by C. L. Stone
“There’s the gym glass we have to do,” Nathan said. He got up, intentionally heading to Sang, reaching for the water she was holding. She offered, he drank a bit and handed it back.
They were already swapping drinks? Spend one day and they were already super friendly.
He wanted to be super friendly, too. When was his day with Sang swimming in the pool together?
Nathan continued, “Might as well take it now.”
“I think they separate the boys and girls for that,” Gabriel said.
“Yeah, into groups, but we’re all mixed together in that one gym at the same time. Like the boys get one half and the girls get the other.” Nathan took a bite of sandwich, speaking with his mouth full. “I mean, if any one of us has the same class, we’re across the room.”
He had a point.
“Do I need to be in everyone’s same class?” Sang asked.
Gabriel hadn’t thought this would be the case for sure, but they could pull it off, couldn’t they?
“There’s just a strong likelihood a lot of us will be paired up,” Kota said. “There’s a limited variety of classes, and we’re mostly all taking the same courses.”
Gabriel smirked to himself. Of course. Kota had already been thinking this. A day sitting around with her, and they were going to change their classes, the classes they took weeks double checking to see what the options were so they could try to pair up a bit. All except Kota, who wanted all the extra smart classes he could fit in.
Was he going to give up that physics class for her?
Sang didn’t really respond, but she was holding on to the sandwich, not eating it. Gabriel’s stomach did a slow growl, but he also had a strange desire to get her attention.
He reached for her wrist, gently bringing the sandwich close enough that he could bite one of the corners off.
She watched as he did it, appearing a little stunned but amused, too.
“Get your own sandwich,” Nathan said, tossing his finished paper towel at him.
Gabriel dodged the paper. “I just wanted a taste.” The chicken was rubbery, the sandwich a mix of warm and very hot on the edge. It wasn’t like it was the best thing ever. And there was more downstairs if she really wanted it.
She giggled though and that made him perk up a little. At least she thought he was funny.
Kota scribbled notes down, ignoring them. “That’s four classes,” Kota said, adjusting his glasses. “Two more.”
“Science,” Gabriel said. “Chemistry.”
“I haven’t taken biology yet,” she said. “Last year at my old school, the class was filled. I’d need the biology since it’s a prerequisite.”
“She can take the typing class,” Nathan said.
“You make it sound like she’s going to be a secretary,” Gabriel said, slightly offended for Sang for the suggestion. He wanted to grimace, embarrassed that Nathan would suggest such a thing. That class, he had a feeling, would be very boring to take all year when she could learn to type on the internet like he did. Took like thirty minutes to pick up. “Maybe she should take a class in shorthand, too.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Nathan said. “Don’t put words in my mouth. I was just saying it’s an easy class. Besides, there’s no homework and it’ll be an easy grade to boost her GPA early. Especially if you’re going to stick her into a couple of AP classes right off.”
“Three,” she said. “There’s an AP biology.”
Everyone looked at her. Three at once? Gabriel was nervous for her, thinking of all that homework and extra time she’d have to spend on classwork.
It was like an adorable Kota they were looking at, wanting as many smart classes as she could get.
She continued, “Science is science. It’s not like the frog’s gut chart changes depending on the class you take.”
Gabriel couldn’t hold back and started laughing. She’s funny! He loved it. The others laughed, too. Give the girl half a chance and she was not just sweet, but hilarious.
He’d met other girls before he’d wanted to date, more than a handful that he got to know, but none who were like her. He had this sensation of being comfortable in his own skin, and yet he wanted to pick apart everything and examine his own clothes and hair and dress better just to impress her. There was the way she looked at him, even with the others around, that made Gabriel feel special, like what he had to say mattered to her.
A car coming up the drive made them all stop.
“It must be Victor with the phone,” Kota said.
It only took a couple of minutes before Victor appeared at the top of the stairs, a phone store bag in his hands. There must have been one really close to have been so fast. Or he’d broken the speed limit to hurry along.
He landed on the floor next to Sang on the other side of her. “I didn’t see a pink one,” he said. “But there was a pink case. It’ll protect the phone.”
Gabriel almost wished he’d gone with him this time. He didn’t want to upstage Victor, but he felt like he was so late to this and hadn’t really contributed anything. At least he could have helped pick out the phone and maybe gotten her something special. Maybe a bag to hold the phone in? Something glittery. Did she like glitter?
She smiled a little and said thank you in a soft tone, a little hard to hear. She held the thing carefully in her hands, as if unsure what to do with it.
Victor took the bag and opened the box for her. An iPhone. One like the others carried. Gabriel could feel his in his pocket.
“I thought I said just simple calling and texting,” Kota said. “What happened to inconspicuous?”
“It does text,” Victor said, taking on that expression he always got when Kota second guessed his choices. “It also takes pictures and downloads apps. Sue me.” He handed the phone to Sang.
She admired it in her hands.
This had to be her first cell phone. Gabriel wondered how long it’d take for her to learn to use it. Should they show her a few things?
“I filled in a few essentials on there,” Victor said. “I also put in everyone’s phone number.”
She pushed a few buttons, trying to figure out how to find what she wanted. “Including North and Luke?”
“You would have gotten those eventually, anyway,” Kota said.
“Who’s Blackbourne?”
Victor’s eyes widened.
Uh oh. Yeah, Victor. Gabriel shook his head slightly, although no one was looking at him. Everyone was looking at Victor. Mr. Blackbourne was going to find out now anyway. Did they still think they could keep this from him?
“Oh, sorry,” Victor said. “Here, let me see that.” He took the phone from her, quickly deleting the contact. “Sorry. Just an old teacher. I don’t know how I transferred that one.”
Gabriel waited for the others to say something, but no one did. He was shocked at this, but when he looked at the others, there seemed to be a silent debate.
Tell him about her.
Don’t tell him yet.
And he was shocked to understand it was Kota saying not yet, not now.
Of all the people in the room, Kota Lee.
And no one seemed to be questioning this once he made it clear he didn’t want that to happen. Not one of them.
Had they all gone crazy? Kota most of all. What was wrong with him? The one who always followed protocol? How could he keep this from anyone?
Yet, he hadn’t told Gabriel until he showed up here. How long had he been working on this with Sang?
5
It wasn’t long before Sang had to get going back to her house.
“She’ll know if I’m gone too long, especially after Marie and what happened with Derrick.”
The others offered to walk with her home, but she insisted on going alone.
Sang pulled her hair back, combing it with her fingers and then giving it a quick couple of twists before clipping it back on her head. The ends of it trickled out of the top of the clip like a waterfall of crazy co
lors. Some locks fell loose, framing her face.
Gabriel pouted. “Aw,” he said. “After I did all that?”
“I have to,” Sang said. “I think she’d notice if it was down. I’m going for normal.”
Gabriel held his pout, wanting to suggest maybe her new normal should be her hair down, if she liked it like that. However, she seemed to know what she needed to do.
To go unnoticed...
The complete opposite to his style, usually. The others tended to want to blend in. He liked to stand out, be different. It was the only way someone else would bother to notice him. Without the bright colors and punk style, he was just another guy.
One of these days, he wanted Sang to know she didn’t have to hide. He liked her and she didn’t deserve to be suppressed because she was afraid of what would happen at home.
They were all at the window as she walked up the road, disappearing into her house.
The other guys waited around, Nathan and Kota at the window. Victor on the bed, looking at the floor.
Gabriel took out his phone, looking at the screen, as if she’d text or call at any minute. Kota had her text the others so they’d know who she was. Even Luke and North. He contemplated sending her a message, just to say hello.
But would she call him? Or text him? She seemed to know Kota and Nathan better. It was hard to figure out what he was supposed to do next.
Nathan breathed in a deep breath and then let it out through his mouth, his chest moving heavily as he did so. “What the hell are we doing?”
“I don’t want to call it a priority project because she’s not a project...not the right word for it,” Kota said. He touched the corner of his glasses as he considered things. “But this has to be the priority.”
“Shouldn’t we get the doc here?” Nathan asked. “Maybe to check out her throat?”
“I’m not sure what could be done,” Kota said.
“And he’s probably dead asleep by now,” Victor said. “He might just be off a 40-hour shift. I don’t know how he’s going to make it during the school year.”
“I’m pretty sure that was his last long shift like that,” Kota said. “At least while at the school job.”
Gabriel pulled the chair away from the computer and sat on it, leaning back, his hair draping over the back of the seat a little. He stretched his legs out. “Someone just catch me up and tell me what the plan is here? Are we helping her get out?”
“We need to watch,” Kota said. “I don’t know if it’s her dad, her mother...Marie might be in trouble, too.” He removed his glasses and pressed a palm to his eye to rub at it. “I don’t know yet, and I’m trying to involve as few people as possible.”
“Why?” Gabriel asked. “And why aren’t we telling Mr. Blackbourne?”
“He’ll want to follow protocol, to bring in a girl team,” Kota said. He put his glasses back on, a determined expression appearing on his face. “And if I say it can’t be anyone else, I promised her and she’s my friend, he’ll come help.”
Gabriel grunted. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“But he’s at the hospital, isn’t he? Helping out? And if he takes time away from that to help her, the Academy will know. And once they know, they might send a girl team anyway. We’re already short people. There’s no need to call anyone else in on this. We’re right here. I live right here. Nathan’s here, too. We can watch her and she trusts us. We know what to do. And we’re so short on girls...And what for? They’ll be camping out here to be able to go spend time with her and we’re already doing that. We don’t need to stretch anyone else so far.”
Gabriel wasn’t sure that was the real reason. Sure, Sang was nice, and Gabriel wanted to help, too. But the main point was there. The guys were right there. They had Kota’s and Nathan’s house to work with. There was nothing else to set up. No reason why anyone else needed to camp out on the block when they were busy doing other things.
They knew exactly what to do because they’d been through all this before.
The real reason, he felt—because Gabriel felt the same way—was that Sang seemed special and they wanted to be the ones to help her. Too many cooks sort of scenario. She already seemed to be okay with them, allowed a cell phone to be bought for her, etc. Any more people seemed to be a waste of resources. What did it matter if they were boys as long as she trusted them?
Victor climbed off the bed and patted at his jeans pockets. “Wait, I had those letters.”
Kota raised a brow. “I said to write back, let them know...”
“I know, but I think we shouldn’t,” Victor said. “I already talked to Mr. Blackbourne about it. He said we’ll need more people. And this is how we get more people so we should make time for it. And if we don’t, he’ll be wondering why.”
Kota frowned. “So we have to do both.”
“I don’t think we have to do much,” Victor said. “There’s a few of us now. Us four, Silas...”
“Luke and North will know eventually?” Gabriel asked.
“Probably,” Kota said.
“We can split up a little,” Victor said. “I think we’re just supposed to monitor these new recruits. So if we split up...”
Kota moved away from the window and paced, going from the window seat to the side window again. “I see what you mean. We can’t slack on a job, or the Academy will be wondering why.”
“There’s a chance the recruit isn’t even eligible,” Victor said. “I think that’s what we’re determining. Follow them, find out what they are up to.”
Kota nodded. “Maybe. Gather more information, I suppose. Write back that we’ve got the school job coming up so anything we do from this point onward needs to be scheduled carefully.”
It’s all they could do. They were going to be busier than they thought. Maybe Gabriel might have to give up the part-time work at the salon to make this happen.
Would be worth it, though. They’d become better friends with Sang, make sure she stayed safe. They’d find this new recruit, let the Academy know one way or another if they’re a good candidate. A yes or no.
Seemed simple enough, yeah?
♥♥♥
Later, Gabriel was buckled into the BMW with Victor once more, heading back into Charleston.
“Maybe we should be spending the night,” Gabriel said. “You know, at Nathan’s?”
“We’ll have to plan that part out,” Victor said. “And maybe. Right now, you and I have to figure out who they want us to look in on.”
Gabriel had his phone in his palms, wondering if he shouldn’t maybe text Sang, let her know she could message him. Now he wished he’d gotten a picture of her, especially with her hair down.
After a few minutes of staring down at his phone, he was elbowed by Victor. “You still thinking about what’s-her-name? Don’t let that get to you. You were going to be too busy, anyway.”
Wasn’t really thinking about her... “Do you think we’ll have time for Sang? Like you said, we are busy.”
“We’ll make time. She’s a special case. We have to get involved.”
Not what he really meant. Sang was back in Summerville. They had to cross miles to get to her. Maybe they shouldn’t be so far away all the time. Gabriel put his phone into his pocket and then crossed his arms over his stomach, slouching in the seat. “I don’t think I feel good hiding this from Mr. Blackbourne. Or the doc. I know they’re probably exhausted, but I really don’t think they’ll make us do all the things Kota’s worried about.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about it yet,” Victor said. “But we have time. Give it a couple of days. Let’s see what happens.”
“Does she have a few days?” Gabriel asked carefully. “Burning her throat...that’s fucked up.”
“We’d still have to do a family history, check who is actually doing the actions, who is innocent. You know how this goes.”
He did. He just wanted to hurry it along. The process could take months and the decision sometimes was b
etween getting her out of the house or getting the abusive parent out, like they’d done for Kota and Nathan. Even that process was delicate.
Victor was following the GPS to the return address on the envelope. There were two options to the location: It was who sent them on this job with some information, or it’d lead them to who they were supposed to be looking out for.
When the BMW ended up in a nearly empty parking lot across the street from a battered motel and a no longer operating fast food place, they exchanged worried glances.
Especially as the only other vehicle there was a familiar black Jeep.
They pulled up alongside it. North Taylor rolled down the window on the driver’s side, peering out with dark eyes at them. “What the hell are you two doing out here?”
Silas Korba, appearing tired, did a short wave to them from the Jeep’s passenger side.
“We don’t know,” Gabriel said. “We followed the address.”
“The letters?” Victor asked them. “You got one, too?”
“Silas did,” North said. “We’re just checking it out. We thought we’d find the recruiter to let them know we’re rejecting the job.” He motioned to Victor. “You should get out of here. We’re inconspicuous, but you’re suspicious as all hell in that car.”
“How’s Sang?” Silas asked.
“Yeah, what’s going on there?” North asked. He picked up his phone. “I get a message from this Sang person. Kota spent all of two seconds trying to tell me he’ll fill me in later, and Silas here isn’t any help. He doesn’t want to talk about it.”
“Are we allowed to message now?” Silas asked.
Victor and Gabriel looked at each other and shrugged. “You can try,” Victor said. “Just be care—”
Silas was out of the car, walking away with his cell phone, typing something into it, not even bothering to close the door.
North called after him for a minute but then waved him off. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him. First he’s rejecting jobs when we could really use the favors, and the recruit. Then this person getting him all distracted...”