When we walk back into James’ after what was probably the most enjoyable breakfast of my life, it’s like an entirely different house to the one we left earlier. The smashed bottles, empty cans, and cigarette butts no longer litter the floor and every available surface. Instead, everything is back to how it used to be. It’s a show home once again.
“What the fuck?” Conner asks, crashing into my back when I stop abruptly, not able to believe what I’m seeing.
“Apparently, money can buy happiness. This is fucking epic.”
I nod as Conner sidesteps me and heads toward the kitchen. How the fuck he can still be hungry after the number of pancakes he put away earlier god only knows.
I glance at Cole, who stands silently beside me, taking in the scene.
“Neat,” he finally says before pulling his cell out and disappearing toward our staircase to hide.
“You need to spend the weekend making sure you’re ready for Monday.”
He glances over his shoulder and narrows his eyes. I don’t need his words, I know he’s telling me to tone it down a notch and let him do his thing. But my brother needs to realize the only reason I’m here right now is for him and Conner, to ensure they have a decent shot at life. There has to be something good that can come out of this. Chances are, I’ll still end up in prison, with or without this place. But my brothers? They’ve now got the world at their feet and enough money around them for all their dreams to come true. And I’m going to make fucking sure they do. Starting with Cole.
“Get changed. Grab a ball. Meet me in the yard.”
He rolls his eyes but moves to do exactly as he’s told. He’s been on the wrong end of my fists more than once to know it’s in his best interests to just listen to me.
There may only be a year between me and them, but never doubt that they know who the oldest is around here.
At hearing voices in the kitchen, I come to a stop just out of sight. It wouldn’t be out of the question for James to have returned early. He knows all about the party, or at least I’m assuming he does after the twenty-five missed calls and handful of texts demanding that I call him. But I’d like to think he’d have heard us by now and would already be attempting to rip me a new one. If he thinks I’m going to do what I’m told over text, then he really needs to realize who he’s invited to live in his house. He might have been absent for most of our lives, but I thought he knew the kind of kids he was dealing with.
“This smells incredible, Martha,” Conner says as the sweet smell of more pancakes hits my nose.
“Martha?” Ellen asks, sounding confused. It’s a common thing where Conner is concerned. Some random ass shit falls from his mouth at times.
“Yeah, Martha. Like the legend that is Martha Stewart.”
Ellen chuckles. “Well, I don’t know about that, my dear. But I do my best.”
“Your best? You saw this place this morning. That’s some mad fucking skills you’re rocking to get it whipped back into shape so fast.”
“I have my ways.”
“Apparently so,” I say, marching into the room, gaining both of their attention the second I do. “But what I want to know is why? Why not leave it for us to deal with? For James to find?”
Ellen looks between the two of us, a sympathy in her eyes that I don’t want to fucking see.
“It was the right thing to do. I know you’re just settling in, trying to find your feet. I expected it.” She shrugs and turns back to her batter.
Conner’s brow creases, but he soon accepts her words, whereas I’m suspicious as fuck. No one does something nice like that just because. There’s always a motive. Always.
“Would you like some pancakes?” Ellen asks, looking at me.
“No. I’m going to help Cole with practice. Maybe you’ll join us when you’ve finished filling your face,” I bark at Conner before marching from the room.
As I walk down the hallway toward the back of the house, Cole’s feet thunder down the stairs, and when he catches up to me he’s wearing his old Heights jersey and has a ball tucked under his arm.
“You’re going to be the best damn player this town has ever fucking seen, you hear me?”
He nods before running ahead to warm himself up.
Part of me expected James to turn up at some point, but by some miracle we got through the rest of the weekend without him reappearing. After helping Cole, we spent the rest of our free time in the pool house on the Xbox James set up for us.
I should really have gone back to the Heights to pick up some work, but the temptation of just hanging out with my brothers before we’re forced to spend our days with the preppy stuck-up kids of this town day in, day out, was too strong.
By the time Monday morning rolls around, I’m almost ready to get on my bike and fuck off back to the trailer park. I stand in front of the closet with just a towel wrapped around my waist, staring at the ridiculous uniform I’m expected to wear.
I’ve never worn a uniform or conformed to anything in my fucking life, and I’m really not happy about suddenly doing so now.
Throwing the towel onto the bed, I drag a pair of boxer briefs up my legs and snap the waistband into place. Blowing out a really fucking frustrated breath, I reach for the clothes. A grey pair of pants that would probably look right at home on someone’s ninety-year-old grandad with how high the waist is. A baggy white shirt, a blue tie with the school crest on it, complete with a seahawk in the middle, and a grey fucking blazer with blue trim.
If it weren’t for those two motherfuckers down the hall, I would never be seen dead in this shit. I don’t give a fuck about the fact I didn’t graduate when I should have. It’s not like I had any need for the fucking diploma. The gang I’ve been drug running for doesn’t exactly require qualifications. All they want to know is that you can defend yourself and that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, even if you end up with blood on your hands.
“Fucking hell,” I mutter, shoving my feet into the offending fabric and fastening the button around my waist.
This is total bullshit.
After running some wax through my hair, I stand in front of the full-length mirror strapped to the wall in the bathroom and can’t help but laugh at myself. I’m like a walking fucking contradiction. I’m wearing preppy rich douche clothes with my tatts showing on my neck and down my forearms where I’ve rolled my sleeves up. There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that I’m going to stand out like a sore fucking thumb.
A loud crash sounds out throughout the house before footsteps pound up the stairs.
Oh goodie, Uncle James is back to wish us well on our first day.
I pull my bedroom door open with a smirk firmly in place on my lips.
“Is your fucking cell phone broken, boy?”
I make a show of pulling it from my pocket and checking it. “Nope, looks perfectly fine to me. Excuse me, I’ve got somewhere I need to be.”
He stands aside before my shoulder crashes into his as I pass, but his hand grips onto my upper arm. His fingers dig in but not enough to actually cause any pain.
I turn on him. My eyes narrow and my lips purse as I go toe-to-toe with the man over twice my age. He’s tall, but I’m taller, and it’s painfully obvious to him as he’s forced to look up at me.
“Problem, Uncle?”
“You will not throw any more parties here. I very clearly told you the rules, and the first thing you did the second my back was turned was break them.”
“Huh.” I tilt my head to the side as if he’s just asked me some important question. “Funny, because I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I won’t put up with your defiance, Ace.”
“What are you going to do?” I taunt. “Send me back to the Heights?” His face pales. “Nah, I didn’t think so. For some fucked-up reason you suddenly want us here.”
“I’ve always—”
“Cole, Conner,” I bellow in his face, cutting off whatever he was going to say. “Let’s go. We wouldn’t want to be late.”
They both emerge from their room dressed exactly like me: loose ties, sleeves rolled up, the lot.
A smirk pulls at the corner of my lips.
Sterling Prep is not ready for this.
After making our way from the house and leaving James exactly where he was, Cole and Conner climb into their car, but I decline their offer of a lift and throw my leg over my bike. I have a suspicion that at some point during today I’m going to need to make a swift exit to avoid taking a preppy douche out on day one. I couldn’t give a fuck about getting kicked out, but I need my brothers settled before I fuck up too much.
We’re some of the last to arrive, clearly not as excited about the first day of the school year as others. Audis, Mercedes, Porches and other insanely expensive cars for teenagers to drive litter the parking lot.
All eyes turn our way as Cole and Conner’s clapped-out engine sputters into a space before the rumble of my bike follows.
It’s just like Friday night on the beach with everyone looking our way like we’re new animals at the zoo.
The second I kill my engine, I light up a blunt, needing something to chill me the fuck out before I drive back the exact same way we just arrived. I thought I was done with classes, homework, and school fucking gossip, but the way we’re still holding everyone’s attention, I think we’re going to be the hot topic of conversation for some time.
The rolling countryside that surrounds the school buildings offers me little reprieve before I turn to where I know all the students are staring at me. I spot the football team in their jerseys. Almost every one has a cheerleader hanging from their shoulders. All eyes are on us, but I don’t see the captain anywhere. He’s probably still at home, crying over his broken nose and black eyes.
“Come on then. Let’s get this show on the road,” I call to my brothers after flicking what’s left of my blunt to the gravel beneath my feet.
Together the three of us head toward the entrance. The grand, over-the-top buildings looming before us are a million miles away from those at Sterling Heights, which were mostly dirty grey and covered in graffiti—most of which I’d put there over the years. Everything about that place was dark and smelled of death and destruction. This place, however, is like something you’d see on a documentary visiting old English manor houses. Everything is perfect. The grass looks like it’s been cut with fucking scissors, the buildings are a spotless cream brick, and all the giant windows seem to still be intact.
Silence falls around the students as we pass. My skin burns and prickles as their eyes run over every inch of me.
The guys who think they’re something all take a step forward like they have a fucking chance if they were to stand up to me, while the girls flick their hair and lick their lips like we might be fucking interested in their rich, stuck-up pussies.
I think not.
Just before we approach the reception building, a dark pair of eyes catches my attention. She’s hiding in the shadows, but still I see her.
Our eyes hold for the briefest of moments before she averts her gaze and turns away from me.
You can hide all you like, Princess. I will find you.
A petite lady in a baby pink twin set scrambles from behind her desk as Conner and Cole slam the doors back on themselves to announce our arrival.
“Oh, hello. I’m Miss Peterson…” Her voice is quiet, almost like a mouse as she looks between the three of us like we might be about to squash her with our bare hands. It’s totally doable and probably wouldn’t take much effort, either.
“Just give us our schedules and we’ll be out of your hair, Mrs Peters.”
“It-it’s Miss Peterson, actually.”
“Of course it is.” I roll my eyes, dropping my hands to my pant pockets and rocking back on my heels, getting impatient as fuck.
“Principal Vager is waiting to meet the three of you.”
“Great. Lead the way.”
She hesitates. “You… um… might want to…” She tugs at her sleeves, too scared to actually tell us what to do.
“We’re good, thanks.”
“O-Okay. T-this way then.”
She knocks the giant walnut double doors before a deep voice calls out for us to enter.
His office is massive with an impressive hand-carved desk that gives him a view of the sea in the distance. Bookshelves line the other walls and are filled with vintage looking books.
“Ah, the Jaggers are here,” he announces almost sarcastically, and it puts my back up immediately. “We’ve heard a lot about the three of you.”
“All good, I hope.”
He scoffs but holds my stare. “I’m sure that you’ll soon find yourselves at home here in Sterling Prep.”
“You think?”
Both Cole and Conner take a seat at his desk when he gestures for us to do so, but I refrain from following orders. It’s best he learns from the get-go that that’s not how I do things.
Walking over to one of the bookcases, I run my finger over some of the spines. I stumble upon a collection of Shakespeare.
Pulling one out, I flip it open and discover what I was expecting. First editions. It says a lot about our dear leader. More fucking money than sense.
“I would just like to run through a few things, a few ground rules if you will, and then we’ll go over your schedules and you can begin your new life as Sterling Prep students.” His eyes run over the three of us, and I already know what’s going to come out of his mouth before he says it.
“First, I think we should discuss how we expect our uniforms to be worn.”
