He looked toward the desk closest to the door. “Benjamin, go ask Mr. Barnes to come here.”
Mark was struggling to get up, but Hank had a death grip on the back of his neck, and his other huge hand pressed against his back.
“Do you know who my dad is?” Mark yelled. “He’ll get you fired for this!”
Hank evidently didn’t care who Mark’s dad was. He ignored him.
Moments later, Gunther came in, took one look, and immediately said, “Everyone take a seat.”
Maybe because he was Secret Service, or maybe because he was huge and his voice practically boomed, everybody who’d gotten up to take a closer look hurried back to their chairs.
Mr. Barnes came in, looking worried. “What’s going on here?”
Hank said, “This boy threatened another student. He was about to punch him.”
“Mark, why would you do this? Fighting means automatic suspension.”
“The freak made me get boils!” Mark shouted. “If anybody gets kicked out of school, it oughta be him.”
“Mark needs to go home, Mr. Barnes.” Jeremy Speight said from the back of the room. “He’s got something foul.”
Tessa’s dad moved closer and peered down at Mark’s face, only half of it showing because the other half was against the floor, then he looked at Hank. “I’ll take care of the situation now, unless you need to do something with him?”
Hank shook his head. “He didn’t directly threaten Jordan, so he’s all yours.” He released his hold on Mark and took off the handcuffs. Mark got to his feet and glared at Key, but he didn’t make another move to hit him.
Mr. Barnes took Mark’s arm and walked him out the door.
Jordan cleared her throat. “Mr. Shelley, this is Key and Brody DeKyanos. They’re new today.”
Their teacher still looked weirded out. “Pick up a book from that back shelf and take a seat anywhere.”
While Gunther went out into the hall and Hank went to stand at the back of the classroom, Jordan headed for her usual seat, between Cory and Megan, then felt Key’s hand on her arm, propelling her toward the empty desks at the back of the room. “Why?” she whispered under her breath.
“I want to sit with you,” he said out loud.
Everyone turned to look, and she blushed with embarrassment, then hurried to sit down so the kids would stop staring. Brody took a seat on one side of her and Key took a seat on the other.
Mr. Shelley asked Key and Brody about some principles and formulas he’d covered last semester and seemed impressed when they both knew everything he threw at them.
Mrs. Montoya was equally impressed with their command of Spanish in second period, and Mrs. Silver nearly danced for joy when she realized what they could do in advanced calculus. As for Jordan, she was elated not to see Eryx in any of her classes, and only one more lost soul.
Fourth period was when her luck ran out. Tessa, Eryx, Mark’s buddies, and another lost soul were in AP government. Adding to the fun were Courtney and two of her Buzzkills.
Key insisted on sitting next to her again, and as soon as they took their seats, he leaned close and said, “Who’s the horse-faced girl?”
“That’s mean, Key.”
“It’s the truth. And she’s looking at me like I have horns and frowning at you like you have a scarlet A on your blouse. What gives?”
Leaning toward him, she explained about Courtney.
He stared back at the queen of the Bible Bees and said, not in a whisper, “Boo!”
Courtney jerked around to face the front, and Jordan smiled behind her hand.
Class began, and their teacher, Mr. Hopper, a retired senator from New Hampshire who now worked as a pundit and taught this class because he said he loved shaping young minds, said in his deep, dramatic voice, “First off this morning, we will all pay homage to the First Daughter for her courage and resilience. Let’s show her how glad we are that she’s back with us, safe and sound.” He began to clap, and everyone except Courtney and her Buzzkills joined in, turning in their seats to look at her. Even Eryx clapped, probably because he was trying to make everyone think he was a nice guy. A regular guy.
“Ms. Byrd, Ms. Kendrick, Ms. Fair,” Mr. Hopper said to Courtney and her friends after the applause died down, “is there some reason you didn’t join us?”
Jordan couldn’t see Courtney’s face, but she didn’t need to. She undoubtedly had her lips pursed and a disapproving wrinkle across her forehead. “I’m sorry she was kidnapped, but it’s not like she made a daring escape. She was rescued. Seems to me we should applaud the guys who saved her.”
Jordan couldn’t help it. She looked at Key, and they each smiled.
“I’m also really disappointed that Jordan won’t make the prom committee change this year’s theme,” Courtney added with a little bit of a whine in her voice.
“Is there something wrong with the current prom theme?” Mr. Hopper asked.
“It’s the Garden of Eden, and everyone associates Eden with Satan.”
“Everyone, Ms. Byrd? I’d say that’s a stretch. Take me, for instance. I associate Adam and Eve and the tree of life with the Garden of Eden. Those who associate the garden with Satan may have a different perspective, but you can’t assume the entire population of this school shares it with you.”
Courtney’s shoulders became more rigid, if that was possible. “I also didn’t clap because she’s cheating on her boyfriend, who’s in critical condition and paralyzed. I refuse to applaud her for that, Mr. Hopper.”
Everyone turned to look at Jordan again, but she didn’t say anything. Mr. Hopper didn’t tolerate people speaking out in class. Besides, what could she say?
“Are you aware, personally, of the state of Ms. Ellis’s relationship with Mr. Whittaker?”
“They’ve been going out for two years.”
“Yes, but are they going out now? Are you privy to this information? If so, Ms. Ellis might like to know how, because unless she or Mr. Whittaker discussed it with you personally, we have to assume you were with them at all times during all discussions about the status of their relationship. Were you?”
“No, sir.”
“Then your accusation is not based on fact, but on your own opinion. Opinions can be dangerous when confused as fact.”
“It’s a fact that she’s hanging out with that spawn of Satan sitting next to her.”
Mr. Hopper frowned. “Those are strong words, Ms. Byrd.”
It was obvious Mr. Hopper didn’t like Courtney, and maybe she was a pain in the neck, but Jordan wished the man would back off. So what if she didn’t clap? Did he have to call her out like this?
“He caused Mark Summers to get boils,” Courtney said. “All he did was touch Mark’s face, and all of a sudden, he was covered in boils. He’s evil!”
“How do you know Mr. Summers wasn’t already ill?”
“I don’t, but I do know that Jordan is cheating on poor Matthew. I saw the new guy come into the school and the way he looked at her, and no way did they just meet. Now they’re inseparable, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that they’ve got something going on. She’s blowing Matthew off because he’s paralyzed, and he got that way because of her. I think it’s disgusting. She’s disgusting.”
Jordan flinched as if she’d been hit. Courtney gave voice to all the things that had been in her head since the first time Key had kissed her, except she hadn’t blown Matthew off because he was paralyzed. She didn’t think she’d blown him off at all.
Or had she? Turning her head to look at Key, who was scowling at Courtney, she remembered all over again why she came back. Pleading with her to stay, his raw despair had exposed what was deep within his soul, and it had nothing to do with Hell. It made no sense, considering she was dead at the time, but she’d never felt so alive, as if something inside of her that had been asleep her whole life had woken up.
Being with him hadn’t changed that feeling. He could be hard, cold, and autocratic, but all
of that was only one side of him, something he’d grown into after over a thousand years of leading his brothers. She’d witnessed another side of Key, and that was what she was drawn to, what she couldn’t stay away from. Even now, knowing how he felt about Eryx, her blood practically hummed when he was around. And while she loved Matthew, and always would, she was beginning to realize that it was more about friendship than romance. That’s why she’d never gone all the way with Matthew. And why it was difficult to stop with Key.
Still, she felt guilty, and Courtney had managed to say it out loud, and everyone was darting glances at her and Key, obviously beginning to think along the same lines as Courtney. Jordan could almost feel the tide turning against her.
Mr. Hopper stared at Courtney for a long time, clearly angry, but when he finally spoke, his voice was even and calm. “Ms. Byrd, please leave my classroom and don’t return. I’m certain Mr. Barnes can reassign you to another section of government.”
“You’re kicking me out? You can’t do that!”
“I can, and I am.”
“I have to have this class to be admitted at Princeton!”
“Then you’ll have to meet the requirement elsewhere. You are unteachable.” He went to the door and opened it. “Good-bye.”
Courtney gathered up her backpack while everyone stared in shock.
Jordan disliked Courtney as much as anyone, and pretty much everyone did, except her silly Bees. She thought the girl did more harm to Christianity than good, turning people off before they ever heard a word of the real message.
But there was some truth to what she had said, and it wasn’t as if she had spread gossip, whispering behind Jordan’s back, accusing her of being a cheat. No, she’d been forced to say what she thought, and now she was being punished for it.
Courtney was almost to the door when Jordan called out, “Mr. Hopper, may I say something?”
The queen of the Bible Bees turned around, tears streaming down her face, and looked across the room at Jordan.
Mr. Hopper said, “If you have something to add, yes. If you merely want to chastise Ms. Byrd, then no.”
She glanced at Key, who was staring at her with the strangest look in his eyes, then looked at Brody, who was smiling his sweet smile. He gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod of his head.
Swallowing hard, she said, “Courtney is right that Key and I are more than friends, but she’s wrong about Matthew. We aren’t going out anymore.”
Key said, “Jordan, you don’t owe any of these people an explanation.”
“I’m not saying this for anyone but Mr. Hopper and Courtney. She was forced to say what she believes to be true, and I don’t think it’s fair for her to be punished so harshly.”
“We’ll put it to a vote,” Mr. Hopper said. “All those in favor of Ms. Byrd remaining in this class, raise your hand.”
Jordan, Brody, and the two Buzzkills were the only hands. Courtney was turning away when Eryx said, “Jordan has a point. Courtney may be judgmental, but she’s not a liar. I say she stays.” He raised his hand.
Jordan wondered what he was up to. Why stand up for Courtney? If he thought he could collect her soul, he was way wrong. Courtney’s faith in God was solid.
Since Eryx’s hand was in the air, all the girls in the room raised their hands, too, along with the lost souls—of course. With so many voting yes, the rest of the class followed suit. Except Key.
“Mr. DeKyanos, do you abstain,” Mr. Hopper asked, “or is your vote no?”
“My vote is no.”
“Because she called you a spawn of Satan?”
“She can call me whatever she likes. I vote no because she insulted Jordan, who went to Hell and back, then accused her of cheating on the guy who was shot trying to save her. The fact that Courtney got a little bit of it right, which is that I did stare at Jordan when I came into the school, and sat next to her in every class because I’m extremely attracted to her, doesn’t qualify her for a pass, even if Jordan thinks it does. She’s too nice for her own good.”
Most of the hands went down again.
Mr. Hopper said, “The nays have it, Ms. Byrd. Good-bye.” After she walked out, he closed the door and returned to his lectern. “Now then, let’s discuss judicial process and the necessity of evidence.”
Lunch was just after government, and Jordan said to Key, “I usually stay on campus for lunch, because it’s easier for the Secret Service, but I really want to get out of here for a while. Let’s get Hank and Gunther to take us for a cheeseburger.”
So he, Brody, and Jordan wound up in the backseat of a Suburban with dark windows, on their way to Five Guys for a burger. Gunther drove, and Hank rode shotgun. When they arrived, Hank looked back at Jordan. “Stay here with Gunther while I run a sweep. If anything looks weird, I’ll get takeout and we’ll eat it in the car.”
Jordan nodded, and as soon as the man was out of the SUV, Key said, “Tell me what you meant in Hopper’s class about Matthew.”
Without a word, she pulled her cell phone out of her purse, tapped a few buttons, and held it up to show him. It was a blonde with an amazing body, lying naked on a bed.
“This is Tori,” she whispered, “and this is Matthew’s bed.”
Key took it from her and peered at it closely. He was almost certain it had been altered. There was a rim of dark around Tori’s blonde hair, as if her image had been placed on top of someone else’s. Someone with dark hair. Like Jordan. He glanced at her and saw the hurt in her eyes. He didn’t have to tell her. It’d be better for him if he didn’t tell her, because it would be easier for her to leave Matthew behind. But the look in her eyes bothered him. She was so hurt, so stung by betrayal, that he couldn’t let it be. “Did Matthew ever take your picture, lying on his bed?”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t naked.”
He held the phone between them and pointed to the dark rim. “Somebody Photoshopped her into a picture of you.”
“Why?”
“Maybe they sent it to Matthew as a prank, and he never deleted it off his phone.”
“Could be,” Brody said. “Guys do stuff like that.”
“But why?”
Brody smiled. “Because naked girls never stop being interesting.”
“Why Photoshop her into a picture of me so it looks like she’s on Matthew’s bed?”
“It’s twisted,” Brody said, “but it’s kind of a turn-on to see a naked girl on your bed, even if it’s not real.”
“Look, don’t try to analyze it,” Key said. “Just know that Matthew didn’t take a picture of that girl on his bed, so whatever he told you is a lie.”
She was peering at the picture, wanting to believe what they said. “When I said I didn’t believe him, he told me to ask her. Why would he say that if it wasn’t true?”
“He knew you wouldn’t ask her,” Brody said. “Some girls would, but you wouldn’t, and he knows it.”
“I’m something of an expert on photo alteration,” Gunther said. “Mind if I have a look?”
“Only if you swear not to ogle Tori when you see her at school,” Jordan said.
“Never been much of an ogler, especially of children.” He reached his hand back, and Key set the phone on his palm. Gunther took one look and said, “Yep, Photoshop. A really bad job, too.” He handed the phone back. “Your boyfriend wants you to think he slept with her so you’ll stay away from him. I’d run with it, at least until he comes around.”
Hank returned and said, “Everything looks okay. Let’s eat.”
As they got out of the car and walked toward the restaurant, Key watched Jordan’s face, expecting her to look happy. Instead, she looked more gloomy than she had before. While they stood in line to order, he bent low and whispered in her ear, “Aren’t you glad it’s not true?”
She nodded, then turned her head and replied, “He had to know how bad that would hurt, and he did it anyway, because he’s that desperate to keep me away from him.”
“So you’re sti
ll hurt, even though he didn’t actually sleep with her. I don’t get it.”
“I’m not hurt that he lied. Just terribly sad that he’d go to such an extreme.”
Afraid she was about to get wound up on the Eryx subject again, he stood straight and nodded toward the gap in the line. “It’s our turn to order.”
She moved up and ordered a double cheeseburger, large fries, and a large Coke. Key noticed Hank raised a brow, but Gunther made no indication that he noticed this small young woman just ordered the same thing he had.
Key remembered Jax complaining about school, and now he understood why. Over the years, they’d recruited extremely bright people to be Luminas, some of them specifically as tutors. He and his brothers were well educated, so sitting through classes, hearing lectures on material he already knew, was mind-numbingly boring. The afternoon classes were no better than those of the morning, and he chafed under the realization that he had an entire month of this ahead of him. Why couldn’t President Ellis have planned a party for Jordan’s return? They’d probably be done with the takedown by now and back at home, working on another takedown somewhere else in the world. Something that wouldn’t require Jordan to be this exposed.
Eryx was sly, as always, and Key was constantly on guard and nervous, wondering what he might have up his sleeve.
As was his usual MO in the real world, Eryx was charming, attractive, and always knew exactly the right thing to say. Just like when they had been boys and Eryx had instinctively known things, he knew how to play people because it came naturally to him. By the end of the school day, Eryx had been asked to be on three committees, to play on the soccer team, and to join the yearbook staff. Everyone loved him.
Even Brody found his spot, asked to join the computer club after demonstrating his impressive brainiac tendencies in computer lab.
Key, however, wasn’t asked to do anything. Everyone but the lost souls were afraid of him, which he found funny, considering he planned to kill the lost souls by sending them to Hell on Earth and had no interest at all in the others.
The Mephisto Kiss (The Redemption Of Kyros) Page 23
