Chapter Ten
Damian
I’m tossing and turning in bed because my stomach needs food. I didn’t go to the dining hall again because I wanted to stay in my room and draw. I grabbed some cereal from the kitchen, which was enough to satisfy me. But now it’s two in the morning and my stomach is growling.
Throwing my covers aside, I get out of bed and make my way out my bedroom door. As I pass Mom’s room, I stop and peek in. She doesn’t look at peace when she sleeps, kind of like she’s got a lot on her mind. I wonder if I’m on her mind at all. Or even Dad.
I head to the kitchen and browse through the fridge and pantries. There isn’t much food left. The cereal is gone and there are only a few things in the fridge that won’t fill me up.
Darn it.
Plopping down on a chair, I drum my fingers on the table. What am I supposed to do now? Wait and starve until morning? I doubt I’ll make it through the night.
If only there was a way for me to go to the dining hall and get some food to quiet my protesting stomach. I think they keep the place locked during the night hours, so it’s impossible for me to get in there.
Unless I had a key, of course. But how in the world would I have access to a key?
I straighten up. Mom’s got keys to pretty much every door on campus. Which means she must have a key to the dining hall, too. So far, being the principal’s son hasn’t had any advantages, but maybe it can come in handy now.
She keeps her keys on a small table near the entrance to our apartment. They’re separated into different categories or else it’d be too much to carry. I sift through the keys until I find the one labeled “dining hall.” Perfect.
Now I need to sneak out without making any noise. Mom is a light sleeper, so even a small sound could knock her awake.
I’m careful to be as silent as possible, like a ninja, as I close my fingers around the keys and open the front door. Before I leave, I stop to listen to see if she woke up. But there’s no sound coming from her room.
Good. Now the hard part will be sneaking into the dining hall.
It’s not far from my apartment, but I need to be careful not to let the security guards see me. Luckily, I can use the dark as a cover.
The guard stationed outside the apartment has headphones on as he turns his head left and right, checking for suspicious activity.
When he’s focused on something in the distance, I take the opportunity to dash into the bushes.
There are so many around campus that I use them to reach the dining hall.
Getting past the guard outside the dining hall will be very difficult. Unlike the one guarding my apartment, this one isn’t distracted by music and he’s doing a better job at scouting the area. There is no way he won’t see me.
I jump to the next bush that will give me a better view of the dining hall and smack into something hard. I roll on top of it, and the next second I hear, “Ow.”
Glancing down, I notice I’m on top of something. Or someone. Due to the dark, it takes me a second to realize it’s a girl with brown hair. She stares up at me with wide eyes. Familiar blue eyes. Pretty ones.
“Damian?” Sophie asks.
I just stare back at her, my mind not processing that she’s here. Then, like something snaps inside me yelling at me to get off because I’m probably hurting her, I roll off her.
We’re sitting in the bushes, side by side, our shoulders nearly touching. Sophie’s got her knees pressed to her chest. She looks at me and I look at her.
Thirty seconds of silence pass before she asks, “What are you doing here?”
“Can ask you the same thing.”
Even though it’s dark, I can see her cheeks flush. “This is going to sound really dumb...”
I shrug. “I bet it’s not that bad.”
She clears her throat. “Well, I kind of skipped dinner because I was reading, and um…I’m kind of hungry. Your turn.”
“I’m breaking into the office to steal all the money my mom’s got in a safe so I can get the heck out of here.”
Her eyes narrow as she studies me. “Liar.”
“I’m serious.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Why?”
She shrugs. “Because you’re not a criminal.”
It throws me off for a second that she’s come to that conclusion. Most kids at this school would claim I am a criminal. But I scoff and say, “You don’t know me.”
“Would a criminal spend that much money on books for some random girl?”
I bend close to whisper, “Maybe I stole that money, too.”
She gives me a serious face. “Why are you trying so hard to convince me you’re not a good guy?”
“Maybe because I’m not?”
She clicks her tongue. “How about the truth this time. What are you doing here?”
At that moment, my traitorous stomach decides to release the loudest sound known to man.
Sophie laughs softly. “Looks like I’m not the only one who’s looking for a midnight snack.”
“I skipped dinner, too,” I finally admit.
“Why?”
“Wasn’t in the mood.”
She nods, though I can tell she has tons of questions. I’m glad she’s choosing not to ask them. I don’t want to open up to anyone.
“How exactly do you expect to get in there?” I ask as I tilt my head toward the dining hall. “The place is locked.”
“I figured I’d maybe sneak in through a window?”
I snicker. “Pretty sure all the windows are closed. The place is locked well.”
She crosses her arms over her chest. “How exactly do you expect to get in?”
“Got an award for breaking and entering. From my many, many, many years of being in juvie.”
She scowls at me.
I hold up the key.
Her eyes widen. “Where did you get that?”
“My mom’s the principal.”
“Oh. Duh.”
I lift a brow at her. “Since when does Miss Goody-Goody break into school buildings, anyway?”
“I’m just so hungry, and my friends told me they had Chinese for dinner. I was kind of hoping the dining hall has some leftover.”
I bend close to her again. There are only a few inches between us and I’m well aware that my lips are very close to hers. My gaze drops to them for a second before I meet her eyes again. “Looks like you’re not such a goody-goody after all.” I wink. “I kind of like that.”
She glances at my lips for a second before mumbling, “I’ll starve if I don’t eat. This is a matter of life and death.”
I hold up my hands. “No judgment here. We both need to get food in our stomachs, so the question is, what do we do about him?” I nod to the guard.
She keeps her eyes on him. “We need a distraction.”
I rub my chin. “Hmm. You go there and call for help. I’ll unlock the door and you’ll quickly rush inside before the guard realizes what happened.”
She twists her nose. “Or we can throw a rock there and the guard will go check it out. Then you can unlock the door and we’ll both run inside.”
“Okay, that works too. Do you have a good arm?”
She glances down at her thin arms. “No. But you’ve got some impressive muscles there. Do you work out? I mean…you can throw the rock much farther than I can. We need to get the guard as far away from the door as possible.”
“Yep. Got it. Once the coast is clear, we’ll make a mad dash to the door. I’ll unlock it and we’ll run inside. Sound good?”
“Yeah.”
We search for a large enough rock that will make noise, but one that’s not too heavy so I can throw it a good distance.
Once we find it, I launch it toward the other end of campus.
It makes quite a noise that gets the guard’s attention right away.
He says something into his walkie-talkie about a strange sound and that he’s going to check it out.
I nod to Sophie and we jet from the bush to the door. We scurry inside before Sophie shuts the door quietly.
The place is dark, but we can see each other well. She’s wearing fluffy pink pajamas that look very warm and cozy. Pretty cute. I’ve got on a large shirt and warm pants.
She’s checking me out, too. Except my pajamas are lame compared to hers.
Her cheeks are a little red. “I wanted different pajamas, but the store only had this one.”
“They’re cute. And warm.”
“Oh, yeah. They’re very warm. Sometimes the dorms get cold at night.”
“Hmm. You’d think my mom would make more of an effort to make sure the students are comfortable at night.”
She shakes her head. “No, it is warm. Just sometimes it gets very cold. Do you sleep in the dorms?”
“Nope. I sleep in my mom’s apartment.”
“Oh. Lucky.”
“Not really.” I glance around. “Let’s find that food before someone catches us in here.”
She follows me as we head for the large refrigerators. There is a ton of food here and we take some time searching for the leftover Chinese, if there is any.
After a short while, Sophie pulls out containers.
“Jackpot! And there’s so much that no one will suspect we stole any.
” She takes the containers over to the microwave and we heat them up.
Once that’s done, she settles down at a table.
I’m not sure if she wants me to sit near her or if she wants to eat alone.
She looks at me. “Aren’t you going to sit?”
“Yeah.” I clear my throat and drop down across from her. We don’t say much as we eat. Sophie sighs like she’s in heaven as she scarfs down the food. I like it, but I’m not as excited as her. I guess nothing can make me happy, but watching her enjoy the food makes me smile inside.
Actually, being in this dark room with her makes me feel okay. Maybe even good. She has this way of bringing calm to my stormy life.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asks as she eats some noodles.
I shift in my seat, playing with some chicken. “I’m not.”
“Liar.”
I shrug. “You’re just different from what I thought.”
Her brow lifts. “Good different or bad different?”
“The most terrible different.”
She laughs.
I lean toward her. “I mean, you’re not just some goody-goody who always follows the rules. You’ve got a rebellious side.”
“No. Like I said, it was life or death.”
“Uh huh.”
She sticks out her tongue. “This was a one-time thing. Don’t count on me breaking into any more buildings with you.”
I tilt my head from right to left. “Too bad. I was hoping we’d crash the library next. Maybe find some more books for you.”
She waves her hand. “That library doesn’t have the books I’m looking for. They’re, like, two months behind the new releases. So lame.”
“Okay. Let’s hit the bookstore.”
“Careful, someone might think you’re actually serious.”
“I am.”
She gives me her “yeah right,” face.
“We’ve spent like two days together and you think you know me?” I ask.
“No, of course not. I just know you’re not the bad boy you make everyone believe you are.”
I stuff some more food into my mouth, not liking her trying to analyze me at all. “Didn’t know you’re a shrink, too.”
“I’m not. I’m just observant.”
“Hmm. And what do you think—?”
“Shh!” She places her finger on her lips. “You heard that?”
We’re quiet as we strain our ears. I’m about to tell her I don’t hear anything, but stop when I hear footsteps in the distance.
“The guard?” I whisper. “He’s here.”
Her eyes nearly pop out of her face. We sit here frozen, unsure what to do. I’m about to grab her hand and make a run for it, but stop when the footsteps halt. It looks like he went into a side room that students are not allowed to go into.
Sophie and I just stare at each other, not sure what’s going on. But then we hear the sound of a woman. She’s giggling.
Our eyebrows furrow as we exchange a glance. What in the world?
Sophie laughs lightly. “He’s secretly meeting a girl here,” she whispers. “They’re probably making out in there because he doesn’t have time to spend with her. That’s so cute.”
“Cute? We’d better get our butts out of here before he’s done kissing his girlfriend and catches us.”
She holds up her finger, shutting me up. “Hear that? He’s telling her how much he loves her. Aw.”
I grab disposable containers from the kitchen and pack away some food. We put the rest of them back, grab the containers, and leave the dining hall. The guard and the woman don’t leave.
“Is no one guarding the place now?” Sophie whispers as we head for the door.
I open it a drop and stick my head out, scanning around. “Place looks clear. Looks like we’re not the only ones breaking the rules.”
We slip out and use the bushes for cover as we go back to the dorms. Before she leaves the last bush, Sophie turns to me. “Thanks. And good night.”
I dip my head. “You, too.”
She smiles. “You good with one more distraction?”
I nod and throw a rock in the opposite direction. The guard outside her dorm rushes to check it out.
Sophie waves, thanks me again, then disappears inside.
I can’t stop my lips from lifting in a small smile as I make my way back to my apartment with the leftover food. Oddly, I had a good time tonight. Sophie’s fun to be around.
I wonder if we’ll have more of these “adventures.” But it seems unlikely. Either way, it’s all I think about when I climb back into bed.