Cruel Devils

by Mae Doyle

  I suddenly feel very overdressed. “You guys all get to wear such comfy clothes,” I say, trying to smile through the tears that are threatening to spill. “How did I get stuck wearing this?”

  Caspian doesn’t look up at me but he’s the one who answers. “We were told we could dress down to help you move in. Don’t worry, we’ll have to change later.”

  Before I can say anything else, Asher asks the other guys if they’re ready to go. They all nod and start walking across the grass, clearly intending for me to follow them, so I grab my purse and run to catch up. It’s hard for me to keep up with them since I’m still not used to walking in heels, and I pray that I don’t fall and turn my ankle.

  “Hey, thanks for doing this for me,” I say, walking next to Asher. I get the feeling that he may be the leader of this group. I think that he’s the lacrosse captain and I bet he’s the student guide that Mrs. Decker mentioned.

  “It’s not for you, you West Virginia skank,” he says, without bothering to look at me.

  Surprise rushes through me and colors my cheeks. Did he just…?

  “I’m sorry?” I ask, trying to keep my cool. “Did I do something to upset you or…?”

  He scoffs but pauses in his stride and turns to look at me. It’s the first time that I’ve had his bright blue eyes locked on me, and I feel a shiver run through my body. “You don’t belong here, do you, Kiera? We all had a go looking you up. There’s no reason why some West Virginia trash like yourself should be at Meyer’s Grove, and we don’t want you to forget it.”

  I scramble to catch back up with the four of them as they keep walking. We’re almost to the dorm now, but I want to figure out exactly what I’ve done to make them so mad. Without thinking about what I’m doing, I rush in front of them and stop, blocking their path so they have to wait for me to move.

  “I don’t know what you guys mean, but believe me, coming here wasn’t my choice. I’d much rather be back home in West Virginia than here in this…this…stupid fancy-ass school. So don’t be pissed at me for what happened, because it’s not my fault.” There. That felt good to get off my chest, and I’m hoping that it will be enough to make them back off.

  Parker scoffs, shifting my heavy bag on his shoulder. “We all know that your parents got murdered, Kiera. What we can’t figure out is what they did to deserve it and why you didn’t die, too.”

  My body goes numb. He keeps talking, but I only know that because I can see his mouth moving. I can’t hear anything, and when the four of them push past me, I don’t try to stop them.

  They don’t want me here. I have no idea what I’ve done to make them so angry, but it’s obvious that I don’t belong. I can feel myself starting to spiral and thinking terrible thoughts when a hard grip on my wrist pulls me back to reality.

  “You coming or what?” Luca’s dark eyes search mine and I hope that they’re friendly, but then he squeezes my wrist harder than necessary. The bones shift under my skin and I squeak, trying to pull out of his grasp. “We’ll show you your room, you little white trash skank, and then take you to class. I know that the rest of the students here can’t wait to meet you, so get ready for a nice warm welcome.”

  Chapter 5

  They barely even give me a chance to look at my dorm. Asher shoves my schedule into my hand and walks out of the room before looking back over his shoulder at me. “If you want to make it to homeroom on time then I suggest that you hurry up. We’ll let Mrs. Wickes know that you’re here.”

  And that’s it. They slam the door shut behind them, leaving me to turn in a circle. This room is huge. I have a great view over the quad, and I rush to it to see if I can see the four of them walking away. After a moment, they leave my dorm and stand and talk for just a moment before setting off across the grass together.

  Seeing them walk away makes me relax some, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Shit, I don’t know how I made them so mad, but I hope things can change. Shaking my head, I turn back to my room.

  It’s a fully furnished apartment up here, with an attached bathroom and a bedroom off of this main living space. The furniture in here all looks brand new and has crisp lines. Scandinavian, my mom would have said, and I feel a tug in my heart. Our house had bright colors and bold pieces of art, but everything here is white and smooth.

  I’m pretty sure that I’m going to go crazy in here if I don’t do something about it. Not that I’m an artist, but I bet there are some good ones on campus, and if I can get someone to make me a bright piece of art to hang up, then that’s better than nothing, especially since I can’t get my suitcase from my aunt and uncle’s.

  Okay, as much as I’d love to stay here and look around, I know that it’ll have to wait. If I don’t get a move on then I’m going to be really late. Classes started two weeks ago, so everyone’s already settled into their routine. It’s going to be hard enough for me to figure out how to fit in without being terminally late to homeroom. Thank goodness my schedule has a map on it. I flip the paper over in my hand and turn it so that it’s oriented correctly.

  My dorm is close to the classes, which is great news for the mornings that I want to sleep in. There’s a lacrosse field and tennis courts off on one side, and a cluster of academic buildings near the main office.

  The building I’m looking for now, according to my schedule, is Stanfield, room 301. Glancing out my window to see if I can pick it out from here, I grimace. All of the buildings are gorgeous and made of old stone, but they all look alike. I better hustle.

  I hit the quad at a brisk walk. Normally, I would jog it, but I don’t have sneakers here, and there’s no way that I can run in these heels without risking a permanent injury. The sky is bright blue and there’s a bit of dew left on the grass, so I stick to the sidewalks so I don’t track into homeroom. It takes three tries, even with the map, but I finally find the right building.

  Inside, it’s deathly quiet, except for the clicking of my heels as I race down the hall looking for the stairs. By the time I make it up them and find the right room, I’m breathing hard, and I wait a moment outside the door before opening it.

  As soon as I do, the entire class turns to look at me. The teacher, Mrs. Wickes, is sitting behind her desk, but she rises to greet me as the door swings open.

  “Kiera. Glad that you deigned to come to class. I know that this is your first morning, but you need to understand that we don’t permit tardies. I’m not sure why your student guides made it here so much faster than you did.”

  I swallow hard and smile at her. “Just trying to figure out where I was,” I respond, holding up the map.

  She frowns. “Do they not teach map reading in West Virginia? I really would have thought that that would be on the curriculum, but it’s hard to know what they teach you at some of those sub-par schools.” She has a slight accent that I can’t place, and when she points at a desk in the back of the room, I quickly walk to it and slide into my seat.

  Nobody else talks to me. They all have papers out that they’re working on. From here, it looks like some are working on math, others on science. Mrs. Wickes is back behind her desk and I lean over to the girl sitting next to me.

  She’s scribbling furious on a piece of paper and chewing slightly on her lower lip, but when I whisper to get her attention, she stops what she’s doing and throws me a smile.

  It’s the first real smile I’ve gotten since I got to school, or even to Hawaii, and I cling to it. She’s cute, with a stubbed nose and freckles that make her look like she could easily fit in back home at my old school, but the earrings she has on probably cost more than our mortgage for a month. Or two.

  I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to get over the fact that parents here dress their kids in expensive clothing and jewelry. It’s certainly not like it was back in West Virginia, that’s for sure.

  “Hey,” I whisper, “can you tell me what everyone’s working on? What should I be doing right now?” I have a few blank notebooks in my backpack, but I a
lso have the distinct feeling that students are working on something specific, not just doodling and drawing in their notebooks.

  “We’re all just reviewing work from other classes,” she whispers back. A few students shift in their seats at the sound of her voice, but she’s quiet enough to keep Mrs. Wickes from looking up from her book.

  “Well, thanks,” I whisper back, and she grins. “I just want to make sure that I’m not missing anything that I’ll have to catch up on later.”

  She nods and then scribbles something on a corner of paper before ripping it off and handing it to me.

  Sophia Pierpont. I have chemistry next if you are headed that way.

  Pulling out my schedule, I double-check that I’m going in the same direction at her and flash her a thumbs-up. Good. Even though I’m sure to get lost at some point today, at least I’ll make it to my next class on time, and with a possible friend.

  For the rest of homeroom it feels like everyone is studiously trying to avoid looking at me. I alternate between doodling on a piece of paper and watching the minute hand on the clock slowly tick forward.

  A sudden movement from the corner of the room catches my eye, and I’m surprised to see Caspian looking at me when I glance up. He shoots me a wink before turning back to his work. I feel a tugging in my stomach and try to ignore it. None of the four boys this morning were at all friendly, but I have no idea why they might hate me so much, especially when I’ve just gotten to their school.

  It just doesn’t make sense that they would hate me as much as they seem to. Sure, I don’t have the money they do, but I look like I could fit in. I’ve never had clothes these nice in my life, but the rest of the class looks like they’re used to wearing diamonds and pearls to class. Without thinking, I slouch down in my seat, wanting to hide from everyone.

  The loud crack of a ruler hitting a desk makes me look up. Mrs. Wickes is staring right at me. “We expect good posture here at Meyer’s Grove, Kiera. I know that you just came here under difficult circumstances, but that’s no reason for you to look like a broken puppet when you sit at your desk. Fix your posture, now.”

  Everyone looks at me as I sit up. My feet ache in my shoes and the top I have on is so tight that it’s difficult for me to take a deep breath.

  What the hell kind of school is this?

  ***

  I take my time gathering my things into my backpack so that I won’t get lost in the crush of students leaving homeroom. Sophia hangs by the door waiting on me, and when I catch up to her, she grins.

  “You made it through your first homeroom with the wicked Wickes,” she tells me, confidently looping her arm through mine and steering me down the hall. “She’s such a grump in the morning, but I have friends who say that she’s just as bad in the afternoon.”

  “Does anyone know why?” I also want to know why the four boys from this morning were so mean, but I don’t want to push Sophia. She’s the first friend I have here, and I want to make sure that it stays that way.

  The quad is pretty packed as students find their way between classes. A few people turn to look at us, but they don’t look mean. Actually, they look a little interested in me. I duck my head to avoid their stares. There are few things I dislike more than being the center of attention.

  Sophia shrugs in response to my question. “Nobody knows. Anyway, the building we need to get to is that one.” She stops and points so I can see which one she’s talking about. Like all of the other buildings here, it’s covered with ivy and looks to be a few hundred years old, but I don’t think that it really is. “But just so you know, because it’s really important, the cafeteria is behind us.” She giggles and I find myself laughing, too.

  “Thank goodness, because I’m already hungry. Is the food here good at least?” My stomach rumbles and I think about my mom’s delicious cooking, but I have to push that thought aside before I get sad.

  She’s never going to cook for me again, and being sad about it won’t change a damn thing.

  “It’s good. Lots of salmon, walnuts, that sort of thing. They believe in feeding us for optimum brain health, because they want to make sure that they have a good reputation for making smart students.” She gags a little and then continues. “I like salmon as much as the next person, believe me, but sometimes I’d kill for a snack cake. You know the kind? Filled with cream filling and in a plastic bag from a vending machine?”

  Oh, I know the feeling. We had those vending machines all over our school back home, but I have a good feeling that they don’t have them here.

  “No vending machines at Meyer’s Grove?” It’s a long shot, and I’m not surprised when she shakes her head.

  “Not a chance. We do have a juice machine, and it offers fresh-squeezed stuff, but that’s it. Nothing that comes from a plastic packet, that’s for sure.” She lowers her voice like she’s sharing a dark secret and leans a little closer, her brunette hair brushing mine. “Sometimes when I’m home I convince my parents to buy me pop tarts.”

  I can’t help it. I laugh so loud that students in the quad stop and turn to look at us. Pop tarts were one of my staple foods back home. At first, I’d thought that just the clothes and money were what would set me apart, but it looks like there are a lot of things that make me really different than everyone else.

  When we get to the building, I stop and look up for a moment. The stone wall towers over me, a dark contrast against the bright blue sky. It feels formidable, and I don’t like the cold feeling that creeps up the back of my spine, but I try to shake it.

  I have a friend.

  I’ve made it through my first homeroom.

  Once I figure out what was up with those four boys this morning, I’m sure that I can handle anything that the school throws at me.

  Chapter 6

  Unfortunately, it’s not until dinner that I get to really talk to Sophia about the four guys. I’ve seen them throughout the day and even had them in my classes, but they did their best to ignore and avoid me, and I did the same.

  Until I know what’s going on with them, I don’t want to try to talk to them.

  Sophia and I get our trays of food and walk out into the quad. At East High, we were never allowed to eat outside, but here they believe that taking in nature while you eat is a great way to offset any digestive problems, so there are a lot of students scattered outside. She leads me to a low stone wall that runs around the quad.

  “I think that some of my friends are going to join us,” she tells me, taking a bite of miso salmon. It’s on a bed of wild rice and looks like heaven. “I hope that you don’t mind, but I figure that you’ll want to get to know some more people so you can have friends.”

  “That sounds amazing,” I tell her, then take a bite of my own fish. It’s cooked to perfection, flaky and delicious, and I moan a little at the taste on my tongue. “Please tell me that they cook like this all the time, because I know that I’m going to get used to it.”

  She laughs. “Don’t worry, Kiera. This is it. Welcome to heaven in Hawaii.” She gestures around the quad and I stop eating long enough to look around.

  It really is beautiful. If I were here under any other circumstances, then I would probably be able to better enjoy it, but as things are, it kinda sucks.

  “So, how were classes? You’re not going to let your aunt and uncle down with shitty grades are you?”

  Her question hits me in the gut and I look back at her in surprise. “How do you know that it’s my aunt and uncle who sent me here?”

  She looks a little ashamed but answers my question. “I’m sorry, Kiera, I know you’re probably trying to fly under the radar, but that’s basically impossible here. Everyone knows about what happened to your parents and that you got shipped out here from Virginia.”

  “West Virginia,” I correct automatically, but I’m not really focused on that. “You already knew about my parents?” My hand shakes a little and I put my fork down on the plate in my lap.

  “I’m sorry,” she
says, leaning over and taking my hand. “I knew that if you wanted to mention it that you would, but then my comment about your aunt and uncle kinda slipped out. I hope you’re not mad at me.”

  I shake my head, making a point, but also clearing away my thoughts. “No, of course not. You’ve been the nicest person here. I just…I almost forgot for a moment about all of it.” Sighing, I take a sip of my water. It’s infused with lemon and lime and tastes delicious.

  “I get that. I mean,” she continues, catching the look I give her, “I’ve never lived through what you’re dealing with. But I know what it’s like to throw yourself into school or sports or whatever so you can try to forget the bad shit in your life.”

  Speaking of bad shit, I can’t help but see the faces of the four guys from the morning. “What do you know about Asher, Parker, Luca, and Caspian?” Now seems like as good a time as any to learn the truth about them, but I’m surprised by the look that crosses her face.

  At first, she doesn’t answer, and just shakes her head. “Listen, Kiera, out of everyone here, they’re the ones who are going to give you a hard time, but you just have to ignore them. Seriously, it’s going to be fine.” She smiles at me and cuffs me lightly on the shoulder but I turn to her.

  I want the truth from her, no matter whether or not she wants to give it to me.

  “Sophia, I know what I saw, and that’s that the four of them hate me. I’m not an expert in guys, like…at all, but I’m pretty sure that I can tell when people hate me. Please tell me the truth. You’re the only one who will.”

  When she doesn’t answer me, I know that I need to push her a bit. There are some things that I heard in the halls this morning, and I’d done my best to ignore them, but maybe if I mention them, she’ll be honest with me.