The Academy - First Days (34 page)

“Sorry about that,” Rocky said to me after Mike and his friends
left. His hand was still on my back and I was uncomfortable. I was facing the
wrong way to see if the guys were coming over. “You’re okay, right?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“Rocky,” someone said behind him.

Rocky let go of me and we both turned to see a tall guy behind
him. His head was shaved clean and he was as broad as Silas. There was a wide
scar on his left cheek and thick, dark eyebrows. Except for the scar, he reminded
me of a younger Vin Diesel.

“We need to go,” he said. “Coach wants to see us.”

“Hang on, Jay,” he said. Rocky turned to me again, flicking on a
smile to show clean teeth. “You’re a cheerleader right?”

I blinked at his question but shook my head, “I don’t think so.”

“You should be,” he said. “Rocky’s girl is always a cheerleader.”
He smirked. “And you’re going to marry me instead of Mike?”

I didn’t know how to answer him so I didn’t. I shifted on my feet,
feeling the incredible sense of aggressiveness from him, even though he’d done
hardly anything to me. This was different than the playful way Mike kept asking
me. Rocky’s eyes were intense. It was almost like he wasn’t asking me at all.
He expected it.

“Call me,” he said. He winked at me and stepped away, following
Jay through the doors.

I watched after him, knowing my mouth was open. How did he expect
me to call him if I didn’t have his number? Not that I was going to, but the
assuming nature ground on me. What did he mean claiming me as his girl? I blew
out a slow breath, perplexed.

I turned, catching seven pairs of eyes bearing down at me from
across the courtyard, each one asking a different question.

I slowly lifted my hand into the air, holding up four fingers. I
blushed as I did it, turned and went back to my seat on the bench.

When I dared another glance back at the guys from over my book,
none of them were laughing.

F
riday
F
all

W
hile walking to my next class, I overheard more whispers about the
Friday Fall. It was too much to keep to myself any more. I slipped a hand into
my bra while everyone around me seemed distracted and sent a quick text to
Kota.

Sang:
“Friday Fall.”

Kota:
“What’s that?”

They haven’t heard. I felt better that I took the time to text
him.

Sang:
“I don’t know. But it’s bad. Other students are talking about
it. It’s happening this afternoon. Second floor.”

Kota:
“I’ll tell the others. Keep your head down. If you hear
anything else, text me. If you see trouble, head straight to Blackbourne’s
office.”

The next few classes seemed to take eons. Silas sat next to me in
class instead of behind me. He seemed unwilling to move any further but minded to
not talk to me at all. Victor only sat two chairs away and I felt his fire eyes
on me the entire time. Dr. Green shot looks at me, too, wordlessly asking what
was going on but there was no way to explain it. I felt like I had failed at
keeping myself indiscreet at lunch. I couldn’t go one day without something
happening.

Still, no McCoy. That was something.

Victor followed me to gym. I caught him watching and waiting at
the end of the hall as I turned into the girls’ locker room. I ached to run
back to him and hug him or at least tell him it wouldn’t be long and we’d hang
out all weekend. His fire eyes were disturbingly subdued, and as lonely as I
felt.

One more class, I kept telling myself, and we’ll all go home. I
touched the phone at my bra. I dressed in the red t-shirt and the short black
shorts and my tennis shoes. I tucked the phone in my bra, wondering if it’ll
survive jumping jacks. I didn’t want to let it go.

Inside the gym, however, the bleachers were pulled out and there
were chairs and a podium in the middle of the basketball court.

“Sit on the bleachers,” the girls’ coach, Coach French, said. She
waved to the seats and turned, walking off to talk with the other coaches.

I glanced at Karen, the tall girl who had played basketball with
me the day before. It felt like a million years ago. She caught my eye and slid
over to sit next to me. My heart raced and I swallowed back my fears. I needed
to make friends, I reminded myself. I had to make an effort, like Kota said.

“What’s going on?” I asked her, nodding to the podium.

Karen shrugged. “I don’t know. Looks like an assembly. I heard
there were some school board members here today.”

An assembly? “Is this what the Friday Fall thing is about?” It
didn’t seem like an assembly was something to dramatize and avoid.

Karen’s eyebrows lifted. “What? No. Friday Fall’s a rumor.”

“What is it, though?”

Karen shrugged, pushing her slim fingers through her brown pixie
hair. “I think they push a bunch of students around until they fall over. I don’t
know. I heard about it last year as a freshman but didn’t see it then either. I
don’t really pay attention to that kind of stuff.”

I slid a glance over to Nathan and Gabriel. Their eyes locked on
me. I didn’t know how to reach to them. It wasn’t likely they had their phones
on them. Did they get word about the Friday thing?

“You’re name is Sang, right?” Karen asked.

I was grateful that she kept the conversation going. “Yeah,” I
said. “You’re Karen.”

Karen nodded, holding out a hand. I shook it. Touching was normal.
Was making a new friend this easy? Was it like Kota said, that I just needed to
open up more? Maybe there wasn’t anything wrong with me. Maybe I just didn’t
understand. I felt awkward but I forced myself to smile pleasantly.

“Your friends keep staring at you,” she said, jerking her chin to
where the boys were sitting on the other side of the bleachers.

Her words forced me to glance over at Nathan and Gabriel. They
were still watching us, curious. They made no attempt to look away now.

“They’re being that obvious, huh?” I asked.

Karen smirked. “Why were they wearing those uniforms today?”

“There’s some special school program,” I said. “Those are the
uniforms Ashley Waters wants everyone to wear maybe next year or the year
after. There’s something about wanting the other students to get used to the
idea.”

“Is that why you’re avoiding them? They seem mad about it.”

Could I tell her? I remembered Mr. Blackbourne’s words about
revealing too much information about what the Academy did. Still, we were
talking about what was right in front of us and about things that were
happening to the school. Wasn’t it important to gauge how other students were
reacting?

“I’m supposed to avoid them,” I said. “They were worried the other
students would pick fights. I’m supposed to stay out of the way.”

Karen laughed. “I saw Mike at lunch. They’re all picking on you,
instead.”

I titled my head to her. “So maybe this was a waste of time?
Everyone knows we’re friends?”

She laughed again, slipping fingers over her mouth. “Sweetie, you
all stand in that courtyard by the windows of the cafeteria and the main
hallway. Yes, everyone knows. They’ve been talking about why Sang isn’t with
her boyfriends today.”

I blushed. “We’re just friends,” I said. I was being talked about?
Why did they assume they were my boyfriends? Was it because I was sitting on
Kota’s lap the other day? Was it how they held my hand and sat next to me?
Don’t friends hold hands?

Karen’s eyes sparked. “You’re not dating any of them?”

I lifted my eyebrows, shaking my head. I glanced around, seeing if
anyone else was paying attention. The only ones were Nathan and Gabriel and
they were out of earshot. “I’ve not really dated anyone,” I confided.

Karen’s smirk softened. “You’re kidding.”

I shook my head. Why would she think I was kidding about it?

Karen opened her mouth to say something.

Bright flashes emanated above our heads and sirens begun to blare.
I cringed, covering my ears at the onslaught of noise that echoed through the
gym.

“Fire alarm,” Coach French shouted to us. “Everyone outside.”

A fire drill? Now? It was kind of early in the year for it. I
sought out Gabriel and Nathan, but the male coaches were directing the boys out
the side door toward the back of the school. The girls’ coach pointed us toward
the front doors to go in the opposite direction. It made sense to do since we
were closer to that side but I was reluctant to follow since the guys weren’t
able to stay close.

The girls filed into a line. Karen stood in front of me. The coach
held the door open for us and we collected out into the hallway. A mass of
students from classes surrounding the gym flooded the hallway. Confusion set
in, but most of the students started out toward the doors that led out to the
parking lot.

A buzzing started at my chest. I fell back from the group. Karen
turned, stopping when she realized I wasn’t right behind her. We mixed in with
other students. I pulled the phone out from my bra.

Kota:
“hey
girl. cum upstars.”

My breath caught in my throat. Kota would never type like that.

“What’s wrong?” Karen asked, a curious eyebrow going up.

It took me a moment to register what this message meant. Two
thoughts struck me at once. Kota didn’t have his phone. Upstairs.

Friday Fall.

Warnings flashed through my mind. They’d told me to stay away if
there was trouble. I had no idea where Nathan and Gabriel were. Everyone should
have been heading outside. Maybe this was a distraction for whatever was going
to happen.

Kota was in trouble.

My fingers sought out Karen’s arm. I fixed my eyes on hers. “Did
you see where the guys went?”

She nodded. “Those two from gym?” she asked, catching on.

“Can you go find them? Tell them to meet me on the second floor.”
There was no other way to reach them. They wouldn’t have their phones.

“Where are you going?” Karen asked, a puzzled expression on her
face.

“The fall thing is happening. Say Kota’s in trouble. Tell them
that. Hurry,” I said, turning away.

I tucked in against the flow of students headed toward the doors
and sprinted for the main hallway. I was pushed, called after by teachers, but
I ignored them all. I wasn’t going to leave Kota alone. If Kota didn’t have his
phone, and he was in trouble, no one would know to reach him. In this mess for
the fire drill, I had to find him. I’d risk another grounding from Gabriel,
North and everyone one else if there was something I could do to help.

As I ran, I opened North’s app, pushing the green button to call
through. I held the phone to my head. The phone rang but he didn’t pick up. Did
I push the wrong button? I tried Silas, but his did the same. Why weren’t they
answering? Couldn’t they hear? Were they outside?

When I got to the main hallway, it had emptied. Echoes saturated
the air around me. I glanced up at the balcony of the second floor, seeing
heads of people clustered together. The stairwell was clear. What were they
still doing inside? Why weren’t teachers after them to go outside for the fire
drill?

Something flew past my head, thrown from over the balcony of the
second floor landing, crashing on the floor next to me. Books smacked against
the ground. Papers fluttered across the floor.

Kota’s green messenger bag feathered down next to them.

I charged the stairs, taking two at a time.

When I got close to the second floor, the shouting vibrated
through my bones. I slowed, peeking around the corner at the top of the stairs.

Kota dangled up against the far wall. A tall kid grasped him by
the throat while two others on either side held his arms to stop him from
fighting. Clusters of other students surrounded him. Expectant. Cell phones
were out, some filming the event.

Through the confusion, Kota’s eyes met mine. His eyes widened in
panic.

A shiver broke through me. My jaw tightened. My hands clenched
into fists around my phone. I randomly opened any of the apps, one being
Victor’s. I hit the red button.

Kota wriggled and he tried to call out but a fist met against his
chest.

Where it came from, some deep survival instinct maybe, I wasn’t
sure. My feet moved. I sprinted across the hallway, shoving the phone into my
pocket and cutting around people standing by. I leapt, my foot in the air, and
aimed for the back of the guy holding Kota’s throat. I kicked out. I had no
idea if it would work but I hoped it was enough to get him to loosen his grip
on Kota so he could break free.