The Other Side of Envy: The Ghost Bird Series: #8 (The Academy)

by C. L. Stone

  I glanced back. Victor and North had already passed in their tests. I was the one who had taken longer. They were looking down, reading or looking at some other homework.

  When I got up to Mr. Morris’s desk, I contemplated what to do. I stood aside after I turned it in and leaned toward him a bit. “Mr. Morris?” I whispered.

  “Hm?” he said and lifted his head. “What?”

  I glanced at the other students, who seemed to have cleared for now. “How are you? I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

  “I never heard from you,” he said. “Weren’t you going to feed me information?”

  True. “I wasn’t sure how best to. May I text you later? Is it safe?”

  He nodded.

  I’d kept his phone number from before. It was in my phone, with Gabriel.

  I returned to my seat, my fingers at my chest, tracing the outline of the phone. I opened a textbook, but I didn’t really look at it.

  A strong hand landed on my back. North warmed my spine with his palm.

  I leaned into it, needing to feel that steadiness. He was probably tired of listening to me fidget.

  North knew about Lily.

  He talked with the other guys on the team.

  I needed to talk to him, too. Maybe...maybe if he knew what was going on, he could help me figure out how to handle Gabriel.

  Class ended. I collected my book bag in a hurry and was at the door well before North and Victor. I waited outside the trailer for them.

  “What are you in a hurry for?” Victor asked. “Are you hungry?” He looked at North. “I forgot to bring food today. I wasn’t at home this morning.”

  “Kota will have some,” North said. “Silas does, too.” He had his bag over his shoulder, and reached out to me, taking mine from my hands. “What’s up with you today? You took longer than even Victor to finish the test.”

  “Hey,” Victor said, grumbling. “I finished before most of the others did.”

  “You’re not stupid,” North said. “You just read thoroughly and second-guess yourself. I saw you erasing half your answers.” He turned to me. “You didn’t seem so confident. Didn’t you study?”

  “I didn’t have much time this weekend,” I said and sighed. I stuffed my hands inside Gabriel’s hoodie pockets. “My head’s a mess. Last night...”

  “I get it,” North said.

  “You need to eat,” Victor said. “Keep up your strength.” He nudged me and then walked beside me, close enough that his fingers brushed the back of my hand as we walked.

  North trailed behind us. I glanced back once at him. He had his head down, his eyes lowered, deep in thought.

  When we got to the courtyard, Gabriel wasn’t there.

  I sat, eagerly watching the doors, waiting for him. The others around me started opening food they brought, mostly Kota and Silas. Luke had bought a couple of potato chip bags from the vending machines between classes and shared those. He split a candy bar with Silas.

  Gabriel still didn’t show up. I nibbled on one of the sandwich halves Kota had passed along. Silas was talking with Luke about a cake for Gabriel’s birthday. North, who was eating carrot sticks and one of the sandwiches sat next to me.

  “Where’s Gabriel?” I asked him. “He’s not here yet.”

  His eyebrows lifted and then he glanced around. He then focused on Kota. “Where’s dum-dum number…four?”

  Kota automatically lifted his head, glanced around and then started counting off. First he touched himself, mouthed, “One”. He pointed at Nathan, mouthed, “Two.” He went down the line quickly, and I couldn’t really follow. “He’s actually number five. And he was told to wander around with Sang’s cell phone and keep it away from her. There’s been a few suspect teachers coming across him at odd intervals. McCoy got out of his car once, holding his cell phone, but then got back in his car again. He might be getting info from teachers, but we can’t be sure.”

  “So he’s walking around alone?” North asked. He snapped a finger at Luke and then jerked his thumb toward the door. “You. Go find him. Stay next to him.”

  “I get to skip class?” he asked, jumping up with a potato chip bag. “Awesome.”

  “He doesn’t need to...but I guess it doesn’t hurt.” Kota sighed, and reached in for a sandwich and passed it over to Luke. “Make sure he eats.”

  “Sure,” Luke said, and grabbed his book bag, walking to the door.

  “Why didn’t you do that sooner?” North asked.

  Kota shook his head. “I had Mr. Blackbourne keeping an eye on him wandering around. He’s got a visual. To give himself a break, Gabriel occasionally locks himself into their office.”

  “I don’t like it,” North said. “Not walking around for so long when we’re expecting someone to be following. Especially McCoy.”

  “He’s fine,” Kota said.

  “Sang’s worried about him,” North said.

  Kota looked at me, his eyebrows lifting in puzzlement.

  It made me feel better that Gabriel wasn’t going to be alone, but disappointed he wouldn’t be coming here. “It’s safer if Luke is nearby,” I said. Maybe that would be good. Maybe Luke could cheer him up. To change the subject though, I had a question. “So Gabriel is number five?”

  North spoke up, cutting off Kota. “We’ve all got numbers, according to him.”

  “It’s how I keep track of everyone,” Kota said. He took a bite of his sandwich, chewed and swallowed before he continued. “It just makes sense for me. I count off people.”

  “And you’re number one?” I asked.

  “I always account for myself first, to get it out of the way and I’m not off a number,” he said. He pointed to his head. “It’s complicated up here.”

  “What number am I?” I asked.

  “Ten,” he said.

  “I’m last?” I asked. There were ten of us in our group. I wasn’t sure if I should be disappointed or not. It wasn’t like it was a race and I was the last one. It wasn’t really a ranking, either.

  “You’re the newest, the most recent. You got the next number.”

  “So you call her ten?” Nathan asked. “Aw. Make her number one.”

  “It’s just...” Kota fumbled. He sighed, breathing in deeply and then touching the corner of his glasses. His cheeks tinted pink. “It’s how I think. It doesn’t mean anything. It helps keep things in order.”

  I felt bad now for asking. It was embarrassing Kota. “I don’t mind being ten,” I said.

  He smiled weakly. “It works for me.”

  The others started getting into discussions about school and other things. Kota talked with Victor about his cell phone system and how McCoy might invade it to track where we went.

  I pulled out Gabriel’s cell phone. First, I used it to contact Mr. Blackbourne about Mr. Morris. I wanted to talk to Mr. Morris, but I didn’t have his number with me now, and I thought Mr. Blackbourne would be of better use here.

  Sang: I spoke briefly with Mr. Morris in class. He wants me to feed him information via text message.

  Sang: I thought it might be useful to ask him about Mr. McCoy. His number is logged into my cell phone.

  Mr. Blackbourne: I’ll devise a set of false information for him to pursue, in exchange for information we might need. Thank you for letting me know.

  I appreciated the immediate answer. Sometimes I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing. I wanted to talk to Mr. Morris myself, but I had no clue what to offer. Plus, having Mr. Morris talking to us might help with getting rid of McCoy. Mr. Blackbourne would notify Gabriel what to say, or in some way do it himself, I was sure.

  I thought of what else I could say to Gabriel. It was difficult to measure if he was upset or simply busy. He’d said to call Lily. I thought maybe I’d call her and then I’d have a chance to relay to him what she said and see how he responded.

  But I couldn’t call her here. I wasn’t ready to talk to her yet. I wanted to talk to Gabriel.

  I glance
d at North, who seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. I stared at him a bit. His dark eyes drifted. I wasn’t sure if I should interrupt him. He hadn’t shaved that morning, and the coarse dark hairs on his chin made him appear older than sixteen. I admired his dark complexion and the deep brown, almost black hair. He was scary looking at times, especially when he was angry, but when he was calm, like now when he was thinking, he was darkly handsome.

  I needed to talk to him about Lily, though. He seemed okay with the idea. Maybe he could help me think of a way to convince Gabriel it would be okay. I was also curious what he thought of it all.

  I wasn’t sure how to draw his attention, so I reached gently for his arm.

  He pulled back instantly, sitting up sharply. His distant eyes focused and then looked down at me. I’d spooked him.

  “Sorry,” I said.

  He grunted. “It’s nothing,” he said. “What?”

  I glanced at the others and then at him. “I wanted to talk to you...” I grimaced. I wasn’t sure where to start. I implored him with my eyes. I wasn’t sure how to drag him off during lunch.

  He glanced at the others and then down at me. “You want to talk?” he asked. “Talk.”

  I pressed my lips together. I reached over to him and then whispered near his ear. “I’ve got a lot to tell you about. I wasn’t sure the others should hear.”

  He lifted his head, checked the others out and then nodded. “Do you want to leave early?” he asked.

  “Leave school early?” I asked.

  “You’ve got biology next, don’t you?” he asked. “And then Dr. Green and gym?”

  I nodded.

  “Do you have a test in biology? Do you have to be there?”

  I bit my lip. “She likes to give a quiz on Mondays.”

  “Then go to biology, and I’ll meet you outside of class after. Unless it can’t wait.”

  It could, I just didn’t want it to. The knot in my chest was tight. We were supposed to be inconspicuous and blend in, and Mr. Hendricks always knew when I was skipping classes. “I guess so.”

  “Then we can take off before school ends. That’ll be better anyway. McCoy will be waiting for you to leave after school. If we leave early, it’ll be easier to lose him. ... Maybe we can go check out that car Gabriel likes.”

  I still didn’t know what it was. I lifted my phone and then thought of Luke with Gabriel right now. “Luke could find out for us?”

  He nodded. “Try.”

  Would Gabriel even talk about it? “Could I borrow your cell phone? I don’t want Gabriel to get his phone back and find out too soon.”

  North nodded and passed his cell phone over to me, lit up to a message ready to send to Luke. Looked like he sent texts to Luke a lot, usually asking where he was.

  I used his phone to text Luke.

  North: Hey, this is Sang. Find out from Gabriel, subtly, what car he was looking to buy? I heard he wanted a specific one.

  Luke: Why?

  North : We might buy it for him until he can actually afford it. So it doesn’t get bought before he gets his hands on it.

  North: I was going to try to get North to buy it for his birthday, but he might not want us to buy it for him.

  Luke: You should get him an art kit.

  North: We’ll get him one of those, too. I don’t want his car to be sold before he gets to it. He seems to have one specific in mind. Please?

  Luke took a while to respond. I’d finished my food and shared a bottle of water with Silas before he responded.

  Luke: He wants some old car. Someone’s selling it in Hannahan.

  He gave us a street name. That was all he could get from him without Gabriel confronting him.

  Gabriel wasn’t mad enough at Luke to not talk to him. My heart iced along the edges. So was he only mad at me?

  I thanked him and showed North the messages.

  North sighed. “That kid. I’m telling you. It’s some clunker of a car.”

  “It’s what he wants,” I said.

  “You're right, though. We should buy it before anyone else does. Maybe we can talk to the owner and get him to keep it so Gabriel can feel like he bought it on his own later.”

  That solved one problem. “So then we get him an art kit for his birthday, and later he’ll be able to buy his car.”

  “Maybe I’ll get him seatbelts for his new clunker.”

  I smiled. “But how do we find it?”

  “We’ll go to that street,” he said. “More than likely, it’s sitting on a lawn somewhere with a for sale sign on it.”

  That sounded like a plan. It was also a random place to go after school, so we’d fulfill two jobs at once.

  “Then tonight we’ll go to a hotel?” I asked. “Can Gabriel go?”

  “I don’t know what will happen,” North said. “If McCoy follows Gabriel with the phone, then we know it’s your phone he’s following. I bet it is.”

  I didn’t like that thought, that he could follow my phone signal. I knew it was possible, but if Victor put in a preventative somehow to bounce the signals, then how was he able to bypass it?

  “I might have to go without a cell phone,” I said.

  “It might be the solution for all of us,” he said. “At least while we’re still working this case. All this tech is our weakness. Too vulnerable.”

  The bell rang. Silas picked up my book bag. I stood to follow him.

  North tugged at my elbow before I could continue. “Hey,” he said. “Really. If you need to leave now to talk to me, we can do that.”

  I thought about it and shook my head. “I can sit through one more class. There’s just a lot going on.” It was enough to know that soon I could talk to him. One more class wouldn’t hurt.

  He nodded. “I’ll clear it with Dr. Green about missing his class. For gym, Nathan can take an excuse in for you and say you’re sick. We’ll sort it out.”

  I was glad for that. I would be skipping school. I still wasn’t used to it, even when Mr. Blackbourne or Dr. Green gave me permission to do so. Maybe because they weren’t real teachers and we were all breaking the rules.

  WHAT THE TEAM WANTS

  Silas sat behind me when we got to class. My eyes stayed glued to the clock from the moment we settled in. Class was going to take forever.

  Silas nudged me. “I get to hang out in the hotel room tonight with you, right?” he asked.

  I smiled. “I guess,” I said. If I got a chance to talk with North prior to us going, I didn’t see it being a problem. I hoped a few of them might join us. It’d be safer if it were more than just two of us. I glanced around though, worried someone else would overhear hotel room and make assumptions. “Let’s not talk about it here.”

  He beamed. “You’re my girlfriend. I’m allowed.” But he winked at me and then whispered. “Sorry.”

  I smiled and then winked back. Girlfriend. I glanced at the other students, as if they could hear what I was thinking. I’d kissed Gabriel yesterday. And Victor. And this morning with Dr. Green…Sean…

  I turned my head to hide my anguish. I let things happen with them because I’d been told to just let it happen. Mr. Blackbourne had encouraged it. In some way, I assumed they all knew this and that they all knew what they wanted.

  I’d been so naïve. Maybe he already knew the path we were going on and was quietly urging me to just let it happen.

  Should that change now? Should I tell Silas?

  Joining their team depended on what Silas and the others wanted. I couldn’t control feelings, but I could get to know them more. Relationships started with becoming familiar with what people liked and disliked. You do nice things for the other person. If Mr. Blackbourne wanted me to work on my relationships with the boys, I’d have to be nice. To learn what they wanted. I’d have to become very aware of these things.

  Kind of like discovering what kind of car Gabriel liked. If Mr. Blackbourne had a job in the Academy, and Kota was in charge of the team, maybe I could make myself in charge
of figuring out what the team wanted, whether it was about me joining the Academy, or just in general.

  When the bell rang and class started, ideas flowed. Could this be my job for the team? It was like Gabriel’s car. He wanted it, even if there was a chance he couldn’t get it in a normal situation. If I stepped in, I’d work with North to make arrangements to make sure Gabriel would get it and in the way he wanted.

  I’d also make sure to know what they wanted from me, where they wanted me to be.

  It excited me to think of it this way. I might have a purpose among them after all. It seemed the right thing to do. Mr. Blackbourne and the others thought about what they needed. They all had a job of some sort, didn’t they?

  As I tried to work out the details, again I found it hard to concentrate on the quiz we were given and then the following lecture. This time for different reasons. I kept glancing at the clock. I wanted to get to North, to talk to Gabriel. Maybe Gabriel would cheer up after a good birthday. Maybe he’d get his car, we’d buy him an art set, and he’d be back to his regular self again.

  If it worked out, I could move on to the others. If I discovered what they wanted, they’d be on my side.

  I’d even ask Silas what he wanted. It seemed like a good place to test out what I was thinking.

  Luckily, the teacher had everyone partnering up for answering questions out of the textbook. The classroom became loud as people found partners and then moved chairs around to begin.

  I turned in my seat, sitting on my knees in the chair to face Silas.

  He had his book open and flipped it around to me. “Read them to me,” he said.

  I read the first question quickly. He wrote it down and then followed up with an answer. He didn’t need to look it up. He simply answered it. I watched him for two questions and read him a third before I started. “How come I’m the one reading them and you always write them?”

  “It’s just faster,” he said. “I can read fine, but not as fast in English. And I know the material. It’s better if you read, and I write it out. Might not be the best penmanship, but it’ll get done sooner.”