Tompkin's School (For The Extraordinarily Talented Book 1) (9 page)

“I don’t want it to be weird,” she said, “and he and I are just friends.”

“I’m not going to say it’s not weird,” I said, “but you don’t need my permission to date him.”

Kia smiled, relaxing a bit.

“Thanks,” she smiled, “but we’re just friends.”

“Mmhmm,” I laughed.

“Okay, so friends with possible potential,” she caved, “but that’s it, I promise.”

“Go get ready,” I said, “it’s getting late.”

“Oh right, that school thing,” she laughed, heading for the door, “thanks again!”

I decided to wear a faded pair of light blue jeans and a white t-shirt and black converse. I applied a bit of eyeliner on and blow-dried my hair straight.

I left the dorms and headed for the café, the energy and enthusiasm I had woken up with seeming to increase as I was welcomed by the morning sunrise. The sun rays glistened off the damp bark on the trees and the surrounding foliage, creating a haven. The ground was a bit damp, which meant it probably rained a bit last night.

I was just about to reach the end of the path and out to the main part of the Academy when a hand suddenly stopped me. I hadn’t even heard any footsteps!

“
Death takes a soul
,” a voice whispered behind me.

I spun around to find Tiffany Mazzalai, a classmate and close friend of Leslie‘s, standing an inch from my nose.

“What did you say?” I asked, stumbling back a few steps.

Her eyes were a bit unfocused and she was seriously creeping me out.

“
Death takes a soul
,” she slurred, “
the keeper to the secret of murder runs free.
”

“What the
hell
are you talking about?” I asked, getting a little irritated, “Is this some kind of joke?”

“
Creatures of the hidden world shall roam free
,” she warned, “
evil dwells among us.
”

“Okay, I’m leaving now,” I said, turning to leave.

“
Death will take another
…”

This was the last I heard from the seriously demented Tiffany as I rushed out of the woods and towards the café.

The days went by in a blink of an eye and the next thing I knew, it was the day of the big party at the lake. Everyone who got an invitation to the Black brother’s lakeside soirée couldn’t help but be excited about it and I was no exception. I could hardly concentrate through French class, which was incredibly dull today.

Once class was over I met up with Kia on my way to the café to get a quick bite.

“How was Professor Veal?” I asked, laughing.

“Ugh, horrible!" She replied, “He went off about dissection, which apparently we’re all going to have to do at the end of the semester.”

“Gross," I grimaced.

“What’s gross is he sounded almost excited about it,” she cringed.

“Wow, he’s got issues," I laughed.

I still hadn’t told anyone about Tiffany’s “episode” the other day. I didn’t think anyone would believe me. What did she mean by
death takes a soul
and that it would take another anyway? I shook the disturbing question out of my head, I wasn’t going to let anything bother me. Tonight was about having fun.

We entered the café, got some food, and then chose a seat by the tall glass windows. The hot sun poured in, cascading the room with a dazzling light.

“It’s pretty in here, huh?” Kia commented, taking a bite of pizza.

“Yeah,” I agreed.

From the corner of my eye I saw someone’s reflection in the window that caught my attention. I instantly recognized the coal eyes of Amadeus and quickly turned my attention back to my food.

“Izzy? Hey, what’s going on?” Kia asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“What?” I asked.

“Are you even listening to me?” She asked.

“Oh, sorry,” I replied.

“You know, you’ve been kinda acting a bit spaced out lately,” she commented.

“I’ve just had a lot on my mind,” I said.

“Well, you definitely have to forget about it,” she said, “because
tonight
is the party. And don’t forget Lee will be there.”

“So?” I replied, raising an eyebrow.

“Hmm, well…” Kia began, with a mischievous grin, “music, booze, sunset at the cabin by the lake...Lee personally inviting you…given your history together I’d say sparks are bound to fly!”

“Whatever,” I laughed.

Soon it was time for practice and so we headed over to the auditorium.

“Oh, hey girls!” Leslie called as we tossed our bags onto a nearby seat, "Glad you’re here early, we have tons to do in order to be prepared. I can’t believe our first play of the year is going to be Chicago I’m
so
excited. What a way to start, right?”

“Definitely,” Kia replied, “it’s a pretty tough production to pull off.”

“We can do it,” I encouraged.

‡‡‡

Soon practice was over and I was back in the dorm packing for the party. I had curled my hair and now it fell into waves over my shoulders. I refreshed my eyeliner and added some gray eyeshadow and mascara for a smokey eye effect. The door opened and Kia burst through, rushing to the closet.

“I have no idea what I’m going to
wear
!” She shrieked, then stopped dead in her trail, "
Wow
, you look hot!”

“Do I?” I asked, smiling widely.

“Lee won’t be able to resist you,” she reassured.

“Here,” I said, opening the closet, “wear this.”

I handed her a deep V halter dress in emerald green.

“It’ll look great on you,” I added.

“Are you sure?" She asked.

“Of course!” I exclaimed, “What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t?”

“Thanks, you’re the best!” She squealed.

“I know,” I agreed.

“So, what’s with the come hither makeup?" She asked, winking.

“None of your business,” I smiled “I’ll spill all the details later.”

“You better,” she laughed, “I gotta get ready.”

I nodded in agreement and turned back to the mirror. I added a deep plum gloss to my lips, accentuating my pale complexion, and I checked myself out in the reflection. I was wearing my royal blue, silk cocktail dress with the back that plunged all the way down to my waist. The icing on the cake would be the heels! I quickly slipped on some matching, absurdly tall stilettos and glanced in the mirror one last time. I felt completely invincible and sexy! I put on some long silver earrings and then started packing some cute pajamas and change of clothes.

“Read to go?” I asked as I heard Kia come in.

I turned and saw Kia walk in and gasped. Her hair was perfectly straightened and she wore gold jewelry and shoes that matched the emerald green dress perfectly.

“Wow, now who looks incredible?” I exclaimed.

“This old thing?" She giggled.

“Got your overnight bag ready?” I asked, “The boys should be waiting for us.”

“Right here,” she replied, grabbing the bag from her bed, “let’s go!”

We turned off the lights and headed for the foyer. We passed other girls who were either on their way out, or rushing to finish getting ready. It seemed like half the school would be there!

“This is going to be an incredible party,” Kia said, linking our arms as we headed towards the front door.

“I agree,” I replied, “I’ve definitely been needing a night out.”

“Me too!” Kia exclaimed.

As we opened the door we were met by about a dozen pair of eyes staring at us. I scanned the crowded lawn and locked eyes with Lee. I smiled as I caught his shocked expression. I also noticed Kain’s eyes had immediately taken notice of Kia.

“Ready for this, Kia?” I asked, “Cause if you didn’t know this before, Kain’s definitely into you.”

“Whatever,” she breathed.

I chuckled to myself and we headed over to where the boys were.

“Ready?” Lee asked, noticeably having a hard time focusing.

“I think so,” I said.

“Duran and Laurent are already over there,” Lee informed us, “and Amadeus will meet us over there.”

We made our way to the parking lot, the setting sun casting shadows around us.

“You look beautiful,” Lee whispered.

“You don’t look bad yourself,” I commented, noticing he had dressed up a bit, too.

He wore a collared, buttoned down shirt and dark wash jeans. He had also styled his hair.

We got to the truck and this time Kain did not call shotgun, choosing to sit in the back with Kia. I was happy for him. He usually had a hard time letting his guard down and actually being with someone. Being with Kia would be good for him and hopefully her happy-go-lucky personality would be a good influence on him.

Soon we made it to the main road, leaving the school far behind us. I welcomed the cool breeze as the windows were rolled down, letting myself go to the beat of music coming from the stereo. As we drove over a hill I saw a huge lake framed by the Arbuckle Mountains.

“Almost there,” Lee said, turning onto a dirt road.

We drove a few more minutes and soon we pulled up to a two-story log cabin. It was hard to miss, the whole place was lit up and music was blaring. It looked packed!

I got out of the car and waited for the rest of them to follow. From the corner of my eye I saw Kain take Kia’s hand and I couldn’t help but smile. I made my way to the house, Lee not far behind.

“Hey, hey!” Duran’s voice exclaimed, as he appeared through the front door, “The gang’s all here!”

He was holding a plastic cup in his hand that I suspected was not fruit punch.

“Come on in you guys, get a beer or get a drink,” he said, disappearing back into the cabin.

“Looks like we got here just in time,” I said, laughing.

We entered the house and were greeted by a crowd of teens. Some were hanging out, while others were starting to sway to the music and seemed to be on the verge of dancing.

“I’m gonna go get a drink,” I said.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Kain replied, “want anything, Kia?”

“Maybe in a bit,” she said.

“Lee?” He asked.

“I’m gonna go find Laurent real quick,” Lee said, “I’ll catch up with ya’ll later.”

Kain and I headed to where the food and refreshments were. There was a huge bar with every type of beverage you could possibly imagine.

“It’s party ‘till the cops show up, kiddos!” Duran slurred, a bit too loudly.

“Yeah, buddy I think you’ve had a bit too much,” Kain said.

“No, I’m not drunk,” he replied.

“That’s what they all say,” I laughed.

Duran stood up straight and leaned in closer.

“Seriously, I’m not,” he said.

I covered my nose as I got a whiff of nacho cheese and popcorn, but no alcohol.

“So, you’re
faking
?” I gasped, “
Why
?”

“No offense, man, but that’s a little lame,” Kain added.

“It was a contest,” he replied, “some of the guys bet a hundred bucks on who could get wasted first. But I don’t want a repeat of the last time I fell for that bet. I was really drunk.”

I shook my head as I took a sip of my drink.

“So, you’re playing fake drunk for a hundred bucks?” Kain asked.

“Pretty much,” Duran replied.

“Okay,” Kain shrugged, “good for you, man.”

“Cheater,” I laughed.

“Hey, I’m winning, aren’t I?" He shrugged.

I decided to go and find Kia and made my way back towards the entrance. I scanned the room with no luck and so I went to search the rest of the house. I crossed the living room and went upstairs. There were a few doors and one of them was opened. I entered the room and found a group playing video games.

“Hey, Iz,” Laurent called.

“Hey, what’s up,” I replied.

“Wanna play?" He asked.

“No thanks,” I said, “have you seen Kia?”

“Nah,” he answered, turning back to the screen.

I left and went back downstairs. It was like she had just disappeared. Then I found the reason I couldn’t find her. There was a door off to the side that was halfway closed and I decided to see if she was there. I opened the door and there she was, wrapped around a tall boy with curly hair that I recognized as Amadeus. He seemed to be everywhere these days.

A flood of rage that I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop surged up my spine and burned my skull. But this time the rage did not paralyze me. This time I sprung forward with a power I had never felt before, tearing Amadeus from her as I threw him across the room.

“What the
hell
?” Kia shrieked, “Izzy!”

“Funny,” I spat “that’s what I was going to say.”

I spun around and glared at Amadeus, who was picking himself up off the floor. He looked up at me and his glaring eyes pierced me. I grabbed my skull, but my hands burned me. I looked down to find my hands burning red. What was happening to me? My hands were on
fire
!

“What’s going on in here?" A familiar voice asked.

Duran had come in to find Amadeus attempting to put a broken lamp back together. Lee and Kain were not far behind as well as a couple other curious Georges who had heard the commotion.

“Nothing,” Amadeus said, “I fell.”

I tried to even out my breathing as I hid my hands behind my back.

“Yep,” Kia agreed, “come on Izzy, let’s go dance!”

Her abnormally high voice was hardly nonchalant and matched her pleading eyes as she linked my arm and led me out of the room. She smiled at Kain, flirtatiously and I felt my jaw tighten in disgust.

“What the
hell
was that?” I shouted.

“I’m
sorry
, okay?” Kia sighed.

“Oh, right, you’re sorry,” I laughed, sarcastically, “you’re practically on a date with my brother and that’s all you got?”

“We’re not on a date,” Kia replied, defensively, “oh and how
did
you throw Amadeus all the way across the room like that? I’ve seen him bench press like two hundred, or whatever.”

“No changing the subject,” I scoffed, "ya know, I thought you were cool. Not to mention a decent person, but
this
?!?”

“Seriously, Iz,” she said, “you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Then explain it to me," I barked.

“Well,” she began, “believe me or not, I was looking for the bathroom and Amadeus jumped me.”

“Wow,” I laughed, “can’t believe you’d make up such a pathetic lie.”

“I knew you wouldn’t believe me,” she said, crossing her arms.

“You’re right,” I agreed, “and I don’t think anyone
could
believe that.”