Evergreen Academy - The Complete Series

by Ruby Vincent

  I got started without a word. For a while the only sound in the room was the faint scratching of pens and the occasional cough or sneeze. Roundtree went on with his work like I wasn’t there, but now and then, my eyes would drift to the left, openly studying him. After about twenty minutes, I couldn’t take it anymore.

  I threw down the pen. “Can I ask you something?”

  Roundtree replied without looking up from the worksheets. “No.”

  I scowled. “Well, I’m going to ask anyway.”

  To my surprise, he barked a laugh. “You just don’t learn, do you? I can see you’re a tough one.”

  “I am.” I twisted around in my seat until my knees pressed against his leg. “I’ve dealt with bullying, murder attempts, assault, and cruel rich kids. Another semester sitting in a room grading papers is nothing.”

  He raised a brow. “It seems I need to upgrade my punishments.”

  “Or you could just talk to me.”

  Sighing, Roundtree twisted around in his chair until our knees knocked together. He decided to forgo the gel that morning so his brown hair fell into his eyes and over thick brows that were drawn together in slight irritation. “Don’t let it be said I didn’t encourage a bright, inquisitive pupil. What do you want to know?”

  If he was willing to talk, I wasn’t going to beat around the bush. “You said you used to be a Knight. Did you ever deal with the Spades?”

  Roundtree scoffed. “Are you kidding? You can’t really believe I’ll have this discussion with you.”

  I folded my arms. “Of course you will. You’re all about encouraging bright minds, right?”

  He cracked a wry smile, but otherwise made no attempt to speak.

  “Come on,” I pressed when the silence got uncomfortable. “What could it hurt to tell me about your time at school.” I gave him a mirthless smile of my own. “Unless... you’re still afraid of them.”

  The corner of his eye twitched. “I wasn’t afraid of them in the first place—let alone now.”

  “So what went on when you were a Knight? Did you have to deal with them? Did Ace talk to you?”

  Roundtree studied me. Although his face gave nothing away, I could guess at what he was turning over in his mind. “The Spades were a creepy ghost story and Ace was nothing but a legend when I was a Knight,” he finally said. “They did not speak to me or the other three.”

  “So you didn’t believe they were around?”

  He shrugged. “I believe someone put a card in my locker and made me shave my head. Why?”

  I peered over my shoulder at the phone box. “Because Ace speaks to me—or at least they did. I pissed them off enough that they revealed themselves. Kind of like Walter McMillian forced them to act. But you know what I can’t believe? That in all these years since his death, no one has tried to figure out who the Spades are. Someone must have searched. They must have seen something, heard something, or been in the right place at the right time. Someone has to know something that can lead me to them.”

  Roundtree cocked his head. “Possibly, but if all that has been said about the Spades is true, that someone is better off keeping their mouth shut.”

  “Do you know anything?” I challenged.

  “Just told you I didn’t.”

  “Would you tell me if you did?”

  He laughed. “If there is some big conspiracy here, Moon, I can assure you I’m not a part of it. Nothing went down the four years I was a Knight. Everyone stayed in line, no one was marked, and the Spades had no reason to act.” He reached out and tapped my forehead. “Nothing to stir an investigative mind.”

  “The fact that they’re around at all should stir everyone’s mind. I’ve been learning about the history of Evergreen and it still amazes me that they were ever allowed to form. Why did the headmasters and headmistresses let the Spades exist under their noses? They already had the Knights to keep people in line.”

  Shaking his head, Roundtree clicked his tongue. For some reason, he was frowning at me. “Come on, Moon. To have made it this far, you’d have to be as smart as you are tough. Why do you think no one in charge has ever stopped the Spades?”

  “Because this school is full of crazy people.”

  I jumped when he suddenly leaned forward. My breath stuck in my throat when he leaned in close enough that his hair brushed against my forehead.

  “Think, Moon.” There was an intensity in his gaze that unsettled me. “What does this school value above all?”

  My brain was fritzing out having him so close to me. I fought past the fog and tried to think of an answer. What does this school value? What does it—?

  You know this, Moon, a voice spoke up. What’s rule number one?

  “Evergreen values its reputation more than anything,” I whispered.

  The smile returned. “That’s right. So how do the Spades help Evergreen keep its shining reputation?”

  “I don’t know.” I shook my head. “I mean, Sofia said once that they removed kids that can’t be expelled, but still have to leave.”

  “Why can’t they be expelled?”

  “Because— I— They— I don’t know!” I burst out. “If you’re getting at something, just tell me.”

  His laugh ghosted over my face. I was locked on to his eyes so I jerked when he grabbed my hands. He pulled back as he held my hands out in front of us, palms up.

  He shook my right hand. “Knights.” Then he shook my left. “Spades. Since this school was founded, the Knights were formed to keep everyone in line, but they are only four people in one class. What problem do they face?”

  “I guess they... can’t be everywhere at once,” I said as I gazed down at our hands. “They can’t know everything that is going on in other grades and other classes. Not to mention people could clam up whenever they are around.” I shifted to my left hand. “But the Spades don’t have that problem. They can be everywhere and anyone. You could be spilling all of your secrets to a Spade and not know it.”

  Roundtree inclined his head, a smirk twisting his mouth. “She is smart. So tell me why that fixes the problem? Why do they use marks?”

  I sat up straighter as it clicked into place. “Okay, so— So if some kid brags about buying a term paper or sneaking coke in the broom closet and a Spade overhears, there is no big fuss. No one gets hauled into administration. The press doesn’t get wind of cheating or drugs at Evergreen. Our reputation isn’t put at risk. They wake up one day and find a card in their locker and the problem takes care of themselves because... they would never admit what they did wrong nor would they stick around and be everyone’s punching bag. They just go and Evergreen remains the school of perfection.”

  He nodded without breaking eye contact.

  My hands felt slick in his palms. My unease was ratcheting up to a thousand but I didn’t pull away. “That means that the Spades are,” I whispered, “a bunch of snitches.”

  A laugh tore from Roundtree’s throat. It seemed to surprise him as much as it did me. “If you boil it down, that is exactly what they are, but that’s how it works. That’s how it has always worked.”

  Roundtree held up the hand that represented the Knights. “The enforcers.” Then he lifted my other hand. “And the informants.” He pressed my palms together. “A society can’t be kept in line without both. The Spades exist because they serve a function and they do it better than clueless professors and out-of-the-loop headmasters. No one stops them or questions a mark because they figure they must know something we don’t want to know.”

  He gave my hands a little shake. “Knights and Spades are two sides of the same coin. Working together.” He peered at me over the tips of my fingers. “Working as one.”

  A shiver went up my spine. He spoke like this was a friendly chat about the weather, but this was far from a joke. “But that backfired with me,” I protested. “I didn’t do anything wrong and this time a pedophile used their position as a Spade to handpick Knights that would stay as far away from her as possible
and use a mark to silence me when I found out her secret.” I pierced him with a look. “Or do you think I’m lying too?”

  He didn’t flinch. “It doesn’t matter if I do. I’m either sitting on my ass or out in the hall, remember? I’m not the one you need to convince.”

  “You mean Ace,” I stated. “But the Ace of Spades has made it clear they don’t believe me. The only thing I can do now is find them and expose them for what they have done.” I leaned in until my lips hovered above our hands, inches from his.

  “I’m going to expose this entire rotten system for what it is. I don’t care why it started or what dumbass thought it was a good idea. There are more important things than this stupid school’s reputation and that is all the innocent kids that have been hurt. Me and the former Knights are just the ones we know about. There could be so much more because everyone was happy to stick their heads in the sand and convince themselves that the Spades knew best.” I glared into his eyes and hissed, “That ends now. The Spades will be through for good by the time I’m done.”

  The effect of Roundtree’s grin was twofold. It made goose bumps pop on my skin even while it made my stomach flutter. “I could almost believe that coming from you,” he said softly. “Almost. You’d have to find them first, Moon.”

  “I—”

  Bang!

  “Val, are you— What the fuck is this?!”

  I shot away from Roundtree like we were doing what it looked like we were doing. Ryder stood in the entrance, staring at us as Roundtree lazily reclined back in his chair.

  “It seems our time is up,” he said as my heart rocketed in my chest. “You can finish this tomorrow, Miss Moon.”

  I sprang up before he finished the sentence. Ryder’s eyes burned into me as I yanked open the phone box and reached in. I made to face him when the phone buzzed in my hand.

  I froze. My head was half in the box as I lifted my cell and pressed my thumb to the scanner. I don’t know why I wasn’t surprised when I saw Ace on the screen.

  Ace: I’m impressed that you got your little boyfriends to lie for you. I don’t know many guys who would announce to the world they have been molested just to please a girl. They must really love you.

  As I say, I am impressed, but it is still a lie. Scarlett LeBlanc was a lot of things, but she would never do that. I want to apologize to you, Val. I did not take you seriously before. I did not realize what a cold, ruthless bitch you are or how willing you are to do whatever it takes to get what you want.

  You are a true match for me. To show my respect, I will not underestimate you again. I am ready for your next move, Val. I hope you’re ready for mine.

  “Miss Moon?”

  Roundtree’s voice drew my attention in the middle of reading the text for the third time. I turned to face him and met that familiar grin, shining at me over the phone in his hand. “Goodbye.”

  “B-bye,” I rasped.

  I grabbed my backpack and raced out of the room. I made it three steps out of the door when Ryder grabbed my arm.

  “Val, what the hell was going on in there?”

  I didn’t get a word out before Ryder pressed me against the lockers and placed his hands on either side of my head. “Did he try to kiss you?”

  That snapped me out of my daze. “What? Are you insane? Of course he didn’t.”

  “Then what was that?” he growled. “Why were you all snuggled up behind his desk?”

  “No one was snuggled up.” I put my hands on his chest and pushed him back. “We were just talking. He... helped me realize something.”

  Ryder’s frown hadn’t gone anywhere. “He needed to be in your face to help you realize something?”

  I sighed. “Ryder, come on. Don’t be like this. I know he’s five-alarm hot—”

  “Who said that?!”

  “—but he can’t help it. Men like that ooze sex appeal like an open wound spurts blood.”

  Ryder goggled at me. “Val, what the hell are we talking about?”

  “I’m saying that people probably assume he’s flirting with them if he even breathes in their direction, but he didn’t say or do anything inappropriate with me. He was actually kind of an asshole.”

  He scoffed. “More reason for me to be suspicious. Everyone knows you love assholes.”

  I swatted his shoulder before he could duck me. “I’m about to shake one asshole loose if he doesn’t behave himself.”

  “I’ll tell Jaxson he needs to be worried then.”

  A giggle escaped me despite myself. I didn’t know what I was going to do with this guy. “Seriously, Ryder, our professor isn’t the problem, but he helped me understand what is.” My phone was still in my hand. I held it out to him. “There’s also this. Ace texted me.”

  In the next second, Ryder had my phone and was reading the message. His face twisted with every word he read.

  “Get ready for their next move,” he said. “Fucking hell. They’re planning something else? Why won’t they give it a rest? What more do they want?”

  “Me.” I raised my head and looked into his eyes. “This doesn’t end until they’ve gotten rid of me.”

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  “I know,” I replied, inclining my head. “Which means I’d better be ready for whatever is coming next.”

  “We had better be ready.”

  That reply brought my first smile of the day to my lips. “Speaking of my we, we need to get the other guys and talk. I told you Roundtree helped me figure something out. Text them and tell them to meet us by the fountain.”

  Ryder didn’t waste time asking for details. We sent out the alerts to the boys and twenty minutes later they were sitting on the rim of the fountain while I filled them in on what happened in Roundtree’s class.

  “Snitches?” Maverick repeated.

  “Yes.” I stood so the four of them could see me at once. “Don’t you see what this means?” I got four blank looks. Heaving a sigh, I explained. “Roundtree has pretty much confirmed that there are more Spades—probably a lot more. If the Spades are supposed to be snitches, then there can’t just be one. We know that Ace is close to us, but what about the other grades? Who is keeping watch to make sure they stay in line? Who is down there while the Knights are up here with us?”

  I could see instantly when it hit them over the head. “Shit, Val,” Jaxson cried. “You’re right. There has to be more. They’ll be all over the damn school.”

  I held up my hands. “Enforcers and informants—working as one to make sure there is never a blemish on the sparkling façade of Evergreen.” I gazed at one hand as an even harder truth washed over me. “And if the point of the Spades is to be informants, then we can be sure of one thing, they will be watching us. They are most likely—”

  “Among the people who have said they’re on our side,” Ezra finished. “They might even be tucked up in our new dorm.”

  I wanted to deny it, but that was the only thing that made sense. “Yes.”

  There was a lull as that sunk in. The fountain bubbled happily behind us as the enormity of what we were facing became real.

  “We can’t trust anyone,” I said. “Even those who cried and begged for forgiveness. Whatever our next move is, we don’t let anyone outside of the five of us know.”

  “What about Sofia, Zane, Kai, and Paisley?” Maverick asked.

  It hurt me to have to shake my head. “I trust Sofia absolutely and I know our South African transfers have nothing to do with the stuff that has been happening here, but I don’t want to put Sofia in a position of having to lie to Zane. I don’t want Zane to have to keep things from his brother, and I don’t want to tell Kai we don’t know if we can trust his girlfriend.”

  Ezra piped up. “Wait. Thomas is dating Paisley?”

  I nodded as I forced myself to say the rest. “Paisley and I have gotten close again and I don’t want to believe she could be a Spade, but after Scarlett, I know I can’t afford to take chances. It’s just us five. Okay?�
��

  Ryder stood and took my hand. “It’s always been just us five.”

  A smile found its way to my lips. “I’ve got the list. We should look at it again, go over what we know, and make a plan. Ace is going to hit hard. We need to hit back harder.”

  “That works for me.”

  Chapter Seven

  In the weeks that followed, Evergreen Academy became a different place. The boys revealing the truth had the effect I anticipated even though it disgusted me. People accused them of lying to cover for me and that caused the people on the side of the Spades to dig in even deeper. But on the other side, those who supported us backed us even harder. Where we didn’t have the numbers to fight back before, we did now—all the way down to the freshman class. We didn’t know who among them we could trust, but even if people were faking it, they were doing a good job.

  The new Knights kept up their campaign to keep us out of the lunchroom, library, clubs, and school events, but when we showed up en masse to the Halloween dance and a fight broke out, Evergreen stepped in and officially split the classes. We now had separate meal times, separate study periods, separate dorms, and separate homeroom teachers.

  “I can’t believe we have Markham again,” Jaxson complained. He set my breakfast tray down in front of me and kissed my forehead before taking his own seat. “We’ll never get free of that woman.”

  “I heard she asked to teach us after our English lit teacher quit,” Eric added. “Evergreen jumped on it since she’s had the most experience dealing with this class and our shit.”

  I snorted. “Tell me about it.”

  Maverick wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in closer. I was sitting in his lap while the rest of our group was spread out through the cafeteria. We were allowed back in by headmaster decree, but we had an early morning window of six a.m. to six thirty. We could take our breakfast back to the dorm but it wasn’t the peaceful haven it used to be now that there are eighteen students crammed in a building only meant to hold twelve. The last few weeks had been tough, but through it all, Ace had not sent me another text. That worried me as much as it should.