This year would be different.
A wasp hovered in the hydrangea bushes along the front of the porch. I ducked my head as it flew past my ear and beyond toward the neighbor’s yard.
The mailman’s truck meandered up to the box. The moments ticked by and I could see him fiddling with a collection of envelopes through the window. I crouched below the barrier of the porch and out of sight. I prepped my knees to get ready to run.
The glass door swung open behind me. “Is that the mail?” Marie asked. My older sister stepped out on to the porch. Her angular eyes squinted at the crisp morning sunlight. Her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail that hung at her neck and the strands reaching down midway on her back. Her t-shirt advertised a marathon she’d never participated in. Her jeans were long, covering most of her feet except for her toes.
I couldn’t understand how she could wear so much clothing, but I didn’t really expect her to stay outside for long. I thought of how different we looked. I had dirty blond hair, or chameleon hair as Gabriel liked to remind me. He said it changed color depending on the lighting. With my cut off blue jean shorts and a thin pink blouse, I was barely tolerating the humidity.
I turned again to refocus on the mailman. I could still make it.
In that instant, the mailman pulled away from the mailbox for the next one down the street.
I flew off the top of the porch stairs, landing hard on the small sidewalk path that wound around the house and sprinted across the yard. I was halfway across before Marie managed to make it off the porch. When it was clear I was going to get there first, she stopped her pursuit.
I pulled out all the mail, shuffling through bills and junk mail to find an envelope with my name on it. The orange emblem of Ashley Waters High School was printed in the corner. I held on to it, crossing the yard at a slower pace. My heart was pounding from both the running and the thrill of what I held in my hands. A new school, a fresh start, and this time I had an advantage. This year, I wouldn’t be alone.
“Hand it over,” Marie said, meeting me halfway in the yard.
I removed my envelope out of the pile and gave her the rest. She took the cluster of mail and headed back into the house. If she had gotten to it first, she would have kept my envelope and more than likely given it to our mother and I would have had to fight with her to get it back.
I remained in the yard, waiting for my sister to disappear. When the front door closed behind her, I spun on my bare feet and sprinted down the street to Kota’s house.
I couldn’t let my sister know where I was going. My family couldn’t learn my secret. Not yet.
The boys were waiting for me.
Kota’s black rimmed glasses were sliding down his nose a little as he was checking the mail. I called to him from up the road. He looked up and waved to me, pushing his glasses up his nose with his forefinger, masking his exquisite green eyes. “Did you get it?” he asked.
Dakota Lee and I have a tender friendship. Randomly a week ago he brought me into his circle of friends. It was how I came to learn about the Academy, the secret school they held loyalties to. The only problem was I didn’t know a thing about it and I wasn’t allowed to ask questions. I was going to keep this promise for the sake of our friendship and for what Kota said was my own safety. There were dangers around them to which I wasn’t aware of. I simply had to have faith when they told me to trust them. It seemed surreal to me but I kept my mouth shut and I kept my eyes open, hoping to glean over time the answers to the questions that buzzed through my head every time they shared a glance or whispered something around me. They were my first friends. My only friends. What else could I do?
I held up my envelope. “Anyone else?” I asked.
“I’m still waiting to hear from Victor and Gabriel. They’re heading over as soon as Victor confirms.” He flicked through the mail in his hands, pulling out an envelope similar to the one I held on my hands.
“Hey!” There was a shout from up the street. Nathan jogged toward us. He was wearing dark running pants and a red tank shirt with a Nike swoosh on the front. I admired the way his biceps flexed as he held up his envelope. “Let’s check them out.”
Kota tilted his head toward the garage, inviting us to follow. We entered the house through the side door in the garage. Kota dropped the rest of the mail off in a bin near the kitchen. Nathan held open a door in the hallway, revealing a set of blue carpeted stairs. Nathan held his hand out, ushering me to enter. I padded my way up the steps to the room over the garage, Kota’s bedroom.
Nathan dropped onto his knees on the blue carpet and started to rip open his envelope. I sat cross-legged next to him, doing the same. Kota went to his desk, grabbing a silver letter opener from his desk set and cut through his envelope, unfolding the printout inside.
I swallowed as I read my schedule for the upcoming year.
Homeroom Room 135
AP English - Trailer 10 - Ms. Johnson
AP Geometry - Room 220 - Ms. Smith
Violin - Music Room B - Mr. Blackbourne
AP World History - Trailer 32 - Mr. Morris
Lunch
AP Biology - Room 107B - Mr. Gerald
Japanese - Room 212 - Dr. Green
Gym - Gymnasium - Mrs. French
Seven classes. Barely room to breathe. Now looking at it and thinking ahead to the upcoming year, it seemed overwhelming. Maybe it had been a mistake to be so enthusiastic about this.
“What’s wrong, Sang?” Nathan asked. His head tilted in my direction, a rusty brown eyebrow arching.
I pursed my lips, twisting them slightly. “I was just wondering if this was a good idea.”
Kota looked up from his paper, coming over to kneel next to me and sitting back on his heels on the floor. “May I see?”
I handed it to him. Our fingers brushed as he took it from my hands but he didn’t seem to notice. None of them ever seemed to notice touching as much as I did. If they grabbed my hand or bumped my hip, they passed it off as if it were nothing. Coming from a family that never touched, there was a lot to get used to around my new friends.
Kota’s eyes scanned my schedule, reading off the list under his breath.
Nathan got up, peering over Kota’s shoulder. “Holy shit,” he said. “How’d you get seven?”
“She doesn’t have a study hall.” Kota pointed to the paper, lifted a brow and then looked up at me. “How did you get into the Japanese class? When did you meet Mr. Blackbourne?”
Nathan’s eyes widened in surprise and looked at me, waiting for me to respond.
I blushed. After everything that happened, I’d forgotten to tell them. “I... well when Dr. Green stopped me in the hall at registration, he brought me to his office. Mr. Blackbourne was in there. They adjusted my schedule.”
Nathan and Kota shared a look between them. The only thing I caught was Nathan’s eyes narrowing. Did they not like this? It was hard to understand their expressions.
“What?” I asked. “I know it’s a lot but you said they were there to help out the school. Is it bad they changed it?”
“No, it isn’t bad,” Kota said, maybe a little too quickly. “Did you happen to mention us at the time?”
I pushed my forefinger to my lower lip, pushing it toward my teeth. “I might have said something like I knew you, Kota. I didn’t say anything about the others. Dr. Green recognized your handwriting on my paper.”
“I didn’t know Mr. Blackbourne was teaching a class,” Nathan said.
“I don’t think it was pre-planned,” Kota said. He hooked a couple of fingers into the collar of his shirt and tugged.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. The way they were reacting to this made my heart shiver. “Mr. Blackbourne asked if I was interested and he offered to teach me. Should I drop the class?”
“It’s just odd that he’d take an interest,” Nathan said.
“Not fully,” Kota said, relaxing into a smile. He handed my schedule back to me. “It’s fine. He knows wha
t he’s doing. If he wants to teach you, you’re in good hands.”
Last time Mr. Blackbourne was mentioned, they diverted. Now they seemed nervous. They may not have voiced their opinion, but I got the feeling they didn’t want Mr. Blackbourne to know about me, or me about Mr. Blackbourne. Academy secrets. I scanned my schedule. “I’ll still share classes with you all, right?