by Ruby Vincent
“It’s not right.”
My eyes slid off Adam and landed on Melody. With one look, I knew she heard everything we said. “It’s not right and... I’m going to put a stop to it.”
“How?” I glanced at Whittaker. He was still beaming so wide I could see all of his teeth. “We can’t stop them building more schools.”
“I’m going to figure something out.” She rose from her seat and walked out as the celebration raged around us.
I didn’t know what that meant. I didn’t know what any of this meant, but I had that stomach-writhing feeling so like the one that plagued me before I redecorated Whittaker’s carpet. That feeling like everything was about to go wrong.
Chapter Four
The pencil slipped past his pink lips, rolling between his teeth as he left little dent, dent, dents on the wood. There was a tiny wrinkle between his brows as Cole scrunched his forehead in concentration. Not like the one that came about from being annoyed. This was even cuter.
Michael sat on his other side, his face smooth although he had twice the amount of books in front of him. Landon sat with them, scribbling something in the margins of his notebooks. Landon’s tongue poked out as he squinted over the table and I felt the cinders of my crush reignite.
It turned my stomach. What was wrong with me? After everything they did to me, why couldn’t I see them for the monsters they were. Landon didn’t deserve the feelings that lingered. Cole had no right to the smile that fought its way to my lips the rare times he laughed. Michael should lay no claim to the comfort it stirred in me when I heard his voice in my ear telling me what to do during my nightly runs.
I ducked further behind the shelves, peering at them over spines of dusty tomes. This was the first time I had stepped foot in the library but it was a credit to the wealthy intuition that housed it. Rows and rows of books, computer stations in the back, study tables along the stacks, and an ever-watchful librarian who squinted at me suspiciously when I handed her my battle-won day pass.
I hadn’t been waiting long for them. These guys had been my friends. I knew their routines. Wrestling, swimming, and track practice directly after school. Back to their dorms for half an hour to shower and get their homework, then it was the library until dinner where they were promised peace and quiet to study instead of the racket of an all-male, teenage-boy dorm floor.
They walked in together right on schedule and I ducked behind the shelves as they found a table near a glazed window. They got down to studying right away, not bothering with chitchat.
I took a steadying breath. This is it, Zela. Don’t lose your nerve.
The boys loomed closer as I emerged from the stacks. It was Michael who spotted me first. He elbowed Cole and the wrinkle became more pronounced as he frowned.
“Hi, guys.” I flashed them a beaming smile. “Mind if I sit?”
“Yes,” Cole snapped.
I sat my butt down anyway. “So what are you studying? Derek says the Elite teachers like to hit you with tests as soon as you come back. Have you gotten—”
“What are you doing here?” Landon interrupted. This close I could see his eyes were gold today. They narrowed as I gazed at the contacts, as though he was reminded of why he had gone without for weeks.
“I’m guessing we’re skipping the pleasantries,” I said mildly, inside my heart was tapping a wild tune on my rib cage. “I just wanted to make sure Zach gave you my message and we’re all on the same page. You’re not going to tell anyone the truth about me.”
A snort brought my attention to Cole. “You can’t hold those pictures over us. We didn’t lay a finger on you, remember?”
My fists balled under the desk. Anger tinged with something else curdled my blood at hearing how unaffected he sounded. I remembered every single fucking second of that day and it wasn’t right for it not to tear him apart as much as it did me.
“But we were never going to say anything,” he continued. “We tried to pull that psycho off you and got a cracked rib and black eye for the trouble. We never wanted to know what you got going on in your pants, and as far as we’re concerned, we never found out.”
I wondered if he thought this would be the part where I thanked him. Instead, I rose from the seat. “I’m glad we understand each other. See you around, Cole. Michael.” The taller boy remained silent. I turned to the eyes that had been burning a hole in me since I sat down. “I like the eye color today, Landon. It suits you.” I touched a lock of his hair to push it back and he recoiled like my fingers burned.
Nostrils flaring, he bared his teeth. “Don’t fucking touch me!”
I kept my face blank as I backed away. “Bye, boys. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“No, you won’t,” Cole and Landon said at the same time.
I didn’t reply as I walked away. It wasn’t until I escaped out the doors that I released the breath I had been holding. Was their agreement to keep my secret lifting the weight off my chest or was it the brief touch of Landon’s silken strands?
It’s the first one, I told myself firmly. You do not like Landon Foster anymore.
I repeated that to myself as I headed outside to watch the soccer tryouts. I didn’t break free of my chorus until I sat down next to Adam and pulled out my notebook.
“Do you think Tanner will make it onto the team?” Nico piped up from the seat in front of us. “He said he played all summer with his brothers.”
“He’ll make it,” I said. “He’s quick to adjust the angle of his shots and account for the variables of the opposing team and their shifting goalie. He’s discovered his best position is three feet to the left of the goal and a kick at a sixty-one to seventy-degree angle in the upper corner of the net out of Maxwell’s reach. He’s good enough for junior varsity at least.”
I felt their eyes on me without looking up, but I did so anyway. Both stared at me open-mouthed.
“What?” I cried. “Derek says to stop with my sports math but it does help. Math is in everything whether people know it or not. I’m telling you, Tanner is going to get on the team. I’d bet you my dessert but Derek will probably get to it first.”
“I’ll take that bet anyway,” Nico said. “Your dessert. It’s on.”
Tanner got on the team.
He whooped as he read his name on the list the following morning. I let out a yelp when his arm was suddenly around my neck and his other dug into my hair. “Yes, Zeke! Nico said you straight up called it!”
I pulled out of his grasp before he could knock my wig off. “You’re good, Tanner. You really improved over the summer. I’m glad Coach recognized it.”
The smirk hung proudly on his lips. “I don’t have fancy trainers like the Evergreen kids but my brothers don’t mess around. Patrick is on his college’s intramural soccer team and Benson’s girlfriend taught him to play. They made sure I got on the team and now”—he grabbed me again but didn’t go for my head—“we won the bet so we’ll take those desserts.”
Adam laughed. “What we? We only bet Zee our angel cupcakes.”
“Don’t be stingy, Moon. It’s not a good look on you.”
We chuckled. Tanner released me and spread his joy to his best friend. He and Nico pulled ahead while Adam and I followed at a slower pace.
“About the tryout,” he began. “What was up with the notes? You were scribbling in that notebook from the game till I passed out in bed.”
I reached behind me and patted my backpack. “I’m studying, Adam. Learning what the best players do right and what the bad players do wrong. Practices are closed but I can watch tryouts, solo practices, and unofficial games. So that’s what I have to do.”
“Why?”
“We can’t challenge the Bs forever. After a while, it’s too much like targeting, and besides, they don’t have as many privileges as the As or Elites. I’ll need to up my game eventually which means I have to get better.”
“Just tell me who you want me to challenge and I’ll do it.”
“I kn
ow you will but you can’t transfer those privileges to me and there are a few that I need to get myself.”
“Alright. Just tell me when.” He bumped my shoulder. “Does this mean we’re going to the basketball tryouts today?”
“Yep. I have to cheer Derek on if nothing else. On top of that, we all have something to learn watching him play.”
“The real thing to watch is Cameron’s head explode when Coach Singh puts him on the varsity team. He’s going to go mad.”
I had a feeling he was right about that.
Cameron Dupre sat front row and center on the newly made bleachers. By his side was his constant shadow Santiago. Both boys glanced at us as Adam and I climbed the stairs for the F seats. I hadn’t spoken to Cameron since that fateful day in his bedroom but his hauntingly beautiful eyes seemed to find me whenever I entered the same room. There was never anything but a smile on his lips these days but I knew what lurked beneath, simmering beneath the surface waiting for the right moment to be unleashed.
Cameron and Santiago did not take their eyes off me until Coach Singh blew his whistle. Goose bumps dotted my body and they did not fade until I was finally free of their gaze.
“Don’t worry about them.” Adam laid a hand over mine. “They’re not going to mess with you again.”
“I thought that before and the false sense of security almost got me expelled. I’m not underestimating Cameron Dupre this year.”
“Listen up!” Singh’s shout brought our conversation to a stop. “We’re going to run through a few drills today and tomorrow you’ll receive the results. We’ll start with full-court dribbling, form shooting, passing, pass and cut layups, a speed drill, and then finally, a scrimmage game. Any questions?”
No one raised their hand. Unlike the soccer tryouts, this wasn’t open to all classes which was why Tanner and Nico didn’t bother to come. Only sophomores and freshmen As and Elites were allowed. Derek stood out from the pack.
Fweet!
The whistle cut through the silence once more and the players broke apart to take their positions. I knew more about basketball thanks to Derek which made my calculations and note-taking much easier. It also made it clear that he was dominating every drill.
Derek passed and caught the ball with ease. He streaked across the court so fast my eyes ping-ponged in their sockets tracking him. He scored six points on the other team while they were still catching their breaths from the drills.
His team won. Singh almost cracked his face in half smiling as he gripped Derek’s shoulder. I couldn’t hear what he said to him but I could guess.
I went up to his floor that night and peered through the window. I was careful to make sure the coast was clear before I went inside. I had more enemies than a person should have up here.
Derek let me in, too proud about making the varsity team to go through his routine of telling me to go away. Coach didn’t bother to make him wait for the results and told him straight out.
I said we should watch movies and sneak treats from his mini-fridge to celebrate and he jumped on it. That night, he passed out halfway through Die Hard 3. His blond hair splayed against the satin pillowcase as gentle snores escaped his lips. He looked so sweet and vulnerable like this that I moved the laptop and slipped beneath the covers, letting my eyes flutter shut even though I expected to wake up to his shouts. I didn’t care.
I fell asleep that night feeling something I hadn’t felt for a long time... that I belonged.
SOMETHING WAS POKING me. I wriggled, face scrunching up as I was dragged from sleep. It was hard and digging into the small of my back.
What is that?
I shifted again and it moved.
What is—
My eyes sprang open. Oh my—
I flipped over, gasping, and Derek retracted his finger with a smirk. “Finally. You know you snore, right?”
“You snore!” The comeback was lame but it was all my sleep-addled brain could come up with. Relief beat back the adrenaline as it came together that it was just his finger.
“I gave you a pass and now you think you can sleep here whenever?”
I stretched lazily, letting my bones shift and pop. “Your bed is a lot more comfortable than mine.”
He grinned. I wasn’t expecting it. It surprised me, then it made me smile too.
“Let’s go, stalker perv. We have basketball practice before breakfast.” He climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom. “I’m on the team now. Gotta stay sharp.”
“You couldn’t be sharper if you channeled the spirits of the great basketballers before you and let them possess your body,” I called through the door. “All you do is read and play basketball. When do you have time to study?”
“Don’t need to study. I’m naturally brilliant.”
I rolled my eyes and flopped down on the bed. He could drag me out when he was done with his shower. I was catching a few more minutes of sleep.
Forty-five minutes later, we were on the court and I was putting the stuff I learned at the tryouts to the test. Derek actually praised me after we finished.
“That didn’t suck, Manning.”
Yes, that was praise in Derek-speak.
I let my good mood carry me throughout the day. It buoyed my spirits as I crossed the expansive lawn for the gym. The air was filled with shouts and laughs as boys streamed out of the main building. The swimming tryouts were today and Coach Nelson was another one who picked by merit not class. It was the only way he could have Adam on the team. And he wanted Adam on the team.
I veered off from the pack and went in a different direction. I wasn’t watching the swimming tryouts. Adam was already on the team and I did not go into that place unless necessary. There was another person I assumed would be skipping it. I pushed through and there he was.
Landon lay spread eagle on the mat. Still and quiet, he gazed up at the ceiling like someone who had a million things on his mind but couldn’t hold on to one thought long enough to do anything about it. So he would do nothing.
I closed the door soundlessly, not wanting to break the peaceful spell until I had no choice. As I approached, he put his hands behind his head and resumed his sit-ups.
“Looks like you need a partner.” I hid a smile when he fell back in surprise. “I’ve got some time if you have a spare singlet.”
Landon scrambled to his feet. His colored eyes burned hot enough to set the building ablaze. “Get out of here.”
I continued strolling up, bouncing a little on the balls of my toes as I did. “You’ll have to put more force in it than that. Derek throws me out of everything from his room to my chair. I’m immune now.”
“Fuck off!” Landon advanced on me, fists balled. He didn’t stop until he was so close I breathed in his hot pants as they burst from his lips.
“What are you going to do?” I whispered. I looked deep in his golden eyes. “Are you going to hit me, Landon? Finish what you and your friends started?”
His mouth peeled back in a snarl. “I don’t have to hit you, Zeke. I wrestled with you. All I have to do is throw you over my shoulder and toss you out on your ass.”
My skin tightened. I know he could. Not for the first time I remembered I was messing with guys twice my size who had gotten me beaten. If I found myself trapped in a room with the Elites again, it would be them who decided if I got out.
“Don’t do that,” I said softly—soothingly. I lifted my hand like I was going to touch him but thought better of it. He hadn’t reacted well the first time I did that. “I want to talk to you. Just talk.”
“I’m not interested.” He gave me his back and walked away.
Just like that, fury bloomed in my soul. “Why?!” I shouted. “Why are you mad at me?! What gives you the fucking right?! It was you who refused to trust me. You who didn’t give me a chance to explain that I was framed. You who let them beat me and Zach violate me!” I lurched forward and shoved him. “You did that! But you think you can walk around acting like you we
re betrayed!”
I tried to shove him again but he spun around and caught my hands so fast I had no time to react. The look on his face made my shouts die in my throat. I had never seen this expression on him. I didn’t know a face that handsome could contort like this.
“You don’t think you betrayed me?!” he roared. Spittle fell on my cheek. “You fucking lied about everything including who you are! Is Zeke even your real name?! You played me the whole time and you expected me to trust you when Whittaker walked out with those stickers?!”
My eyes prickled. Stop it. Stop it! I am not going to cry!
“Yes, I did because it wasn’t about you!” I took a step forward but there was only a scant amount of distance between us to begin with. I pressed myself against his chest, feeling his fury like a living thing burrowing through my skin and pulling the words from me by force. “I wasn’t trying to play you. I became Zeke because it was the only way my mother would let me enroll in the academy. I l-liked you.” My voice cracked but I didn’t stop. “I liked you but I had no idea you felt anything for me. No hope that you ever would since I was pretending to be Zeke.”
He threw up his hands. “Fucking surprise! I’m bisexual!”
I staggered back, falling out of his space and losing my grip on anger. “You are?”
“Yeah, I am.” He stalked back up to me. “You have a problem with that?”
I growled—yes, growled. This was always the trouble with Landon. His presence had an effect on me like something I only felt from two other assholes, but Landon had gotten there first, burrowed beneath my skin, and made me do things I never thought Zela or Zeke could do.
“No, I don’t have a problem with that! Keep up, Landon. It’s you who has a problem with me!”
“Because you lied to me!”
“You never gave me a chance to tell you the truth!” The scream ripped from my throat. The words would have bled if words could, but their ejection from me left a hole that did bleed. I was blindingly, scorchingly angry, and so much of it was for Landon. “I was going to tell you that night that my name is Zela! I was going to tell you everything because you deserved to know and I was willing to risk losing you if that was the price.
