Someone pokes their head into the classroom, sees me wilted against the chair and says, “Hey.”
“Ah!” I scream.
“Whoa.” Serena throws her hands up and leans back. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Serena, what are you doing here?” I blink rapidly, straightening to my full height.
“Same as you.” She motions to the broom and dustpan. “I think. Unless you were… actually here to have a secret rendezvous with Dutch Cross. Because, in that case, we were not here for the same reason.”
“I wasn’t—Dutch and I aren’t…”
“Yeah, really convincing.” She hops on a desk, her legs swinging under it. “I saw you two doing… whatever it was you were doing and waited until he left to say hi.”
I pick up the broom and set it against the wall. With my back turned, I calm my shaking hands. After basically threatening to marry me, Dutch left and took his intimidating, overwhelming presence with him.
I really hope I don’t see him around today or I might lose control and make a flying kick straight into his face.
Marriage? Does he think something that serious is a game?
I’ve seen the hell my father went through being married to a drug addict. If you ask me, mom was the one who put dad in the grave.
I don’t know which one of us would kill the other, but an eternity with Dutch would send one of us into the ground early.
Getting a lid on my emotions, I turn to my friend and try to hide how shaken I am. “So this is why I never saw you cleaning after school. You knew about this little hack and didn’t share?”
“Sorry. Didn’t think you’d be interested. It’s a pain to get up this early. Not everyone is capable.”
“True. It was hard to open my eyes this morning. I might start nodding off in class.”
She smiles too, but this time it’s a little sorrowful. “I started getting here early since sophomore year. Cleaning before everyone arrives means there’s no idiots in my way while I work.”
“Smart.”
We exchange smiles.
“It’s a lot easier to like Redwood when no one’s in it.” Her eyes gleam. “Sometimes, I take off my shoes and just…” Serena makes a forward motion, “skid around the hallways in my socks.”
“That sounds epic.”
Serena dips her fingers into her pocket and starts flicking the lid of a lighter. I’ve noticed she does that more often around me now, and I get the feeling it means she trusts me more than she lets on.
“You found it?”
“No, this is a new one.” She sighs in disappointment. “I lost the other one.” Slipping the lighter back into her pocket, she glances at me. “By the way, I saw a video of you playing at the concert this weekend.”
I groan and cover my face. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“Why? You were amazing. I mean, I didn’t expect you to just… explode all over the stage like that. You really have a gift, Cadence.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s something,” she insists. “I think you could go far. Maybe as far as having your own sold-out theaters and piano albums—do they call them piano albums?”
“These days, composers stream their music same as everyone else.”
“You’ve got star quality.”
“Reel it back in and come back to reality.” I laugh.
“I’m serious. Haven’t you ever considered studying music further?”
“Not once. Music can’t pay the bills.”
“If you get famous—”
“The likelihood of me getting famous is the same as me winning the lottery. And I’m not going to stake my rent and grocery money on a pipe dream.”
“Aha. But you admit it is a dream.”
I shake my head.
“If you didn’t have all the other things holding you back, would you want it?”
“No.”
That feels like a lie.
My heart wrenches, but I stubbornly stand by my word.
“My sister isn’t holding me back. She’s the reason I’ve gotten this far. I never would have made it here today without her.”
“Fine. Bury your talent in this hell hole. As long as I get to hear you play in person one day, I don’t care.”
I chuckle and glance down.
She pokes a black-painted fingernail in my shoulder and wiggles her thick eyebrows. “So you and Dutch, huh?”
“He was here to torment me. As usual.”
“Right. Dutch Cross dragged himself out of bed and drove all the way to Redwood Prep just to make you miserable. That makes perfect sense.”
“It’s true. He’s diabolical.”
“Or maybe he just wanted to be around you.” She lifts the lighter and flicks it again. “Maybe you’re his lighter.”
“Maybe he should learn how to have a mature conversation rather than acting like an entitled brat every time he sees me.”
“There’s that.”
We both grin.
Serena hops off the desk and takes the broom from me. “Come on, ‘New Girl’. I’ll help you finish up.”
“No way. You just did your own work. It’s not fair for you to double the load.”
“What are friends for?” She winks.
My heart warms. “In that case, I’ll spring half my meal card for lunch today. You can have anything you want.”
“Yaass!” She hooks an arm around my neck. “It’s so great having a rich friend.”
Our guffaws bounce off the walls and swell along with the sunshine.
Serena’s right. It feels really good to have a friend in Redwood.
I don’t see Dutch all morning. On my way to History, I pass his brothers in the hallway.
Zane is wearing a pair of giant sunshades over his face and that earns him an extra long stare. He’s normally loud and upbeat, always ready with an easy smile or a charming one-liner.
Today, he seems more like Dutch—withdrawn, growly, sullen. If he dyed his hair blond, I wouldn’t be able to tell that he was Zane at all.
Finn spots me and does a little chin-dip. I don’t know if he’s acknowledging me because of Dutch or because I’m looking straight at them like a lunatic, but it does make my heart beat a little faster.
I start to look away when I realize that Sol is with them. His steely brown eyes linger on my face and probe me.
Both Zane and Finn seem like their intention is to walk past me, but Sol stops in the middle of the hallway.
The crowd around me goes still. Their curiosity burns. I can feel them holding their breath.
Probably because I am too.
I don’t know where Sol’s head is at when it comes to Miller’s ultimatum.
“Hey, are you okay?” I walk right up to him, clenching the strap of my school bag. “I was texting you all weekend, but you didn’t pick up.”
At the sound of my voice, Finn and Zane stop walking. They turn back, their expressions flickering with confusion.
Sol glances down. “Sorry. A lot’s been going on.”
“About Miller,” I lean close and whisper, “Serena and I are going to stick together. We won’t let him intimidate us into choosing someone to kick out of the music program.”
“That’s one way to deal with it.” Sol’s smile is charming, but there’s something sharp behind it. I can’t put a finger on what, but I get this off feeling when he looks at me. Like he’s more than just the fourth handsome, broody member of The Kings. Like he’s got some power of his own.
Technically, birds of a feather flock together, but Sol has been treating me like a human being and actually has coherent conversations with me, which is steps above the rest of his crew.
“Do you have another suggestion?” I glance past him to where Zane and Finn look mildly uncomfortable. “We can talk about it later.”
“Dutch has a plan for Miller,” Finn says, interrupting our conversation.
I glance over at his chiseled face and the almond-shaped eyes that so many girls have swooned over. He lifts his chin and the light hits his jawline.
Sol leans closer and whispers, “It’s better if you don’t know.”
A shiver goes down my spine when I feel his breath on my neck. I glance up and meet his eyes.
Sol straightens and nods to me. “Later.”
“Later.” My voice sounds hoarse.
Sol returns to Finn and Zane, who swings an arm around him. The Kings turn the bend and the whispers subside. People are staring at me now, but I don’t pay them any attention.
What exactly is Dutch planning? And why does Sol seem different than usual?
I throw my head back and groan. It feels like I’m missing something. Now, I kind of wish I’d used the fake ID guy to break into Jinx’s app. I’m sure she would have information that could help me figure things out.
With no other recourse, I move on to my next class. On the way, I pass an empty classroom. Miss Jamieson is at the desk, gathering books into a bag with robotic movements.
I wave, but she stares through me as if she’s lost in another world. I debate whether I should disturb her or not when she distractedly grabs her coffee and swings it toward her purse.
“Whoa! Miss Jamieson!” I sprint ahead and grab her hand before she dumps liquid all over her papers and books.
She startles and glances up at me. The zoned-out expression is immediately replaced with a professional smile. “Cadence.”
“Are you okay?”
“Me? Yeah. I’m fine.” She stands and flicks at the hem of her fluffy blue skirt. “I actually wanted to speak to you.” Her eyes flicker away. “Given some… circumstances, I haven’t been able to talk to Jarod Cross about your case yet. But I plan to. Keep your chin up and don’t worry about Miller.”
My smile falters. Everyone keeps telling me not to worry, but if I have no control over fixing the problem, then worry is the only thing I can do.
Miss Jamieson hurries to the door, glances both ways and then darts out. My eyebrows scrunch.
What is with everyone today?
Maybe it’s because I’ve been at Redwood since early this morning, but there’s a stillness in the air that feels like the calm before the storm.
Redwood Prep is shifting, morphing, making room for something. I hope that something isn’t as sinister and cold as The Kings.
