I reached for a notebook and a pen in my bag. “Do you want to write it down?”
“You write,” he said. “Your handwriting is nicer.”
“How would you know?”
“Girls always have nice handwriting.”
I smirked at him, plopping the notebook on his desk. “I want to see yours.”
He took the pen from my hand and wrote something in the notebook. He flipped over the notebook so I could read it.
Japan grows rice.
“It’s not bad,” I said, being honest. I’d read worse. His was legible.
“But you probably write all swirly and with hearts and stuff,” he said, fiddling with the medallion at his neck.
“I don’t use hearts,” I said. “Unless you want me to.” I took the notebook and wrote our names at the top of the page. I used my plainest writing for my own name and wrote his in a girly script, using a heart over the “i”.
“He’s going to know you did that,” he said. “He knows my handwriting.”
“Yeah but no one else will,” I said. “And we have to pass it up at the end of class, right?”
His eyes went wide. “You wouldn’t.”
“I already did.”
He rolled his eyes, reaching for the pen in my hands but I put it behind my back.
“What’s wrong? I like your name in hearts.” I was feeling good. I thought I would like this class and I was happy Victor was there with me to share it. It was the first time I wasn’t feeling so nervous that day.
He smiled but his cheeks tinted red. He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “Stop being so damn cute.”
“Victor?” Dr. Green said.
Dr. Green approached my desk. I spun around to sit properly.
“Dr. Green.” Victor sat up, pulling his shoulders back to face him.
“If you’re going to flirt with Miss Sang in my class, it must be done in Japanese.” Dr. Green brushed a lock of his sandy-colored hair from his forehead. “I believe you were saying she is cute? In Japanese, you say kawa...”
“I’m not doing that,” Victor said, interrupting him, blushing again and turning his head away.
Other students listening in started to giggle.
“No?” Dr. Green looked at me. “Well in that case...” He picked up my hand. His warm fingers wrapped around mine delicately. “Kimi ga ite shiawase. Koi ni ochite shimatta.” He bowed his head, puckered his lips and hovered at the crest of my knuckles as if he were about to kiss my hand.
The whole class around us started to gasp.
He stopped a millimeter away and his breath teased the back of my hand. He gazed up, smiled at me and winked. “That is how you talk to a lady.”
I felt my cheeks and ears getting hot. “What does it mean?” I asked, my voice catching.
“When you figure it out, I’ll give you a free A on your next test.” He let go of my hand. He stood fully, putting his hands behind his back again and headed to the front of the room. “Are we finished? I don’t see pens and pencils moving. Please don’t turn in a paper with just two or three things. I am hoping my class is brighter than the average student population.”
Whispers filled the room. Eyes focused on me and I slid further into my seat, unsure how to respond. So many questions popped into my mind.
Academy teachers were very different.
Victor escorted me to the gym for my next class. He was quiet, gazing at the floor and he bumped into other students as he walked.
“Victor?”
“Hm?”
“Is Dr. Green normally like that?”
His fire eyes met mine. He considered me, an eyebrow raised. “You mean kissing girls in the middle of the classroom?”
My cheeks warmed again. “He never did kiss my hand.”
“He would have,” Victor said, gazing down at his toes again. “And yes, he’s like that.”
“Do you know what he said to me? The kimi ga--”
“No,” he said, his tone rising. His cheeks turned red. “I have no idea what he said.”
Was he being honest or did he not want to tell me? And why was he snappy with me? I stopped walking, rewrapping my fingers around the straps of my bag. “Hey,” I said. “I was just asking.”
“Well stop asking me about him. Who the hell cares what he said?” he scoffed. His face changed and he reached into his pocket, pulling out his cell phone. He glanced at the messages and frowned. “I’ve got to go.”
“Victor?” I asked but he was already walking away. He wandered off into the crowd and I lost sight of him.
I couldn’t understand him. Why would he be so angry with me? Was it because I basically started it and embarrassed us both in class? I sighed. Sometime later I needed to remind myself to apologize to him for it.
And where was he going?
Since it was the first day of gym class, all of the students for that period collected in the large gymnasium. The bleachers were closed and there was a wide area of the floor in front of the basketball court. The girls were directed to one half of the area and the guys to the other. We were told to sit on the ground. I knelt in my skirt, the wood felt rough against my already bruised knees. I slid onto my butt quickly for relief. It was awkward but my knees didn’t hurt.
I found Gabriel right away across the room. I waved to him to catch his eye. His eyes brightened when he noticed and he waved back. I moved so I was sitting close to the outside of the group of girls and he did the same on his side, sitting on the edge of the boy’s group. The gym teachers were clustered together under one of the basketball goals. They talked to themselves, hovering over their clipboards.
“Where’s Nathan?” I asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said. He tucked fingers through his hair, combing the locks of blonde behind his ear to blend in with the brown. “I thought he would be here.”
I twisted my lips. “You know, Victor got a message on his phone and ran off. Would they be together? Did something happen?”
Gabriel’s eyebrows arched and his mouth opened in surprised. He fixed himself quickly, shrugged and shook his head. “It’s probably nothing to worry about.”
I couldn’t be sure but it seemed like Gabriel knew more than he was letting on. What were the boys doing that was so important that they would miss a class on the first day of school? Kota would be furious. So would Mr. Blackbourne and Dr. Green. I hoped whatever was going on, they wouldn’t find themselves in trouble.
The gym instructors started to talk to all of us as a group, informing us about where to pay for gym uniforms, giving us sheets of paper as an insurance waiver for our parents to sign and a gym locker number with a lock combo. We would be given five minutes to be dressed and in the gym every day. Our grade depended on us being there on time and daily participation.
Coach French, the girl’s instructor, barked at us. “We will also be requiring everyone to pass the physical exam. We’re going to do that soon to get it out of the way. This includes the mile run, sit ups, push-ups... everything.”
I made a face, squirming to find a comfortable way to sit that was modest in a skirt without sitting on my knees.
“Don’t like the sound of exercising?” Gabriel asked.
I swallowed, trying to find a good distraction so he wouldn’t notice. “I hate running.”
He laughed. “You know what’s the best part about running?”
“What?”
“The stopping.”
I laughed with him. “Yes. I agree.”
After this, there was nothing for us to do but wait until the end of class. They allowed us to talk together and the gym seemed to vibrate with the voices of our chatter echoing in the room.
The door of the gym opened and from the hallway walked in Mr. McCoy and Principal Hendricks. They crossed the basketball court together, talking to each other. Principal Hendricks folded his arms over his chest, his gaze searching the students. Mr. McCoy instantly spotted me, leaned in and whispered something
to the Principal. My heart thudded. Was he going to give me detention for sitting incorrectly?
“Who are they?” Gabriel asked, catching where I was looking and my expression.
“It’s the principal and the vice principal.”
“Why do you look like you’re about to run out the door?” He smirked, poking at my arm. “Are you in trouble already?”
“I don’t know yet,” I said.
Gabriel’s face turned solemn and he twisted around to watch with me. Mr. McCoy and Principal Hendricks crossed the gym toward us.
“Excuse me, kids. We’d hate to interrupt,” Hendricks spoke to both of us. Gabriel and I stood up so we could address him. “You’re one of Mr. Blackbourne’s kids? Mr. Coleman, right?” he asked Gabriel.
He nodded, his crystal blue eyes darkened. He kept his hands behind his back. “Yes, sir. How can I help you?”
“Mr. Morgan didn’t show up for his last class today. Would you have an idea as to why?”
Gabriel glanced at me quickly and shook his head. “I have no idea. Perhaps he felt ill and went to see the nurse?”
Mr. McCoy’s eyes lingered on me for most of this conversation but he turned to look at the other students. “Wasn’t there another one of you in this class? A Mr. Griffin?”
Were they keeping tabs on the guys? “He’s not here,” I said softly.
Principal Hendricks raised a bushy gray eyebrow. His bald head gleamed under the bright lights in the gym. “Is he sick, too?”
“I’m sure if you ask Mr. Blackbourne,” Gabriel said, “he would know. We are required to report to him.”
Principal Hendrick’s friendly face turned serious. “I understand there might be some differences in how you handle things at your Academy. In the future, though, please report to either myself or Mr. McCoy if there are ever any more incidences.” His eyes fell on me and his smile returned, but from the way his lips curled on his mouth, it was like staring into the face of a crocodile. “Keep these boys in line, won’t you Miss Sorenson? Tell that professor of yours to call me.”
I blushed, surprised he knew my name. He thought I was from the Academy? “But I...”
“Don’t worry,” he said, patting my shoulder. “I’m helping our newest students to adjust. I know it’s different than what you’re used to.”
He turned away. Mr. McCoy coughed shortly, shot a glare at me and sauntered away with the principal, heading back out of the gym.
My fingers trembled and I pressed my hands to my thighs to still them. I looked to Gabriel, who was shaking his head.
“Gabriel,” I said. “What was that?”
His crystal blue eyes met mine. That crazy smile returned to his face, masking the worry he carried a moment ago. “Who knows? Those guys are weird.”
The moment class was over, Gabriel strolled beside me toward the busses. The mass of students around us made it hard to walk together. Gabriel sought out my hand to keep me nearby. The suddenness and ease of him simply holding my hand had me blushing. Not that it mattered as other students held hands. It just mattered to me as my already overworked heart quivered at his touch.
He pulled his cell phone out with his free hand and was typing something in.
“If Victor’s gone, does that mean you’re stuck here?” I asked him, knowing Victor had driven him there that morning.
Gabriel looked up for a moment and gave me another reassuring smile. “Oh don’t worry. I’ll probably just catch the bus with you.”
“With me?”
“Yeah. I’ll hang out at Kota’s. It’s okay.”
I bit my lip. This felt like a pre-arranged plan. So Victor’s sudden disappearance was expected to happen at some point. If that was the case, then Gabriel knew more than he was telling me. I couldn’t think of the questions to ask to figure out the truth.
Gabriel’s phone vibrated and beeped in his hand. He checked it. “Victor and Nathan have training. They’re with Mr. Blackbourne now.” He put his phone in his pocket. “See? They’re fine.”
“What kind of training?” I asked. “What does that mean? Is it for the Academy?”
He shrugged, squeezing my hand. “Don’t worry about it, okay?”
How could he be so calm? They skipped a class on the first day and the administration knew about it. “They can’t skip class like that,” I said. “Why is the principal checking up on everyone? It’s the second time I saw him today.”
Gabriel blinked at me. “What do you mean?”
I described to him what happened in homeroom with North and Luke and how he had asked about uniforms.
Gabriel rubbed the back of his head. “Now that’s really weird.”
We got onto my bus. Kota was already in a seat in the middle. I slid in next to him and Gabriel took the seat across the aisle.
“Good,” Kota said. “You made it. In this mess, I was worried I would go home alone.” His lips curled up and his green eyes brightened at seeing me. He didn’t seem one bit fazed that Gabriel was on the bus, too. He appeared used to getting unexpected visitors.
“Do you know where Nathan is?” I asked Kota.
His smile faltered for a moment but he recovered it quickly. “He’s at training?” he looked over my shoulder at Gabriel. I turned in time to see Gabriel expressing something to him but Gabriel changed his face and flashed me a grin.
I sighed, sitting back with my arms folded over my chest. “What kind of training is this?”
“Probably jujitsu.” Kota said.
“During the middle of school?”
“Uh...”
“With Victor and Mr. Blackbourne?”
His face turned pale. “Well...”
I pursed my lips and rubbed a palm over my forehead. What kind of Academy was this school they went to? They would take their students out of class for surprise jujitsu training? I didn’t need to ask. This was a lie to mask whatever secret the Academy made them swear to keep. I wasn’t allowed to know. “Fine,” I said. “You don’t have to tell me.” They both blinked at me in reply so I went on. “I mean you said it, Kota. There are some things you can’t tell me. Just tell me that. It’s something you can’t tell me.”
A smile crossed his lips. He leaned in to me so close I could feel his breath on my ear as he whispered. “It’ll be fine,” he said. “I promise.”
It would have to do for now. There was no way I could make them tell me. But why did they make it sound so dangerous? Or was it they didn’t want to put me in the middle in case they got into trouble? Plausible deniability? A secret school for unusual people. In my mind, the dark mystery school I envisioned the Academy being was full of ninjas all sparring in silence.
The bus was warm and as it filled up with students, I started sweating. There were nearly double the amount of kids from that morning. Eventually Kota and I moved over to make room for Gabriel. We were sitting with our thighs pressed against each other. All the students were like that.
“How many students can this bus hold?” I wondered out loud.
“Probably not this many,” Gabriel said, squeezing in closer to me as another student passed us to get to the back. I wasn’t quite sure, but it looked like in some seats there were at least four students.
It felt strangely exotic to be so close to the two of them. I considered them both very good looking and simply being friends with guys who were so handsome was still amazing to me. When it came to being snuggled between them, I found it difficult to deal with. The circumstances made it so we were forced into this but I secretly looked forward to the long bus ride home and wondered if this would happen every day. I inhaled Kota’s spicy scent and Gabriel’s musk wood and they mixed together well. Gabriel’s lean hip pressed against mine. Kota, in an effort to make more room, moved sideways, putting an arm on the seat over my head. His long fingers hung down over my shoulder, brushing against the collar of my shirt.
“I’m sorry, guys,” I said. “If it wasn’t for me, maybe you would be riding with North or in your own ca
rs.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Kota said.
“You worry about me. Isn’t that why you’re here?”
He smiled softly but said nothing.
“We stick together,” Gabriel said. “It’s what we do.” He rubbed a palm on top of my head, messing up my hair. “You’ve got to get used to that, Sang. You’re with us now.”
I took in a deep breath. I’m with them. The only thing I wasn’t totally sure about was what this was.
P ainful S ecrets
We spent nearly forty minutes squished together on the bus, as more students meant more places to stop and a longer wait as students had to rearrange themselves to get off. When we got to Sunnyvale Court, the bus driver stopped in front of Kota’s house. “Everyone on this street, I’ll pick you up here in the morning,” the driver said.
I shuffled out with Kota and Gabriel. My sister, Danielle and her brother were behind us.
I stood with Kota and Gabriel in the driveway. “I guess I’ve got to go. If my sister checks in and I’m not there...”
“Can you get back out?” Gabriel asked.
I glanced at my sister, who was talking to Danielle. “We’ll have to see how this goes. I might have to negotiate.”
“What does that mean?” Kota asked. He pushed his glasses up his nose. “You still haven’t told me.”
“It’s too hard to explain right now.”
Gabriel held out his forefinger with his thumb up like his hand was a gun. He jerked it, taking a shot at me. “Call us,” he said. “Or run back over if you can.”
I nodded. I started up the road toward the house. Marie soon followed me.
I walked alongside my sister. It felt strange to be standing next to her after spending the whole day with the guys. She looked strangely uncomfortable. I wondered how her first day was. I assumed she didn’t talk to the principal at every turn.
“So, that was Danielle, wasn’t it?” I asked her.
She scrutinized me, frowning. “How would you know?”
“The guys mentioned her and her brother,” I said.
Her lips screwed up on her face. “Yeah, well, she told me about those boys,” she emphasized as if to suggest they were toddlers rather than our own age.