green moved his hands behind his back. “Okay guys,” he said.
He glowered at us but his eyes held a glint of humor. “Do you think you’ve
learned your lesson and won’t misbehave in class again?”

They all diverted their eyes to me. I almost choked. “I didn’t...
I don’t... I told you guys...”

They all laughed, including Dr. Green. “Sounds good to me,” he
said and winked at me. “Time to go home. Do your homework. Eat your vegetables.
Get some good sleep. I’ll go save Mr. Blackbourne before he ends up with
detention from Mr. Hendricks.”

I bent over to collect my things but Kota picked up my violin case
and Silas hefted my book bag on his back. I swallowed my protest. They still
didn’t know yet about how I needed to keep my distance while at school. For the
moment, since everyone was mostly gone, I supposed it didn’t matter. Gabriel
caught me by the neck to tug me toward the parking lot. I looked back at Dr.
Green, who was watching after us, that same soft and reassuring smile on his
lips. It was like he didn’t expect anything less of his own students.

How strange it felt now. I wasn’t part of the Academy, but I was
part of their plan. It amazed me how the others could focus on anything like
school work when they had so many other things to worry about. How would I
focus on another math assignment without thinking of the boys getting ready to
get into fights and my own need to stay out of trouble? It was hard enough
keeping an eye out for McCoy.

A tingling sensation swept through me. This was more than another
day at high school. I was part of something so much bigger. Maybe what the
Academy students did wasn’t what other students did. The work was important. It
excited me. Maybe I should have been afraid. Maybe any other girl would have
bowed out rather than dealt with a mean vice principal. Maybe most girls would
have given up and left the guys entirely.

Maybe I was never meant to be normal.

B
ait

V
ictor, Luke and Gabriel needed to head out to get started on the
uniforms, so they left in Victor’s car together. I followed the others to a black
Jeep Wrangler parked in the lot. North fished keys out of his pocket, hitting a
button to unlock the doors. I wondered where North got so many vehicles. Maybe
it was one of those necessities that the Academy provided. If so, why didn’t
Nathan have a car? What about Gabriel? Or did they have cars and I hadn’t seen
those yet?

Kota and the others piled our bags in the back. Nathan held open
the rear side door, stepping back to look at me. I slid into the middle, with
Kota and Nathan beside me. North started the car and Silas sat down in the
passenger side next to him.

“Where are we going?” North asked as he started to back out of his
spot. Instead of using the rearview mirror, he put a palm on Silas’s seat and
half-twisted to look out the back window. I ducked my head in case he was
having trouble seeing. He grinned back at me. “Stop it, short stuff,” he said.
“If I need you to move, I’ll tell you.”

Nathan leaned against me in the seat as he pulled off the long
sleeve shirt he was still wearing. “I am done,” he said. “I’m going home for a
hot shower and I’m going to sleep.”

“Do your homework first,” North said.

Nathan grumbled. He sat back in his seat, tossing the shirt at the
floor. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. My nose filled with the scent of
cypress. My cheeks started to heat up again. Did it mean he liked me? No one
else seemed to notice. I wasn’t going to complain.

Kota was sitting so close, his leg was touching mine. He punched
something into his phone. “First we have to make sure Sang isn’t in trouble.”

“Agreed,” North said. He flicked his eyes to this rearview mirror
as he pulled out into the lot. He caught my eye. “Can you go in the back door
or roof or what?”

“No roof,” Kota said. “Besides, it’s broad daylight. They might
not notice you monkeys at night but they’ll for sure see you now.”

“The side door should be fine,” I said. “There’s a chance no one’s
noticed I’ve been gone. Marie is the one I have to watch out for. If I’m lucky
she went off to Danielle’s right after school. If that’s the case, I think
we’re good.” And if that wasn’t true, I’d end up on my knees or something
similar again. Manageable as long as she never found out why I arrived late.

North hit the buttons on the dashboard and turned up the radio to
some rock music. “Just say the word,” he said. He glanced at Silas. “You want
dropped off first?”

“I’ll tag along,” Silas said.

Now that we weren’t on a bus, the drive to Sunnyvale Court was
much shorter. North pulled into Kota’s driveway. When Nathan hopped out, he
held the door open for me. I climbed out and he shut the door and stretched.
“Want me to walk with you?” Nathan asked.

“Nathan,” I said. “Will you please go home and sleep? Let’s just
get through Friday and we’ll all relax this weekend.”

“You’re getting as bad as Kota,” he said.

“Hey,” Kota said, but he smirked as he crossed his arms over his
chest.

Nathan pulled his bag out of the back and hobbled down the road to
his house.

“I’ll walk Sang home,” Silas said.

“I’ll go,” North said.

“We’re going inside and starting homework,” Kota said. “Sang goes
home by herself. If her mom is watching out for her, the last thing she needs
is to show up with someone.” Kota picked up my violin case for me. I put my
book bag on and took the case from him. He tucked his head closer to mine.
“Call if you can’t come out. If you can though, run back. We’ve got stuff to go
over. Bring your homework.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, offering a short salute.

Silas and North laughed behind him.

Kota smirked. He stretched his arms around me, hugging me to him.
“Be careful, will you?”

I hurried up the road, steeling myself against what might be
waiting for me. I might need to go grab my phone and put it in my pocket before
I faced off downstairs. If I ended up on my knees again, I’d need to reach Kota
so he didn’t worry. I crossed my fingers that I hadn’t been missed.

When I got home, I opened the side door quietly and stood in the
doorway to listen. The house was silent. I crept up the back staircase and padded
down the hallway to my bedroom.

My door was open. I paused in the hallway, listening. There was a
creak of the floor in my bedroom. I quietly slipped into the bathroom across
the hall to hide myself, closing the door.

Inside the bathroom, I dropped my things into the tub to hide
them. I checked myself in the mirror, rinsed my face with water and patted my
cheeks dry. If it was my mother, I’d have the excuse that I was fresh from the
bathroom. If it was Marie, I wasn’t sure what would happen. I opened the door
and tried to appear nonplussed.

I stepped across the hall to peek through my open door at an
angle. Marie was in there, her head and shoulders leaning into my closet.

“Need something?” I asked, trying to sound casual. I wanted to be
peeved that she was digging through my things but there were more important
things to worry about at the moment.

Marie half jumped but when she spotted me, she frowned. “Where
have you been?”

“A teacher held me back in class so long that I missed the bus.”
Technically this was true.

Marie raised an eyebrow. “It’s like five miles away.”

“Yes.” I realized I left her with the impression I’d walked home
but I didn’t have another answer that was better. I was getting as bad as the
guys, like how they let Hendricks and McCoy think I was from the Academy. Was
that easier on them or did they have another reason to hold back the truth?

Marie seemed to consider this. “I was looking for clothes. Mine
are all dirty.”

“There’s a washing machine downstairs.”

“There’s this one shirt I was looking for,” she said. “A green one
with buttons.”

I thought about it. “That old thing? It’s in my trunk. It doesn’t
fit me anymore.”

Marie turned from the closet and headed to my trunk. I went back
to the bathroom to grab my things. She might have believed me about the walk
home, but I couldn’t leave if she was still lingering in my room.

I returned to drop my book bag and the violin case on my bed while
she spilled clothes out of the trunk, fingering around the clothes for the one
she wanted. She pulled the green shirt out and held it up. She bent over to
strip her t-shirt off in front of me. I turned, avoiding watching to give her
some semblance of privacy even if she disregarded modesty around me. She
slipped on the green shirt. The hem grazed her belly button and the sleeves
were tight at her shoulders.

“It doesn’t fit,” I said. I noted the mess she left on the floor
but didn’t say anything. It wasn’t the time for that fight.

“It does,” she said. She smoothed out the fabric and stood up.
“Are you going to that boy’s house?”

I blinked at her. That was an opening line for negotiation. She
wanted something so she was going to see if I was willing to play along. “Were
you going to Danielle’s?”

She nodded. Her brown eyes narrowed at me. “Mom’s passed out
still,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for you to show up. If we’re going to go
out, we need a system.”

“I agree.” This was perfect. This was what we’ve needed to go
over.

“Make sure the side door and the back door by the porch are
unlocked all the time,” she said. “Dad locks it at night. Check my room. If I’m
not back at night, unlock it when he’s clear. I’m thinking I might spend the
weekend over there.”

The entire weekend? She was crazy. Even I knew better. “You should
show up on occasion,” I said. “If you pop in and check on her, she’s less
likely to call after you during the day. Do it once and you should be good for
the night.” I thought about mentioning the roof but I didn’t want to reveal
that just now. Besides, unless someone was helping her, she might fall off. “Is
there a house key somewhere around here?”

“Mom keeps one in her side table drawer.”

I nodded, kicking my sandals off and putting them aside. “I’m
going to get it. I’ll make a copy. Do you have any money?”

Marie fished in her pocket and pulled out a ten dollar bill and
slowly handed it off. “How are you making a copy?”

“I think I can ask Kota to make one. It’ll be missing for the day.
Cross your fingers that she won’t notice,” I said. I took the money from her,
knowing this little amount was probably everything she had. We rarely got
money. How would we spend it since we didn’t go anywhere? “I’ll see if I can
get two and I’ll bring you back change. If not, it’ll be just one and we’ll
hide it in the garage or something.”

Marie nodded.

I tilted my head toward the hallway. “Get out the door. I’ll give
you a head start before I go to mom’s room. If I wake her up on accident, I’ll
tell her I saw you going for a walk or something.”

Marie slipped off down the hallway and to the back stairs. I
waited until I heard the side door shut. Negotiations were over. As long as
Marie didn’t get caught at anything, she didn’t have a reason to tattle on me.
However, even with a plan for a copy of a key and a new alliance, I knew I had
to be extra careful now. If she got caught, she had more evidence on my part to
take me down with her.

I quieted my thoughts to focus, listening to the empty house. I
probably should have sent a text to Kota but I wanted to get that key and get
out quickly. I grabbed the phone, stuffing it into the cup of my bra. I was
going to take a big risk. For prisoners like us, a key would be like gold.

I used the back stairs, taking the long way across the house. I
slipped past the kitchen and as soon as I knew I was within earshot of my
parents’ bedroom, I started to creep along the edge of the hallway. Outside her
open door, I peered in.

She was on her back, her mouth hanging open. Her hair was matted
in the low ponytail at her neck. She breathed steadily. Her television was off.
This would be trickier. I had no cover noise to mask me now.