by Jacie Lennon
Fuckers.
“I guess you’ve already made some enemies,” Trixie surmises while helping me stuff clothing inside the crumpled, dirty suitcase.
“I don’t even know anyone here.” I frown in confusion.
“Doesn’t matter. You are new and already closer to the kings than any other girl here. I told you they would kill to be in your position.”
“They are welcome to it. It’s a shitty position anyway. Speaking of those dicks, I’m betting it was them who did this.”
Trixie’s eyes widen, and her mouth makes a little O.
“Probably that fucker Brock. He hates me.” Anger courses through me as I imagine him invading my privacy and rifling through all of my clothes.
“Don’t jump to conclusions just yet. If you ask me, this isn’t their style. You know, if they were wanting to get to you.”
“What is their style?”
“More … subtle. This has girl drama written all over it.”
Girl drama. Exactly what I need.
“Do you see my uniforms?” I stand, putting my hands on my hips and turning in a full circle. Wrinkling my nose, I squint, hoping I missed them lying somewhere farther off. When I don’t see any other items of clothing, my stomach drops. “Oh no.”
“You don’t see them?” Trixie appears at my side and scans the area.
“Dammit, dammit, dammit.” I blow out a breath of frustration and bend back down to zip up my suitcase.
“You can borrow one of mine until we get this sorted out,” Trixie says, reaching out to awkwardly pat my shoulder.
I turn and eye her, stifling my irritated laughter as I look at her body. She’s about three inches shorter than me and a size smaller. I’m going to look like I’m spilling out of her uniform.
“Do you think the office has any spares?”
She shrugs, and I bite my lip, considering my options.
“I guess we could always ask,” she says, but the look on her face says she knows they won’t have any.
“Maybe I could find someone a little closer to my size to borrow a uniform from.”
“Good luck.” Trixie eyes my suitcase with apprehension, and I sigh.
“We don’t know who did this. Like I said, my bet is on the guys,” I say, but Trixie doesn’t say anything. I can tell from her face that she has her doubts. “Let me run this up to the room, and we can go eat and then stop by the office.”
Thirty minutes later, we are seated in the commons, surrounded by restaurants everywhere. My new school has a food court with four different gourmet food choices.
I don’t think I’m in Kansas anymore, Toto.
I’m scarfing down a burger and fries, and Trixie is delicately eating her grilled chicken wrap and a side salad when she goes still. I follow her line of sight and tense up as I meet the eyes of Brock, Bodhi, and Corbin. They are lounging across the commons. Bodhi is sitting on top of the table with his feet in a chair.
That must be his throne, I think, rolling my eyes.
I notice no one else is sitting with them, and as I scan the room, I see that they aren’t interacting with anyone else either. I snort and take another bite of my burger.
“Stay here,” Trixie says, rising from her chair.
I reach out, grabbing her wrist. “Where are you going?” I ask around a mouthful of food, and she looks down at me and then jerks her head toward the guys. “I’m coming too.”
I get up and follow her as she weaves in and out of tables. I can sense the eyes of everyone in the room on us, and my skin prickles. We stop in front of their table, and for a moment, no one says anything. We are in some sort of weird standoff, everyone eyeing each other.
“You may approach,” Bodhi says, a smirk plastered across his face. But where his usual smirk boasts of mischief, this one reeks of arrogance.
“Brock,” Trixie says, not looking at Bodhi, whose eyes are solely focused on her.
“Trixie,” Brock says, his tone bored. “Why are you here?”
“Did you fuck with my bag?” I interject as I move forward.
Brock swings his gaze to me, scanning me from head to toe and frowning like he finds me lacking. This is different than his normal cold indifference. This is a blatant brush-off, and it sends me reeling.
What is going on right now?
“Again, why are you here?” He turns back to Trixie, not even bothering to answer my question.
“Excuse me,” I say loudly, stepping in front of Trixie. “I asked you a question.” I square off against Brock, and I fight the urge to take a step back as he rises to his feet, looming over me.
“I decided not to answer your question,” he says, shrugging, but I can feel the emotion coming off of him.
He hates me.
“I thought you might be interested to know that someone dumped all of Landry’s clothes out in front of the dorm, and her uniforms are missing,” Trixie murmurs, grabbing my raised arm and pulling me back before I can punch Brock in the face.
“We don’t give a fuck,” Bodhi says, showing his teeth in more of a growl and less of a smile.
“You aren’t wanted here,” Corbin says, and my shocked gaze jumps to his. “You know what you did, Trixie, and there’s no coming back from it. Not unless you are ready to explain.”
All three guys stare at us as Trixie pushes me back, takes my hand, and quickly starts to walk away.
“What the fuck?” I hiss, and she walks faster.
“I thought they would be past this by now,” she whispers under her breath.
I pull my hand, stopping her. “What is going on?”
They’ve been weird but not downright hateful and bitchy to me.
“They aren’t pissed at you; it’s me,” Trixie says, grimacing.
“I kinda caught on to that. What did you do?”
“Not here,” she says, glancing around at everyone staring at us.
Something about her tone has me curious, but I don’t press the issue, noting the phones aimed our way, no doubt recording. Trixie continues walking past the table, so I lean down, grabbing the rest of my burger to finish wherever we are headed. I shuffle to keep up with her.
We exit the commons and start down a path that leads across the grounds and into a thick copse. Almadale Prep is surrounded by dense woods that stretch for miles. The trimmed grass stops at the edge of the shaded line of trees, and we step into the shadows, leaves from last winter littering the ground and crackling under our feet.
“Hey, uh, do you know where you are going?” I wipe my hands together to clear off some of the grease from the burger and hold a branch out of the way of my face.
I hear sniffling and realize Trixie is crying.
“Hey,” I say again.
She stops, back to me, body trembling. I finally catch up with her and spin her around to see tears rolling down her face.
“Whoa.” I pull her into a hug, and she gingerly wraps her arms around me. “It’s going to be okay.” I don’t know if it will be. If that scene back in the commons was any indicator, it’s not. But what else am I supposed to say to someone bawling in the middle of the woods the first day we meet?
“I’m sorry.” She sniffles against my shoulder. “It all hit me at once. I promise I’m not usually like this.”
“Don’t ever apologize for crying. Humans have emotions. Last time I checked, you are a human. Unless there’s something you need to tell me?” I lean back and look her in the eyes, and she giggles.
“No, pretty damn human here,” she says and pulls away, wiping underneath both eyes and across her cheeks.
“It’s not fair, what a pretty crier you are. I look swollen and puffy if I even think about crying,” I say, digging one toe of my shoe into the damp leaves as I grin. “So, you want to talk about it?”
“I can’t tell you everything, but I’ll try to explain,” she says and grabs my hand again, pulling me the rest of the way through the woods until we come to a small clearing.
I can see a
few feet in front of me, where the rocky edge drops away, and as I creep forward, I register the sound of water below us. I don’t get too close as my stomach starts to turn, and I break out in a sweat. I back away and turn to see that Trixie is sitting on a rock, leaning back on her hands and tilting her face toward the sun.
“I love it here,” she says, smiling, and I sit next to her. The rock digs into my butt, so I wiggle to get comfortable. “The boys and I have an odd history.”
“I gathered as much when I told them you were going to be my roommate.”
“Oh? What did they say?”
Strangely, I feel like protecting Bodhi, and I decide that I will leave out that he still has feelings for Trixie. No matter how he acted toward me a bit ago, there has to be a reason for treating me like the dirt beneath their shoes.
“Just that they knew you and something about you and Bodhi. They didn’t elaborate much.” I shrug, and she chews her bottom lip.
“I guess that is putting it lightly. We were friends our freshman year, Bodhi and me. I wouldn’t say Brock and I were friends though. It was weird, almost like he resented me for spending time with Bodhi. I don’t know; maybe I read too much into it. Anyway, Bodhi and I hung out, studied together, and I guess our friendship turned into something more. But that summer before sophomore year, my life changed, and then things changed between us.” She pauses, tearing a leaf into tiny pieces and chucking it to the ground.
“What happened that summer?”
“It’s family stuff; it’s complicated.” She turns to me with sad eyes. “But it’s how it has to be now, and they don’t understand.”
“So, you broke up with him that summer and never looked back?”
“I had to.”
“Do you still have feelings for him?”
As she stares at me, I can see the answer flash in her eyes.
But I’m not surprised when she says, “No, I don’t.” The words come out strong, though her body language tells me a different story.
We sit together after that, neither of us speaking as we listen to the water trickle below us.
6
Corbin
“I don’t want to fuckin’ hear it.” Brock sits back down, leaning on the two back legs of his chair.
“Maybe you should take the stick out of your ass. I wasn’t going to say anything to you,” I grumble.
His angry gaze shoots to me. “I could tell by your face how you felt. You don’t like her as much as I don’t like her.”
“Who are you talking about? Trixie?”
“No, Landry. Trixie is irrelevant here,” he speaks with authority, as if he knew exactly how I felt at all times. Truth is, he used to. We are tight, like I’m a blood brother of theirs. I am since we made a pact freshman year.
I’m the only scholarship student in Almadale history who has ever been at the top of the social ladder, and it’s thanks to these two fuckers sitting beside me. I don’t like to be indebted to people, though because of where I come from, you always pay up. And when you don’t have money, sometimes, the payment is less than enjoyable.
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that, brother,” Bodhi singsongs, a cigarette perched between two fingers.
I shoot him a look, and he winks at me before reclining back on two hands atop the table, looking every bit the royalty he is here.
“What are you talking about?” Brock growls, sitting down on all four chair legs and leaning forward.
“Maybe if you paid attention and weren’t on your phone all the time, you would see the way he looks at her,” Bodhi says, tapping one foot as he stares across the commons, bringing his cigarette to his mouth and probably focusing on his next conquest.
“Will you fuckin’ shut up? I’m not into her,” I say and slam one fist down on the table.
The thud sends stares our way until Brock looks up, and everyone goes back to what they were doing. Which is observing us from the corner of their eyes. At first, it unnerved me, the way our classmates acted toward us, until I realized there was a hierarchy in life. In everything. Better to be at the top than at the bottom, so I don’t question it. I’ve been at the bottom, and I don’t plan on going back.
“You’re lying,” Bodhi says incredulously. “You make fuck me eyes at her all the time.”
“What the hell are fuck me eyes?” I scowl, and he grins.
“You know,” he says, fluttering his eyelashes.
I can’t help but chuckle. “That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth.”
“It’s the truth,” he says, shrugging.
Brock throws up a hand. “You don’t even know her. We don’t know her. I don’t fuckin’ trust her, and neither should you.”
“She’s given us no reason to believe she knows anything about what her mother is doing,” I say.
Brock’s eyes widen. “So, you wanna fuck her?”
“Just because I stick up for someone doesn’t mean I want to fuck her,” I spit back, and Bodhi chuckles.
“Even I want to,” Bodhi says.
My fists clench and my nails dig into my palms.
Where is this coming from? How have I let her get under my skin in a short amount of time?
I can’t do this; I can’t focus on her. I have a plan, and everything she is interferes with that plan.
“Shut up, Bodhi,” I say.
He sits back again, raising his chin at someone close by, and I hear a giggle.
“We are the fuckin’ kings. Our castle doesn’t crumble over one fuckin’ girl,” Brock says, conviction on his face.
We sit there in silence for a moment before I stand, shoving my hands in my pockets.
What am I thinking?
I should be focusing on school and doing something with my life, so I can create a good life for Abe. It’s one reason I’ve allowed myself to be on top. I’m not like the rest of these kids. I’m not vindictive and cruel, but I’ve had to be. I can’t be soft, show emotion. These people latch onto that and will tear you apart. So, for the rest of the world, we are cold, hard, merciless, and they respect us. Maybe it’s fear. It’s almost an addictive feeling. That power.
Brock is right though; I can’t let our castle crumble. I’m not in a position to give up the power. I need it too much.
After a few tense stares at each other, I turn, stopping short when someone steps into my path.
She’s looking up at me shyly. What a joke. No one here is shy. They are brought up as sharks their entire lives. They circle until they find the right time to go in for the kill.
“Kelsey.” I nod and then stare at her. Not many girls approach us without our invitation.
“Corbin,” she says, a smile on her face.
She’s pretty, in the cookie-cutter way. But then bright blue eyes flash into my mind, and I scowl, trying not to think about her. I watch the smile drop off her face as she nervously nibbles her bottom lip.
“Can we talk?” she asks, and I narrow my eyes at her.
“Why?” I ask.
I might be on top, but everyone knows who I am, where I came from. The girls don’t usually chase after me. I’m only respected for my position at Brock and Bodhi’s side. I don’t have anything to offer anyone, and they know it.
“We’ve got shit to plan. Catch up when you are done here,” Brock says from behind me, and I nod over my shoulder.
I jerk my head over, indicating for Kelsey to sit at the table the guys vacated.
“Well?” I ask once she is in her chair. I blink slowly, pasting a bored look on my face.
“Some of us were talking,” she begins.
I throw up a hand. “Stop. I don’t care about whatever you talk about with your friends. Get to the point,” I say, cringing inside as I watch her face fall even more.
This isn’t me. But it has to be—for now.
“Do you think Bodhi—”
I stand suddenly, and she scoots back in her chair. I place a hand on each armrest, caging her in as I lower my fac
e down to look her in the eye. Her face drains, turning white, and I grit my teeth together.
“You are smarter than this. Bodhi fuckin’ does as he pleases, and so do I. You don’t please me right now. Leave.” I stand back up, watching as she scrambles from the chair and runs from me, shaking.
She couldn’t handle Bodhi; she shouldn’t even try.
As I raise my head, I meet those piercing blue eyes across the commons. We stare silently for a moment, and then Landry turns, disappointment on her face. I feel it like a punch in my gut, but I remain stoic. I can’t care anymore. I can’t give in to this thread between us. I feel it whenever we are close, almost like I’ve finally found someone who completes me, but I stamp it out. It’s not for me, and it’s not written in the fuckin’ stars or some shit for us.
I ignore the ache to follow her, and I turn away, headed to where I know I’ll find Brock and Bodhi.
I climb the four flights of stairs, opening the large oak door into the attic above the library. Everything in this school reeks of opulence, and the attic is no exception. It’s outfitted with a sitting area, but a layer of dust usually covers the furniture at the beginning of each semester, letting us know that the cleaning crew doesn’t come up here. I think it was a group of students who put this furniture here in the first place. I’m not sure anyone else other than us has a key to it.
“What’s the plan, fuckers?” I yell as soon as the door opens, pushing away my feelings and the hurt in Landry’s eyes as I launch myself onto the couch, raising one arm behind my head and crossing my feet.
“It’s tonight, ladies,” Brock says, a sinister smile on his face. “Time to welcome the newcomers with open arms.”
Some people might call it hazing; we call it initiation. You have to enter the Almadale ranks in some form or fashion. We’ve all done it, and now, it’s the freshman class’s turn.
“We’ve got the plans in place. Be ready at midnight.”
Bodhi tosses something in the air. It lands on my chest, and I pick it up.
