by Ruby Vincent
“—Mom, come on.”
The low whine caught my notice. I recognized that voice.
“Everyone is looking.”
I slipped through two suit-clad boys and found Adam standing near the drinks table in the clutches of a stunningly beautiful woman. Wavy, chestnut hair framed impossibly smooth skin and fell across Adam’s face as she attacked him with kisses.
“What?” she asked. “You don’t want your friends to know how much your momma loves you?”
Adam spotted me through the curtain of her hair and mouthed one word, “Help.”
I stifled a giggle as I strode up to the pair.
“Mom, this is my friend Zeke.”
His mother released him and turned to face me. My eyes flicked to her swelling abdomen. She was pregnant.
“Nice to meet you, Zeke. You can call me Miss Val. I’m the school therapist. Are you looking forward to the coming school year?”
I shook her outstretched hand. “Yes and no.”
“No?”
“I’m a little worried about the battles and stuff.”
“Oh, yes, of course. Most new students feel some anxiety about it but know that you can talk to me whenever you need. You don’t have to wait for our appointments.”
“Appointments.” I backed away slightly. “What appointments?”
Adam spoke up. “All students have to meet with Mom at least twice a semester.”
“We do?” I swung back to Miss Val. “Why?”
“Just to make sure you’re coping. The battle system adds more tests and training to an already heavy workload. It’s important to check in.”
I nodded. That made sense.
Val’s eyes drifted over my shoulder. “Sorry. Will you excuse me? One of my colleagues is calling me over.”
I waved goodbye as she strode away. “Wow. Your mom is so—”
“Young,” he finished.
“Pretty. I swear I was going to say pretty.” I glanced at her retreating back. “But yeah, she does look young. Do we really have to meet with her twice a semester? You too?”
“Not me. She’s my mom. Instead, they’re sending me to the therapist for the girls, and yes, it’s mandatory after— after what happened.”
Something in his voice made me look at him. “What? Tell me.”
He let out a breath. “You remember what Cameron said today about the girl who was targeted by the boys until they knocked her down to the D Class?”
“Yes. What about her?”
“Well, he left out part of the story. That girl... committed suicide.”
My plate almost slipped from my fingers. “She what?”
“It was too much. She worked so hard and they came after her relentlessly until they took it all away.” He sighed. “My mom has worked here for years. She does her best to make sure the students are okay, but this is a tough place. The competition is brutal and some people will do anything to get on top.”
My eyes drifted to the five boys in the corner sporting Es on their chest.
“It might get intense, but we’ll have each other’s backs.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “Right?”
“Yes, we will,” I said softly. “I can handle whatever Breakbattle throws at me. I have to.”
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Groaning, I cracked an eye open and glared at the offending thing. My hand shot out of the covers and whacked the snooze button.
“Don’t think about going back to sleep,” a voice said just as I closed my eyes. “We can’t miss our first trial.”
“Why do we have to go so early?” I heaved myself up, blinking blearily. “We can’t perform our best if we’re half—” Adam came into focus.
“Ahhhh!”
“Ah!” He leaped a foot in the air, whipping around. “What?! What is it?!”
“What is it?! Why are you naked?!”
Adam stood at the foot of his bed wearing nothing but tight, blue briefs and a look on his face like I was insane. “That’s why you yelled? You scared me half to death, dude.”
“I-I’m sorry. I just...” I sunk down, letting the covers ride up over my face. “I wasn’t expecting to see your milk-pale thighs first thing in the morning.”
He burst out laughing. “Shut up, Zeke.”
I hid until I heard the bathroom door close and the shower turn on. Adam was clearly comfortable with his new roommate and I wished I could feel the same. At home, I slept in loose cotton nighties, no bra, and fuzzy socks. That wasn’t an option last night. I didn’t take off my bindings for fear Adam would wake up in the middle of the night, stumble to the bathroom, and see more mounds under my blankets than there should be. If this week was a taste of what was to come, it would be a long four years.
Adam came out of the bathroom a little while later and then I got ready. In half an hour, we were out the door and headed to breakfast.
“I hope I didn’t freak you out last night,” Adam said as we tromped down the stairs. “Becca Taylor’s story is sad, but the school split the classes and hired people like my mom to make sure these things don’t happen again.”
“It is sad, and I can even understand why they chose to split the classes, but I wonder why they didn’t change the battle system instead. Or get rid of it entirely.”
“They’re not going to do that. They believe in it and they want to prove that it’s the best way to educate students. Mom has tried many times to get the principal and vice principal to make changes, but every student that graduates and becomes a big success just proves to them that Breakbattle is doing something right.”
I glanced at him in surprise. “Do you not like the system?”
“I’ve heard too much from my mom and dads to think it’s perfect, but all of my friends are here and— I’d just rather be here than a local high school.”
I caught that slipup, but I didn’t push it. We had only known each other for a day. I’d give it more time before I tried to pry secrets out of him, but I would pump him for something else.
“Since you’re my well of information,” I said as we walked into the cafeteria. “Tell me how I missed that this school is for rich kids. My jaw was on the floor yesterday when the other guys were introducing themselves and saying who their parents were.”
“It’s not, but—”
“Totally ridiculous.” A sharp voice floated over the noise and reached our ears.
There was one stark difference about the cafeteria since the day before, and they were wearing plaid skirts and filling the room with the heady scent of perfumes.
A group of girls were gathered by the trays. In the center was a girl with sandy hair and a blue top. “Mom and Dad don’t want to send me to a school out of state, but this place is crazy.”
I glanced up at Adam when he didn’t go on, but his eyes weren’t on me. “Hey, Melody.”
The girl stopped talking and turned at his voice. “Oh, hey.” She tilted her head, peering at him. “It’s Aaron, right?”
“Adam.”
She snapped her fingers. “That’s it.” She broke away from her group and sauntered up to my suddenly silent friend. I looked her up and down. It was no wonder he was struck dumb. She was the kind of beautiful that people wrote songs about. Her hips even swayed as she moved. “I forgot you were coming here.”
“Uh-huh.”
Melody placed her hand on his arm and Adam went visibly stiff. “Can you believe this place? Separating us because they think we can’t handle the boys. Not to mention making us participate in their stupid battle thing in the first place. I was just talking with my friends. I may have to go to school here, but I don’t have to put up with this shit. We’re going to do something about it.”
“Okay.”
A smile lit her face. “You’ll help us, won’t you?”
Adam didn’t try to speak this time. He just nodded so hard I thought his head would pop off.
“You’re sweet.” She turned and walked off, waving her fingers as she went. “Bye.”
I stared at Adam with huge eyes. I didn’t bother to leave the grin off my face and he winced when he finally looked at me. “Don’t say it.”
“Don’t say what?” I teased. “You were not saying plenty enough for the both of us.”
He groaned. “I know. I act like a total idiot around her.” Adam moved up to the line. “Let’s change the subject. What were we talking about before? Oh yeah. School for the rich.” He picked up two trays and handed one to me. “It’s not, but it seems that way since most of the kids from my town end up here.”
My brows crawled up my forehead. “Your town? Does that mean that you’re...?”
“Rich?” He grinned, recovering quick. “Me. No. But my dads. Filthy.”
I hummed. “You guys like big families. Do you have room for me?”
Adam guffawed. “You’re so weird, Zeke, but I don’t think I’d mind you as a brother.”
His laughter pulled a chuckle out of me. We might have known each other for only a day, but at that moment, I knew we were friends.
We went down the line and the lunch lady piled a breakfast burrito, dry cereal, an apple, and a carton of milk on to our plates. It was still pretty early, so we sat down to an empty table and dug in as the other students trickled in.
“So who do you know from your old school?” I asked. “Did you go to school with all the guys in our group?”
“Not all of them. Owen, Zachary, Justin, and”—he jerked his chin toward the door—“Landon Foster.”
I spun around before his last name was out of his mouth. Landon Foster was the pale-blue-eyed boy that asked me about my mother. My breath caught once more when I saw him.
He was wearing another show-stopping outfit. Ripped black jeans covered his legs up the thigh where it disappeared beneath a large, stringy sweater. That wasn’t as surprising as the oversized scarf that hung down so low it almost touched the floor.
“Does he always dress like that?” I asked, eyes glued on him.
“Yes. His dad is a fashion designer. You should have seen him in middle school. He came to school every day in outfits that cost enough to feed a family of five.”
As if he sensed us talking about him, his head shot up and he looked me right in the eye.
“Eep.” I made a choked noise and breathing only got harder when Landon took his tray and walked right up to us.
“Sup, Moon. You feeling generous?”
“It’s all yours.” Adam handed over his apple.
“Thanks. She wouldn’t give me more.”
I sat stiff as a board, my lips glued shut. What is wrong with me? Say something. Do something.
“Wrestling is the first trial,” Adam went on. “You ready?”
“Course I’m ready. I’m getting into the Elite Class or I’m dropping out, but it won’t come to that.” Landon clapped his hand on my shoulder and I jerked, almost toppling out of my seat. “Sorry about that thing with your dad yesterday. Didn’t know.”
“I-it’s okay,” I croaked.
His eyes flicked down to my plate. “Are you going to eat that?”
It took me a second to connect that he was talking about my apple. I was going to eat it, but inexplicably, my hand closed around it and offered it up.
“Thanks, man.” He backed away. “See you guys on the mat.”
I watched him until he found an empty table and plopped down, munching on my apple.
“He’s got a thing for apples,” Adam explained, “and I hate them so he’s been taking them off my hands since elementary school.”
“What were you guys talking about? Is he a wrestler?” I tried to keep the surprise out of my voice, but I didn’t do a great job. A model I would believe, but a wrestler?
“Oh yeah. He won the regional tournament last year, and like he said, he’s gunning for the Elite Class.” He shrugged. “He’ll probably get in too. Everyone underestimates him because of the clothes and colored contacts, but he’s a straight-A student and slippery on the mat. You think you’ve got him and the next thing you know, he’s on top of you and the ref is calling it.”
“Sounds like you speak from experience.”
Adam tore a bite out of his burrito before continuing. “I do. The guy beat me every time I went up against him in gym class, but wrestling is not my sport. I’m a swimmer.”
“Right.” I picked up my own food and peeled off the foil. “You’re so good, Owen says you’re destined for the top class.”
“Don’t know about that. It depends on how I do in the swimming trial against... him.”
Once again, I looked up... and the burrito slipped through my fingers as my eyes landed on the boys. The two of them strolled up to the lunch line. Their clothes might have been painfully plain in comparison to Landon, but their faces had obviously been sculpted by the same angelic hands.
“The shorter guy is Cole Reed.” Adam’s voice sounded far away. “Swimmer. Next to him is his friend Michael Young. Michael is a runner.”
That made perfect sense. Michael was as tall as he was lithe. His body was built for speed. Sharp cheekbones and an angular face drew my attention to those serious brown eyes. There was no denying he was handsome.
Then there was Adam’s competition. Cole was smoother while his friend was sharp. Soft-looking cheeks, clean-shaven, and his hair cut close to the scalp. He fastened himself to slide effortlessly through the water.
Adam was still speaking. “They’re both going after the Elite spots t—”
“Why is everyone at this school gorgeous?”
“What?”
I blinked. “What?”
Did I just say that out loud?
Adam squinted at me. “What did you say?”
“I-I didn’t say anything,” I cried. “What did you say?”
“I said they want to be Elite,” he repeated slowly. “Then you said something about everyone in the school is—”
“Talented!” I burst out. “You guys got skills. You’ll all be Elite! Ha. Haha!” I laughed wildly and a bit too loudly if the looks people were throwing me were anything to go by.
“But... only ten guys can be in the Elite Class. You know that.”
“That’s right.”
“Right.” Shaking his head, Adam picked up his burrito and kept eating. He didn’t have to say it. I could practically hear “you’re so weird,” go through his mind.
I glanced away, looking back toward Michael and Cole just as the cafeteria doors opened. A group entered the room—laughing and carrying on loud enough that every eye turned on them, but that wasn’t what held me fast.
There were half a dozen girls orbiting around him, moving in step with him as he crossed over to the food. My gaze was glued to him and the others faded in my vision. I started at the top of his spiky, brownish-blond hair and then moved down over his piercing eyes, his upturned nose, and full lips. The guys at this school were gorgeous, but this one was in a league of his own.
“That’s Derek Grayson,” Adam supplied. “Another guy from my town.”
“Derek Grayson.” My tongue cradled the letters as they strung together and fell from my lips.
“He’s right there with Landon. He’s told everyone that if he doesn’t get into the Elite Class, he is transferring to another school.”
I listened with half an ear. Derek was laughing about something one of the girls said. Not a soft, polite laugh, but one that wracked his body and transformed his face. He took his tray and weaved through the room for an empty table.
In the next breath, I was on my feet. Time slowed down as Derek pulled out a chair and plopped down. He reached for his apple first. Long, slender fingers wrapped around the red skin and brought it to his pale pink lips. He took a bite, tearing off a chunk with perfect teeth and beads of juice squirted onto his mouth and traveled down his chin.
I could see it all clearly because he was coming closer.
No, wait. It was me who was closing the distance between us. My feet had carried me over to Derek Gr
ayson and the sound of Adam calling me faded in the background.
He looked up at me when my hand closed over the seat. My heart rocketed in my chest as I lowered myself next to him. It pounded in my ears.
My jaw worked, opening and closing, as I tried to speak. A tiny wrinkle appeared between his brows as he watched me. “Hi, D-Derek,” I forced out. “I’m—”
“What the fuck are you doing?”
I froze. What did he just say?
“Who said you could sit here?”
“I was— I was just—”
“I don’t know you.”
“I just wanted to talk to you.”
“Why would I want to talk to you?”
“Uhh. Why not?”
“Excuse me? You all think you own me or something because you saw my face in a magazine.” Derek’s charming smile was gone. Irritation etched into the lines of his handsome face and I cringed before it. “I’m not signing your chest, fanboy.” His voice was rising and drawing the attention of the entire school and my cheeks flushed hot. “And you’re not getting a selfie! Move the hell on before you piss me off!”
I shot out of the chair so fast it toppled over. The sound of the crash was covered by uproarious laughter. People pointed and howled at me as I raced out of the room.
Tearing through the halls, the smiling faces of Breakbattle’s success stories blurred in the wake of my stinging tears. I burst out onto the lawn and ran with no thought to where I was going.
I LEANED AGAINST THE wall. The brick scraped against my back, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t as annoying as the boys posted up a few feet away, looking over at me every now and then to make sure I knew they were talking about me. We were minutes away from our very first trial, but my breakfast tear-down was more interesting.
“Yo, Zeke!” I tore my eyes away to see Adam jogging up to me. “There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I mumbled.
“Yes, I did. You—” Adam frowned. “Hey. Were you crying?”
I ducked my head as I roughly rubbed my eyes. “No. It’s just allergies.”
“Sure it is.” A hand grasped my shoulder. “Look, I’m sorry about breakfast. That wasn’t cool, but he’s Derek Grayson. His mother is that famous actress, Naomi Grayson, and he played in a few of her movies when he was little. He’s used to people following him around, sneaking shots, begging for autographs, and getting into his face all the time. The guy doesn’t trust anyone he doesn’t know, especially after...” Adam trailed off. “I’m just saying that it wasn’t about you. He would have blown up on anyone.”