As we waited, I took in the spacious room. Beside the expensive looking desk, several bookcases lined the left wall. Just behind Principal Sanders, a bank of windows brought in bright sunlight, showing the specks of dust floating in the air. A small sink with an under-counter refrigerator abutted the bookcases, with a loveseat against the right wall. No guest chairs. Normally, there would be two in front of the desk. How odd. The principal’s office at Crestview had chairs for guests. Even my dad’s office at Eko Records had chairs.
Standing next to Dad, I checked my phone for messages—I didn’t have any. I didn’t expect to, but I was nervous all of sudden and needed to do something. Dad stood with his hands crossed in front of him like he was a bouncer at his own nightclub.
Setting her pen down, Principal Sanders rose, smoothing her skirt. Her long black hair cascaded down around her shoulders, and her gray eyes had dots of blue in them, coordinating with her gray suit. I bet they looked different when she wore different colors. Brad’s greenish-blue eyes had seemed more blue when he wore a green shirt.
“I don’t believe in chairs for my guests. Please take no offense. When my guests are usually out-of-control kids, I don’t want them relaxing in chairs. However, since neither of you is here to get reprimanded, please have a seat on the sofa.” She revealed bright white teeth behind red lips, enhancing deep laugh lines.
Turning, I took a few steps and sat down. Dad did the same.
Ms. Sanders collected her chair, rolling it over to the sitting area.
The door creaked open, and a blond-haired lady carried in a straight-backed wooden chair.
“Thank you, Mrs. Flowers, for joining us.”
Did all staff members come with their own chairs? Then something tumbled through my brain. Had Kade been in trouble? He hadn’t walked out with a chair. But the first day of school hadn’t started yet, so how could he be in trouble? I quickly dismissed the thought. I was here for me and not to think about Kade.
After everyone was settled, we went through the introductions.
“Okay. We have about twenty minutes before the first bell.” Ms. Sanders crossed one leg over the other then flipped open a notepad.
“Very well, then.” Mrs. Flowers opened a file. “Lacey, I’ll be helping you throughout the school year to stay on track with your goals. Prior to this meeting, I was able to get all your former school records together.” Her short bob fell forward as she scanned a piece of paper in the file. “I will say I’m impressed with your grades until…anyway, you have a tough schedule this year.”
I guess she didn’t want to bring up the funeral or whatever it was that she was about to say.
“So if you’re set on trying out for the boys’ baseball team, then you’re going to have to put your nose in the books during your free time,” Ms. Sanders added. “We’re all about sports here at Kensington, but we’re strict when it comes to academics. We want our students to be well prepared for college. We have several competitive academic clubs that have won awards every year. I understand from Mrs. Flowers you’re extremely good in math. Maybe an academic team would suit you.” She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear.
An odd noise rumbled from Dad. I glanced at him to find he had a scowl on his face. “What is this, Ms. Sanders? Are you trying to steer my daughter away from something she’s dreamed about all her life?” Dad’s nostrils flared.
“Mr. Robinson, please. I didn’t mean anything other than to say that she has gotten excellent grades in the past. I was just suggesting another alternative,” Ms. Sanders responded.
“Lacey will not be competing on any academic teams. Baseball is it,” he said.
“What happens if she doesn’t make the team?” Mrs. Flowers asked.
I didn’t want to think about that. I wanted to stay optimistic. “Regardless of baseball, I’m still going to ASU,” I said. “So how can I test out of the math subjects?”
A pregnant pause filled the room. Ms. Sanders jotted something down on her notepad, and Mrs. Flowers sifted through my file. Dad and I exchanged a look. His stress level seemed to have evened out. I only knew that because the pained expression on his face had softened.
Was there something wrong? Why wasn’t the answer straightforward?
Thankfully, Dad spoke. “Is there a problem, ladies?”
Mrs. Flowers swallowed, a sound that grated on me in the quiet room. Ms. Sanders, on the other hand, stood, rolled her chair back behind her desk and dropped the pad on top. It made a snapping sound like someone had popped a balloon.
“Mr. Robinson, I’ll be honest with you.” She came around and leaned against the shiny piece of furniture, crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s going to be hard for Lacey to meet her goals this year.”
“What does that have to do with testing out of a few subjects?” I asked. Did she have other plans for me?
Dad pushed to his feet. I caught his wrist before he moved away. His grimace told me to back off, so I let go of him. I liked that he was taking control to support me rather than apologize to the principal for my bad behavior, which was what he’d done a few times at Crestview.
“Principal Sanders, I respect your position, and what you’re trying to do here. But my daughter has been to hell and back this past year. I don’t expect you to understand, and for certain, I don’t want your pity. You assured me on the phone more than once that you would work with us to ensure Lacey worked toward her goals. So aside from telling us that she can’t test out, I don’t want to hear that you’re not going to allow her to try out.”
“Mr. Robinson, the boys on the baseball team are tough. So much so that I had to reprimand them when the last girl that was on—”
“That’s not my concern,” Dad said. “You don’t know Lacey at all. If you did, you would know that she doesn’t put up with anything, especially bullies. My daughter is probably tougher than most boys in this school. Regardless, she always sticks to her goals. If it weren’t for…anyway, she can handle herself.”
Way to go, Dad!
Mrs. Flowers’s mouth was agape and her eyes were wide. Ms. Sanders had a completely blank expression on her face.
After several agonizing seconds, the principal broke the silence. “Please forgive me. You’re right, Mr. Robinson,” she said. “Mrs. Flowers, please set up a date and time for Lacey to take the tests.” She smoothed out her skirt. “Mr. Robinson, I appreciate your candor. My staff will help, but Lacey, it’s up to you to put in the work. I expect two things from you. One, you do not cause any trouble while a student here, and two, you maintain good grades while playing sports. Is that understood?”
I went to stand next to Dad. “Yes, ma’am. But…I’ll also protect myself.” Just like I had at my last school. I wanted her to know that regardless of tough boys or girls in this school, I wouldn’t let anyone bully me.
She eyed me up and down for a moment. “Very well then. This meeting is over.”
Mrs. Flowers didn’t move.
“Thanks for your time,” Dad said. We both headed for the door. I was out in the admin office when Ms. Sanders called to Dad.
He turned back toward her office and stabbed his thumb behind him at Barb’s desk. “Go. I’ll talk with the principal. I’ll see you later this afternoon.”
I shrugged then inclined my head. I had no idea what the principal was going to say to my father, and frankly, I didn’t want to know. Between the night before and that morning, my life seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. Was she really trying to steer me clear of the boys’ baseball team? If so, why? She said she had to reprimand the boys for the last girl on the team. Had the team had something to do with her death? I’d had a dose of naysayers at Crestview from a couple of boys on the team. They didn’t think a girl helped their chances of winning games—until they saw me pitch. So whatever the boys at Kensington ha
d to dish out, I would be ready.
The first bell rang just as I was weaving into a crowd of students in the hall. Anxiety pangs from being a new student ate at my stomach when I merged into traffic. I didn’t know where I was going. I had my schedule, I had my locker number, but I had no clue where anything was.
“Lacey,” a female voice called.
Scanning the hall, I saw Becca standing against a locker up ahead, waving at me.
I slipped out of the herd of students and stopped beside her.
“How did it go?” she asked.
“Fine.” I wasn’t about to tell her that my father almost took off Ms. Sanders’s head.
“Do you know where you’re going?” she asked.
“No. I have English first. Well, after homeroom. I need to find my locker, too.”
Her dark eyes sized me up.
I angled my head. “You have a problem?”
“Not me. But the girls in this school will. I hear that you’ve been hanging out with Tyler Langley.”
“Yeah, so?”
“I don’t know what your last high school was like, but this one, the claws come out for anyone who pisses on their parade, if you know what I mean.”
I wasn’t naïve about the cliques in high school or the groups of cheerleaders who ruled the schools. Not that I’d had any problems with them at my old school. In fact, as a sophomore, my sister had cheered for Crestview. “I couldn’t care less. I’m not into cliques or groups or girlie shit.”
She smiled wide. “That’s good. We’ll get along just fine then.” She pushed off the locker. “Why don’t we head to English? I have class with you.”
“What about homeroom?” I asked.
“Homeroom is usually in the same wing as your first period. That way students don’t have to walk too far between the two since they don’t give us much time.”
Students congregated at their lockers and near windowsills as we made our way over to the English wing. I learned from Becca along the way that the school was sectioned off by subject. We had just turned a corner when Tyler sauntered up to us, towering over the crowd.
“Here we go,” Becca muttered, scanning the hall.
“Hey, Lacey,” Tyler said. “Everything okay this morning?”
The conversations in the hall stopped. An eerie silence reigned around us. If I listened hard enough I could probably hear Becca’s heartbeat. Like the audience, Becca’s gaze fixed on Tyler. I hoped it wasn’t the fact that the good-looking football player was paying attention to the new girl.
“Yeah. Why?”
“You know, last night.” His eyes softened. It was one of his looks that made the girls who’d watched us at practice melt into liquid. For some reason, I wasn’t melting. Sure, he was handsome, strong, tall, and had a quiet personality. In a lot of ways, he reminded me of my brother, Rob. Maybe that was why he didn’t appeal to me as boyfriend material.
One girl gasped, latching onto her friend. Even though I hated drama, I also hated when others were nosy. I decided to have some fun instead of biting their heads off for ogling.
“Oh, Tyler. You really were great last night,” I crooned. It wasn’t a lie—he was amazing at helping me with practice.
His mouth curled into a wolfish grin. He stepped into my little taunt without any hesitation. Cool! “It was great, wasn’t it?” he said, slipping his arm around me, dragging me to his broad chest. His lips grazed my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.
A chorus of gasps resounded, mostly from the girls.
“You’re playing with fire, Lace.”
“Didn’t you know my middle name is fire?” I eased out of his embrace.
He chuckled.
Camera phones flashed. I’d bet the photos would be all over the Internet. I didn’t care. It wasn’t like I had a boyfriend. As for Tyler, he’d mentioned he dated, but no one steady at present.
Becca’s slightly open mouth closed. “How long have you two known each other?” she asked.
“Don’t worry. We’re not exclusive,” I said teasingly.
She leaned in to me. “Make sure you know what you’re doing, New Girl.” A streak of envy colored her tone.
“Thanks for the warning.” I knew how to handle myself.
“So what do you have for first period?” Tyler asked.
“English. And you?” The three of us had huddled near a locker, which to my surprise was actually mine. I grabbed the combination from my purse and punched in the code on the lock.
“English too,” Tyler replied. “So what about tonight? Do you want to do it again?”
Becca choked.
“Baseball,” he said, glaring at her. “Get your mind out of the gutter.” A hint of anger threaded through the last sentence.
“Chill, Tyler. It’s not like I’m still…whatever. Lacey, I’ll see you in English.” Then she stomped off to a classroom down the hall.
The crowd had dispersed with the exception of five girls. All of them were pretty, toned, with boobs that any guy would love, and every one of them was a brunette. What were the odds? Was that one of the prerequisites to be in that clique?
One glance their way and red sparks shot out of their eyes. Oh, yeah. They hate me.
“Ignore them,” Tyler whispered.
I hadn’t planned on giving them my undivided attention. “Who are they?”
“Cheerleaders. We call them Grace’s Posse.” Tyler relaxed against a locker next to mine.
“Which one is Grace?” I flicked my eyes toward them then back at Tyler.
“She’s not here.” He swept his blue gaze over me as he inched closer.
“What?” I stuck a couple of books that were in my backpack into my locker and shut it, the tinny sound of the metal door bouncing off the walls.
“Do you want to grab something to eat later? I still owe you a shake and fries.” His blue eyes darkened.
“As friends?” I needed to be clear on the subject.
“Isn’t that what we are?” He looked past me.
In my mind, yes. In his mind, I wasn’t so sure. We stood there in awkward silence. The cheerleaders had vanished. A girl and a boy sucked face at a locker farther down from mine.
Finally, I said, “Do you want to go to Roy’s? They have the best fries.”
“Six?” he asked as the bell rang.
I’d wanted to ask him more about what had happened between him and Becca. I filed it away for now. I could ask him tonight.
Slinking into homeroom, I shook my head. It seemed I was right back in a drama-driven high school. How I fit in was still to be determined. After all, I was the new girl who had made friends with one of the hottest guys in school.
Chapter 4
The rest of the week flew by. After the first tense day of school, I was able to get into a routine. I knew where my locker was. I knew where all my classes were, and my car even cooperated the entire week. Tyler and I had hung out a couple of nights. We talked mostly about baseball. I did have a chance to ask him about his relationship with Becca.
“She’s a good girl with a big heart. We dated a couple of years ago. When it started to get serious, I broke it off. I wasn’t ready to be exclusive with anyone,” he’d said.
I’d been on the lookout all week for Kade Maxwell. I hadn’t seen him after the day he walked out of the principal’s office. Tyler mentioned Kade had asked for a few days off. He wasn’t sure what it was about, but the rumor around school was that it had something to do with family.
Dad told me his private conversation with the principal had gotten tense, but ended on a good note. When I asked him to be more specific, he’d said it was just two adults disagreeing. While I was curious, I dropped the subject. I had a lot on my plate, and Dad didn’t seem concerned.
It was the end of the school week and Becca and I were sitting on the hood of my Mustang, chatting. We still had about thirty minutes to the first bell. I’d swung by the coffee shop in town and picked up a latte for me, and a hot chocolate for Becca. I sipped on my coffee, hoping the hot liquid would take away the chill that had settled in me.
“You know it’s going to get much colder than this,” Becca said, smiling.
“Yeah. And your point is?”
“You look like you’re about to freeze to death and it’s only forty-five degrees out.”
“So why don’t we go in and hang out before the bell?” I knew the answer, but I asked it anyway.
“The halls have ears,” she said, rolling her eyes. “When are you going to get your winter clothes, anyway?”
Great question. I had no clue. Dad had been busier than he had ever been with this new club, Rumors. He’d told me that with the college semester in session, his club was packed just about every night. It was good for him, but bad as well. We had little time to talk. I’d only seen him briefly after school. When I got up in the morning he was sound asleep. Since he was going to be home this evening, I made a mental note to ask him for some cash to go shopping. I’d offered to get a job when we moved here. He’d said to concentrate on school. With Dad’s businesses, lack of money wasn’t an issue. He’d given Rob, Julie, and me allowances as we were growing up, provided we did our chores around the house. I didn’t have any specific chores now. Dad and I had fallen into a routine of picking up after ourselves.
“Hey, maybe we could go to the mall this weekend,” Becca said. “That way I can get a new outfit for Saturday night.”
I’d forgotten all about Saturday night. Her dad owned a teen-only club in town. He opened it several years ago as a place where the high school crowd could go to eat, dance and sing karaoke. The only adults allowed were the ones who worked there.
Dare to Kiss (The Maxwell Series Book 1) Page 4