The blond-headed boy wedged his pencil behind his ear, closed the pad and set it down beside him.
“When I was a student here, a few years ago, I was a teacher’s aide in one of the lower grade English classes. They were doing some spelling practice exercises on the board. One of them was Hangman—you know, the game?”
Daphne nodded.
“So, my job was to write in the letters on the board if the students got them right, or to draw the hangman if they got it wrong. Well, as you can see,” he gestured at his sketchpad, “I don’t do stick figures. I drew a very realistic portrayal of a man. It took quite a few tries before the class finally got enough letters wrong to get the full hangman. By the time I got to the arm holding the cane, there was no mistaking who I’d drawn. If Trappe had been there he’d probably have expelled me. Instead, I got toilet duty for the week.”
“You drew Trappe as the hanging man?” Daphne laughed.
Hangman nodded.
“What about the other guys? How did they get their nicknames?”
“Trick was really into magic when he started school here as a kid.”
“Magic?” Daphne raised her brow in disbelief.
“The theatrical kind. His parents sent him a magician’s kit for his birthday when he was eight or nine. He actually got really good at it. His incredible slight of hand earned him his nickname. Toot’s name comes from an embarrassing night he’d rather forget. Lily gave us chili for dinner. I shouldn’t have to elaborate on that one.”
Though she covered her mouth and tried to keep it in, Daphne laughed so loud that the boys turned to see what the commotion was. Hangman waved them on and they returned to the movie. Shag hesitated before joining the others, watching Daphne and Hangman intently.
“Shag’s name is pretty obvious. In all the time I’ve known him, I’ve never seen his hair any shorter than that. To be honest I don’t think I’ve seen it any longer either. Either he cuts it in secret every other day, or he’s got some weird genetic condition. I don’t know.”
“What about Kevin? That doesn’t really sound like a cool nickname.”
“That’s because it’s not. He’s the only one of us who had the balls to stand up to Finn.”
“And Finn let him keep his name?”
“It was either that, or he’d leave. And Finn knew we needed his electrical genius down here.”
“Leave? As in just go home?”
“To be honest I don’t know. None of us really have homes to go to. That’s why we’re here.”
“What do you mean you don’t have homes to go to? Your parents wouldn’t just abandon you here, right?”
Hangman stared hard at Daphne. “Daffy, I’ve been living underground with Finn for the past three and a half years. Do you think your parents would go that long without coming to visit? Or at least calling?”
Daphne shook her head. Her parents probably wouldn’t go more than a week without checking in on her, making sure she stayed in line.
“My parents don’t even know I’m not in school anymore. None of ours do.” He gestured to the other boys. “They just keep paying our rent to keep us out of their lives.”
“I’m so sorry,” Daphne murmured.
“Don’t be. We like it here. I wouldn’t change it for the most doting family in the world. Those guys right there are my family now. And Finn—he’s like the head of household.”
Daphne was about to ask about Finn’s name when he strolled in and stood before her and Hangman with his fists planted on his hips. His hair was wet and messy.
“Feel better after that shower?”
“Yes,” Daphne replied. She felt so small under his shadow. He offered his hand to help her up.
“Come with me. I want to show you something.”
Finn led Daphne through another new route in the tunnels, one almost double the length to Lily’s house. This time, there was no ladder at the end of the tunnel. Instead, there was an old, rickety wooden door. One of the planks had been so rotted that it had broken in half. White light streamed in through the wide spaces in and around the plank door. Finn swung the door inward and they were greeted with daylight and a wall of weeds and tall grass, which hid the door well from the outside.
“Now where are we?” Daphne asked, as she puddled through the grass. Some of the weeds scratched her legs. She took each step mindfully, hoping that there weren’t any snakes nearby.
“Come here,” Finn said, ignoring her question. “I want to show you something.”
Daphne could see they’d left the tunnel in a small valley. Straight ahead of her was a lake, tainted rusty brown with Georgia clay, and glittering like a sea of citrine gemstones in the sunlight. She turned to find Finn, motioning her into a wooded area just left of the tunnel opening. She followed.
Daphne didn’t know why, but she felt much more comfortable walking through the woods this time. Maybe it was the broad daylight. Or perhaps she’d just adjusted to the danger factor since her nighttime escapade with Finn. Or it could have just been that her grumbling stomach had distracted her. She didn’t even realize she was hungry.
Daphne’s pace matched Finn’s and soon they arrived at a small clearing, surrounded by a low, rusty wrought iron picket fence. One side of it was leaning outward and a space laid empty where a gate had once been. Scattered over the ground were stone monuments, etched with the fading memories of lives long gone. Vegetation grew rampant here. It was obvious this cemetery was forgotten years, probably decades, ago.
“A graveyard?” Daphne sauntered between the stones, squinting to make out the worn letters and numbers. There were a few stones waist high where the text was still readable, and many smaller stones, slowing disappearing into the earth around them.
“This is the old Tanner cemetery. It hasn’t been used in almost a century.”
“Does the headmaster come here?”
“Does it look like it?”
“I guess not.” Daphne laughed. “So why did you bring me here?”
“I thought you might like to get out, see the sun, you know? It sucks being stuck underground all the time.”
“Yeah, it does. But, a cemetery? You have to admit, that’s kind of morbid. But I guess it’s cool.”
“This is where I like to hang out when I go outside. It’s far enough from the academy that we won’t get caught. And even if we do, we’ve got the hidden tunnel just down the hill.”
“What about the other outcasts? Do they come here too?”
“Nah, not really. They know this is my place. Anyway, they’d rather go swimming in the lake.”
“What’s up with that one over there,” Daphne pointed to a small gravestone in the corner that was obviously separate from the others. It reminded her of being the last kid picked for the basketball team in P.E.
“Remember how I said Trappe’s great grandfather was a sick and deranged man? He was rumored to ‘have relations’ with the help. I say it was rape. That, right there, is one of Lily’s ancestors.”
Daphne’s eyes widened. “You mean she and the headmaster are—”
“Yep. They’re related. But he’d deny it. Wouldn’t want to tarnish his perfect southern gentleman reputation.”
“Does she know?”
“She wished she didn’t.”
Daphne’s stomach growled again; this time the sound seemed to bounce off the trees around her. Finn laughed.
“Sounds like you’re ready for lunch,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. Let’s go.”
Finn led Daphne back to the lake where the tunnel entrance was. He pushed aside a small boulder and underneath was a narrow hole. Reaching in, Finn pulled out a white plastic garbage bag, untied it, and dumped its contents onto the ground. Individual-sized bags of chips fell out along with a tube of crackers, packets of Oreos, and several candy bars. “Help yourself,” he said.
Daphne picked up the crackers and a chocolate bar. Finn grabbed three bags of barbecue potato chips and the two sat, wa
tching the lake while eating their picnic lunch.
“So, what’s your story Finn?”
“My story?” Finn laughed.
“Yeah, your story. Hangman was telling me a little bit about the guys—how they got their nicknames and all that. How did you come to be here?”
“My parents sent me here when I was eight. They didn’t even come with me. Sent me off on a plane and that was it. They just wanted to get rid of me.”
“Oh, I’m sure that’s not true.”
“You didn’t know me when I was young. I was a rebel. A troublemaker.”
“Now I have a hard time believing that.” Daphne snorted. Finn playfully threw an empty potato chip bag at her.
“I can’t remember what I did exactly that made them send me away, but I remember my dad’s face used to turn a shade of red so dark it was almost purple.
“I wasn’t so obedient here either. But Neverland Academy has ways of getting kids like me in line. Ways that most parents, most of society, would no doubt disapprove of.”
“Like what?” Daphne asked. A nervous twitch stuck in her voice.
“They start with mild things, like making you do extra work, or the more undesirable work. That’s what most kids get. But the real hard-asses—the chronic troublemakers like me—they had to get their hands dirty. You know that sinister looking church?” Daphne nodded, unsure of where Finn was going with this. “That’s really just a cover up for what really goes on in there. I’m sure the priest is in on it too, but I haven’t actually witnessed him. Anyway, there’s this room on the lower level—double insulated and padded on the inside to make it soundproof. It’s pretty much a torture chamber. Less serious offenders might just get a few hours or a day in the room by themselves. The boredom of solitary confinement is bad enough for some to swear off bad behavior forever. But me? Nah. It’s nothing. I was a special circumstance. Trappe actually got physical with me. Used a cane—not the walking kind—to hit me. I fought him back, but at the time I was so much smaller. I didn’t stand a chance.”
Daphne imagined Finn a younger boy, scared and helpless against the headmaster. She imagined the same thing happening to Max. The thought made her cringe. “So, how did you get expelled?”
“I snuck into the admin offices while they were in a meeting and called the cops. I was going to rat him out and have him arrested for child abuse. Another kid I knew who was also struck by Trappe agreed to stand by me. But when the cops got there, he chickened out. I didn’t have any bruises at the time, and Trappe had told the cops that the torture room was a practice studio for music classes, so it was basically his word against mine. A respectable school headmaster against a kid who's infamous for causing trouble. Who do you think they believed?”
“So he kicked you out because you called the cops on him?”
“Pretty much. He knew I wasn’t going to let up. He knew I’d be his downfall. I’d made it my life’s mission to give him hell.”
“But you stayed anyway.”
“No, not exactly. I went home to Connecticut. But my parents wanted nothing to do with me after I was expelled. They kicked me out.”
“Your parents? How old were you?”
“I was thirteen. They didn’t care anymore. By then they’d had another kid to mold and shackle and raise to be the perfect rich kid they always wanted, rather than a freak with ADHD. So I came back to finish the mission. I won’t leave the academy until Trappe gets exactly what he deserves.”
“And what is that?”
Finn didn’t answer. He simply stared off into the water. Daphne wanted to know more about what was going on behind those raging green eyes, but didn’t want to pry. Instead, she’d change the subject.
“So, is Finn your real name?”
“It is now.”
“What was it before?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Oh, come on. Tell me.”
Finn looked at her pointedly. There was something behind those eyes, something he was guarding. For the first time since she met him, he really looked serious.
“Okay. Will you tell me why your name is Finn?”
Finn lay back against the grass and cushioned his hands under his head. Daphne copied him and watched the clouds stretch and change shape as he spoke. One, she noticed, looked like a pirate ship.
“I was in the library one day reading a book—this was after I was expelled. I spend a lot of my time there, especially in the winter months. Most kids bring their own laptops to school so it’s pretty empty most of the time—except for the week before finals, that is. Anyway, I’m leaning against the bookcase, reading, when Trappe snuck up on me. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t even hear him come in. Probably because I was getting over a cold and my ears were still clogged. Anyway I was cornered. There was literally no way for me to get away from him.”
Daphne snuck a glance at Finn. His eyes were alight with passion. The way he looked, the way he told his story, was like he was reliving it over again—the excitement, the thrill.
“So I hurled the book at his face. The corner landed perfectly in his eye socket and he roared in pain. The rolling ladder was just behind me so I climbed it and kicked the bookcase behind me as hard as I could to propel me forward. When I passed Trappe, I felt a thump and he screamed like a little girl. The ladder had rolled right over his right foot and crushed it. I got away that day, but that was the closest he ever got to catching me.”
“Wait, is that why he walks around with that cane?”
Finn nodded. “Tells everyone he’s got gout. Only he and I know the real truth. And the guys, of course.”
“I don’t get it,” Daphne said. She turned on her side to look at Finn. “What has that story got to do with your name?”
“The book I was reading—Huckleberry Finn.”
Daphne lay back and stared at the sky. She wondered what it must have felt like to be so young and be rejected by her parents. Finn must have lived a hard life.
“So what’s your story, Daffy?”
“I don’t have a story,” Daphne grunted.
“Everyone has a story.”
“Not me. Just one boring series of events after another. Hardly the stuff of epic adventure novels.”
“I don’t believe that.”
Daphne laughed. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
Finn turned to face Daphne. He was so close their bodies were almost touching. She could feel the heat building up in the sliver of empty space between them.
“I’m not disappointed. I just think you’re not giving yourself enough credit. You’re looking at life the wrong way.”
“And how exactly am I supposed to look at life?” Daphne turned also, so that she was only inches from Finn’s face. His breath danced against her lips. She wanted him to kiss her. And she hated herself for it.
“You can’t control everything that happens to you. But you can control your perception. My parents kicked me out. Most kids my age would have been heartbroken. Gone off to live on the streets or to crash at one friend’s house after another. Not me. I saw it as an opportunity, a chance to seek revenge on the man who caused physical and emotional pain to so many kids. I saw it as a gift. So tell me, what gift has brought you here?”
It took Daphne a minute to understand what Finn was saying and to look deep inside to find an answer.
“I was at a party, back in Atlanta—it was a week before we moved here—and the girls throwing it weren’t even my friends. Actually they were the girls my mom kept pushing me to hang around with. Snobby bitches with their heads stuck up each other’s asses. Kiera used to be my best friend when we were kids. But in middle school we grew apart. She found a whole new group of girls to hang out with. She tried to get me to join them, but I just didn’t fit in. I don’t know why, but they just didn’t like me. In high school I’d found a new group of friends, but my mom didn’t like them. She kept calling Kiera’s mom and trying to set up sleepovers and stuff. It didn’t work. But a week befo
re we moved, I got an invitation to Kiera’s birthday party, no doubt my mom’s doing. And she made me go.”
“Terrible parenting,” Finn mumbled. “Making you go to a party.”
Daphne rolled her eyes. “It was the last place I wanted to be. I had arranged for my boyfriend, Rocks, to pick me up and ditch it, but before he got there, Kiera started badmouthing me in front of her friends. I don’t know if she really meant it or if she was just showing off, but I had shut her up either way. Messed up her pretty little nose job. Unfortunately, her father and my father worked together. My dad was so ashamed of me we picked up a week later and moved to nowhereland.”
“Now that’s a story!” Finn said and chuckled. “Daffy’s got some spunk!”
“Only when you get on my bad side.” Daphne smiled.
“I’ll be sure to stay away. So I want to hear more about your boyfriend, Rocks. Don’t tell me that’s his real name!”
“Oh, he’s not my . . . we broke up. Actually it was the night you first came to my house. It doesn’t matter. He was no good for me anyway.” Daphne stared down at the grass where she combed her fingers through the blades.
“No, he’s not.”
Daphne saw a sparkle in Finn’s eyes and for a split second a shot of hope zipped through her. She swallowed it back. She didn’t need this right now. It was too soon to have her heart broken again. She steeled herself, pushed down those cravings to be touched and feel loved. She was stronger than that.
“Maybe we should get back?” she said, nodding her head toward the tunnel.
“Yeah, I think the guys want to plan some fun pranks—the harmless kind. You want in?”
“Sure,” Daphne said. She filled her hands with pieces of grass just before they entered the tunnel, cramming in as much as they could carry.
“What’s that for?” Finn drew his brows together as he looked down at her clawed hands spilling with green confetti.
“To find my way back,” Daphne said demurely. “The Hansel and Gretel method. I like it here.” Finn’s laughter bounced all the way down the tunnel and back.
“I’ll draw you a map, Daffy! You don’t need to bring in the lawn trimmings.”
Neverland Academy Page 10