Silverwood Academy Book 1

by Jasmaine Groth

  By the last lap, my breathing became pants, sweat covered my body, I stopped in front of the gym, sighing in relief and moved off to the side with everyone else while the last few people finished their lap.

  Looking up from the grass, my eyes landed on Sterling automatically, he was standing with his arms across his chest watching as the last few students crossed the finish line, his gaze swept over the crowd and landed on me, I held back a smile, looking back in his eyes, my heart fluttered. He looked away from me. “You can all do push-ups until the bell rings,” he announced, I sensed amusement in his voice.

  A few people groaned, and I rolled my eyes, getting down on the ground as I started doing my push-ups, my arms burned as I pushed myself off the ground and slowly lowered myself down again. My muscles burned, my abdominal muscles tightened.

  The bell rang as I finished my tenth push-up and I got up from the ground with a groan, stretching my arms out, grabbing my bag, walking into the gym and heading for the bathroom. The door swung shut behind me and I quickly dressed in my skirt and blazer combo, pulling my pumps on as I shoved the polo, shorts and sneakers into my bag, swinging my bag over my shoulder as I exited the bathroom, hurrying out of the gym and to my next class.

  I sat up the back in Gifts and Abilities, Professor Pierce had the gold medallion on his desk, talking about the ability to control, manipulate and conjure fog. All I could think about and focus on was getting that medallion. “If you study and practice enough in the next two years you will be conjuring fog,” he said.

  Jumping up from my chair, I bolted to the front of the classroom, determined to grab it, my hands curled around the medallion and I sprinted for my chair. Hands pushed my back and I flew through the air, tumbling, slamming into the wall, falling to the floor with a umph, Professor Pierce was in front of me in a flash, grabbing the medallion and placing it on the desk again, he turned to face the class smiling. My entire body ached as I pulled myself up, groaning as I sat back down in my seat, wincing as I did.

  The bell rang and the class ended. I limped out of the classroom, my body aching with every movement. “Are you okay?” Anna asked. I nodded, walking down the stairs to the cafeteria for some blood to try and heal up quicker. I grabbed a thermos, waving goodbye to Sophia and Anna as I head across the clearing to the woods, taking the short cut back to my room, wind whipped my hair around me as I limped along the path, sipping at my thermos, some of the pain eased.

  Back in my room I changed out of my uniform, pulling on shorts and a crop top, and sat on the bay seating, slurping blood from my thermos and scrolling through s-book.

  Adrienne Vargas: I still can’t believe Professor Winters deducted points from Jared Gordan for sneezing #unfair #bodilyfunction

  Jared Gordon: I know right? #totallyunfair

  Astrid Shade: Really?

  Adrienne Vargas: Yes!

  Astrid Shade: Omg! Glad he’s not my teacher

  After a few hours of study, I headed to The Hub for dinner, then came back to my room, showered and got ready for bed, lying in bed until I fell to sleep.

  The next morning Sterling joined me on my run again. “You didn’t seem happy at dinner last night,” Sterling noted, running beside me not even breathless as I panted.

  I looked up at him. “Yeah, Professor Pierce has this golden medallion the class is trying to get, and I made an attempt for it, I grabbed it when I turned to run back to my seat he pushed me so hard I hit the wall on the other side of the room. It really hurt.” I sucked in a deep breath.

  Sterling’s eyes darted to me. “You’ll get it.” He sounded so sure that I would, not even an ounce of doubt in his voice or across his face. I smiled, my heart soared from the half compliment, making me even more determined to prove him right.

  We continued running in silence, when ran back to The Hub he opened the door for me, taking off in a blur straight after. I didn’t know why he ran with me or why he held the door open for me but every time he did my heart skipped a beat and started racing faster than when I’d been running. It felt nice being with him, not awkward even though it should have been as he was a teacher.

  My classes passed by as usual and when I went back The Hub for dinner, I was rudely greeted by Selene who stood there with her arms crossed over her chest and a sour look on her face. “What do you want?” I demanded.

  She smirked, looking back at her friends, turning back they all like back at me smiling sweetly. “I was just wondering if you were going to be in the dormitories this weekend?” Her voice sounded almost sweet, which made me wonder what she wanted.

  I raised my brows at the sudden change of attitude, sceptical, crossing my arms over my chest. “I don’t know.” They were up to something. “Why?”

  Selene grinned at me. “I’m having a party in the dorm this weekend,” she said, turning to her friends conspiratorially, turning back her face was dead serious. “I wanted to make sure you weren’t going to be there because you’re not invited.” Her face hooked up into a smirk. “If you’re not going out, you should just stay in your room, because we don’t want trash at our party.” The three of them turned around, walking away.

  “I wouldn’t want to go to your party anyway,” I called out lamely. I sat down beside Anna, annoyed with Selene. “We’re going out this weekend.”

  “Oh?” Sophia asked.

  “Selene’s throwing a party that I wouldn’t be caught dead at,” I rolled my eyes.

  Maybe we should go to Selene’s party, it’d piss her off. I smirked at that thought.

  Anna smiled. “That’ll be fun,” Anna looked shyly at us. “We could ask Isaac, Nic and Oliver to go with us.” Her eyes lit up hopefully and I couldn’t say no to her, so I nodded. She squealed with delight.

  “What’s going on between you and Isaac anyway?” I asked her, curiosity getting the better of me.

  She blushed a deep rosy colour. “Nothing,” she shrugged her shoulders. “We text but it’s not like he’s asked me out or anything.”

  My jaw dropped. “What do you text about?” I asked. “Ooh, does he send you nudes?” I winked at her and she blushed even redder.

  She shoved my arm. “No!” she exclaimed a little too loudly, causing Sophia and I to laugh.

  I looked at her in disbelief. “Does he text you good morning and goodnight?”

  She smiled sweetly. “Yes.”

  I turned to Sophia, raising my eyebrows, turning back to Anna smiling at her. “So, you’re pretty much dating then,” I joked.

  Anna and Sophia laughed. “No,” Anna told me. “I told you he hasn’t even asked me on a date yet,” she grumbled, pouting a little.

  I leaned in towards her. “Why don’t you ask him?”

  She looked at me wide-eyed. “You reckon?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “You’re beautiful Anna, he’d be an idiot to turn you down.”

  Anna blushed a deep scarlet and put her head in her hands. “I don’t think I am brave enough.”

  I touched her arm. “Why don’t you start with asking him if he wants to come out with us this Friday?”

  She pulled her hands away from her face, biting her lip. She nodded, “Okay, I’ll do it.” She pulled her e-tablet out and started tapping away, she put it down, biting her lip nervously. “Done.” She sighed.

  I looked to Sophia and we both smiled at each other. A second later a ping sounded from Anna’s device and she looked at it, looking relieved. “He said yes.” She looked so happy I couldn’t help but smile back at her.

  I nudged her. “Of course he did. Do you look at yourself in the mirror?” Anna blushed.

  Sophia smiled. “Now all you need to do now is find something cute to wear so he thinks you’re irresistible and asks you on a date.”

  Anna paled. “Oh,” was all she said, looking panicked.

  “You’ll be fine,” I told her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders comfortingly. She bit her lip and nodded.

  We ate dinner and talked about our classes, until ten
o’clock rolled around and we headed for our last class, the only night class we took: Night Vision 101. Standing outside the classroom waiting for Sterling with the rest of my classmates. He walked swiftly to the door, unlocked it and headed through the door.

  I followed my classmates inside, sitting in my usual seat at the back of the classroom, the lights got switched off as soon as everyone got in their seats. I sighed. “You know what to do,” Professor Blackwell said from the front of the classroom.

  Trying to push the darkness away with my mind was proving to be more and more difficult, but I kept trying and failing. I felt like I was never going to be able to do it, which caused a pool of frustration to grow in my stomach and spread throughout my body, I ground my teeth together as I concentrated even more. It wasn’t working. Groaning, I placed my head on the desk.

  I sat upright, squinting, I closed my eyes, trying to relax and breathe, I imagined the darkness being peeled back layer by layer. Opening my eyes, I gasped, I could see everything, looking around the classroom I seen the faces of my classmates, they were mixtures of frustration, concentration, annoyance and some looked constipated.

  I wondered if that’s what I had looked like before I just relaxed and peeled it away, instead of trying to look through it.

  Looking to the front of the class, Professor Blackwell was staring at me, his brows furrowed as if he was trying to figure out if I could see or not, he started to do the running man at the front of the classroom and I giggled. Sterling grinned at me, giving me thumbs up.

  “What’s so funny?” Anna hissed.

  “Professor Blackwell is trying to dance,” I whispered back, and she laughed. Sterling glared at me from the front of the room, I looked at him innocently, shrugging. He shook his head at me, I could see him roll his eyes from back here.

  Sterling disappeared and the lights came on and the sudden bright light hit me burning my retinas. “Ahh!” I cried out. “A little warning! Are you trying to blind me?”

  Sterling looked at me with eyebrows raised. “Class is dismissed,” was all he said. Every time my eyes closed, I seen the bright light, even when I blinked. I groaned.

  Grabbing my bag, I rubbed my eyes, walking out the door, heading back to the dormitories, I tried to use my night vision again but as I tried to peel back the darkness it wasn’t moving or getting easier, it felt like there was a lot more darkness and I was too mentally exhausted to try. I turned the torch on my notebook on and used it to get back to the dormitories, saying goodnight to the other girls and getting ready for bed. It was eleven o’clock and exhaustion wracked through my whole body, showering and getting dressed in my pyjamas I fell to sleep easily.

  ***

  Chapter 6:

  I was being chased, my heartbeat pounding in my ears, loud and hard, my feet thundered against the ground, my breathing ragged. I looked behind me, Sterling was chasing me, I gasped, turning back around he was in front of me, I jumped, he looked down at me with a passion in his eyes, which sent my heart racing.

  He grabbed me, pulling me closer to him and I didn’t pull away, he leaned down and kissed me. My arms wrapped up around his neck and my fingers wound their way into his hair, pulling him closer down to me and deepening our kiss, his hands sliding down my waist to my hips and hoisting me up, my legs wrapped around his waist, my back pressing up against a hard wall.

  He pulled back, kissing the side of my mouth, trailing kisses down to my neck. I felt his fangs graze my neck and leaned closer into him, my head turning, giving him access, his teeth sunk into the skin of my neck between my collarbone and neck, and I moaned. A tinkling noise sounded off in the distance. Where’s that noise coming from?

  I bolted upright, sweat pouring down my body, my breathing coming in pants. Oh wow. That felt so realistic, it was so weird. I ran my hand across my forehead, my alarm had woken me out of my dream. Disabling the alarm, I got up, changing into my running clothes and shoes, heading out the door, needing the fresh air to rid my mind of my dream, I could still feel the featherlight kisses across my body, shivering at the memory of my dream. Shaking my head, trying to forget it. I walked out into the crisp air, feeling the coolness on my body against my hot body, and started to stretch.

  My mind kept going back to my dream, the way he pinned me against the building and kissed me so hungrily, I shook my head trying to get the memory out of my head, and took off running needing the distraction from my dream and the ache between my legs. I ran up the path same path I usually did, when I jogged up to the teachers housing Sterling fell into step beside me.

  He was wearing baggy grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt that was tight, his bulging biceps encapsulated by his sleeves and the way it clung across his muscular chest and down his abs, his shirt riding up a little so I could see the v that went beyond his pants.

  I imagined how it’d feel to have his hard body pressed up against my body like it was in my dream and the way it’d feel to run my hands over his muscular body. My breathing hitched and I looked back up into his face, biting my lip as a blush crept over me and I shivered. He looked down at me from the corner of his eye. “What are you thinking about?” he raised his eyebrows at me.

  I gulped. “Nothing.” No way was I going to tell him about my dream or how I imagined him kissing me, even though I knew he never could or would kiss me like that, but a girl could wish.

  He didn’t ask any more questions as we ran side by side. My heart hammered in my chest and it wasn’t just from running. We did a whole lap of the school in silence, enjoying his proximity. I don’t know where this crush had come from but now that it was here it hit me so hard it was hard to concentrate on anything but him.

  Sweat coated my body as we ran together. We ran our last lap of the school in silence, then jogged to The Hub together and he opened the door to The Hub for me. I stepped in front of him, my arm accidentally brushed against his, electricity burning into my soul where he touched and lit me up from the inside. I gasped, looking up at him as he stared down at me, a dark look in his eye. I tried to swallow back the lump in my throat and stepped inside, looking back he was gone in a blur. Why does he always do that?

  ***

  The rest of the week passed by rather quickly, Sterling still came on my morning runs, we’d talk and laugh, making fun of each other, but I could see a darkness settling in his gaze and I wondered how long it’d take for him to stop running with me.

  Every morning that I ran from the lake to the teachers housing I half expected him not to show up, but he did just like clockwork every time. My heart would thump wildly in my chest when he stepped in beside me and my eyes trailed down his muscular body all on their own accord, and I hated myself for looking at him like that, but I couldn’t help it. This crush was starting to consume me and the more time I spent with him, the more it grew.

  Friday night Sophia, Anna and I stood in my room, I was wearing a short black strapless dress that showed a lot of cleavage, red lipstick, a smoky eye and winged eyeliner. Sophia wore a sparkly green dress that looked amazing on her and Anna wore a short spaghetti strap sparkly blue dress that made her sun-kissed skin glow. Apparently, I hadn’t gotten the memo we were wearing sparkly dresses.

  We headed down the path that led us down to the bus stop out the front of the school, taking the short bus ride into town, getting off and heading to the bar across the street to meet up with the guys. They sat at a table closest to the dance floor and we walked over to where they were sitting, Oliver had straight whiskey, Isaac had a beer, Nic had something with coke in it. “Did any of you want a drink?” Isaac asked, standing up.

  “Yeah,” Anna told him smiling, her eyes lit up.

  He leaned in closer to her. “What do you want?”

  “Vodka soda,” she breathed.

  “Anyone else got any requests?” he asked, turning towards us.

  “I’ll get a Manhattan,” I said with a grin.

  “Can I please have a vodka soda too?” Sophia asked politely with a sm
all smile.

  “Coming right up,” Isaac replied, walking off to the bar.

  I sat down next to Oliver raising my eyebrows. “At least someone’s a gentleman,” I smirked at him.

  He smiled. “I was going to offer but he just beat me to it.”

  I grinned. “Oh okay.”

  “Did you hear Selene’s having a party?” Nic asked.

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, she told me.”

  Oliver made a face. “She invited me to that, I told her I’d go,” he told us with a shrug, then smiled. “But I blew her off.”

  Sophia, Anna and I laughed. Isaac returned with our drinks and sat down. “Here you go,” he said, smiling.

  I picked up my Manhattan and took a large sip. “I hope Selene is looking around the room for you all night and not enjoying herself,” I told him.

  They all laughed. “She probably will be,” Isaac told us, and I laughed even harder, imagining her wide-eyed anxiously looking around the room and asking people if they’d seen him, while wondering if he stood her up.

  Oliver put his arm on the back of my chair, flexing his biceps as he leaned into me. “I’d rather be here with you though,” he said lowly so only I could hear. I smiled.

  Looking around the room I seen the place was a little busy and over in the corner Sterling sat with Melissa opposite to him. Little knives pierced my heart and I felt like someone punched me in the stomach.

  Sterling looked up, his eyes met mine and I turned away, pushing back the embarrassment that coiled in my stomach at being caught looking at him. I finished my drink and headed over to the bar. “What are you after?” the curly hair guy behind the bar asked.

  “Three vodka sodas, a beer, straight whiskey, and a rum and coke,” I told him, putting my card on the table. He took the card, tapping it on the eftpos machine, handing it back to me once it was approved, I put it back in my clutch, tapping my nails on the bar as he went to make the drinks.