“Thanks, you’re so sweet.” She leaned in, lowering her voice. “I’m not sure how much my roommate likes it. But we’re working it out.”
I huffed out a little laugh. “You don’t say? Me and my roomie are having the same issues. I guess we just have different tastes.”
She simply nodded and crossed her legs. “That’s what happens when you bring together different people from different parts of the country. But it also makes your life more colorful, don’t you think?”
“I like that.” I scratched my chin, settling into the futon cushion. “That’s a great way to look at it.” Maybe I could give Shanda a break and ease up a bit. Otherwise it’d be a long semester.
“How was your first day?”
“Kinda weird, actually. You’ll never believe what I just did.” As I launched into the whole sordid story of my hair-brained double date scheme, a tiny part of me did a happy dance inside.
Maybe I could really start over here, make some amazing new friends. I’d just have to keep my crazy hormones in check around these prep school boys. And hope my resolve finally stuck.
Chapter 4
Wispy shapes moved and danced like clouds around me. A white horse pranced on the fluffy clouds with a tall rider, his face vaguely handsome, vaguely familiar. The white-clad rider dismounted and floated into the wind.
“Oh, c’mon. Just one more minute.” I jerked out of dreamland and clamped the pillow over my eyes. Even my subconscious betrayed me. At least Prince Charming had no specific face, no specific eye color.
“Wake up, sleepy.” Shanda snatched the pillow from my face and snapped open the blinds.
Stripes of light burned across my lids and I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. “Why are you punishing me?”
“You don’t want to be late for class, do you?” She clanked her dishes into our little in-room sink. “How about some breakfast?”
I padded over to the windowsill and flicked the blinds shut. “You mean like eggs and toast?”
“No, I mean like cereal.” She huffed and handed me a bowl. “I’m not your mama.”
“Too bad.” I shuffled behind her to the mini fridge by the door she’d set up as a clever little kitchen station. Grabbing a bowl, I poured in cereal and milk. “Still tastes good.”
She moved to the mirror, dabbing on her makeup. “I’m a gourmet chef, you know.”
Suddenly the door popped open right in my face. I slapped it back with my palm. Nothing like a door handle in the gut to wake you up.
A blonde girl burst into the room. Geez, knock much? “Hey girls, sorry to interrupt. I’m Monica Belmont, your dorm assistant this year. I haven’t met you yet, so I wanted to stop in and say hi.”
She flipped her golden hair over the shoulder of her perfectly pressed coral tank top, her tawny cat eyes glinting as she stared me down.
“I’m Lucy, and this is my roommate, Shanda Jones.” Mom would applaud my manners, especially in the face of a door.
Shanda barely glanced up and made a mad dash to her closet. Mom wouldn’t call that entertaining properly. What would Shanda’s mom say, or did she even have a mom? She never mentioned her.
“I thought it was pronounced Shawnda, like Wanda.” Monica’s southern drawl stretched each syllable like pink taffy.
“No, it’s Shan-duh.” She enunciated both parts. “People get it wrong all the time.”
“Then I don’t feel so bad.” Monica’s candy laugh grated my ears, too early for that much sugar. “I’ll be popping in now and then to check on you. My suite is down the hall in 201.”
“Good to know.” Shanda turned back to rummaging around her closet.
Monica didn’t seem to notice her clipped tone. “There’s an informal Q&A session tonight at the library with the Nexis president, if you’re interested in joining. All the officers host one. Since I’m club secretary, mine’s Thursday if you can’t make it tonight. So if you have any questions, just pick a night and we’ll be there.”
“Great.” Shanda inched toward the door for a water bottle, as if to herd her out.
“I’ll scoot on outta here and let you two get to class.” Monica flashed her perfect white teeth and waved goodbye.
As soon as the door closed, Shanda almost spat out her water. “Who says the word scoot? And who scoots, anyway—can you scoot?”
She dug through a box until she found a pair of black boots. She pulled them on and freestyled around me. “I’m the Queen of Scooting.”
She strutted her stuff like Michael Jackson. I busted out laughing. “Is that scooting? Looks like a moonwalk to me. All you need is a sequined glove.”
“That’s a Shanda scoot.” Her cackle echoed off the walls. She studied her bare wrist, announcing in a Gone with the Wind accent, “It’s time for us to scoot to class. But I haven’t a thing to wear.”
My foggy brain suddenly flashed back to drama club and the Georgia accent they made me practice for hours. “Don’t be silly, Scah-let, dahling. I saw all those gah-geous clothes you was unpacking. How about this one?”
“Too bright. Why do I own orange pants? Your turn.” Her accent faded out as she pranced to my closet, flapping a sequined shrug in my face like a pompom. “How about this?”
I batted it down. “Not on your life.” Back in my flashy days with Jake, he loved the bling like he wanted to show me off. No more trophy girlfriend for me.
She pulled out a suede belt, offering it with a new kind of smile that lit up her whole face. “Try this. I bet it’ll go great with your dark hair and those big brown eyes.” She shoved me in front of the mirror.
“Not bad.” I wrapped it around my waist. “Too much with the glitter on my shirt?”
“No way, the shimmer brings out the gold flecks in your eyes. It’s fabulous.” Guess our roommate spat was over.
* * *
A musty smell wafted to my nose as soon as I pushed open the library doors. I inhaled the familiar smell of books. A good smell, one of possibilities. Libraries had always been a safe haven for me, a calm place to sift through the muddle of my thoughts.
Tall wooden stacks beckoned to me, like they knew exactly what I needed. I reached out and rubbed the dimpled spine of a book near the aisle. Shanda’s elbow rammed into my back and prodded me forward.
She followed me past the stacks to an open table in the middle of the study area. “Where are all the guys? I thought at least there’d be at least someone cute to distract me or I never would’ve agreed to this.” Her annoyed pitch echoed off the coffered ceilings of the immense room. No wonder everyone spoke softly.
“Could you be any louder?” I hissed at her. Half of the creaky wooden tables were littered with clumps of study groups and loners on laptops. Back at Alton High nobody would be caught dead in the library so early in the semester.
“This was your idea. It’s not like I care about the half-baked Nexis Society.” She clanged her bag on the table, but her tone hushed to a murmur.
“Don’t you?” I cocked my head at her, but she dropped it.
I settled into a seat at the middle table with a perfect view to hide behind my book and hawk the main entrance. Boy, did I ever have questions for these guys. Like why was my brother the only Nexis president to skip out on a chance at an Ivy League education, even though he was accepted to all the top schools? Maybe they couldn’t answer my questions, but I wouldn’t know until I asked.
A guy with bleach blond hair flung open the glass doors. That had to be Kevin, but he wasn’t alone.
I elbowed Shanda in the ribs. “Quick, time to play it cool. Here comes your Nexis man candy.”
She twisted her neck in his direction and smacked my arm. “Quiet, girl, now who’s being loud?” Another glance at him and she turned right back, eyes more alive than ever.
“Not exactly what I meant by playing it cool.”
Kevin cleared the aisle for his friend like a bodyguard. Lost behind surfer shoulders and that spiky hair, I strained for a glimpse of his mystery friend.
Would it be Bryan offering a tour of the city, or the Stanton boy with the right amount of charm? Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
The Stanton boy breezed past the stacks to our table, silver-grays flashing. “You girls have some questions?”
Shanda pointed to me and wrangled Kevin into the chair next to her. “So how have you been?”
Her words faded as I focused on the sculpted face of the guy next to me. Will looked good in his dark jeans and navy t-shirt. His sandy hair held a hint of gold under the light, but all natural unlike Kevin’s bleach job. Inked strokes of an arm-wrap tattoo peeked out under his right sleeve, drawing my eyes to his biceps. If I were bold like Shanda, I’d just ask about it. But I wasn’t even supposed to be on the market.
He straddled the chair next to me. “Hope you and your friend are intrigued by what Nexis has to offer.”
I sucked in a breath, unable to tear my eyes away. All of my James questions hammered into my brain, but I held my tongue. As Mom would say, there was a time and a place for everything. “I’m definitely intrigued.”
“You want to learn some real history?” His fingers brushed mine as he grabbed my Western Civ book, opening to a picture of Noah’s ark. “For instance, you think you know this story, right?”
“The flood?” The question prickled my skin, or maybe it was his proximity. I squinted at the book. “Everyone knows about Noah’s ark. They even made a movie about it.”
He shook his head, then came close. My heart practically stopped. His cinnamony breath spiced the air between us. “Sure, but not everyone knows the real story.”
His eyes narrowed into lines of steel, like his opinion of me hinged on my response.
Sweat droplets bubbled on my palms and I wiped them on my jeans. “What do you mean? Like there’s some secret to the flood that I’ve never heard of?”
“Maybe you know more than you think.” He ran his finger down his jawline, then slouched back, nodding at me.
Did I pass the test? Those steely eyes analyzed me, as if they could read my mind. Goosebumps popped up on my arms.
“Shouldn’t I be asking the questions?”
“I’m just trying to figure you out.” His lips curled up in the most adorable grin. It shivered straight through me. “I think you’re a natural for Nexis—and the Ivy Leagues.”
A voice boomed from the stacks behind me. “You Nexis extremists don’t need any more new recruits.”
I spun around as Bryan stomped over to our table. What was he doing, hiding back there? His aqua eyes seared the air like light sabers as they leveled right into me, but his gaze didn’t give me chills like the Stanton boy. Was that a good or bad thing?
“Cooper.” Will’s lips twisted into a scowl and he stood up, inches from Bryan. Did Bryan bring out the fight in every guy he met? “Like the Guardians need any more brainwashed cult freaks trying to shove their beliefs down everyone’s throat.”
“What did you say?” My heart jangled in my chest like a tambourine. Whoever these Guardians were, they didn’t deserve to be called freaks. Especially if Bryan was one of them. Just like I didn’t deserve to be called a prude. “Whatever happened to tolerating other people’s beliefs?”
Shanda snorted out a laugh that sent me over the edge.
“That’s it.” I slammed my book shut. Not this again. I had my fill of unnecessary mockery in Indianapolis from my old friends, but even at a prep school? Shouldn’t they be beyond petty bullying? I scraped my chair back. It screeched like I’d stepped on a cat’s tail.
All eyes turned my way. “Excuse me. Why on earth do you think it’s okay to call anyone a brainwashed freak? Grow up.” Was Will just another jerk like Jake had turned out to be? Maybe I assumed too much, or maybe this school really wasn’t as perfect as I’d imagined.
His glare turned from Bryan to me. In an instant his face softened. “That’s not what I meant, Lucy.”
“Forget it.” I tried to focus all my anger into the globe pendant on the ceiling. The ball of energy still roiled in my stomach and I couldn’t calm it down. I shoved my books into my bag.
“I’ve got to go. I’ll see you around.” I raced to the door.
“See you at the next meeting.” Will’s voice cracked as he called after me.
Shanda mumbled something about giving me some space. Such a good call.
With my fist I punched open the French doors, stepping into the cool night air. How could I get so mad over one little comment and forget all my questions about James? The sidewalk burned from the day’s heat as I inhaled a deep breath. The purpling sky soothed my inner rage, making the world feel halfway normal again.
“Wait up.” Bryan’s footsteps pounded after me. “That was pretty cool. No one stands up to Will like that. He thinks he’s the big man on campus.”
I kept walking, my heart still beating a syncopated rhythm. “I’m tired of putting up with jerks like that. Especially at a supposedly enlightened prep school. It gets on my nerves.”
He jogged ahead, stopping right in front of me so I had to look at him. Normally I’d find that cute, if I wasn’t so annoyed.
“Guess what? There aren’t as many ‘enlightened’ people here as you might think.” He made air quotes with both hands. “On top of that, some people who say they’re enlightened are the exact opposite.”
“What do you mean?” Like a magnet, my gaze moved to his face. The dusky hues of the sky turned his eyes robin’s egg blue, calming the angry remnants of my silly outburst.
What could Will possibly think of me? Probably that I was imbalanced or something. Good thing Bryan didn’t seem to mind.
“It’s hard to explain. Some of us are all about truth and the rest are just playing games. Hey, if you’re in Harlixton’s Western Civ class, I can help. There’s a huge paper coming up, right?” He held out his hand. His eyes countered mine, practically daring me to take it.
What an odd way to change the subject. I shook my head. “I’m not going back in there. I don’t care if he meant something else, it’s a poor choice of words.”
He cocked his head at me and laughed. “You’re a firecracker aren’t you? Don’t worry. That’s not what I meant. You think you can trust me?” His hand still hovered in the air.
“Good question.” I inched mine closer until I barely tapped his palm. He gripped my fingers, hauling me down the sidewalk.
“Where are we going?” Great. What had I gotten myself into now?
His white-toothed grin glowed under the lamppost. “The best place to study true ancient history.”
Chapter 5
The chapel shimmered against the navy sky. All the air whistled from my lungs. “Breathtaking.”
Okay, maybe the uplighting on the scalloped arches had something to do with it. Still, the beautiful stonework made the church look like it belonged in Europe instead of a boarding school along the Hudson. I climbed up the cobblestone steps behind Bryan. The wooden Gothic door creaked as he opened it.
We stepped through the marble arches of the foyer and into the sanctuary. Even after the beauty of the outside, the sanctuary lived up to the hype. Dim shadows hid the stained glass windows on the outer walls, but a spotlight illuminated the back sphere of rose and blue glass with a golden cross in the middle.
“Wow, this place is gorgeous. You guys study here?” I tore my gaze from the magnificence only to find him twenty feet ahead of me.
“No, not in the sanctuary. We use the chapel library. It has some of the oldest history books around.” He motioned down a tiled hall. “This way.”
My ballet flats clicked against the hand-painted tiles, reverberating so loudly I switched to tiptoes. Deep laughter rumbled ahead of me.
He peeked at me over his shoulder. “What are you doing?”
I clenched my fingers into a fist at my side. As if I didn’t remember the last time this boy laughed at me. “Well, excuse me, I don’t want to disturb anything. Or anyone.”
“Relax, it’s not like there are monk
s here or anything.” A beam of light spilled into the hallway from an open door, enough to spotlight his shaking head. “Here we are. Ladies first.”
As I slipped past he bowed ever-so-slightly, like his small effort at chivalry could make up for his rudeness. I flipped my hair over my shoulder and flounced into the dimly lit library, where five unfamiliar faces stared back at me.
An auburn-haired beauty waved from the far wall of ceiling-high stacks. At her side, a younger girl with dishwater-blonde hair offered a meek smile—my freshman suitemate, Brooke. Sitting at one of the few tables in the cluttered room, an orange-haired boy smiled at me with freckled cheeks.
The girl at his side swung her springy orange curls around and I blinked. “Wow, you’re like a carbon-copy of your brother.”
“Good thing they’re twins.” The voice came from a dark-haired guy by the lead-paned window. He didn’t even glance up from the piles of books strewn in front of him.
“Yeah, caught that.” I turned my back on him to take in the view. Cedar shelves lined each wall and most of the floorspace, with niches carved out for the window and a few tables in the middle. The coolest part was cloaked by darkness in the back corner of the room.
“Is that an actual turret?” Even though the tower was tiny, the bookshelves wrapped from the bottom to the very top. “Amazing. It’s like a castle library.”
Bryan cleared his throat and nudged me into the center of the room. “Everyone, this is Lucy McAllen. She needs help in her Western Civ class.”
I cocked my head at him. “Do I really?”
“You’ve come to the right place then.” The guy by the window finally glanced up from his book pile. “By the way, I’m Tony Delgotto.”
Bryan smacked his forehead. “Right, that’s my sister Brooke over there in the stacks, then Felicia Morales, and the twins here are Laura and Lenny Brewster.”
“Hi, everyone.” I forced my lips into some form of greeting and dumped my bag on Laura and Lenny’s table. “It must be so much fun being twins.”
“I love it, but he hates it.” Laura’s high voice held a surprising warm tone that soothed my ears.
The Nexis Secret Page 4