by Kat Cotton
I told Mr. Norton that I might’ve accidentally zapped Nova.
“What did you think you were doing?” Mr. Norton asked. “You’re no longer part of this team. That means you don’t fight and you don’t interfere and you especially don’t do things on your own.”
“I heard screams... I had to check...” I stared at my feet, not able to say anything to make myself look better.
When Lucas came in and told him the extent of Nova’s injuries, Mr. Norton wouldn’t even look at me.
“I didn’t know he was there. What was he doing alone?” I didn’t understand it. I didn’t understand anything. And there had been screams. Someone had been in danger.
But no one answered me, they just talked amongst themselves about the attack. Nova was meant to be lookout for them. But he’d been in the wrong place.
It hadn’t taken long for the Cherry-shaped space in this team to be filled. No one looked at me, no one acknowledged that I existed. I didn’t have to merge into the shadows to be invisible.
Then Mr. Norton turned to me. “Cherry, what are you still doing here? You’re not part of this group and you shouldn’t be involved in discussions.”
“But...”
“You hurt another student.”
I clenched my hands. I might’ve been in the wrong here but it wasn’t entirely my fault.
“But, Mr. Norton. No. That demon was awfully close to Nova. Sure, I might’ve accidentally hurt him but I saved him from being ripped apart by that demon.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Nova is trained to deal with demon attacks.”
This was probably not the time to mention that he wasn’t actually that good at it.
Mr. Norton took my arm and led me to the door.
“Don’t come back into the scholarship room while you’re on break. Don’t fight demons while you’re on break either. You’d do well to concentrate on your studies for a while.”
I gulped down all the words I wanted to say. Mr. Norton wasn’t wrong. I no longer belonged in the group. I’d screwed up and there was nothing I could say to make that right. I couldn’t even apologize to Nova since he was obviously terrified of me.
I was far too stressed to mope in my room, though. The gym. That’s where I needed to go. I needed to slam my fists into something and kick the hecking out of it to make myself I felt better.
I got changed into my sweats, my lovely new red shoes too mud covered to wear without a good wash.
No one else was around in the gym. Good thing.
After a few rounds with the punching bag, I took a break. Sweat poured down my forehead, stinging my eyes and my face had become a mess.
“Whoa, remind me to never get you angry.”
Oscar. How long had he been watching me?
“I thought you’d already learned that.” I laughed and, surprisingly, Oscar laughed too. Not like him to be good-natured about the butt-whoppings I’d given him.
Oscar put a sweatband around his head and it actually didn’t look as stupid as you’d think. “You’re a lot tougher than you look.”
“Hey, I look plenty tough.” I put my hands on my hips, then I walked over and grabbed some sparring gear. “Are you brave enough?”
Oscar hesitated, screwed up his face, then smiled, taking the pads from me. “I’m not going to go easy on you, you know.”
“Like it matters.”
After about ten minutes he begged me to stop. But ten minutes was nine minutes and thirty seconds more than I thought he’d last.
“Wimp.” I stuck my tongue out at him.
“Hey, I’m no wimp. Well, I am. I think I’ll have some bruising tomorrow even with the protective gear on.”
I just laughed and headed to the shower room.
When I came out, Oscar was leaning against the wall.
“Let’s get dinner.”
Yeah, if I went to the cafeteria with Oscar, people would think we’re together. Really together. But then, did I care a bit? I grabbed a hair tie and pulled my hair into a ponytail. It still wasn’t fully dry. I didn’t have the patience to stand around blowing hot air on my head forever.
“Sure.”
The two of us walked to the cafeteria together.
“What’s with all the troopers around the school? Oscar asked. “Is it something to do with that weird shit that happened in the village?”
We weren’t supposed to talk about that kind of thing with the regular students but I nodded. He could figure it out for himself anyway. The best thing to do would be change the subject, but I had no idea of what else to talk about with Oscar.
“They’re a bit creepy. I tried introducing myself to a few of them but they ignored me, staring ahead. Do you think they’re cyborgs?”
I actually thought they were paranormal agents and they’d been told not to interact with the students but I nodded. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re right.”
My stomach rumbled as I got close to the cafeteria. I went to line up with the other students but Oscar grabbed my wrist.
“We don’t line up.”
They didn’t. Huh? Even Ren at his most snottiest had lined up with everyone else. But then, I’d never seen Oscar or Blake or even Angela and her friends in the cafeteria line.
We sat at a table with Angela, Dior, Blake and some of the senior students. For most of my time at this school, I’d avoided this table. I’d even avoided this side of the room.
My stomach sunk. I might be sitting at the rich kids’ table but it’d probably be about five minutes before I got booted. They’d get nasty and start gossiping. I’d call them out on it because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut and all hell would break loose.
But everyone was too intrigued by the special operatives to talk about anything else.
“They are creepy, I tell you.” Oscar drummed his hand on the table. “I don’t like having them around.”
“I don’t know.” Angela smiled. “The one patrolling near the gatehouse is hot as.”
Dior said something but I didn’t take it in. I knew the exact moment Ren walked into the cafeteria, even with my back to the door. A flush went over my skin and a tingle hit my belly. I wouldn’t turn around. I wouldn’t check what he did. No matter how much I wanted to. I smiled and pretended to listen to the conversation around me but sunk further and further within myself until Dior touched my arm.
“Hey, that’s a cute t-shirt.” She grinned at me, beaming approval, then turned to Angela. “It’s exactly like that one Melissa had. I always loved that t-shirt. She said she’d give it to me after she graduated but she completely forgot.”
I reddened. It probably had been Melissa’s t-shirt. Mr. Norton always claimed a bunch of stuff for me when the dorms were cleared out at the end of the year. But I didn’t want to think about that or any of the other kindnesses Mr. Norton had done for me. I planned to stay angry at him for as long as possible. To stay angry with Ren and Lucas and the rest of the scholarship group, too.
Well, except for Britney. At least I could count on her.
One of the cafeteria staff came out of the kitchen and took our order. Angela and Dior asked for salads.
“You should get one too,” Dior said. “You don’t want to start getting beefy.”
I sucked in my breath but before I could answer, Oscar leaned toward her.
“Cherry doesn’t need to worry about that. She’s been kicking butt in the gym for the last few hours, not sitting around reading celebrity gossip magazines like you.”
“Whose butt have you been kicking?” Angela asked me.
“Mine.” Oscar rubbed his arm to emphasize the point and everybody laughed.
Dior reached over and high fived me. “Nice work.”
Wow, I’d never seen this side of Oscar before, all full of self-depreciating jokes. Who knew he could be something other than a bullying jerk?
The only one not laughing was Blake. He glared at me across the table as though he wanted to squish me like a bug.
As A
ngela talked about her holiday shopping trips, again, Oscar’s leg brushed against mine.
I’d never be attracted to Oscar. I’d never forgive him for the crappy way he’d treated me. Yet, somehow, with the way he’d been nice to me lately, it seemed rude to pull away.
Chapter 28
THE NEXT DAY AFTER class, I wanted to check on Nova but with everyone hating on me, I didn’t want to go to the infirmary.
Instead, I messaged Britney.
She replied saying she was in her garden on her own and to meet her there. I wasn’t sure why she wasn’t training with the others but that sounded perfect. I rushed out with only a general idea of where her garden was and found an area at the side of the school with a bunch of student gardens all divided by low fences.
Britney squatted in the corner, covered in mud and wearing gloves. Happiness radiated from her.
“I get to have one day off training a week to learn horticulture.” She beamed up at me. Britney wasn’t bad at fighting, especially with her super fast reflexes but it wasn’t something she enjoyed. “It’s so much more fun than fighting and I get to grow all the ingredients I need myself. Tarragon and I have been combining our skills for some spell work.”
I nodded. It hadn’t been that long since I’d taken my break from the group but already there seemed to be a heap of things I’d missed out on.
“You should try it some time. Growing things really centers you.”
I squatted down on the ground beside her. “Big, furry caterpillars center you?”
“It’s kind of cute, right.” She used a leaf to pick up the caterpillar. “Hey, Mr. Caterpillar, don’t eat my plants, okay.”
That caterpillar gave a twitch of his head like he actually understood her.
“So...” Britney grinned in that really disconcerting way she had, like she wanted to read your soul. “What’s up?”
I hugged my arms around my knees. “Nothing.”
She kept digging and I stared at the plants. I’d known there was a garden in this part of the school but I’d never been here. Apart from the patch where Britney worked, there were a ton of vegetables and things growing. Or dying it seemed. I guess we were heading into winter. Pumpkin vines twisted around the ground and a few other green things grew.
I wasn’t so sure about gardening centering me but I did feel better just being here. More from the lack of judgment and expectations than anything else. For the first time in ages, my shoulders relaxed and the tension in my neck eased.
“Nova’s going to be fine.” Britney patted my hand. “He just needed a night of observation.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt him. I really didn’t know he was there.”
Britney nodded. “What happened? Lucas said you decided to fight the demon on your own but you wouldn’t do that without reason. You don’t even like the woods.”
That was facts.
I hadn’t meant to tell Britney much but the words spilled out of me. Not just about the attack but about Ren’s house and the mean housekeeper. I told her about the files I’d found in Mr. Worthington’s office.
“Now Ren hates me. He thinks I was prying around his house. Which I guess I was, but not without good reason. And I don’t care what Ren or anyone else says, I’m not giving those files back.”
Britney put her head on the side. “I don’t think Ren really wants that. It sounds like he’s been lashing out. But no one is going to take the only photos you have of your parents off you. They’ll have to fight the pair of us to do that.”
I knew Britney would understand.
“He sure has been lashing out. I’ve been lashed half to death.”
I told her about Miranda’s death. I told her about the fight Ren and I had when we got back to school. And I told her how utterly scared I was of my own powers.
My legs ached from squatting so long but I didn’t move or stand up or change my position. I wanted to vomit out the whole story before I could second guess myself. I wasn’t the sort of person to spill my guts but something about Britney made it easy. And maybe I needed to get all this off my chest.
“There’s something you’re not telling me.” Britney sized me up. “Something important.”
I stood up, stretching my legs.
She looked at me expectantly. I slammed my mouth shut, my top lip covering my bottom. But I couldn’t hold it in.
“He kissed me. We were in the garden alone and he kissed me.” My breath hitched. I hated that he had made me feel things but it had meant nothing to him. “And it was so perfect that I began believing all that stuff about us being fated for each other. For one moment, everything seemed so right and settled. Then we went back into that gruesome house and it all fell to pieces.”
“When did it fall to pieces?”
I kept my gaze down. “When he found out I was looking for his mother.”
“He didn’t like that?” Britney sighed. “Maybe he feels abandoned by her. She knew how awful his father was but she left on her own.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
“Maybe she had her reasons. Maybe she knew he’d never hurt Ren.”
“He wouldn’t hurt Ren physically, not while he was growing up, but he did hurt Ren.”
I remembered the things Ren had told me. How his father used his love for Thunder to control him. Weird things his father had done.
Even just a quick glance at the files he’d kept on Ren proved that. Mr. Worthington had never seen Ren as his own flesh and blood. He’d considered the two of us weapons he could use for his own ends.
“But she’d been with him, she’d tried to protect him.” I told Britney about that day in the garden, the way Mrs. Worthington had gathered Ren to her and ran.
Britney nodded but didn’t say anything. She bent down and removed another caterpillar from her plants.
“Maybe something happened,” I said. “That day. She meant to take Ren with her but something stopped her.”
Britney pulled out weeds, looking regretful with each one. I thought about helping her but I had no idea how she knew the weeds from the real plants.
“That’s possible but there’s something you’re not mentioning.” Britney looked up from the garden, her radiant smile tinged. And maybe that tinge meant telling Cherry something she didn’t want to hear. “You keep saying you want to find this woman for Ren’s sake. To restore his fortune and make his life better. But you’re fooling yourself. You want to find her for your own reasons.”
I kicked my foot in the dirt. “No. It’s for Ren.”
“It’s okay, Cherry. Ren’s mother is the only person alive who knew your parents. She’s the key to all this, since everyone else is dead.”
I leaned back on the fence, staggered. I hadn’t thought of it that way but maybe Britney was right. Deep down, I’d thought of Mrs. Worthington as being my mother’s friend. If I found her, all the secrets would be revealed.
“It doesn’t matter now anyway. I only have one clue. The name ‘Sunnyhills’ which could mean practically anything.”
Britney gasped. “You really shouldn’t look for Ren’s mother.” She stood up and looked me in the eye. “I mean it, Cherry.”
I shrugged. “Of course I’m not.”
Britney narrowed her eyes. “I’m serious. I’ve heard of Sunnyhills. It’s a place for supernaturals. A bad, bad place for the criminally insane. People who go there, don’t come back.”
No way would the woman I’d seen in the sunflower garden be in a place like that. But I smiled and pretended to agree with Britney.
“I don’t think she’s in that place. I mean, Sunnyhills. It’s a common name. But like you said, she was friends with my parents. She can tell me things. Fill in all the holes.” I sighed and rubbed my face. “I’d do pretty much anything to find Mrs. Worthington.”
“Don’t do anything stupid, Cherry.” Britney crossed her arms and glared at me.
It annoyed me that she thought I would. Did no one have any faith in me? Rather than
argue with her, though, I left the garden.
I walked across the school grounds to head back to my dorm but Angela called out to me.
“Cherry, we’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Lately, I’d become more used to Angela seeking me out for reasons other than bullying but it still seemed strange.
“Huh?”
Oscar and Blake ran over to join us.
“We’re having a secret meeting,” Oscar said. “In the woods.”
“In the woods? That’s not such a good idea.” I glanced around. Several operatives patrolled near us. Even with the extra help though, I wasn’t sure the demons would be deterred. “Why not stick close to the school? I’m not even sure you’ll be allowed to go into the woods right now.”
“We can’t talk in the school.” Angela’s eyes widened. “That place is bugged to the eyeballs. You have no idea.”
I kind of wanted to punch the air. I’d told them. I’d told Mr. Norton a thousand times and I’d told the rest of the scholarship group. Angela’s parents owned an IT security firm that did all the security for the school — and they weren’t to be trusted. One time, her father had given her a swipe card to get into Ren’s room so she could creepily stalk him.
The most annoying thing about finding this out was not being able to waltz into the scholarship room and say “I told you so.” Man, that would be so satisfying, too.
They’d all thought I was a paranoid weirdo when I mentioned bugs. But nope. Not one bit. If anything, I hadn’t been vigilant enough. Being right and not being able to gloat about it was the most frustrating thing ever.
Well, it would be if it wasn’t for the more immediate problem of stopping Angela from going into the woods.
“You are kidding, right?” I assumed they were, since the three of them rarely went outside. “You’re not actually going to have a secret meeting in the woods?”
“It’s the best place.” Oscar linked his arm through mine. “We can be guaranteed of privacy.”
I pulled away from Oscar. “What about the library or the stables or right here in the grounds?”
