Dark Secrets (3 page)

The teacher looked
back at me, straightening up a little, making my heart race as if
I’d just run a block, which seemed like a viable option, just...in
the other direction. “Are you nervous, Ara?”

I nodded slowly. “I’ve
never been to a new school before.”

“
Well, I tell you
what…” He touched his chin, then turned and signalled into the
class. “I think I have a solution.”

“
Yes, Mr B.” A boy
stepped up before I expected him to, and a short gasp escaped my
lips, making my heart skip a beat that it would never recover. I
wanted to grab Emily, who stifled a giggle beside me, and shake her
for being right about a boy so cute you’d picture yourself in his
arms without even knowing his name. I really hoped this wasn't Mr
B’s idea of a ‘solution’ to my anxiety.

As the boy settled
into his lean on the doorframe, his casually-dishevelled dark-brown
hair fell into his eyes; he swept it back, and any hope of
composure withered away with the hold of that smile; how his
dark-pink lips sat closed and turned up sharply in the corners, his
gaze fixing mine in place. He seemed completely unfazed by my
totally obvious ogling. I even felt myself rise onto my toes; my
inner fantasies wandering off to a world where I shoved Mr Benson
aside and stepped up to charm the hell out of this boy with my
sassy disposition. But the true, witless me stood, mouth gaping,
begging my skin not to drop my bones all over the floor.

“
Ara? This is David,”
Mr Benson said, eyeing the proverbial drool on my lip.

Time came rushing back
like a smack across the face; I snapped my gob shut and wiped my
chin, glad there wasn’t actually drool there. I already knew that
boy was David; my reaction completely mirrored the stupidity I
despised in Emily two minutes ago.

David’s smile changed
then, became wider, drawing me in to his world, almost inviting me
to be his friend. But the dimples beside his lips made promises I
knew they’d never keep. “Hello, Ara.” He nodded, almost like a
bow.

Breathe, Amara-Rose,
just breathe
. I lifted my hand a little to
wave. No words came out, though. Pathetic.

“
Ara, David is my
best student,” Mr Benson said, then looked at the boy.
“David?”

“
Yes, sir?” The boy
stole his gaze away, his head turning before his eyes left mine,
and shoved his hands into his pockets, his shoulders lifting as if
he was some kind of shy guy. No freakin’ way.

“
Ara’s a little
worried about coming to a new class,” Mr Benson said. “Would you
take her to the library and fill her in on last week’s lessons,
please?”

A sudden wash of
relief brought my body back to life. I wanted to hug Mr Benson for
being so considerate.

“
Of course.” David
smiled at me again, the sound of his voice running through me, like
milk for my soul—liquid with maturity, yet simultaneously
weightless.

“
Excellent.” Mr
Benson went to walk away but stopped. “And keep your charms to
yourself, young man.”

“
I’ll do my best,
sir,” he said, looking right at me with those smiling green
eyes.

And my cheeks exploded
with heat, sending it to my ears. I looked down at my feet, biting
my spreading grin.

“
Okay. Well, Ara, you
take care, and I’ll see you in class tomorrow.” Mr Benson patted my
shoulder.

“
Thank you,” I said,
looking him directly in the eye this time.

“
You are more than
welcome.” He turned to face the boy. “David, you can get your
stuff.”

For a split second, as
David and Mr Benson walked away, I braved a glance into the room of
dread—seeing only a desk and a whiteboard. Looked normal enough.
I’d imagined fiery pits and wailing souls. Guess I was
wrong.

Emily squeaked,
bouncing on her toes. I actually wanted to squeal, too. She was so
right. He was so hot!

“
Oh
my God. You’re
so
lucky.” She waved two handfuls of
spirit-fingers.

“
Lucky? I have to
spend forty minutes alone with that guy.” I pointed into the
class.

“
Trust me, Ara. You’re going to
love
David.”

That’s what I was
worried about.
“
He’s not that cute,” I said, but the lie showed in my tone,
shouting to the world that I was as pathetic as Emily.

She rolled her head to
one side. “It’s okay to like him, you know. We’re only
human.”

I swallowed my pride
and said, “Does he have a girlfriend?”

Emily leaned closer.
“He—”

“
Sure thing, Mr
Benson.” David’s smooth voice filled the hallway a second before he
stepped out of the classroom, carrying his bag and a stack of
books.

Emily straightened up,
poorly masking her conspicuous smile.

“
Everything all
right, Emily?” he asked.

“
Mm-hm.”

He looked at me then
and studied my face with slightly narrowed eyes—as if maybe he was
trying to figure me out. I wished him luck. “You ready, new
girl?”

I managed to nod.
Somehow, staying with Mr Benson seemed more appealing. I was going
to make a fool of myself in front of this boy, I just knew
it.

“
Don’t worry.” Emily
touched my arm. “David will take good care of you.”

“
You’re late for
class, Emily,” he said in a dull tone, looking at his
watch.

“
Okay, well. Have
fun, Ara, and…I’ll see you at lunch?” she asked, her eyes round,
hopeful.

Terrific, I’d just
made a new friend without even trying. Great. Not. “Thanks, Emily,
and yeah, sure, I’ll see you at lunch, then.”

She skipped off,
beaming, but as she reached the corner, stopped to fan her chin,
mouthing what looked like “He’s so hot,” right as David turned to
catch her.

I allowed a small
smile, watching her quickly press her hands behind her back as she
disappeared around the corner, leaving David and I completely
alone.

My heart pumped blood
the wrong way around my body, and the beat bounced off every wall
in the school—a suspenseful soundtrack to a gripping scene. I
forced myself to look up from my shoes, and though I sat for hours
last night scripting topics for just this sort of occasion, when I
met David’s gaze, it was all gone—escaped me completely. All I
could find was a white cloud of wordless stupor. I was without
ammunition, alone in the wilderness, with a lion.

“
Come, I’ll show you
to the library.” He started walking. I stayed put, safe and snug
against the wall, where I couldn't trip on my own nerves. He didn't
even notice I stayed behind, just walked ahead without me. Or maybe
he did notice but chose to ignore it, figuring I’d eventually move.
But staying behind gave me a great vantage point for
hotness-evaluation; I could see the definition in his back through
that black shirt—could see the marvellous contours of his arms and
how his torso seemed to taper inward at the waist, like an
upside-down triangle, despite his otherwise very slim form. I’d
seen that kind of physique, but a little bigger, only on guys in
the football teams back home. Which made me wonder if David was a
football jock. If he so, he disguised that stereotypical arrogance
really well under the impression of a kind, well-mannered
boy.

“
Hey, are you
coming?” he said, walking backward to face me.

“
Um, yeah. Sorry.” I
pushed away from the wall and started after him, giggling to myself
when he turned away. I always knew the world was unnaturally cruel
and today I learned it could also be cruel in an unbelievably
giving way.

David strolled along
silently beside me, focusing on the path ahead. I didn't know if I
should—or could—say something to break the silence, which made it
turn suddenly into the uncomfortable sort. Yet,
he
didn't seem uncomfortable, and
his self-satisfied grin made me feel almost like he could hear
every deranged, lustful thought I was having.

I rocked my jaw,
searching deep inside for that level-headed girl in me who didn’t
get pummelled by a cute face. She was dead, though. David killed
her.

“
What were you
focusing on in your last school—for English studies?” he asked in
that buttery voice, like, if I could swallow it in one gulp, it
wouldn’t even touch the sides of my throat.

“
The standard stuff,”
I murmured. “I wasn’t in any advanced classes or
anything.”

He nodded. “Do you
read much?”

“
Not
anymore.”

He looked down at his
feet.

I felt bad for that
answer; it was probably a little vague—maybe even rude. I just…I
wanted him to keep talking, but…not ask any questions.

“
Why not?” he asked,
with a sassy grin.

“
Why not
what?”

He cleared his
throat, the corner of his lip creeping up to his dimple. “Why don't
you read
anymore
?”

“
Um, no reason. What
do you like to read?”

He laughed to
himself. “Dracula, Jamaica Inn, Pride and Prejudice. I actually
read quite a bit. Though, not so much
anymore
, myself.”

“
Why not?” I asked,
curious about his reasons. Also curious as to why a
seventeen-year-old boy would admit to reading Pride and Prejudice
of his own free will.

“
Well, let’s just
say—” he grinned as he leaned against the wall near another brown
door, “—I have better things to do with my time at the
moment.”

“
Er, yeah me too,” I
added.

He laughed and stood
up from the wall, patting the door. “So, this is the
library.”

“
Really?” It sat
inconspicuously in the long wall of the first floor corridor,
rather oddly-placed for such an important room. If David wasn’t
with me, I might’ve passed it completely.

“
Don’t let looks
deceive you. It’s actually quite well-stocked,” he said, opening
the door.

We stepped inside and
shelves of books, practically touching the ceiling, greeted us with
the rich smell of old pages. A group of study desks marked the
centre of the brightly lit space, and computers lined the wall on
one side. It seemed the school made up in supplies for what it
lacked in style.

“
They fit a lot into
a small room, don't they?”

“
Yes,” my unfairly
gorgeous tour guide said simply, standing motionless beside me.
“Would you like a seat?”

I wanted to ask if he
meant I could take one home with me, to keep, but was afraid the
corniness might show me up for the dweeb I really was. So, I
started off with a determined stride and, using my ankle, kicked a
chair out at the circle of study desks. The lone student beside me
didn’t bother to look up as I dumped my bag down, unzipped it and
stuffed my schedule inside. But then, he most likely didn’t hear me
approach since the music coming from his earphones could be heard
in London.

“
Are we allowed iPods
in here?” I asked, looking up to meet David's stare.

He made no effort to
look away, smiling before saying, “Yes.”

And my pulse
quickened. He just looked so pleased with himself for something,
like a schoolboy who just got a new video game. “We weren’t allowed
iPods at my old school.” I looked back at the kid for a second.
“Private school.”

“
Figured as
much.”

“
Is it that
obvious?”

“
No. I just have a
knack for categorisation.” He cocked his head a little.

“
Hm, me
too.”

“
Then we should get
along great.” He dropped the grin and moved into all-business mode,
placing a heavy rectangle book on the table in front of me, tapping
it twice. “This one’s for you.”

“
Yay,” I said in my most sarcastic tone ever. The pages were
thin and the cover was hard, which could only mean
boring
.

“
You know,” David
said, sitting down, “you’re awfully quiet. I expected you to say
more by now.”

“
We’re in a library,”
I whispered.

He laughed and looked
around. “We don’t have teachers in here. No one cares if you
talk.”

I sat taller and
slowly turned my head. He was right. I didn’t even notice. There
was no desk and no old, grey-haired woman with large-rimmed glasses
shushing us when we breathed. “Cool.”

“
Yeah.” He sat back,
leaning his elbow on the desk, a pen coming up to the corner of his
mouth. “It’s pretty cool.”

I looked away from
him, finally calming myself enough to act human, and opened the
giant book. “What page?”

“
You know—” he
inclined toward me, his voice becoming a husky whisper, “—it’s your
first day, so we can either fill you in on Mr Benson’s class, or—”
He paused, looking at the student near us.