by Carla Thorne
Ivy put a finger to her lips. “Shhhh… Let’s just look at him in all his blond-hair-blue-eyed sexiness.”
Scout scooted closer. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I said and pulled my gaze away.
Ivy fanned her face. “We’re trying to get over to Deacon and his brother and that other guy. Can you believe more people are pouring in here?”
“They don’t know the AC is out.”
“Hurry up!” Deacon squealed and waved harder like it’d help us get there.
“What?” We piled behind him in line. “Why are we standing here?”
Scout nodded toward the guys. “Hey, Marcus. Hi, uh…” He extended his hand.
The big guy took it. “Jacob.”
“Oh yeah,” Deacon said. “If you don’t already know, this is my brother, Marcus. And this is Jacob. He moved in one neighborhood over from me.”
I met his intense blue gaze. “You’re a new student here? A…senior?”
He grinned and looked away. “Nope. Junior.”
Deacon slung his arm around the big guy and poked him in the chest. “This dude’s a beast on the football field. The Stonehaven Saints might actually win a few games.”
“Nice,” I said. “And they’ll let you play? I mean, all those weird rules about changing schools when you’re an athlete.”
“We’re working it out. I didn’t come here just to play for the Saints. It was more of a family business decision. And because my parents hate each other.”
“Oh.”
He blushed and turned away. “Sorry. You all didn’t need to know that.”
We all took a step forward with the line.
“Doesn’t bother us,” Scout said. “You can’t say much that would shock us.”
Ivy pushed Scout forward. “Hey, Marcus, what are you doing here? Are you a new student too?”
“Nah… I graduated from the public school down the street. I’m only here because this guy doesn’t have a car.”
“Yep,” Deacon said. “My big bro is off to college in central Texas to play baseball.”
“Wait. You’re brothers and you went to different high schools?”
“Yeah. True story,” Deacon said. “There are five of us and we’re all adopted. Our parents got us at different times, so we went to whatever school was best at the time. In Marcus’s case, he was already at the other school and wanted to stay.”
I’d liked Marcus from the day I met him. His bright smile, deep dimples, and sweet personality made him my favorite of Deacon’s brothers. I hugged him. “Congratulations, Marcus. You’re gonna be great.”
“Thanks. You too, killer. No mercy on the field.”
“No mercy.”
“I’m goin’ out,” Marcus said. “Hurry up, bro. I have to be somewhere.”
Jacob smiled my way. “Soccer?”
“Yeah, but I don’t think any college is looking for me.”
“Me either. Your friend Deacon exaggerates.”
“Ya think?” I laughed. “And that’s only one of his charming personality traits.”
At that moment, as mine and Jacob’s eyes met in that hot and crowded room, something happened. It wasn’t big and dramatic and colorful. It wasn’t earth-shattering. My heart didn’t thump and my knees didn’t buckle.
It was like a soft little white-capped wave that surprised us. Its curling water came from behind, splashed around us, and pushed us toward each other in a quiet surf.
Jacob was easy. Jacob was significant. Jacob was…something I couldn’t see clearly. But as with everything those days, I tucked the feeling away to question it later.
Scout broke the spell. “What are we in line for?”
Deacon took another step forward. “OK. Brace yourselves. Three words. Colorado. Ski. Trip.”
“Oh c’mon.” Ivy turned to leave. “Can any of us even ski? And I don’t have the money for any trips.”
“No wait,” Deacon said. “Put you name on the list while there’s still space. You can always remove it later. Take the info home and think about it.”
“When is this trip?” I asked.
“It’s the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Two nights, three full days. Telluride, Winter Park, or somewhere in Colorado. Doesn’t matter.”
“And how are we getting there? Holiday airfare? Packed airports? No, thank you.”
“Fifteen-passenger vans. We sleep and listen to music. Some adult sponsors drive.”
“And how many hours is that?” Ivy rubbed her forehead. “All of us in a claustrophobic van on icy, mountain roads with a bunch of gear? Also, I have no gear.”
Deacon raised his index finger. “OK, you guys are not nearly as excited about this as I thought you’d be.”
Another step forward.
“Who wouldn’t love Colorado in the winter?” I asked. “We never get to play in snow. But really, none of us ski.”
“Yes, but we do love to drink hot chocolate with baby marshmallows and cuddle around a fire.”
“Ewww,” Ivy said.
“Not necessarily with each other,” Deacon snapped.
“I get it,” I said. “This is about Claire Cannon. I bet she’s on that list. Anybody wanna bet?”
“No,” Scout said. “I think we all know Claire Cannon’s on that list.”
“Just sign up while there’s room,” Deacon begged. “We’ll sort it out later.”
“I don’t have the money,” Ivy said. “And I don’t know how many of our parents will want to pay for this.”
Deacon smirked. “You all worked all summer. Didn’t you save your money?”
I pinned him with an irritated glare. “Seriously? This, ladies and gentlemen, is from the guy who did nothing all summer but play video games.”
“It’s been a hot summer,” he whined. “And you have no idea how many things my mom can find for me to do when I’m not in school. Me and Marcus took out our old deck and hauled off the wood to save money on the new one my mom wants.”
“Congratulations,” I said. “You pulled out some nails and moved wood around. Hope you didn’t get a splinter.”
“Very funny. What did you do?”
“I lifeguarded all summer at my community pool.”
Scout, Ivy, and Deacon looked at me funny.
“What’s wrong?”
Deacon’s look of disbelief was comical. “You were serious about that?”
“Yes. It’s great money and I’ve guarded every day, and didn’t see you once. Plus, they have competitions with the guards at other pools. It’s fun.”
They all looked away as we took another step.
“All right,” I said. “I can see the irony. Leave it alone.”
Jacob remained quiet and followed along.
“Speaking of pools,” Deacon said. “I understand Scout’s giant hot tub and pool is up and running. I suggest a pool party this weekend to get this school year started right.”
“Agreed,” Ivy said. “Scout, you should post something. Everyone will show up and bring snacks.”
“I don’t know…”
“It’s OK,” Ivy said. She slipped her arm in his. “It’ll be fun. We’ll all be there.”
“Yeah… Let me check with my grandma.”
Deacon arrived at the table. “What’s it gonna be?”
“Sure. We can put our names down.” I glanced at the others and knew it wasn’t likely to actually happen.
“Yep. Claire Cannon. Right here at the top,” Scout said.
Scout passed Jacob the pen, but he passed it to me. “Go ahead.”
“Are you going?”
“Oh yeah, I love to ski.”
“All right,” I announced to the others. “We have a real skier in our midst.”
“Why do we need a real skier?” Gavin’s voice tickled my ear from behind.
“Oh, hey! I thought you were at practice.”
“I was. I am.” He swiped a massive amount of sweat from across his face. “Sorry. I wo
n’t come any closer. I had a quick sec to come and share some news.”
“What’s that?”
“Movin’ up to varsity.”
“That’s great, Gavin, but I am not one bit surprised.” I bent to sign my name and pick up a packet. “Let me introduce you to Jacob.”
But he and Jacob were already in the midst of the Stonehaven Saints football handshake.
“I guess you’ve already met.”
“Yeah. Coach brought him around last week. But this week, I’ll actually get to outrun him in drills.”
“You think,” Jacob said.
“I know. I’ll see you out there later?”
“Yeah, I’ll have all my paperwork in Coach’s office by evening practice.”
Gavin gave me one of his sly little winks. He did that when he wanted to kiss me but knew he shouldn’t. “I have to get back.”
“OK. Do you want me to put your name on this list?”
“Did it earlier before I headed to practice. I thought we could talk about it tonight.”
Yep. There we were looking like an old married couple while our friends stood and watched. “C’mon, you guys, it’s not that bad.”
“It’s pretty bad,” Ivy said.
“Forget it,” Deac said. “We’re all signed up.”
A cool puff of air landed on my neck as we stepped away from the table. I jerked around because I thought maybe Gavin had come back.
He was long gone.
“Hold on a sec,” I said.
Scout stopped. “What is it? Oh…”
We all looked to Deacon, who studied his hands. “Yep. Something’s up.” He shoved them in his pockets as we looked around.
I tried to whisper above the crowd noise and so the big new guy couldn’t hear. “It could be anything, and God forbid it’s something big like an atta—”
“Don’t even think that,” Ivy said.
“I’m heating up,” Deacon said.
Jacob nudged his way into our circle. “I don’t want to alarm anyone, but look.”
He nodded to the vents across the top of the cafe. Smoke curled from each one.
Scout snapped his fingers. “OK, how’s this? Jacob and Deacon go to the back and calmly and quietly make people aware and start pushing them out. That might prevent a stampede when they start smelling smoke. Ivy, you and Mary go to the front and herd people toward the parking lot and watch for people who might fall or try to go back in. Flag down the fire truck when you hear it coming.”
“What about you?” I asked.
“I’m going to find Mr. Silva and pull the fire alarm.”
“Sounds like a great plan,” Deacon said. “Let’s do it.”
Of course it sounded like a great plan. Though Scout had spouted the instructions in mere seconds, it took less than that for all hell to break loose. Why did we think there wouldn’t be mass chaos?
Ivy and I grabbed a couple of teachers and parents on the way out. One was supposed to head toward athletics and make sure they didn’t come running from the safety of the practice field and into a burning building. No such luck. She screamed and started crying and then took her own kid and ran for the main road.
I guess I understood the panic in a world of active shooters and mass casualties, but didn’t somebody have to stay and help?
Ivy’s guy bolted around to the front of the school to make sure no one entered.
In less than a minute, the wail of sirens sounded in the distance. Scout, Deacon, Jacob, and Mr. Silva headed out behind the last of the crowd. They were dang heroes, that’s what they were, stridin’ out of the café after everyone was safe, like wind-blown, slow-motion characters in a comic book movie.
“Get away from the building,” Mr. Silva said. “I have to lock a few more doors.”
“Hurry,” Scout said. “I’ll wait here and make sure no one tries to get in.” Then he put a cookie in his mouth.
Ivy smacked the rest out of his hand. “Did you seriously stop for more cookies during a real smoke evacuation?”
“Yes, there was smoke, but it’s unclear if there is a fire. Mr. Silva is convinced it’s an electrical incident with that stupid AC system.”
“Yeah, duh. That doesn’t mean there’s not a fire behind that wall or that there could be any second.”
We found a tree and collapsed in the shade as firefighters converged on the area. “You should text your rides and let them know we’ll walk to the road or something. There’s no getting in or out of here.”
Scout grabbed his phone from his pocket. “I guess there’ll be an info blast later about when to come back and get belongings and clean up our tables.”
Ivy poked her hair behind her ears. “That’s going to be a literal hot mess.”
I glanced at my fellow Warriors—and Jacob. I wanted to talk about it, compare notes, evaluate our actions… But Jacob was there.
Mr. Parrington passed by and slowed to take a good look at us. “I can’t even with you four today.”
Mrs. Thomas dropped her purse under another tree nearby. “They did a good job,” she said. “Deacon was as cool as a cucumber when he started telling the adults there was a problem. I saw Scout grab Mr. Silva and pull the alarm.”
Mr. Parrington nodded. “Thanks for letting me know.” He seemed to be trying so hard to put the pieces together. It had to be frustrating by that point to never know exactly what was happening with us. “We’ll talk soon,” he said and walked away.
Marcus jogged toward us. “C’mon. I can get us out. I parked back by the tree line to be in the shade.”
Deacon grabbed the ski trip packet he’d managed to hold on to. “Yessss! You comin’, Jacob?”
The big, new, apparent football star had continued to be eerily silent. “No. I have to get to Coach’s office and make sure some paperwork has come in so I can practice.”
“Mary?”
“No thanks. My mom is coming because we have something else to do. I told her I’d head out to the road.”
As the others left, I waited for Jacob to say something. What, I didn’t know, but somehow I thought the guy who spotted the smoke and was so completely chill about it all might have something to say—especially after slipping into our group like an unidentified Warrior.
Was he? A Warrior?
I’d sensed something about him, but then wondered if what I felt was real. Whose side was he on?
Jacob smiled and stood to leave. “It was nice to meet you, Mary.”
I stood too. “Wait a minute.” I yanked the front of his sweaty shirt and pulled him so hard and so close he barely got his hand out to brace himself against the tree trunk.
“Take it easy,” he said and lifted his hands. “I don’t know what’s happening here.”
“Don’t you?”
“Mary, I really don’t understand. Have I done something to offend you?”
“Have you?”
His gaze narrowed, but nothing about him said anything more than that he was confused. He took a long look at my face—my whole face, centimeter by centimeter—to the point of it being uncomfortable.
I released him with a shove. “I have a question for you.”
“OK.”
“What are you?”
Chapter 5
Scout
The pool party finally happened, but it wasn’t until Labor Day weekend.
School had started with its usual bangs and thuds, and everyone jockeyed for position on the social ladder—especially since Paige was gone.
The fried cooling system had to be replaced, but it was done in record time because of the heat. The small electrical incident—the school didn’t call it a fire—was investigated and settled, and we were once again dragged into Mr. Parrington’s office for a couple of questions. We didn’t know why. It wasn’t that big of a deal, and what difference did it make?
The new guy, Jacob, didn’t help us stay under the radar.
Mr. Parrington looked him straight in the eye. “And you were the first
one to see smoke?”
Jacob considered the question. “I guess, but all I did was say I thought I saw something, and these four jumped into action. I happened to be there to help out.”
Thanks, Jacob. Way to point the heat away from us.
But after a while it all died down again, and I sat cross-legged on the edge of the hot tub while a bunch of people I didn’t know ate my snacks.
Ivy relaxed in the water nearby. “Scout, you really need to get in here.”
“Nah…”
“Do you want to go sit on the steps of the pool? You don’t have to get all the way in. Just sit there. I’ll sit with you. We can judge the chicken fights.”
Nothing sounded lamer than that, but I still couldn’t do it. The thought of watching people have their heads forced under water either on purpose or by accident was too much. To be honest, I didn’t even look at the pool while there were people in it. It had all become one big nightmarish blur, and I didn’t think I’d ever be comfortable around a big cement hole full of water some people seemed to find amusing.
“No, I’m good, but Ivy, look. Don’t let me stop you from having fun. You don’t have to babysit me. I’m fine. I don’t know if I’ll ever be a pool person.”
“But we agree it’s fine if I’m a newly-converted pool person and I can be a pool person here any time I want, right?”
“Right. Open and unlimited pool privileges.”
“Good, because the pool at my apartment complex is creepy and dirty.”
“My pool is your pool,” I said and then felt my face catch fire.
“Oh brother.”
“What?”
Ivy scooted closer. “Mary and Gavin are headed this way.”
“Have you ever figured out what it is about him you don’t like?”
She grimaced. “I don’t trust him.”
“You hardly know him because you haven’t tried.”
“And that’s fine by me.”
“How is that fine? I know you don’t run to everyone with open arms and make fast friends, but you don’t shut people out when they try either. Mary’s one of your closest friends. How do you not know Gavin after this long?”
“I don’t like the way he treats her, OK? He doesn’t give her any space. He’s everywhere, checking up on her… If he thinks they’re alone in the hall he’s sucking her face off.” Ivy paused and shuddered. “Gross. You don’t think they’re… Ewww. No.”
