BriarEdge Academy: Second Semester

by Kit Kyndall

  At lunchtime, she went looking for Jonas, hoping to eat with him. It was a blustery day, so she was wrapped in a warm sweater and a raincoat with rain boots. Though a dorky outfit, there was so much rain that she didn’t care, since the gear kept her dry. The sensible thing would’ve been to stay inside, but she really wanted to see Jonas.

  After searching for a bit, she didn’t find him, but she did run into Kip in the rose maze. She stumbled to a halt, giving him a cautious smile. “Professor Stuart, I didn’t expect to see you out here.”

  “I like the rain.” It was a simple answer, but it was clear he meant it. He didn’t seem to mind that his hair and tweed jacket were getting soaked, and the wind was blowing with enough force he should’ve been freezing. She was cold even with the sweater and the jacket.

  In spite of that, she went to sit near him. “What’s up?” she asked softly.

  “I was hoping to see you.” He reached out to take her hand discreetly, shielding the action by their bodies. “You know the preliminary offer I told you about?”

  She nodded. “The academy near Boston?”

  He nodded. “I got a firm offer and a contract today. It’s a done deal. All I have to do is sign it, but I wanted to make sure your plans work with mine. Where are you going to college?”

  “I sent several applications, but all colleges are in Boston. That hasn’t changed, since that’s where I want to be. Lex and Dalton have both stated they want to go where I go. Dalton has an early acceptance to MIT, so we’re keeping our options focused on Boston. Jonas is planning to move there and go back to school. So, I think you should sign the contract if it’s a position you want.” She leaned a little closer, looking around. “Is it an all-boys’ school though? I’m not sure I want you teaching hot coeds.”

  He flinched. “I’ve never… Not until you… I wouldn’t—”

  She put her finger against his lips before dropping her hand. “Relax. I’m just teasing you. I trust you completely. Whatever’s between us is rare and precious. I don’t think you’re going to find it with someone else, and I know you aren’t looking for anyone else. I have no reservations about you teaching at an all-girls’ school if that’s what the position entails.”

  “It’s coed,” he said. “I can keep looking…”

  She shook her head. “Really, it’s fine. I’m just glad you’re finding something near enough that we can see each other just about every day. Do you have to live at the school?”

  He shook his head. “No, I can commute, so there’s no reason we can’t see each other every day. I’d like to live with you, but is it too soon?”

  Her heart thumped with excitement as she shook her head. “It’s definitely not too soon for me, but we do need to figure out how we’re all going to make it work.”

  “I was thinking we could buy a big place, and everyone can have their own room. We can visit you on alternating nights…or however you want that to work.”

  Her eyes widened. “You’re willing to live with the other guys too?”

  Kip nodded. “I lived with Veronica and her other lovers, remember? I’m not the one who’ll have a problem with it. You have to talk to the others to see what they think before we can go ahead, but if they’re on board, I suggest you should get a weekend pass sometime in the near future, along with Lex and Dalton, so we can go house hunting.”

  “It’s a wonderful idea.” Without thought, she leaned forward and kissed him. He stiffened for a moment before kissing her back, and then reality crashed in. She jerked back. “I’m sorry. I’ve been so careless lately.”

  He looked around. “I don’t think we have to worry about anybody seeing us with the rain, but we do need to be more cautious.” He squeezed her hand. “Just until May.”

  “Two more months to go,” she said with a hint of longing in her tone. It seemed like the longest two months of her life ahead of her, but she’d have to remain diligent. She couldn’t afford to get careless with her affection now and reveal her relationship with Kip and cost them both their futures.

  “Are you going home for spring break?” asked Kip.

  “Yeah, I am. I’m not sure how that’s going to go. Dalton’s going on a ski trip with some friends. He made the plan ages ago. I guess they do it every year? He offered to cancel, but I told him not to, so it’s just going to be me and Malone.”

  Kip frowned in sympathy. “I’ll be in Boston, so if you want to get together, let me know.”

  She sighed. “I doubt my mom will let me. She thinks I’m acting out and all mixed up with my multiple boyfriends, so I’ll probably be under her watchful eye the entire time.”

  He sighed, looking disappointed. “Well, it’s just a couple more months.”

  She squeezed his hand again as she stood up. “The longest two months ever, but we’ll get through them.”

  “Absolutely. We know what’s waiting at the end of our suffering.” He winked at her. “I’ll see you Friday afternoon, Miss Munroe.”

  “Yes, professor.” With a saucy wink in his direction, she ran back toward the dorms, so she’d have time to change out of her rain boots and into something more comfortable before her next class.

  As she rushed around the corner of one of the greenhouses, she ran into someone. “Oh, sorry. The rain…” She trailed off as she looked at Suzanne, clad in similar rain gear. She was disappointed it wasn’t Jonas.

  The professor had an ambiguous expression. She looked angry, yet smug. She didn’t acknowledge Candace or the apology as she shoved past her and headed away from the greenhouse.

  She was briefly curious why Suzanne was in the garden, but she didn’t really care. Being soggy, she decided to carry out her original plan for dry clothes and not worry about Suzanne—at least until fifth period.

  April

  Chapter Nine

  Candace

  Spring break was actually tolerable, since Malone seemed to be making an effort. There hadn’t been any screaming matches, and while her stepsister was still cool with Hannah, she wasn’t nearly as unpleasant to Candace. Neither one of them mentioned their relationships with their teachers, and Malone seemed to be trying to make an effort to at least be cordial with Candace. She wasn’t certain that Malone would ever feel like her sister, but she no longer felt like a complete enemy.

  Three days after her return to BriarEdge, she got a text from Ashton that Hannah was in labor. She spent a distracted day and part of the evening corresponding with her stepfather as he had time, not going to bed until he sent a message eleven hours after it began, complete with a picture of her exhausted but happy-looking mom and new baby sister, Suraya.

  After that, she had to focus on studying, since the last semester was the most difficult, because they were nearing graduation. As usual, she was doing reasonably well in her classes, though Manion had dropped her down to a C+. She knew from comparing notes with Isis and Octavia that they both had C+ scores as well, despite Octavia formerly being an A+ student. There wasn’t much they could do about that, since they would still pass, so they decided to let it slide. At least he was ignoring them in class, which was the best outcome they could hope for.

  She thought she was doing well in her classes, so it was a nasty shock when she got back her quiz at the end of the week in Suzanne’s class and saw a big “F” on it. It was half the size of the page, in bright red ink, and she was certain everyone in the classroom could see it. She hastily shoved it in her folder and frowned, uncertain how she could’ve failed the test when she understood the material.

  Hoping it was just a mistake, she waited after class. Suzanne took her sweet time before acknowledging Candace, making her stand by the desk for at least five minutes before looking up from her coffee cup and down her nose. “What do you want?”

  “I’d like an explanation for this.” Candace pulled out the test and put it on her desk, stabbing the big “F.” “I don’t think I failed this. I know all the concepts.”

  “Perhaps it was test anxiety,” said S
uzanne with a hint of smug satisfaction. “Sometimes people fail for no reason.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I haven’t failed anything. I’d like a retest.”

  Suzanne tipped her head for a moment and then nodded. “Very well. You can meet me in my office after classes end for the day. I’m sure you know where it is—near Kip’s office, where you spend so much time.”

  With a stiff nod, ignoring the jibe, Candace picked up the test and left the classroom. She went straight to the bathroom, taking a stall and sitting down so she could look at the test results. The answers were definitely wrong, having careless mistakes throughout, but she was positive she hadn’t made them. They were similar enough to her handwriting, since most of the answers were just numbers, so she wasn’t certain she could convince anyone that her test answers had been altered, but she was positive that was what had happened.

  Had Suzanne decided to go after her this way instead? The thought made her stomach a ball of tension, since she was waiting on acceptance letters from her colleges of choice. Suzanne doing this to her could wreck her future, and she wasn’t certain she could prove it.

  By the time she went to Suzanne’s office that evening, Suzanne still seemed smug as she gestured for her to come in and seated her at a desk. Suzanne put down a duplicate of the quiz on the desktop, minus answers. “By all means, please retest. Just so you know, you’re going to fail this one too.”

  “I didn’t fail the last one, and I won’t fail this one,” said Candace as she reached into her bag to take out a pen.

  Suzanne frowned. “Number two pencil please.”

  “It’s not a Scantron, so it doesn’t matter.” Candace had come up with the strategy on the way to Suzanne’s office. At least ink would be a lot harder to alter if she had to have proof that Suzanne was persecuting her.

  Suzanne looked annoyed, but she didn’t continue arguing as Candace finished the test with the ink pen.

  She was on the last equation when Suzanne bent close and said, “I know about you and Kip. I saw you kiss him in the rain the other day.”

  Candace stiffened, looking up as she struggled for a bland expression. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  The professor snorted. “Sure you don’t. I was…out for a walk and saw you together. You kissed him.” She scowled. “And he kissed back.”

  “Out for a walk in that rain?” She arched a brow. “Stalking rhymes with walking and might be more accurate.”

  She slammed her hand on the desk near Candace’s hand. “I’m not going to stand for it. You can’t get away with this.” As she spoke, Suzanne put a big red “F” on the test again, not even bothering to check the answers first. “Enjoy repeating your senior year,” she said with a nasty smile.

  “If I have to do that, I’ll still be here with Kip. Do you really want me having access to him for another whole year?” She gave the words a menacing air she didn’t quite feel, but she was gratified to see Suzanne’s eyes widened slightly.

  Suzanne quickly recovered. “If need be, I’ll get him fired. I don’t think you want that though, so I’m sure you’ll find a different school to repeat your senior year. Or…”

  Candace crossed her arms over her chest. “Or what?”

  “Or you can end things with Kip and urge him my direction, and I’ll make sure you pass your math class so you can get out of here without looking back.” She sneered at Candace. “It’s not like you need him when you have your stepbrother and Lex.”

  At the words about Dalton and Lex, it occurred to Candace that the only way Manion could’ve known about her and Dalton was if Malone had told him. But how had Suzanne found out about them? Was she just listening to rumors, or did she have something concrete?

  Candace wasn’t about to give her more ammunition. She kept her expression blank. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I can’t imagine the administration will take it well when I file a report against you for harassing me and deliberately failing me.”

  Suzanne grinned. “I happen to know the administration very well, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”

  Candace let her own smile show through, and she could see it unsettled Suzanne. “Yes, I guess you and the headmaster are pretty cozy. Well, I have things to do. Thank you for the retest, professor. This isn’t the end of it, of course.”

  Suzanne appeared to be regrouping, probably having convinced herself that Candace was just taking a guess at her relationship with Hastings. “It is the end of it unless you want to do the smart thing, little girl.”

  Candace didn’t bother to answer as she gathered her backpack and left Suzanne’s office. Once out of Suzanne’s sight, her confidence started to crumble, and she was afraid the other woman might’ve gotten the best of her. She couldn’t let Kip lose his job over her. She couldn’t imagine being without him, but if she didn’t break up with him, she was certain Suzanne would destroy her if she had a chance, and she’d take Kip down as collateral damage.

  When she reached the rec room, she tossed her pack on the floor and let out a frustrated grunt. A couple of younger kids were there, and they eyed her warily before moving farther away.

  Octavia and Isis sat on opposite couches, and Beth was seated by Octavia. There were a few other students in the room, but they weren’t close enough to really care about her drama. She dropped onto the seat by Isis.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Beth.

  Candace hesitated for a moment, and then she said, “Can you come with me to my room?”

  Beth nodded and stood up, as did Octavia. After a moment, Isis got up and followed as well, clearly curious.

  Once in the dorm room, she told them everything about her and Kip, since Beth and Isis didn’t know. She didn’t mention Dalton or Lex, but she could see the curiosity burning in their gazes. Clearly, they both realized she was also with Lex, so that probably lent credence to the rumor she was with Dalton as well. She was thankful neither one of them asked at the moment. “What am I going to do?”

  “Do you love him?” asked Isis.

  “I do. I love him enough to try to protect him, but I don’t know if I can give him up.”

  “You absolutely shouldn’t,” said Octavia briskly. “There has to be a way to beat Professor Barnes.”

  “A really big stick?” suggested Beth snarkily.

  Isis snorted. “You’d have to pry it out of her butt first.”

  Candace managed a weak smile at their jokes, but she wasn’t feeling amused. “I really don’t have anything to use against her, except…” She trailed off, looking uncertainly at Octavia. She didn’t want to hurt her friend.

  “What is it?” Octavia seemed confused by her sudden scrutiny.

  “I have a picture of her with someone in the administration, and it’s not exactly an innocent picture.”

  “Who is it?” asked Octavia as she straightened her shoulders, seeming to be preparing herself.

  “I’m not sure I should say.” She looked at Octavia once more before looking down. “I really wouldn’t want to use it if it’s going to hurt people.”

  “Who is it?” asked Octavia again in a resigned tone that suggested she already knew the answer.

  “Your uncle.” Candace shook her head. “You can see why I can’t use that. It would hurt your family.”

  Octavia sighed. “Aunt Bev would be distraught, but I think maybe just the mention of it would get the results you’re looking for. Let’s go talk to my uncle.”

  Candace shook her head. “Are you out of your mind? I can’t do that, especially with you along.”

  “Come on. Make a copy of it on one of those flash drives that you have, and we’ll see Uncle Philip. This is the best way, trust me.” Octavia seemed certain and serene.

  Candace slowly got to her feet and made a copy of the pictures and the video she’d downloaded from her phone via email, saving them to the flash drive that she passed Octavia at her friend’s insistence.

  She still felt like it was a bad idea the enti
re time she followed Octavia across the campus to the administration building. Fortunately, Hastings tended to keep long hours, and they found him still in his office. After what she’d seen with Suzanne, Candace was almost surprised to find him alone.

  At the sight of her, he scowled. “Which faculty member sent you here this time of night? What have you done, Munroe?”

  “She hasn’t done anything,” said Octavia in a sweet voice. “Someone’s doing stuff to her though, Uncle Philip.”

  If possible, Hastings looked like he might have swallowed an entire lemon and was currently choking on it when Octavia stepped in behind her. After clearing his throat and frowning severely, he said, “This isn’t your business, Octavia.”

  “Of course it is. Candace is my friend.”

  Hastings scowled. “You’re friends with her?”

  Candace glowered at him, not liking his tone or his words, but she didn’t have a chance to say anything.

  Octavia frowned. “Before she totally lost it, my mom encouraged me to see the best in people. Since she was your sister, I’m surprised you don’t feel the same way, Uncle Philip.”

  Philip sagged at the mention of Octavia’s mother. “What’s your problem, Munroe?”

  “Professor Barnes doesn’t like me,” said Candace in a low voice. Hastings twitched at the mention of Suzanne’s last name. “She deliberately failed me on a test and on the retest. She didn’t even bother to grade it. She just told me she was going to fail me and force me to repeat my senior year.”

  Hastings scowled. “That’s a serious accusation, and I don’t appreciate you trying to stir up trouble.

  “It’s not trouble if it’s true, Uncle Philip. Professor Barnes is really hard on Candace. You can ask anyone in the class. She goes out of her way to single out Candace and embarrass her.”