Good vs. Evil High

by April Marcom

  “I’m not following her. Let me go.”

  “You’ve been following her since we got here. Tell me why!”

  “I don’t even know who Kristine is. I was going to get some aspirin, I swear.”

  “Everyone knows who Kristine is—Don’t make me hurt you.”

  “But you’re a Havener. You wouldn’t hurt anybody.”

  “I would if it meant protecting one of my friends—Tell me!” She twisted the fabric in her hand tighter—until it began pressing against his neck.

  “Nadine,” I said, wishing she would stop.

  “Okay,” Henry said. “But don’t tell him I told you, all right?”

  “Tell me first; then we can talk.”

  Henry stared at me as he answered. “Roman asked me to follow you around. He said he’d get me on the Snow Riders next year if I did it.” Clearly, Roman was no ordinary jealous boyfriend.

  “Why would he do that?” I asked him in alarm.

  “It was driving him crazy not knowing where you were and who you were with since he has training all the time. I know it’s weird, but I want on that team. I’m not out to hurt you, Kristine. Just please don’t tell him I told you. He won’t let me on if he finds out.” He seemed pathetic with his broken, teenage voice.

  “The Cinder Snow Riders would murder you,” Nadine said, letting him go.

  “Why? Because I’m small? You and Coach Rolland are wrong. I’ll be the best Snow Rider North Haven’s ever seen. You’ll see.”

  Henry turned away and ran down the stairs, leaving my three friends to stare at me.

  “You should tell Headmaster,” Sassy said. “This whole Roman thing is way out of control.”

  “I don’t know...” I kind of figured it would end on its own, since Roman and I had officially broken up. Going to Headmaster about it now seemed silly, like I was a tattletale.

  “So, we’ve got a whole day free. What should we do with it?” Harmony said cheerfully, breaking the tension, because I think we were all feeling pretty uneasy after what Henry said.

  “We could go outside and make snow angels and a snowman,” I said.

  “Then we could come back in for hot cocoa and apple cider and go climb in Kristine’s bed so she can tell us everything about her new boyfriend,” Sassy said excitedly.

  “Yeah,” Harmony said. “It looked pretty serious this morning. And now you’ll have plenty of time with him.”

  “Thank goodness,” I said.

  “He is your boyfriend, right?” Sassy asked, as we started down the stairs. “This isn’t another he thinks he’s your boyfriend when you really aren’t into him kind of thing?”

  “Nope, this time he’s definitely my boyfriend, and I would love to tell you guys all about it.”

  Nadine put her arm around me. “If Henry keeps following you, I’ll take care of him.”

  “Thanks, Nadine.”

  As we began down the hallway, I wondered...What if it was all Nadine? The attack on Rose. Knight’s snowmobile. She could have set it all up to give me a boost into the competition and to keep me away from a Cinder. She was the only one who still didn’t seem happy for me and Luke. And it kind of sounded like she’d offered to do something similar to Henry.

  I quickly pushed the idea away and scolded myself for even thinking it. Nadine was one of my best friends in the whole world. She was wonderful, a little rough at times, but absolutely wonderful. She wouldn’t do something like that.

  But the thought would still haunt me, I knew, just like the one about Coach Beckham still did.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  ~ Chilling Christmas Gift ~

  A lot of changes were made after that morning. Headmaster did have us choose someone to be responsible for, and likewise, they were responsible for us. My roommates and I kind of improvised with this, though. Harmony and I stuck together, as did Sassy and Nadine. But when Nadine had soccer practice Sassy stuck with us. And when I was with Luke, Harmony stuck with them. Either way, we all looked out for each other.

  Harmony and Luke began to find some common ground over making sure I was always safe. Neither one would leave me alone until they were sure I was safe with the other.

  Adult staff from both schools stood guard in various places day and night. Security cameras were installed. Game equipment was thoroughly checked before being used.

  Even though the attacks stopped, things began to come up missing. Nothing big, but enough to get people talking—a girl’s perfume, a guy’s new book series, and a Cinder’s Harley Davidson t-shirt, just to name a few. The Cinder with the missing shirt swore blood from whoever took it. But nobody knew. Still, they were all relieved that at least the mysterious kleptomaniac wasn’t hurting anyone.

  The weeks went by like this. November came to an end and the first part of December went by quickly. Luke and I couldn’t get enough of each other. We spent a lot of time just the two of us because, even though several of the Cinders seemed to accept me and the majority of North Haveners were all right with Luke, it just felt better that way. No division. No school rivalry. Just us.

  And then it was the day of the dance. Christmas day. Sassy, Nadine, Harmony, and I had a little pine tree decorated with silver and blue tinsel and ornaments set up on the dresser in between our beds, and a rug on the floor just big enough for us to sit on.

  Harmony woke me up by bouncing on my bed and saying, “Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!” It was easier to get up than most mornings, since it was my first real Christmas in three years.

  I threw my feet over the edge of my bed and saw that Harmony had already put all the presents in the middle of the white and red rug. They had been sitting under the four-foot tree for what felt like forever. “Come open your presents from me, guys,” I said, sitting on the rug beside them.

  “Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!” Harmony was just getting to Sassy, who sat up as excited as we were.

  “Merry Christmas,” she said, hugging Harmony. She climbed down and hugged me too. “Merry Christmas, Kristine.”

  “Merry Christmas, Sassy.”

  She went to hug Nadine as Nadine tried to pull her curtains closed. “You guys go ahead without me,” she grumbled.

  “We can’t.” Sassy started shaking Nadine’s arm.

  “I’m tooo tiiiired...”

  Harmony bounced on Nadine’s bed. “Get up, Nadine, get up. Get up, Nadine, get up.” Sassy joined in and they sang this chorus until Nadine got up grudgingly and plopped down on the rug across from me.

  “Here, Nadine,” I said, handing her a present. “This’ll make you feel better.”

  “Thanks.” She took it and offered me a sleepy smile.

  I handed the other two girls their presents as they sat down on either side of me.

  Since there wasn’t exactly a shopping center nearby, I had to be creative and stick to my artistic abilities to make their gifts. For Nadine, I painted two big jingle bells to look like soccer balls and tied them to a ponytail holder. Then I drew tiny soccer balls on white shoelaces and wrote “Nadine Rodriguez” in cursive in the center of each one. Since Harmony was always making us write in the notebook she loves so much, I had Nadine and Sassy write about Harmony—the things they loved about her, the most fun they could remember having with her, stuff like that—and then I wrote a bunch myself. After drawing little pictures in the top corner of each page, I bound them together and designed a music themed cover. Sassy’s present took the longest, though. Miss McCree secured a black sweater for me and I used silver fabric paint to make the Eiffel Tower on the front. Then I sewed on lights, ornaments, and a star to make it look like a Christmas tree.

  “I love these,” Nadine said, finally waking up. She pulled her hair back with the bells. “I’ll wear these laces in my next big game.”

  Sassy gasped as she held up the sweater. “Did you make this?” she asked me.

  “Is it that obvious?”

  “No. If a professional had designed something this cute, I would alrea
dy have it.”

  “Yeah, I made it.”

  “This is incredible. Next time I have designer’s block, I know who to talk to. Thanks, Kristine. Here—open mine.” She handed me a small box wrapped in shiny blue paper.

  Inside, I found a glittery gold headband with “Kristine, Harmony, Nadine, and Sassy-Best Friends Forever” written on the inside of it. “I love this,” I said, putting it on.

  Another package was tossed into my lap and I looked up at Nadine, who simply nodded. I opened a messily wrapped box of fancy paints, brushes, and sponges. “Thanks, Nadine. I love this, too.”

  I looked over at Harmony, because she hadn’t said a word. She was staring at the present I’d given her, staring at the page where we’d each written about the first time we met her.

  “Earth to Harmony,” Nadine said, holding a gift bag out to her.

  “I’m sorry,” Harmony said, looking up. “This is just so sweet. Years from now, I’ll be able to look back at this very Christmas and remember right now.” She picked up three identical red bags and handed them out. We each found a pair of white gloves with fur trim and our names embroidered on them. I slipped mine on. They were unbelievably soft. “Thanks!” I said at almost the same time as the other two.

  “Merry Christmas, girls,” Miss McCree said, coming around my bed. She was carrying a big basket, which was bursting with red cellophane bags, each one filled with cookies and tied with gold ribbon. She knelt down to give us each a hug and one of these sweet-smelling bags. “Are yah’ all ready for the dance tonight?”

  “Will you do my hair like you did last year?” Sassy asked her.

  “Of course, dearie. I’ll find yah’ well before it begins. Does anyone else want me to do their hair?”

  “I think Sassy’s got it,” I said. She’d been talking about how she was planning to do our hair for weeks.

  “Well, Cinder Headmaster has a special breakfast downstairs when you’re hungry.” She put a hand on my back as she got up and went to find more girls from our hall.

  “Should we change and go down?” Sassy asked.

  “For sure,” Nadine said. “Last year they had all sorts of fancy breakfast treats from different European countries. I just about made myself sick tasting everything.”

  “I know what I’m wearing today.” Sassy threw my sweater over her shoulder and pulled a deep purple skirt out of her dresser. “I’ll meet you in the bathroom.”

  I grabbed a red sweater, a pair of black skinny jeans, and boots, and followed Harmony to the bathrooms. She had her con play Christmas music as we got ready. After I showered and got dressed, I went to grab my bag, making sure I had Luke’s present inside.

  It was similar to Harmony’s, but a lot more elaborate. I’d filled an entire notebook with every memory of him I could think of, how much and why I loved him, and how much I would miss him when I went home. A lot of the memories had drawings to go with them, like when Santa brought me a bike when I was ten and Luke taught me how to ride it, because I’d never ridden one before. Miss McCree also got me a disposable camera, which I had Harmony take pictures of us with from across the cafeteria and in the hallway when she was sure he wouldn’t notice. After Miss McCree got them developed—don’t ask me how—I put them at the tops of several pages and filled each page with stuff about the picture. I also filled a few with drawings alone. It was my way of leaving a piece of me behind when I left in a little over a month.

  I was dreading our separation a great deal, but every day I spent with Luke it became easier to think about. His love was more powerful than anything else in this world, and I didn’t doubt that he would come see me every chance he got. There would just be a lot of really long days in between.

  Harmony hummed as we left the second floor. Halfway down the stairs, something big appeared right in front of me. Luke hugged me as I fell into him. “Merry Christmas, Kristine,” he said quietly.

  “I love it when you do that!” It was always like I was staring at gray stairs and then this gorgeous guy materialized right in front of me and took me in his arms, like the best kind of magic ever created.

  “Merry Christmas, Luke,” Harmony said. She and the other two kept going.

  Luke looked a little unsure, but wished her a Merry Christmas too, as she reached the last step.

  “Where do you want to meet for the dance tonight?” Luke asked as we started for the dining hall.

  “You’ll probably have to meet me there. Harmony and I have to be there early to make sure everything’s straight for the party....You wanna know a secret?”

  He gave me a slightly wounded look. “You’ve been keeping something from me?”

  “Only the activities committee is supposed to know, and that’s only so we can give them plenty of space.”

  “What is it?”

  I pulled him into the old gym where we used to meet. No torches were lit today, so we were plunged into absolute darkness. “The invention competition’s going to be held tonight at the dance. Our headmasters thought it would be a fun way to start things out.”

  Luke laughed. “We finally get to see whose invention will win. My money’s still on the Cyclone.”

  “And my money’s still on The Baring Springs.”

  He put a hand on my cheek and stroked it with his thumb. “Remember the first year I spent the night over on Christmas Eve? We stayed up late watching old Christmas movies and you fell asleep halfway through one of them. You rolled over to face the couch in your sleep and your hair was covering your face. I went to lie next to you so I could watch you sleep. And when I brushed your hair away, I couldn’t help myself. You were sound asleep, but that was the first night I kissed you and told you I loved you. I knew it was wrong, to steal your first kiss when you wouldn’t even remember it, but I had to...I’ve never regretted that, because I would always remember the way your sweet lips felt against mine and know that no other man could ever take your first kiss from me. I came over just to watch you sleep some nights after that.”

  So Luke was my first kiss.

  “I remember, but—I always thought it was a dream. I must have been partway awake. That night’s part of your Christmas present, actually.”

  His thumb stopped. “What do you mean?”

  I took my con out of my bag and let it light the space around us as I took out his present. “Merry Christmas, Luke,” I said, handing it to him.

  He opened it carefully, like a bomb might be inside, and let the purple foil paper fall to the floor. He stared with deep, concerned eyes as he ran his fingers over the thin braid of my hair I’d cut off, my first North Haven medal, and the best picture of us Harmony had taken. Each one was tied or taped onto the front. In the picture, Luke and I were laughing at each other as we stood up at his table in the dining hall. I chose it because I could see the best of both worlds in him, a perfect mixture of brute strength and childlike wonder. It was the only photo that captured it so well.

  “How did you get this picture?” he asked without looking up.

  “I had Harmony take them whenever you weren’t looking. That way they would be a surprise.”

  “Then there’re more?”

  “Yeah. I kept a few, but most of them are in here.” Reaching out, I opened the notebook and flipped through pages until I found the section where every other page had pictures of us, beginning with the one where we’re walking into the North Haven gym together. He’s holding my hand, dropping me off for physical fitness that day.

  He turned the pages and stared at each picture, never looking up or allowing the grave expression on his face to diminish. “Why did you say that Christmas Eve night was part of your present to me?” he asked, still staring at the pages.

  I moved to his side and flipped through the notebook until I found it. “Because I put the entire memory of that dream in here.”

  He turned away from me when I looked up at him. “Could you turn that thing off?”

  “Okay—Kristine Con, return.” I waited until it
was back in my bag to ask, “Do you not like it?” I’d put more time and thought into that present than I’d ever put into any other one.

  “I love this, Kristine. It’s the best present anyone’s ever given me.” I felt his hand reach out for my shoulder before he came to stand against me. It slid slowly upward and then to the back of my neck before he kissed me. A single droplet fell from his face onto mine, and I knew it was one of the tears he was trying to hide. “Thank you,” he whispered as he leaned away. “I’m going to put this somewhere safe. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Okay.”

  I stared through the darkness until I saw the bit of fragile light when he opened the door on the other end of the gym. Then I left for the dining hall. It brought me a great deal of satisfaction to know my gift was probably going into that safe he had hidden in his room.

  In the dining hall, Bane was sitting next to Damian, who was also one of the higher-ups. It was strange how all the higher-ups were cool with me. Since I had a feeling Bane had something to do with it, I’d made him a Christmas card, disguised with heavy black paper pasted around the outside.

  Damian stood up as I walked through the door and nodded to me on his way out. I was glad, since it meant no one would probably notice me hand the card over, anyway.

  “Hey, Bane,” I said, sitting across from him. Over the past weeks, I’d grown comfortable enough with the Cinders to sit with them alone.

  He looked around me as I reached in my bag and pulled out the blank cardboard folded in half. He was a tall guy, you could tell that even when he was sitting down, but he wasn’t the biggest guy. Still, all the other Cinders seemed to fear and respect him. “Where’s Knight?” he asked.

  “He went to his room. He’ll be here in a minute.” I repressed the urge to wish him a Merry Christmas and silently slid the card across the table.

  He stared intently as he opened it and looked over the message that said, “Merry Christmas, Bane. You’re Cinderific,” with tiny elves climbing all over the letters. He looked up at me as he folded it and slipped it into his spike-studded pocket.