by Ruby Vincent
I had a sneaking suspicion that there wasn’t a single thing that Sofia didn’t look good in, but I focused on the courtyard we stepped into instead of arguing with her.
The trees were shedding their leaves in here as well and they crunched under my feet. It was a satisfying sound to go along with the birds hopping along the ground, chirping as they plucked goodies only they could see from the cobblestones.
Gray columns lined the open space, supporting the second, third, and fourth floors of the academy and I could see the heads of my new classmates through the spotless window panes. A smaller version of the fountain rested in the middle of the courtyard and clear, cool water shot from beneath the feet of a stone man in long robes.
“That’s the founder of the school, Francis Evergreen,” Sofia supplied when she caught me looking. “Come on, let’s sit.”
Sofia took off, pulling me along, and led me to the lip of the fountain. She sat down and patted the spot next to her.
“Is this the part where I pump you for info?” I asked. “Teachers to suck up to. The best spot in the library. How to sneak out after curfew without getting caught.”
Sofia bumped my shoulder. “No, this is the part where I pump you for info.”
I blinked. “Me?”
“That’s right.” Turning to face me, she pulled her legs up and folded them under her. There was an eager glint to her eyes that surprised me. “I’ll be honest, I was the first to volunteer to be your student guide and it wasn’t only to get out of classes. Everyone is dying to know what your deal is, so spill it.”
“My... deal?”
She bobbed her head. “Yes! You’re the first student in over fifty years to transfer in during the middle of the semester. Evergreen is known for the fact that, when they close admissions, it’s closed. They don’t let anyone else in until the start of the new term. They even turned away the son of a European duke and he offered to fund a new wing. We’ve all been taking bets about how special the new girl must be if she got administration to bend the rules.”
I gaped. “Bets? So people know about me already?”
She gave me a look. “Um, yeah. Did you think you were going to fly under the radar?”
“Well, no, but...”
Sofia grabbed my hands. “So, what is it? Child prodigy? Cured a disease? Performed with the philharmonic? Started a nonprofit that changed the lives of millions?”
I noted right away she didn’t ask if my family offered to fund any wings. No mystery why. Wheezing up in Mom’s ancient Chevy with the rusted doors and bumpers held to the car with straps and strings was a good indicator that we didn’t have money.
I shook my head. “Sorry to disappoint but I’m not special. I graduated Joe Young Middle School with a B average and the closest I’ve gotten to the philharmonic is the recorder I played in fourth grade. They took it away from me five minutes after I put it to my mouth and gave me a triangle instead.”
She leaned away, a faint hint of surprise in her face. “But then... what is it?”
“Nothing. I applied and they made an exception.”
“But they never make exceptions,” she protested. “There must be a reason. Do you not want to tell me?”
She sounded so hurt at the idea it pushed back my irritation at her not believing me. There was a reason I had gotten in and it wasn’t for the ones she was thinking of. It was also not something I would tell her.
“The only thing special about me is that I dance,” I offered to save our budding friendship. “I was the best in my school back home.”
“Ohh.” Sofia immediately brightened up. “That explains it. Evergreen is all about having the best, but you’ll find that out soon enough.”
“What does that—?”
“Come on.” She grabbed my arm and shot to her feet. “We’ve got to get this tour started.”
My shoulder is going to be real sore by the end of this.
We passed under the columns and walked up to another set of double doors. I gasped—yeah, gasped—when Sofia threw them open.
We set foot on polished marble gleaming in the light of the chandeliers. The outside of Evergreen Academy was old-world medieval charm, but the inside was what you’d expect of a high-priced prep school. Chaise lounges lined the walls, and above them were heavy drapes blocking the light from the morning sun and plunging the hallway in a darkness that only the chandeliers could pierce. I didn’t mind it. It gave the place kind of a romantic vibe.
My eyes drifted down and landed on a vending machine halfway down the hall. “Oh, sweet. I’m starving. I was too worked up to eat this morning.” I slipped out of Sofia’s grasp and moved over to the machine. It took me all of five seconds to see it wasn’t a vending machine. Actually, I had no clue what it was.
“Uh, Sofia...?”
“It’s a customize-your-soda machine,” she explained as she came to my side. “See.” She tapped the screen and it came to life at her touch. “You choose your soda and then you get crazy with the flavors. I suggest strawberry root beer. It shouldn’t work, but somehow it does.”
“Strawberry root beer?” I whispered. Of all the things I had already seen, this was blowing my mind biggest of all. “I can’t believe this is my life now.”
She giggled. “You can thank Milton Meadows. His mom owns Meadows Theaters and she donated these to the school. I think she was hoping it would get him good college references, but all it got him was laid. I don’t think he minded the trade-off.”
My eyes were glued to the screen as I flipped through the flavors. “He got laid for a soda machine?”
She gave me a wry look. “Like I said, the strawberry root beer is out of control. Plus, the arrival of these broke the no-soda ban. I almost jumped his bones too.”
“Soda used to be banned?”
She nodded. “Yep. Along with everything else that’s good and wonderful. Get ready, Valentina, because you’re about to eat healthier than you ever have in your life. They keep us on a strict diet here and this beautiful machine before you doles out our only treat. We’re allowed no more than two a week and I”—she slipped her hand into the hidden pocket of her dress and pulled out her id card—“am giving my last one of the week to you.”
Something stirred inside me as she swiped her card where a coin slot should have been and the machine hummed to life. When it was done, I took out my cup of strawberry root beer, sipped it, and let loose an embarrassing moan. “That. Is. Delicious.”
“Right!”
“Where’s the Milton guy? I’m about to jump his bones too.”
We burst into giggles, huddled against the weird little machine, and in that moment, I knew for sure, Sofia and I were going to be tight.
This time, I threaded my hand through hers before handing over my drink. “Alright, student guide, what else do I need to know?”
She took a sip before answering. “First off, this is where you live.” Her free hand swept out to encompass the hall. “Freshmen are on the first floor. Sophomores on the second. Juniors on the third. You get the idea. All of our classes are down here so you shouldn’t get lost, but I’ll show you around just in case.”
I bobbed my head. Seemed pretty simple so far.
“The freshman class is split in two. There’s the front class and the back class. You and I are in the back class. We don’t share any lessons with the front, which sucks because half of my junior prep friends are in the front class. We still get to have lunch together though. Also...”
I tried to soak up every word that fell from Sofia’s lips as she led me through the school. I was only a month behind the other freshmen, coming in during October while everyone else had been here since September first, but already I felt way behind. Sofia seemed to know everyone and everything. She showed me the broom closet where people sneaked cigarettes. She told me the best way to make nice with all the teachers, and she taught me the dos and don’ts that never made the handbook.
“What’s this room?”
I pulled up in front of a solid oak door with no sign. It was the only one in the eerily quiet hallway we had stepped into.
“Oh, that. It’s nothing.” Sofia glanced at the door, then back toward the direction we had been heading in. “We can’t go in there.”
“Why not? What’s in there?”
“Nothing. It’s just a club room.” I got a familiar tug on my arm. “This way, I want to show you the auditorium.”
I stepped away and we continued away from the door. Sofia kept up a steady stream of rules and information as we went.
“Don’t go up to the other floors unless invited. Everyone stays where they’re put.”
“Wear the uniform dress, not the skirt and blazer. All the girls are wearing the dress.”
“Don’t sit up front in Professor Rossman’s class. The man’s a genius but gets so deep in his equations that he forgets to shower. You don’t want to inhale that stink.”
I wrinkled my nose at that. “Good tip.”
“But never sit in the back in Professor Markham’s class. She loves calling on people in the back.”
“Right. Got it.”
She kept up a steady stream of advice as she took me out the back door of the school. I whistled, cutting her off midstream.
Sofia released me and walked out ahead. She swept out her hands. “So, this is the rest of Evergreen Academy. What do you think?”
I would have said it was magnificent if my tongue would have come unglued. Instead, all I managed was “Whoa.”
There were more buildings back here. Four looked like miniatures of the main building, one was clearly a greenhouse, and another I guessed was the sports complex from the sign above the door with a racket and hockey stick logo. Taking up the expansive acres were the tennis courts, basketball courts, soccer field, football fields, and all the other things Sofia promised.
One look also told me there wasn’t a single soul out here either. Everyone was still in class.
I glanced over at Sofia while we tromped across the lawn. “Thanks for missing class to show me around.”
“Of course. I told you I volunteered. I wanted to snatch you up first before the other freshies got their claws in you.”
I chuckled. “So what about you? What makes you special?”
She heaved a sigh. “Nothing sadly. I graduated with a 4.0 and won the science fair all three years of junior prep school, but inventing a new shampoo formula that makes it easier to penetrate the hair shaft was only enough to get me an interview. It was the Richards’ bank account that got me the rest of the way.”
I goggled at her. “You invented a new shampoo?”
“Yep.” Her tone was totally casual as we crushed green blades of grass beneath our school-issued leather shoes. We closed the distance to the building Sofia pointed out as the freshman dorm. “The Honeysuckle Dream shampoo line was my creation, but that was back when I was trying to earn Mom’s approval.”
I picked up on the note of bitterness lacing her words, but I didn’t comment on it. “I think that makes you plenty special.”
Sofia stopped in front of the door and looked at me over her shoulder. “Thanks, you’re sweet. You’ve already complimented my smarts and my hair. Keep ’em coming.”
We laughed and stepped inside. Once again, I was struck by the ancient charm outside coupled with the modern feel on the inside. In here was the appearance of a hotel lobby with the warm beige décor and before us was the sleek silver doors of the elevator.
“Sorry about this, Val.” Sofia slipped into my nickname without me having to tell her. “But because you’re a transfer you ended up with the short stick. Your dorm is on the sixth floor.”
“What’s wrong with that?” I asked as she pressed the button for the elevator.
She jerked her head at it. “This piece of crap is always breaking down. You’d think the richest school in the country would be on top of something like that, but no, they’re cool with us hoofing it down the stairs. But no one wants to take those.”
“Why not?”
She gave me a look I couldn’t read. “You’ll see.”
Goodness, will I ever learn the ropes of this place?
Of course you will, another voice countered. You’ll figure it all out and everything will be just as you imagined. This is going to be your fresh start.
I repeated that to myself as the elevator climbed floors, taking me to the place I would be claiming for the next year.
Everything is going to change. It will all be okay now. Everything is going to—
“This is you.” Sofia broke through my mantra as the elevator came to a stop. “One good thing about being up here is that you’re by yourself.”
“I am?” I stepped out of the elevator and looked up and down the hall. It was true. There wasn’t a single sign or decoration on the plain brown doors—a lack of personality to go with the pressing silence. My face fell. “Why is that a good thing? I don’t want to be away from everyone.”
She threw her arm around my shoulder. “It’s a good thing because you don’t have to listen to the asshole above you tap dancing until three a.m. or listen to your neighbor practice the same concerto for the fiftieth time. And you won’t be away from everyone, you’ll meet my friends tomorrow and the four of us will hang out all the time.”
She sounded so sure, my apprehension fled.
Friends. Study sessions. Gossiping over lunch. A normal life.
Memory of the info in my welcome pack led me down the hall to room 605. It was a door like any other door, except for the electronic keypad waiting to do my bidding.
“They should have sent you the code.” I looked over at Sofia. “If you don’t remember, we’ll have to go to the office and get it from Mrs. Bruner.”
“I remember it. It came with a bunch of warnings not to share it with anyone else and never forget it. The letter even said if I put the wrong number in more than three times, it will trigger a deadbolt and set off an alarm. Why so intense about it?”
Her eyes left my face and drifted over my shoulder. “For the same reason there are cameras on both ends of the hall recording twenty-four seven and monitored by Gus and the rest of his security team.” Sofia suddenly met my eyes. “They want to prevent another murder.”
I stumbled back, goose bumps erupting on my skin as the breath left my body. “What did you just say?” I gasped.
As quick as flipping a switch, the smile returned to Sofia’s lips. “Don’t let me freak you out. It’s not a big deal. I mean, murder is a big deal, but it was thirty-five years ago. A kid was found dead in his dorm room. They never found out who did it, but since then they beefed up security and keep beefing it up so that it never happens again. Parents don’t shell out fifty grand a semester to a place that can’t protect their kids.”
“How—” I swallowed thickly, trying to find my voice. “How did I not hear about this?”
“They pay lawyers good money to make sure no one hears about it.” She leaned in. “And you’re better off never talking about it to anyone outside of these walls... or even the people in them.”
I nodded. Here I was thinking it would take me a long time to learn the ropes, but I had already learned my first lesson.
Lesson Number One: Evergreen values its reputation above all.
I turned away from Sofia and tapped my code into the keypad. A soft chime signaled the door was unlocked and I pushed through into my new room.
I might have said “Whoa” again, but it was too small a word to encompass what my eyes were seeing.
Sofia walked in and spun on me, grinning away. “Like it?”
“Do I like it?” My head whipped this way and that trying to see it all at once.
A huge queen-sized tapestry bed took up the middle of the room. Next to my bed was a vanity on one side and a large oak desk on the other. The dark-stained wood matched the bookshelves perfectly as it did the leather armchair sitting in the corner on top of a plush carpet.
I s
hot away and burst through the door to my right. A bathroom—my own bathroom—was a porcelain paradise. The only splash of color was the pink wash basin and the gold knobs in the shower/tub combo. We didn’t have a tub in my apartment back home, and I had a feeling I would be thoroughly abusing my new ability to take bubble baths.
“Do I like it?” I cried. “I love it!”
“Awesome.” I rushed back out to find Sofia reaching for something on my desk. “Here. This is your class schedule, map, etc.” She beamed at me as she handed it over. “Now with that, the school tour is officially over, and you and I are off the hook for the rest of the day.” She rubbed her hands together like we were going to get up to some shit. “I’ve got birthday cake Oreos that I smuggled in after my last trip home. Wanna binge while I tell you all the juicy stuff?”
“Birthday cake Oreos? Girl, what you still doing here? Get them and let’s do this.”
I collapsed on my bed after Sofia took off, sinking into the downy arms of my cream comforter. I clutched the folder with my class schedule to my chest as if to keep in the bubbles of excitement that were rising and popping inside of me.
I pushed aside all thoughts of military-grade locks and unsolved murders. I didn’t need to worry about Evergreen’s past. It was the best school in the country and now I was one of its students, and after an incredible four years, I would change my family’s life for the better.
Everything I had gone through—the sacrifice, the sleepless nights... the pain... it won’t have been for nothing.
I tried another smile. Peeling my lips from my teeth and curling them up to my cheekbones. It felt strange, foreign... but it held.
Chapter Three
I pushed aside the skirt and plucked out another uniform dress. Sofia said all the girls were wearing the dress, and I wasn’t looking to fight the trend. I was already the new girl they were taking bets on. Back home, I stood out for all the wrong reasons.