“That kid she punched is going to the hospital. She’ll be lucky if his parents’ don’t press charges. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
My throat closed in, my fingers hovering over the base of my neck. Someone wrapped an arm around my shoulders, a chest against my back. I breathed in spice and relaxed back against Kota. Luke came up quietly next to me and took my other hand, squeezing it. If charges were pressed, there were plenty of witnesses to point out who did the damage. Would I be arrested?
“What you wanted,” Mr. Blackbourne continued, “was for Kota to break his head and then charge the group of students to get them arrested or expelled? You deliberately set up my students, knowing this tradition was going to happen and being fully aware he could have broken his neck or worse.”
“You agreed to this,” Mr. Hendricks shouted at him. He pointed a finger at Mr. Blackbourne’s nose. “I warned you this place was dangerous and not meant for prissy private school preps.”
Mr. Blackbourne squared his shoulders. “These prissy students just brought to a halt a sick tradition in this school that should have been stopped a long time ago.”
“That little girl...” Mr. Hendricks growled.
“That little girl,” Mr. Blackbourne snapped back, “just got the entire football team and other students to step in and take over your job. She had more power than you did to encourage them to step up. If it wasn’t for her, you would have had students trying again next year. Now they won’t dare at the risk of angering half of the school. She’s the martyr.”
My body trembled. Kota squeezed me tighter to him. My head rested against his chest. What did I do? I didn’t mean to do anything except to stop Kota from being flung over. If he had been pushed, he might have broken something or worse.
“What she is,” Mr. Hendricks said in a low, menacing tone and pointing a finger at my face over Mr. Blackbourne’s shoulder, “is fucking stupid. She should have stayed out of it. I should have her expelled for starting a riot.”
A surge started around me. Silas and North moved in front of me and blocking my view of Mr. Hendricks. Kota pulled me away from the desk, another arm wrapping around my waist and he drew me in. I quaked against his body. Victor, Gabriel, Luke and Nathan surrounded us.
Expulsion! My poor mind couldn’t comprehend the damage it would mean. It was more than getting kicked out of school. My mother may finally see fit to have me start home schooling, and I’d never be able to leave the house again. I’d possibly not be able to see the boys ever again.
Mr. Blackbourne headed off his students, standing in front of Silas and North. “You’re going out there,” he said, his tone cold. “You’re going to talk to the police. You’re going to say it was self-defense against that boy and we have many witnesses to prove it. Miss Sorenson stays here in school and you won’t breathe a word about her to anyone.”
“She should be calling a lawyer.”
“The Academy’s lawyers will be at her disposal,” Mr. Blackbourne commanded, his tone rising. “But it doesn’t have to come to that if you’ll listen to me. I’ll talk to the school board downstairs.”
Mr. Hendricks growled. “You don’t get to tell me what to do. This is my school.”
“I talk to them or I’m sure they’d like to hear about how you’ve let people get tossed from balconies every year for who knows how long. Why was this never reported? Why was it allowed to continue? They might also like to know why you preconceived who was going to be thrown this year. Your teachers abandoned the area knowing this was going to happen. It was all a set up. If Kota had gone over or if anyone had gotten hurt, you would have been at fault.”
“You can’t prove it.”
“I’ve got eight witnesses,” he said, gesturing behind himself toward us.
I hopped up on my left tip toe to look over North’s shoulder. Mr. Hendricks stared down Mr. Blackbourne. He glared over at me. I ducked my head behind North’s shoulders again.
Mr. Hendricks started across the room, slamming the door behind himself as he left.
The air shifted around us.
My knees buckled. Kota caught me, catching under my thighs and picking me up, holding me against his chest. The others pulled back, stepping in a circle around us.
Victor approached, putting a hand on my forehead. “What’s wrong?” he asked. His fire eyes searching mine.
“Sorry,” I breathed. I trembled again against Kota. It felt good to be held. I couldn’t stop shaking. “I can’t believe I did that.”
“Oh now you’re nervous,” Victor said, a gentle smirk appearing.
“She’s in shock,” Mr. Blackbourne said, his eyes softening, but his mouth was stern.
Luke removed his blazer and tossed it over me. “Can we take her home?”
“Not yet,” Mr. Blackbourne said. “We need to talk to the police and figure out if that kid’s parents are interested in pressing charges. We need to make sure Mr. Hendricks doesn’t pin this whole mess on her.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
Eight eyes narrowed on me. Mr. Blackbourne broke into a millimeter smile. “Why are you sorry?”
“I hurt a bunch of people.” Now that it was over, I worried I had gone too far. I’d never hit anyone before. I’d lost control and now I was sorry I got in the middle. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I would have done it again for Kota and the others, I knew. It didn’t make what I’d done any less appalling.
“Fucking shit,” North bellowed. “Sang baby, you just sacrificed yourself for Kota and nearly killed yourself and you’re sorry you hurt someone else.”
I sunk my face into Kota’s chest, trembling. I knew it was terrible but I couldn’t take fighting any more. I didn’t want to appear to be so weak after they had been through so much but I didn’t have the strength to take them on, too.
“Oh god, I’m sorry,” North said. A hand dropped on top of my head. “Don’t cry. God damn it, Kota.”
“She’ll be fine,” Kota said. He pressed his cheek against my forehead. “But I owe her a beating.”
I smirked, shaking my head against him. Did they have to do this now?
“Fuck yeah,” Gabriel called out. “She’s grounded.”
“No,” I said. “I’m already grounded.”
“Fuck you,” he said. “You’re double grounded.”
I started giggling. Why was this funny to me? “No,” I half-whined again.
Kota’s hand slipped away from my thighs and he held me steady as I stepped to the ground. I buried my head into his chest still, my shoulders shaking from giggling now.
“I mean it,” Gabriel said. “Do you know that girl that came after us nearly gave me a heart attack? She said Trouble’s in trouble. Again. Second time in a week. And what do I see when we get to the hallway? Trouble jumping from the fucking second floor, does a barrel roll and hobbles up to get back into the fight. And then I get up to that second floor, and you’re on top of some motherfucker on top of Silas. You took on the whole goddamn school. Fucking beautiful. So that’s like quadruple grounding because you went in twice. I swear if you go over that balcony again, I’m going to break your damn feet so you can’t go anywhere near it.”
I peeked out at Gabriel, who was grinning.
“You should have seen her kick that guy that had Kota by the throat,” Luke said, pushing his blond hair away from his eyes. “She’s a secret ninja.”
“You fucking ninja kicked?” Gabriel gasped at me. “I missed that? Someone go steal one of those phones that recorded everything. Did we get that on camera? Do we have cameras there? I need to see it.”
“Stop,” Victor said to him.
“No,” Gabriel squared off his shoulders. He smirked. “And you owe Sang a beating, too.”
That reminded me. “I think my phone is missing,” I said quietly.
“Yeah, I found it,” Victor said. He pulled it out of his back pocket. The front glass was smashed. The button on the front caved in. “I’ll get you a new one.”
br />
“No…”
“Don’t argue with me. You’re grounded,” Victor said. “You’re not allowed to argue.”
“How long am I grounded for?” I asked.
“Forever,” Victor stated before Gabriel could say it. His mouth twisted into a smile.
I pulled away from Kota to brush a palm across my eyes. “You all are so mean.”
North started laughing. Silas grinned, his eyes twinkling. The others chuckled.
Mr. Blackbourne shook his head at us. “We’ve got work to do, gang,” he said. He turned to me. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Can you hang on for a while longer?”
I nodded, swallowing back nerves. “I’ve made it this far.”
Mr. Blackbourne tilted his head at me, seeming confused by my words. “You’re a crazy little girl,” he said.
“Yeah,” Kota said, beaming. He dropped a palm on my head, rubbing at my scalp. “She belongs with us.”
Nathan wrapped an arm around my shoulders. Luke’s hand found mine again. For the first time, I think, I didn’t blink that they were touching me or that we were holding hands. In that moment, it felt like it was us against a school that didn’t want us there. I had been completely unprepared for Ashley Waters. If it wasn’t for the boys, I don’t think I could have gotten away with being the empty, invisible person I had expected to be. Around Kota and the others from the Academy, I was becoming a part of something. We were a team. I didn’t understand exactly what I was doing. What I did know was how desperately I needed them.
And as I met their eyes, shining, looking back at me, I understood. They needed me, too.
There was a lot more to do. We were doing it together.
~A~
Mr. Blackbourne,’s encoded GPS unit guided him to the jam-packed restaurant in downtown Charleston. He was early, and waited the thirty minutes inside his car, wondering about the background check he’d requested for Sang Sorenson. His Academy contact had insisted on meeting him in person. That alone told him there was something important to say. He hated for his team to get their hopes up about a girl they might have to keep at a distance, or worse, avoid completely. They didn’t know enough about her to make such a decision, but tonight’s report should tell him everything he needed to know.
He was pessimistic. Academy contacts didn’t call you out in the open for good news.
He slipped his glasses up the bridge of his nose while watching a familiar, nondescript black sedan park across the lot. Mr. Blackbourne held back, waiting for the older gentleman getting out of his car to enter the restaurant. Mr. Blackbourne left his car, hitting the button on his keys and knowing his contact would hear the distinct beep of his car announcing it was locking up.
The restaurant was an average burger and fries shack, but it served the purpose they needed: neither of them had been there in a while so they would be unfamiliar and forgettable faces, it was overcrowded already, and they’d had Kota there earlier sweeping for bugs before the evening started. It was highly unlikely their random meeting was going to be contaminated with recording devices of any kind, but Kota also ensured security cameras wouldn’t be recording that evening.
He’d broken the computer’s hard drives that stored the data and cut the feeds that linked to televisions.
It was overkill for their needs, but the Academy preferred it. Students of the Academy knew to always be ready and never expose yourself unless you had to. Overkill actions gave them their advantage in everything they did.
Mr. Blackbourne joined his companion at a booth near the back. They were crowded in but the more people, the better.
“How’s it going?” the man said, standing up and a friendly smile warming his face, revealing his familiarity with Mr. Blackbourne. His eyes were blue, and gentle age spots kissed the crest of his cheeks. His white hair was thinning on top. He held out a hand toward Mr. Blackbourne. “Nice to see you, Owen.”
The sound of his first name being spoken nearly made Mr. Blackbourne flinch. He’d had his own team call him Mr. Blackbourne for years for the sake of establishing the sense of seniority – difficult to do at nineteen when his team members were only three years younger than himself. Other Academy members called him the same, even Dr. Green. He didn’t need to be so formal with anyone they worked with but he preferred formality. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Dr. Roberts.”
“Will you please just call me Phil? You make me sound old,” the man said, his wrinkly grin betraying his age further. He nodded to Mr. Blackbourne and slid down into the booth’s seat. “I like this place. The food is excellent. I wish I could come here more often.”
“It’s interesting,” Mr. Blackbourne said, sitting across from his companion. “I prefer quieter places.”
“Of course.” Phil settled back into his seat, crossing his arms over his chest and grinning. “A friend of mine told me you were interested in acquiring a little bird. I thought you were strictly a dog person, myself.”
This was code. Dogs were males. Mr. Blackbourne’s mind flashed images of Sang Sorenson at the mention of a bird. “There’s a particularly remarkable one I hear is in need of adoption, and has a fondness for other animals.”
“Has she been trained?”
“We’ve just been introduced, although she shows potential.”
Phil’s eyes focused on the menu splayed out in front of him. “Does she know?”
Mr. Blackbourne was hoping this wasn’t going to be asked. He opened his menu, holding it up to mask his mouth. It was probably overkill for such a place, but he wanted to be extra careful when dealing with anything that involved Sang. “She knows we exist. She knows our cover story at the public school. She doesn’t know the full story but it won’t take her long. She’s clever.”
Phil nodded, smiling wide. “I didn’t think you’d consider someone without that being evident. Is she cute?”
Mr. Blackbourne attempted to mask his displeasure at Phil’s attempt at teasing. Yes, Sang Sorenson was cute. That was half of his problem with her right now. He knew what this could lead to. His carefully chosen Academy family could be torn apart by Sang. She had the power to bring everything he’d worked for down with a single look if she desired. Only she didn’t know she had that ability, and that made her more dangerous.
The Academy disliked the thought of a bird joining an all dog team for that very reason. Disliked, but didn’t forbid it entirely. It’s happened successfully before. It’d been an unusual team, but it worked. Sang was unexpected, and Mr. Blackbourne at first doubted she would have stuck around.
But wild circumstances, and Kota’s insistence, pushed her onto their Academy family. When the guys had accepted her, she dismissed their curious behavior and stuck by them. She’d taken every blow his team had received at that school and bounced back, standing strong beside them ate every turn. It surprised him the first time when he learned Sang had jumped into the fight to save Gabriel. She didn’t know Gabriel could defend himself so he hadn’t berated her for it, and actually admired her courage.
At Friday Fall, however, everything changed in his perspective. After hearing the reports and analyzing the recorded videos collected by cell phones, Sang Sorenson displayed a backbone and loyalty she’d kept suppressed in her timid, outward appearance. He couldn’t erase the image of her beautifully exotic face, her trembling body wrapped up in Kota’s arms after the fight. If it hadn’t been inappropriate, he would have done it himself.
Her allure had not gone unnoticed by anyone on his team. He saw it in their eyes.
He almost wanted to say this out loud in an effort to ask for advice from a senior member, but was saved by the waitress coming over to ask their order. Her interruption gave him enough time to realize that he could easily lose Sang to another team. He recanted his idea for advice, as he didn’t want to talk up Sang.
Adoption into the Academy family wasn’t the same as being accepted into the Academy as an official member. Any official Academy member could formally adopt anyone
they wished. Adopted family of the Academy meant protection and financial security for life. It relieved the burden of having to handle personal family problems on a singular team member, and shifts it to the entire Academy, and their expansive teams of various levels of expertise. Lawyers, doctors, scientists, even constructions workers and private investigators were the staple of what was the Academy.
They kept their circles tight, usually blood relations and close friends were restricted to the family member who had adopted them.
Potential future official members, those not related to any team member, could be adopted by anyone. He didn’t want anyone else learning too much about her and possibly luring her onto their teams instead.
Adopting a bird or dog meant your team became the lead team. Any further Academy interaction with the adopted had to be directed through the lead team. It’d make it harder for another section of the Academy to try to talk Sang into joining them. Harder, but not impossible.
It was selfish, but he was allowed to be selfish about his own team.
They ordered uninteresting burgers, fries and sodas. The waitress glazed her eyes over them with a tired smile and disappeared again.
“Owen,” Phil said, “You’ve got to be careful with these things. Birds are very delicate creatures. It’s not easy to adopt one, given your situation.”
“I’ve considered that,” Mr. Blackbourne said, knowing he meant all the dogs on his own team.
Phil waved a finger in the air. “Who instigated?”
“Mr. Lee.”
“And the team?”
“All approved.”
Phil sighed, running his fingers through the white hair above his ear. “Then I hate to bring this up.”
Mr. Blackbourne jerked his head back. “What?”
Phil twisted his lips, as if hesitating to respond. “You asked for a background.”
“Yes?” Mr. Blackbourne said, not wanting to sound so anxious but after letting Sang get so close, he’d hate to learn she was disqualified. It didn’t seem likely. She attracted trouble but she didn’t seem to be an initiator.