The Academy - Introductions (21 page)

“She’s here because she’s welcome,” Kota said bluntly.
“She’s my friend.”

North looked confused. “But she’s...”

“I like her,” Luke said. He flipped out some more pancakes.
“She’s got good taste.”

I blushed. Were they trying to decide if I should stay or
not?

“I’m not questioning your damn choice,” North said in a
louder voice. “I’m asking if it is safe for her to be here if she’s going to
get her throat burned out at home. I mean if that happens when someone calls,
what happens when they find out she’s here alone with us?”

“It’s fine,” I said. “My mom hardly ever leaves her room.
She thinks I spend all day in my bedroom. If I never went downstairs, I
wouldn’t see them for a week or more.” There were times when I went up to my
room with apples and crackers and wouldn’t leave just to see what happened. The
only person that would ever notice was Marie, and she simply didn’t care.

North seemed dissatisfied with this. He frowned, twisting
his lips as he finished up the bacon. He twisted his neck and I could hear his bones
cracking a little as he flexed.

We set the table and sat down to eat. Luke filled my plate
with pancakes and North insisted I drink milk instead of orange juice to spare
my throat.

Seven guys. Seven friends. It still amazed me how they
accepted me so quickly into the group. It was like once Kota said he was my
friend, the others were on the same level. When you befriended one, you
befriended them all.

After breakfast, I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket.

Nathan:
“
Are you
awake?”

I smiled.

“Who is it?” North asked. He stood next to me as I was
leaning against the kitchen counter.

“It’s Nathan,” I said. “He wants to know if I’m awake.”

“Tell him to get his ass over here,” North said.

I typed in the message.

Nathan:
“
I’ve got
training. I can’t. I wanted to check in. Have fun. I’ll talk to you later.”

“What training?” I asked North, who was looking over my
shoulder at the message. “Is it for the um... Jujitsu?”

North shrugged. “Probably.” His eyes flicked to Kota, who
gave the slightest shake of his head.

What did that mean? These secret glances were making me
nervous. Was there something they didn’t want to tell me? It felt like Nathan
was doing something else. He didn’t want to tell me about it? I was tempted to
text and ask but couldn’t imagine the right question. I was a friend, but I
wasn’t privy to some information yet.

I needed to keep being nice, I told myself. I was just new
to the group. Maybe everyone had secrets like me. It was still disappointing. I
was sharing a lot of my own secrets with them. Did they not trust me with
theirs?

Silas showed up as promised that afternoon. Victor and
Gabriel called to update us that they finished the tour and they were going
home to take care of stuff so they wouldn’t be around today. There was no word
from Nathan but they didn’t seem to be concerned. I thought about sending him a
text to say hello and to ask how he was doing at training but the guys kept me
so busy I didn’t have a chance.

I was sitting on the couch downstairs. Luke was on my left.
Silas was on my right, his arm behind me against the back of the couch. North
and Kota were on the floor in front of us. We were watching the roadrunner and
the coyote battling it. I had taken my sandals off and put them by the door. I
felt North’s hand on my foot. He traced the edge of my small toe. At least I
think he was. He was stone still otherwise, I wasn’t sure what to do. As it was
Silas’s arm warmed my shoulders. I couldn’t calm myself down enough to focus on
cartoons.

Would I ever feel normal around them and as comfortable as
they seemed to be around me?

It made me nervous having Silas there. He didn’t say
anything about me talking so softly and I tried my best to be quiet and not
give him a reason to ask about my voice. Mostly I didn’t want Kota or anyone to
tell him what happened. The last thing I wanted was for him to feel bad. If I
could save him from that, I would be forever grateful.

We walked Max together. We played a board game. We talked
about school. Before I knew it, the time was slipping by and Kota was telling
us his mom would be home soon.

“Not that you all can’t stay,” he said.

“Nuh uh,” Luke said, stretching his arms over his head.
“Your mom works hard. She deserves to get home and relax. If we’re still here,
she’d insist on making us dinner.”

“That’s not a bad thing,” Silas said. “I like her cooking.”

“So do I,” Luke replied. “But I’m thinking that she
probably doesn’t want four extra people here.”

Kota tried to suggest that it was okay but the decision was
made by North this time and Kota didn’t push the issue. We all needed to get
ready for registration tomorrow anyway.

North and Luke left first on North’s motorcycle. Luke
promised to text me later. Kota and Silas walked with me outside. We stood
together just inside of the garage, looking out at the street.

“Will we be able to approach you at registration?” Kota
asked. “What would your dad think if we were talking?”

I flicked my eyes at Silas. Did he already know about this
part, too? Would he be surprised to hear my mom was so strict? “He’d ask
questions. He’s not as bad as my mom but he’d tell her about it. I think it’ll
be fine since we’re in a public place. I mean I have to go to school. She can’t
do anything about that.”

“You should leave your phone at home,” Kota suggested.
“We’ll be there pretty early. We’ll keep someone by the door to watch out for
you.”

My eyes widened and I looked at Silas. He was leaning
against the frame of the garage door, his arms folded, looking serious.

“Why?” I asked. “I mean, not that it isn’t nice of you. But
you make it sound like I need to be babysat.”

Kota smiled. “Have you heard of this school we’re going
to?”

I shook my head. “It’s just a public school, right?”

Kota pushed his glasses up on his nose, his finger remained
on the bridge as he talked. “There’s over two thousand kids that will be
attending this year. Over half are from poor neighborhoods. They've got so many
kids, they built trailers in the back for additional classroom space. There’s
not enough lockers to go around. There’s usually only enough for the seniors.”
He frowned. “The hallways have been known to be pretty unsafe. Fighting breaks
out a lot. We were planning on sticking by each other throughout the year. With
you here now, we’ll have to coordinate carefully. Someone like Silas could
handle himself, but I wouldn’t want to leave you alone. At least not between
classes.”

I felt my mouth form an ‘o’ shape. “That’s horrible.” I
thought for a moment. “Is that why Gabriel was talking about the private
school?”

Both of their heads jerked around to look at me that it
surprised me. I felt my eyebrows going up.

“What did Gabriel say?” Kota asked.

I shrugged. “He just mentioned something about a private school
he was thinking about maybe attending next year or something like that. He
didn’t say the name or anything. I wasn’t sure if he was serious.”

Kota shot a glance at Silas. Silas’s face was blank.

“Well he’s definitely going to the public school this year,”
Kota said.

Before I could ask anything else, a car pulled up in the
drive. Silas and I walked out of the garage to get out of the way. Kota
followed us. Erica pulled her car into the garage. She smiled at us as she got
out and waved.

“Are you two leaving? I could make dinner,” she offered.
Her smile was warm but her face did look tired. She wore a nurse’s uniform. Her
name tag was still pinned to her chest.

“We can’t stay,” I said quickly. “We’ve got registration
tomorrow. We should get home and be ready for it.”

“Good kids,” she said. “Come over sometime this weekend.
I’ll make cookies. You too, Silas.”

Silas nodded to her. “I’ll always come over for cookies.”

We said goodbye to her and Kota. Kota collected a bag for
his mom and disappeared inside with her. Silas and I walked together down the
driveway. A dark blue Ford sedan was parked along the street in front of the
house. We stumbled over and stood next to it. I was alone with Silas. My heart
was pounding again. I stuffed my hands into the front pocket of my hoodie to
hide my rattling fingers. We’re friends, I told myself. Friends hang out. I’d
been with him all day. Why was I feeling so nervous?

“I like those clothes on you,” Silas offered. “It looks
sporty. It suits you.”

I smiled at the compliment. “Thank you.” I wanted to say
something in return but nothing sounded cool enough. He was wearing another
pair of jeans and a baseball t-shirt. “What’s your favorite team?” I managed to
get out.

He looked at me. “For what sport?”

“Baseball.”

“Red Sox, mostly. Depends on who’s on the team.”

“What was up with their pitcher last year? The one from
Japan? He played for two games and then they traded him.”

His broad mouth turned up at the corner. “You were
watching?”

“Not all the time but I catch it every now and again. I’ll
watch the World Series,” I said. “My grandfather used to watch every game.”

“Have you ever been to one? A pro game?” Silas asked.

I leaned with my back against the car and fumbled with the
phone in my pocket. “Nope.”

He smiled. “We should go some time. Though I think the
closest professional team is in Atlanta. Maybe North Carolina.”

I felt my lips parting and I was looking at him. Again I
wasn’t sure if he was asking me on a date or as friends or if he was just
talking in general. I cursed to myself for being so out of touch with people
that I couldn’t tell the difference.

“I’d like that,” I said. It was all I could think to say.

Silas moved to stand in front of me, the toes of his tennis
shoes matched up with mine in my sandals. “Sang?”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“You’re not mad at me, are you?”

My mouth popped open in surprise and I pulled my hand from
my pocket to lightly touch at the base of my throat. “What for? Why would I be
mad at you?”

He shifted on his feet, looking away. The breeze picked up
at some of the strands of his black hair, and it drifted into his eyes. “I left
you alone at the mall. Those guys... If Kota hadn’t found you... And then your
mom and the vinegar.” He huffed and turned away, his hands digging into his pockets.
“I’m sorry.”

“Silas,” I said softly. He knew. Did Kota tell him? They
were best friends since forever, I remembered. Someone told him. I should have
realized it would happened. They were honest with each other. With effort, I
touched his arm. This is what friends do, right? The move was so awkward for
me, I wasn’t sure how long I should be doing it. “I’m not mad at you. I’m fine.
Really. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the vinegar. I was worried about
you.”

He turned his face back to me. He didn’t seem surprised by
my touch, but he was blushing. “You worried about me?”

I nodded. “After all the trouble I caused at the mall, I
was worried you wouldn’t like me. I was happy you called. My mother... I can’t
help what she does and it wasn’t your fault. But I’m fine. My voice is fine.”

A soft shimmer washed over his eyes. “You thought I
wouldn’t like you because of that stupid kid?”

I tried to warm my smile up for him although I was shaking
from being nervous. “You were nice to me,” I said. “Next time I go with you to
the mall, I’ll stick close by. We shouldn’t have left you two alone. I was
worried then, too. I thought maybe you’d gotten hurt. We should have stayed and
helped you.”

He laughed, reaching for my hand that was still touching
his arm and gave it a light squeeze. “What would you do in a fight?”

I smirked and tugged my hand but he held strong to me. I
tried to playfully punch at him with my other hand to get him to let go. He
snatched up my other wrist. He twisted me until my back was pressed up against
his chest. With my arms crossed, I was pinned against him. I felt his breath on
the back of my head, and his lips moving against my hair.

“Would you know what to do?” he asked me, his deep voice
dropping an octave. “If I was someone you didn’t know, would you be able to get
away?”

I didn’t want to get away, I thought. I felt the heat of
his body pressed up against me. I was barely tall enough to rest my head
against his chest. I did squirm. I pretended to want to be released. While it
was warm outside, it didn’t matter to me. In my heart, this felt so good, like
a warm blanket on a cold day. No, it was much better than a blanket. It left my
whole body tingling and feeling alive. My heart was in my ears and thumping
loudly. “I’d have to stomp on your feet,” I replied.