by L J Andrews
“I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised what you discover, Teagan.”
Graham sighed and turned toward the bus once more, and Mitch was grinning impishly when I leaned against the wall, watching Jenna and her friends float in the opposite direction. What was I learning from school that day? Even with my ability to dig up mounds of trouble—I could still have a little fun.
I followed closely behind Mitch, but soon my heart leapt out of place landing in my throat when I caught Jade’s brilliant gaze from across the hall. She was gaping, her pale cheeks flushed with a bit of pink, and her dimple was hidden because Jade Drake certainly wasn’t smiling. Her eyes scanned after Jenna, then flashed back toward me. Clearing my throat, the back of my neck flushed in shame as I looked away. The feeling in my chest couldn’t be guilt, because why should I feel guilty if Jade saw me speaking with another girl—a girl who had no qualms about me being from Wyvern Reform. Yet, when I slunk down in the seat on the bus my chest was tight and filled with pressure enough to cause a stomach ache. I was enrobed in betrayal— betrayal of Jade.
It was lunacy, but the feeling didn’t ease all through the night as I wished she’d never seen me talking with Jenna. The knots only worsened at the idea of Jade seeing the flirtatious kiss. I’d betrayed her. Despite our few conversations, it was the true way I felt. That glaring, uncomfortable thought pounded against my head until the alarm sounded for the next day to begin.
Chapter 6
Saturday morning I was assigned to lawn duty. It took three hours of clipping, trimming, and whacking, but I didn’t mind in the least. It had given me time to meditate with my friends, the trees.
The air was blistering by the time the afternoon broke through the quiet morning. Tonight was my first social night since coming to Wyvern Reform, and I was looking forward to the evening if for no other reason than to silence Mitch about what might happen. Mitch spoke of nothing else and had admitted to spending time with Lacy before, but tonight he planned to give his attention to Sloan. Honestly, I wished I felt as jubilant. I was excited to see more than the reform students for a change, but there was still a dark cloud hovering over the night. All week Jade had pummeled my thoughts. She’d spoken with me in Mrs. Tiddel’s class after she’d seen Jenna in the hallway, but hadn’t said much, and when school dismissed Friday she’d wished me a good weekend—I hadn’t missed the bitterness in her tone. I’d quickly learned Jenna wasn’t quiet about her prowling for reform students. It would be a miracle if Jade hadn’t been bombarded by the grand plans for the trio’s reform student hunting trip that weekend.
I shook my head, swigging back a long gulp of bottled water. There was a family of robins watching me. Yes, I believed they were watching me. Their beady eyes followed me around the yard as though the birds were waiting for me to outright speak to them. All morning they’d perched on the tree, only flying away when I moved toward the front door of the house.
“Teagan,” Sapphire’s voice echoed from his office.
“Yes, sir,” I drudged up a reply, wiping the grimy sweat from my forehead.
“What are the rules for tonight?”
“No drugs, no alcohol, no wandering hands, I got it,” I grumbled.
“You boys stay out of the bedrooms. You may go out on the porch with the lights on or in the free room for a movie. Curfew is still at ten.”
“Do you grill Mitch and Graham like you do me, sir?” I snapped, though it only seemed to amuse Sapphire.
“Mitch knows the rules, Graham is being forced to participate by Mitch, and I don’t really remember you being in a position to question what I do or don’t do, Mr. Ward.”
“I’m not going to break any rules,” I sighed.
“Alright then. This is a privilege you’ve earned through the week. Don’t bring me to regret it.”
I offered a significant eye roll, but made certain Sapphire didn’t see. Tromping upstairs, I cursed under my breath upon finding a line for the showers. Jenna and her friends weren’t the only ones coming to the reform house that night. One of the younger boys had turned fourteen and several eighth graders were planning on coming for a lame party with popcorn and a small, single-layer cake. But when you’re a reform kid, I suppose that was as good as it would get. It was disturbing the lengths the students at Wyvern Reform had to go to have peers visit them at their prison. All parents of the visitors were informed and had to consent, an adult was always present with the younger students and within shouting distance of those like me and Mitch. It wasn’t exactly the ideal set-up, but Jenna hadn’t seemed to mind the effort on Friday afternoon when she tried to kiss me a little longer than before. I was skilled enough to get out of affection I didn’t want. Not that I didn’t want it, but after the gut-wrenching risk of Jade seeing it again I would wait until we were safely tucked behind the walls of the reform house. Though, even then I wasn’t sure how much I truly wanted.
It was a full house when free time began. Jesse, Sapphire, and Bart were on chaperone patrol, and Sapphire meant business. I chuckled hearing his strong tone shouting down the halls after a few renegades trying to sneak toward the bedrooms. Thankfully Jesse had the job of sticking with me, Mitch, and Graham. Jesse was the youngest employee at Wyvern Reform and had the tendency to scroll absently on social media and not really pay attention to his surroundings.
Curfew was looming when we led the girls to the front porch. Jenna curled against my chest on the porch swing. She seemed comfortable, like she belonged there. I felt as though I were on fire, and not it a good way. Sapphire was worried about my wandering hands, but Jenna’s hand was inching ever closer to my lower back so that I had to shift into an awkward position just to avoid it. Sloan was on the prowl, her face buried against Mitch’s neck. I had to laugh—poor Mitch—he tried to reciprocate her moves, but Sloan was just a little much. Eventually, Mitch folded his hands in his lap until she gave-up. Graham kept his arms crossed, his eyes focused straight and ignored Lacy at his side who looked rather annoyed.
“Now you know,” Jenna said softly, her fingers tickling against the back of my neck. “There are girls who aren’t afraid of a rebel.”
“You’re not the first girl to talk to Teagan,” Graham growled. I glared at the redhead, irritated he was bound and determined to ruin the night for everyone else. Jenna certainly hadn’t missed the comment. She pricked to life and studied Graham’s sour face. Graham was on his mission to end the evening, I could sense it, when he quickly continued. “Jade Drake likes him. I saw how angry Raffi was the first day she spent chatting you up.”
I scoffed and relaxed a little more in the seat. In the end, I couldn’t help but enjoy talking about Jade, even if I was surrounded by new females who knew how to keep up with my edgy attitude. But Jenna had abandoned her grip on my arm, and sat straight up. “Jade?” She whipped around, her freckled nose crinkling when she met my gaze. “Are you the kind of guy who’s into a princess?”
“Princess? I’ve spoken to her like twice,” I muttered. Not entirely true, but I really didn’t need to bring up all the little comments we’d shared each day in class. “Why do you think she’s a princess?”
Jenna chuckled, as did Lacy and Sloan. “Well, she lives in a mansion,” Jenna sneered. “She’s followed by some of the hottest guys in school like they’re her personal guards, she’s the principal’s daughter, want me to go on?”
“That doesn’t mean she’s a princess,” I said, finding it unusual how quickly I jumped—no, needed to come—to Jade’s defense. The pressure building in my chest was suffocating. “You’re holding it against her that she’s rich?”
“No, that’s not all. She’s weird,” Sloan said. “A couple years ago she got into trouble with some kid and of course it was just brushed under the rug, but the kid—he like disappeared. We never saw him again.”
“What?” I said, leaning forward over my knees.
“I’ve never heard this story,” Mitch added, his eyes piqued with interest.
“Me
neither,” Graham said, participating for the first time that night.
“Yeah, some say the guy made a move on her and Raffi murdered him—I wouldn’t doubt it—that guy has rage issues. Others say he tried to do something to Jade, you know, something bad, and she hurt him. Of course, her mom takes care of everything and makes certain her record is spotless. Jade seems all perfect, but there’s something dark in her. She doesn’t have girlfriends, and hardly speaks to anyone except a few students—all the rich, beautiful people in the school. The rest of us are just peasants beneath Princess Jade,” Jenna said, finishing with a harsh giggle while trying to take my hand. Again, I was skilled enough to keep a distance without being obvious.
“There’s all sorts of stories like that—about all of them. Jade, Raffi, Dash, my dad even struggles with Ms. Drake. Like no one knows where Jade’s dad went,” Lacy muttered. “Are the Drakes divorced, is he dead, is he chained in their basement? Who knows.”
“I’ve seen Jade out in the forest before. It’s creepy. She’s always alone out there, probably doing all kinds of druggy stuff. If I had to bet, I would say Jade deserves to be in Wyvern Reform ten times more than any of you guys,” Sloan hissed, her fingers quickly threading through Mitch’s hair. He only closed his eyes and seemed to be praying for it to stop.
“What were you doing out in the forest then?” Graham rumbled.
“I run,” Sloan scoffed. “I’m on the cross country team, Graham Cracker, it’s part of our route. I’m telling you, the Drakes are one of those families that pamper the princess even if she does all kinds of secret, dark stuff.”
“You’d be smart to stay away from her, Teagan,” Lacy insisted.
“Well, I didn’t get into Wyvern Reform because I’m smart.”
“What do you think she does with Raffi and Dash? I mean, they both look like they’d jump in front of a bus for her at any given moment. What does she have that keeps them around?” Jenna giggled again.
Picturing Jade with Dash and Raffi was enough. I was done. “Sounds like you all might be a little jealous,” I said with more harshness than I’d intended.
“Jealous? Please, who is here with you tonight?” Jenna smirked. This was the moment; her lips were aimed directly at mine, and I had a choice. Let it happen, enjoy a few minutes, or hold true to the way my chest was corded in tension over Jade Drake.
I chose the latter.
Standing quickly, Jenna’s lips parted when she scowled in my direction. “Well, it’s about time for our curfew,” I said. Mitch burst to his feet, and I thought Graham muttered ‘finally’ under his breath.
“You’re not going to kiss me goodbye?” Jenna whimpered. I wanted to roll my eyes when she actually pouted out her lip. That might have been playful, attractive even, before—okay, even ten minutes earlier—before Jade was brought into the conversation. Now all I wanted to do was shoo Jenna away and process everything they’d told me.
At first I thought nothing could ever taint my awe of Jade, but I’d seen Jade in the woods talking to Sapphire. The more I thought about it, she did speak different, most of the time I didn’t know what she was talking about at all. Then of course there was the unbearable pull to be close to her—I’d even hang around Raffi all day if it meant I was close to her. If I believed in that sort of thing, I might think Jade a witch trapping me in one of her spells. But that wasn’t real. Jade was intriguing in an infuriating way. I both despised and lived for the rambling thoughts of her gilded hair, her bright eyes, and the mystery that was ever present when she was near.
I relented and kissed Jenna on the cheek. Stepping back, I caught the full fury of her scowl. “Sorry, Sapphire said no—I got into some trouble earlier. One more strike and I’ll probably be sent packing.” A total lie, but Mitch, being the genius he was, stepped in to back me up.
“Teagan punched one of the employees. In your defense though, he was lurking a little too close for comfort,” Mitch said, forcing me to clench my jaw in order to stifle the laugh bouncing up my throat.
“You’re something else, Teagan,” Jenna sighed deeply. The story had little effect, except seemingly causing me to be even more irresistible. “Let’s do this again soon.”
“Sure,” I agreed, but there was a serious doubt it would ever happen. Jenna, Sloan, and Lacy wouldn’t be coming back—at least not to see me. What was wrong with me? A girl who would throw herself at me if I asked, and here I was tossing it all away over what? A girl who hardly spoke to me. Jade didn’t even seem like she liked me some days. She was a girl who irritated me whenever she looked at me, yet also hooked me by the mouth and reeled me closer. I asked inwardly again: what was wrong with me?
Lights out came too quickly, I was stuck in the middle of algebraic formulas and numbers with tiny letters that made no sense. I tried to shove the thoughts of spending time gossiping with Jenna and her girls from my mind. Nothing cleared my brain better than math. The book opened, and everything went blank. Wiping my brow, the heat from the muggy night spilled in through the room. It was unbearable. Checking once by my door for any movement I slunk toward the window and cracked it just a bit, allowing a perfect, night breeze to spill through the wall of heat. There was a full moon, so instead of risking the light from my lamp catching Sapphire’s eye I stayed positioned near the cracked window using the light of the moon to complete the assignment. Soon a complex, pointless, wordy problem had me stumped. Closing my eyes, I rested my head against the wall. After a long pause, I allowed myself to think of Aunt Liz.
The night after my sentence she’d cried harder than I’d ever seen before. My aunt hadn’t known I’d heard her. She’d tried to paint Wyvern Willows in a positive light from the moment we’d left the courtroom, but that night I’d heard through the walls her wails and laments to my leaving. I wanted to call her, but that would have to wait until the morning. Each student was allowed one home phone call a week unless there was an emergency. I liked to call on Sunday since it was when most of the foster kids were at activities with the local youth group in the neighborhood. I could speak with Aunt Liz in peace. In the quiet of the room, I promised I would paint Wyvern Reform positively—I’d reassure Aunt Liz that all was well. Even if inside I couldn’t wait to leave. Yet, there was the undeniable nagging creeping up and down my spine, like a constant tickle of an insect that this place meant something—something I had yet to discover. It didn’t make sense, and I quickly shook the thoughts away, trying yet again to focus on homework.
Another ten minutes and I was ready to drive nails through my eyes. I turned my attention back to the calm of the forest at the sound of a voice.
“You shouldn’t keep coming.” It was Sapphire. “I will come to you.”
I held my breath as I glanced through the crack in my window. I didn’t know if I’d expected to see them again, but when I did my heart flipped upside down. I pounced from the windowsill, slinking low so I could watch. There was Sapphire once again, standing by the trees. The tips of my fingers trembled, because Sapphire wasn’t alone. She was back. Jade Drake. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail and she wore flannel pants, but she’d never looked better. Jade rubbed the bridge of her nose—notably upset at something.
“Who else can understand?” she whispered back. It was getting harder to hear, almost as if they were moving further away, but they were positioned in the same place.
“This strength is normal, you’re getting older. It was bound to happen.” Sapphire was shaking his head and crossed his arms.
Jade hugged her middle and I froze when she pointed toward the house. “No, this is different—it feels different. Only one thing has changed, and you refuse to help me research—what if this connection means something greater?”
“There is no connection,” Sapphire grumbled. “Enough time has passed, you’re feeling more at ease with your body. That’s all.”
I tasted bile in my throat. Sapphire hadn’t sounded inappropriate, but something about the way he was talking was like a dirty
word on his tongue. I wanted to rush Jade away, I wanted to get Sapphire away from her. They shouldn’t be talking like this, yet I couldn’t find the will to stop listening.
Jade was still pointing her finger at the house. “Say what you will, but something is happening here.”
There must’ve been an invisible fist crushing my windpipe because I could hardly draw air when Sapphire turned, glancing at my window. Why? Jade hadn’t said anything about me.
I dropped my head out of sight, hoping Sapphire hadn’t seen me watching. My heart was thumping in my chest. Even if Sapphire was a friend of Jade’s family, it was beyond strange that a grown man kept having secret, tense meetings with a senior in high school. A swell of protective instincts enrobed my sensibilities. Swallowing the knot in my throat, I glanced out the window once more. They were gone. Jade had disappeared back into the darkness and Sapphire had slithered out of view.
Crawling back into bed, I stayed awake well into the night until I finally settled that in the morning I would ask Mr. Sapphire exactly what he was doing with Jade Drake.
Chapter 7
In truth, I didn’t say anything to Sapphire, at least not the next day, or the next. Every time I tried, the words fumbled over my tongue and I just walked away. I was a coward, and berated myself at least a hundred times. I wanted to speak with Jade, but each day in Mrs. Tiddel’s English class, whatever it was about the girl, I suddenly didn’t care about her late night escapades at the reform house. Until it happened again. My stomach clenched as the next Wednesday night brought Jade’s glowing blonde hair to the edge of the forest. She was pointing at something, but whether she held a piece of paper, or it was something on her own body, I couldn’t see because of Sapphire’s hulking form. That was it. No more. Something had Jade troubled enough she would continually risk being seen on the property, and Sapphire was clearly not willing to end the behavior. That instinct, the electric pull to keep Jade Drake blissful and happy, took over. If no one else seemed to care, I would be the one to get to the bottom of the uncomfortable interaction.
