by Rose, Ashley
All the boys laughed again as they stood up, and Chance conceded. "Ok, ok. I wasn't sure, so thanks for letting me know."
She grinned at him. She liked all of them. She had found some friends. But it was only her first day.
Chapter 2
Blaize remained steadfastly belligerent through dinner and later in their room, he nixed every attempt Jaide made to breach the gap between them. All the other boys were delightfully convivial but she noticed they seemed to avoid the obvious question: “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Was it a conspiracy, she wondered, something Tremaine had put them up to? She knew even the best of brothers had a little larceny in their souls, especially toward sisters.
All the rooms at Exeter had been designed with extraordinarily comfortable appointments to suit the lush pocketbooks of the parents. Jaide shared the adjoining bathroom with Blaize, outfitted with a marvelously private shower stall with glass doors. When she had finished toweling off, she returned through the bathroom door to find Blaize snoring away in their darkened room, on top of his Exeter bedspread. He was a large boy, sleeping face-up in his blue cotton soccer sweats, with his equally large earphones clamped to his head. A little red button light told her his music player was on but thankfully, he’d turned it low. She couldn’t hear a sound and crept into her own bed, pulled a sheet over her head, and fell immediately into the exhausted world of her neverending nightmares.
In her besieged mind, she ran the Exeter soccer field ahead of a pack of wild dogs driven by a large figure on horseback. The figure kept clutching at her hair with his outstretched arm. The horse closed to within inches and the figure, who wore a black hood, gripped her hair in long, yellowing fingers, and lifted her body off the ground. Her running feet churned the air helplessly. She screamed for help but the horse, with its pounding hooves, turned its slobbering head into her lower abdomen and bit her crotch. Huge wads of spittle dripped down her helpless legs. She felt her pajamas become soaked in heavy horse slobber. The dark figure’s other hand reached into her mouth, turning her face toward the rider’s grinning countenance. She knew who it was and screamed again and again, until another hand shook her shoulder. She awoke with a start.
Jaide sat bolt upright to find Blaize still gripping her shoulder. “Shit girl, I can’t sleep with you mumbling like that. Roll over and shut the fuck up.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, but he had already plopped on his bed and in the dim light, she saw a bulky apparition put on earphones. She wasn’t sure where the nightmare left off and Blaize began.
In the morning, Jaide woke early. It was the first day of classes. She was careful not to wake Blaize and hopped in the shower. She examined her privates for teeth marks, but there were no traces of horse bites. Her pajamas were dry. When she got out, she wrapped a towel around herself and stepped out of the bathroom. Blaize was up and in front of his dresser. When he saw her, he blushed and looked away.
"I left plenty of hot water."
He nodded and scooted past her into the bathroom. Jaide pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt. She was so glad this school didn't require uniforms. As Blaize came out, he was already dressed in dark blue jeans and a clean white t-shirt. He was clean-shaven.
They both busied themselves packing backpacks. She almost regretted the bright red backpack she had picked out. Blaize left for breakfast without a word and she followed soon after. Breakfast was your choice of cereal and fruit. She choose an apple and a banana for potassium. Her legs were stiff and sore from the day before. Only Chance, Matt and Alex were at the table. They all looked a little tired and stiff also.
She sat down beside Blaize, who had cereal.
"Mornin’," Chance mumbled through his toast.
"Hey, how are ya doing?"
"Very sore," Alex said.
Chance and Matt agreed. "For sure. Practice today is going to be a tough one," Matt groaned.
Jaide nodded. She wanted to go check if she made the team. "I got English first period. What about you guys?"
"Yeah, I do," Alex said
Alex nodded and stuffed half a banana in his mouth. "I wonder if Garret is even going to make it to his first class. He would not get up this morning."
Matt nodded. "I don't blame him. My muscles hate me right now."
"Same here," she said. She groaned for emphasis.
A voice came in her ear. "I could give you a leg massage ... you know, work out those kinks." A hand slipped around her waist.
She smiled and turned to Bhrade, removing his hand. "Thanks, but no thanks."
"Ahh, man." He plopped down beside her. "Only Blaize gets action then?"
"Yeah ... right," she said. “That’ll be the day!”
Chance stood. "Are you guys done? I want to go look at the list."
Everyone stood except for Blaize.
"Blaize, you coming?"
He shook his head.
Alex shrugged. "I'll tell you about it first period then. See ya."
Jaide followed, munching on her apple. The list was posted on the coach's office door. A few boys gathered around, a couple looking happy and a couple walking away dejectedly.
Jaide peeked around Alex. She looked down the list for her name. Nothing, but finally at the end of the list was her name. Yes! She made the team. She grinned and stepped back. She knew she was good enough to make the team by comparing herself to the other newcomers. She just hadn’t been sure if the coach was going to let her, seeing as how she was a girl.
"Congratulations." Chance patted her on the back. "I knew you were going to make it."
She smiled. "Thanks."
"It's weird, though. He doesn't have a position listed for you, Matt, Leith or any of the others going out for mid."
She frowned. "Wasn't Matt center mid last year?"
"Yeah, he was, and Alex was left. I figured he'd just put you at right but he doesn't have you guys listed."
She frowned. "I just figured Matt would get it. He’s good."
"Yeah. I dunno what coach is up to, but I guess we'll find out at practice." Chance smiled at her reassuringly and she nodded.
Alex tugged on her backpack. "Come on soccer girl, let's get to class."
She smiled and they took off to class. Blaize was already there, sitting in the back and looking dour, just like he had at breakfast. Alex sat down on one side of him and Jaide on the other.
"Hey man, guess what," said Alex.
Blaize mumbled, "Huh?"
"Jaide made the team."
Blaize shrugged. "Ok."
Alex pushed his shoulder. "Come on, man. That’s pretty cool, right?"
"Sure." He didn't look up, but then addressed her abruptly. "So you saw the list then?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Did I get center forward or right?"
"Center. Garret got right."
Blaize nodded.
English class was pretty boring. It was all about how they were going to have a positive year and learn a lot, all that good stuff. The next class she had was History. She knew that Blaize had all the same classes, so she followed him. She still didn't know her way around the school.
The class was a good five-minute walk. When they arrived, she spotted Garret and immediately went to sit by him, as did Blaize.
"Hey," Garret greeted her. "How you doing?"
He looked like he woke up 10 minutes ago. "I'm ok. You look a little tired."
"Yeah ... I'm not really a morning person."
She laughed and got acquainted with Garret during the next hour and half. The teacher didn't seem to notice that no one was paying attention to him. She felt a liking for this group of guys more and more. Garret was awesome. She now knew some basic information on all the guys.
She found it super easy to talk to Garret and she soon realized why.
"Oh, and I'm gay," he said.
Jaide paused for a moment, making sure that she heard right before making a fool of herself. "Cool! That's awesome! Does everyone know?"
He nodded. "Well, just the guys. The whole school doesn't need to know, if you see what I mean. It’s not a good thing to reveal in the middle of an all boys school."
She nodded. "For sure, but that's awesome!"
"Yeah, so tell me about yourself. What do you do for fun?"
"Well ... besides soccer, I, um, mm, I like to read, and go dancing."
"That's awesome." Garret nudged Blaize gently. "Jeez, Blaize, stop talking so much. You’re hogging the conversation."
Blaize rolled his eyes. He didn't find it amusing.
"What's your deal, man? You’re never talkative, but jeez."
"Shut up, no one asked you." Blaize went back to doodling on his notebook.
Jaide felt a little awkward during the rest of the class period. She was relieved when the bell rang to release them for their next class, one she was excited about. It was Computer Aided Design, which she found very interesting.
Bhrade was in the class also. She smiled when she saw him. They talked all period. The class flew by, along with Creative Writing, where both Bhrade and Blaize were with her. By the time lunch rolled around, she was starving and even more sore than she had been that morning. Bhrade, Blaize and Jaide met up with the other boys in the cafeteria. She realized this was her new crowd, and she would be hanging with them for the rest of the school year.
She liked that thought.
They all got in line. Lunch was sandwiches of all types, with fruits, vegetables, and other goodies. She picked a lunch that would be healthy but filling to give her energy for practice. She noticed the boys didn't care much, and just grabbed whatever looked good. They sat down at the normal table and dove in. Jaide thought the boys seemed to be acting a little weird, shooting each other purposeful glances and nudging each other, with the exception of Blaize, who seemed to be the only one not interacting. This went on for about ten minutes. It mostly seemed directed at Chance but every time she gave a questioning look, the boys looked away innocently.
"Ok guys, what's up?” asked Jaide. “You're all acting weird."
The boys all looked around at each other, and then to Chance.
Bhrade nudged him. "C'mon," he whispered under his breath.
"Why me?" Chance muttered quietly.
"Because …...” Bhrade hissed firmly.
"Ok, ok." Chance straightened in his seat, hesitated, then, "So ... Jaide ..."
"Yes?" she asked, trying not to laugh.
"How do you like the school so far?"
"It's good, I like it."
"Cool, cool ..."
Leith nudged him.
"How are your classes? Good?"
"Yeah, Computer Assisted Design is my favorite so far. I'm looking forward to Trig, too. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, you know, just curious."
"Oh, for Christ’s sake, Chance!” Bhrade blurted. “Get to the point."
"Ok, ok."
"What is it, Chance?"
"Umm well, the guys and I ...you see ... that is, I ... we were just wondering if you ... you know, if you have a boyfriend."
Jaide’s head shot up, her face puzzled. Then she smiled. "No guys, I do not have a boyfriend."
There was a collective sigh and a few smiles, and she couldn’t contain her laugh.
Chance recovered quickly. "Not that we care either way, of course. We were just curious."
"Right," she said, her laugh fading into a friendly smile.
A loud voice interrupted.
“What’s wrong with this picture?” bellowed Coach Robinson.
They all looked up to see the coach at the end of the table, shouldering a case of bottled water. "Umm ... "
He dropped the case hard on the table and grabbed Bhrade's soda, holding it aloft. "Pop? Before practice? And with your sore muscles?" He shook his head in disgust and tossed Bhrade’s soda into the trash behind him. He grabbed Alex's and Chance's juice and read the label. "High fructose corn syrup? Come on, now. Water, folks, water! You need to keep hydrated to keep your muscles strong and healthy." He tossed all the juices and any other drink on the table into the trash, and handed out a 2-liter bottle of water to each of them. "There you go. Congratulations on making the team, everyone. See you at practice."
He walked off to find more soccer players to harass. The boys looked dubiously at their giant waters.
"He's right, you know. It’s good for us."
The boys shrugged, but to Jaide they all seemed tense and apprehensive. She tried to lighten things up. "What's up with you guys now? You already asked me and I told you, I don't have a boyfriend."
Matt spoke up. "We just don't want you to think that we all want to get with you. It’s not like that. We were just curious."
"I know." She smiled. "I was kind of expecting it, eventually."
The boys relaxed. Alex spoke up. "But! We are all insanely jealous of Blaize because he has the best chance of seeing you naked."
The boys all looked up, afraid she was going to be mad or something.
"What?" Alex asked. "I was just speaking truth, a fact. Blaize, you seen any of the goods yet?"
Blaize turned red and glared at him. "No."
"Darn."
"This morning, he saw me in just a towel."
A couple of the boys whistled. Even Chance gave a little grin.
Bhrade was grinning ear to ear. "Damn, lucky bastard. Was it a short towel?"
"Moderately short," she said.
More whistles.
"Anyways!" Matt interrupted. "Anyone have Trig next, other than me and Blaize?"
Garret nodded. "Yeah."
"Me too," Jaide said.
"Sweet, you any good?"
"I took Trig last year. They just didn't accept the credit because it was technically Pre-Calc and it was an online class."
The bell rang to warn them to get to their next class. They all hurried upstairs to get their books and head to their classes.
Jaide noted the Trig teacher, Mr. West, was young and serious looking.
As soon as the bell rang again, he tapped a ruler on his desk sharply to quiet everyone, and then drove straight to the point. "On your way out of class today, you will pick up a syllabus. Read it and keep it. You will need to refer back to it. I am not going to read it to you. You are all adults and can read it yourselves. In case you are wondering, this will not be a slack day. It will not be free time. I do not tolerate tardiness or chatting. I do not accept late assignments. I will be issuing the equivalent to an Algebra 2 final today. If you do not pass, you do not belong in this class and will not be in this class. Clear your desk. I want to see only a sheet of paper, a pencil and a calculator."
Everyone blinked, absorbing the information. Jaide looked at Matt, who seemed to be holding back a smile. Mr. West passed out the tests. It was short, but covered a lot. It was all review for her, and she blew through it easily.
She turned it in first. Eventually everyone else turned theirs in, as Mr. West graded them. After grading them, he wrote their names on the board. She saw hers go up, and then Matt's, Garret’s and Blaize's until most of the names were written. There were about 20 names on the board in a class of 30 students.
"Alright, anyone whose name is not on the board, please stand up."
About 10 people stood up. “You all may leave, and go to the scheduling office. I will call to notify them of your situation."
The students, looking a little dejected, all left. Mr. West made a quick phone call from the phone on the wall. "Ok, I don't believe I introduced myself. My name is Mr. West. You can call me Mr. West. I'll be teaching this Trigonometry course." He paced back and forth across the room. "As you all have noticed, we have a lady in the room. While I was given strict orders not to give her any special treatment, she will be treated as a lady in this classroom. I will not have any sexist or lewd comments made in my class, nor in my presence. Seeing as how she aced that little test you just took, it might be wise for you to respect her, as she is probably the smartest person in the
class right now. I have listed the named up here in the order of how well you scored on the test." He gestured to the board. Jaide's name was on top, right above Matt's. "I want you to organize yourselves so that the highest scores are on the top level and the lowest scores are on the bottom level."
Jaide and Matt were already on the top level so they didn't have to move up. Garret had to move to the middle level, and Blaize to the bottom. He had scored the lowest on his test.
Mr. West announced, "I am going to hand out another placement quiz. It has more advanced problems that we will be reviewing. You may use your textbooks and consult your neighbors quietly. Finish it for homework."
He handed out the quiz and everyone opened his or her books. With about 10 minutes left of class, everyone got started. Quiet talk broke out and Mr. West returned to his desk and looked through the tests some more. Jaide knew she didn't need any help with the quiz but worked the problems slowly, being careful not to miss anything.
Mr. West came up their row to Matt's desk. He leaned down. "Come on, kid. You should have aced that test."
"I know, I know. I'm rusty. Give me a break." Matt smiled.
They seemed to know each other. "Do you know if Blaize's roommate is taking a Trig class from me this year?"
Matt nodded.
"Good, what's his name?" Mr. West pulled out a notepad.
"Her name is Jaide." He jerked a thumb at Jaide sitting beside him.
"Oh! Ok Jaide, could you give me a moment after class?"
"Yeah, sure, hey ... are you guys like brothers or something?"
They looked so alike now that she noticed. Matt chuckled and Mr. West returned to his desk with a smile. After class, Jaide gathered her stuff and went to Mr. West's desk. Blaize was one of the last leaving the classroom, and Mr. West called him back. "Blaize, give me a second, will ya?"
He shrugged and lumbered up the aisle. "Yeah, sure."
Mr. West leaned forward, his palms on his desk while giving Blaize a hard look. "You did not pass that test, Blaize."
"I know."
"I'm keeping you because I know you missed a bit of class last year. You’re a bright kid, and it would be stupid for me to put you back in Algebra 2. I know you can catch up if you work at it."