Chapter Three #2
His posh accent matched the dean’s, I noticed, as he stood with his hands in his pockets. They were all in uniform for whatever reason. I could see from here that aside from the boy grunting against the wall, they were well-ironed and fitted for them.
Growing up in the slums, and stealing from men who fathered sons like these, I learned to spot marks with money in their wallets.
The lanky boy, Auggie, or I’m guessing that’s a nickname for August, despite the disadvantage he has surrounding him, finds it best to open his mouth rather than hold it.
“I was excited to see you, too, Callum. I was getting all antsy at what list of torture methods you were drawing up for this year.” Callum, the boy with a head of white hair, curled his lip as he regarded Auggie, but the boy didn’t find that to be threatening in the least, or maybe he didn’t care.
“Maybe this time I’ll finally cut out that sharp tongue of yours and find myself a new toy.”
August’s eyes turned apprehensive as he struggled to get free; the boys holding him back only chuckled brutishly at his effort. Watching him try to get away made me believe he heard a ring of truth in Callum’s words. Knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t hesitate to do it.
But that wasn’t why I moved. I wasn’t a hero–in fact, I was anything but. Just because I noticed his attire to be used or handed down didn’t mean there was a thread connecting us in our upbringings.
It was the sound of footsteps behind me.
I stepped into the hallway around the corner just moments before another student rounded the first landing and came up the stairs with his gaze fixed on the ground, a concentrated look on his face.
His head of chestnut brown hair fell in soft waves that I couldn’t help but envy, comparing them to my near-death strands.
He reached the threshold of the hallway, and only then did he lift his head and spot me. His distant stare met mine momentarily, and he nodded politely, going to walk past before he caught the scene in front of us and paused.
August, maybe in fear of being alone with these boys, was the first to notice us, which in turn altered the attention of the others. He grunted until they let him go, and Callum fell into a different persona than the one I’d seen him embody only moments prior.
His smile turned gentle as he brushed nonexistent lint off August’s uniform jacket and patted his cheek, the other boy flinching away. “Next time, watch where you’re going. It’ll be good for you.”
Something told me his words were a double-edged sword.
With a slow turn of my head, I watched the boy next to me as his eyebrows furrowed and he frowned, but didn’t move from where he stood, only a few paces next to me.
The beat that passed over us felt like we were waiting for this boy to finally take in his surroundings.
Nobody moved, in fact, until August righted himself and disappeared around the other end of the hall’s corner with his tail tucked between his legs, we remained in stunned silence.
I wanted to shout after him that it served him right, babbling like someone with zero self-preservation.
Idiot.
Once he disappeared from view, Callum and his two sidekicks turned to me.
Or rather, the pair of us, but their stares lingered on me.
I could tell from the slow movement of their eyes over my shoes, my clothes, my bag hanging over my shoulder, that they were sizing me up, and I could guess correctly that they were wondering if Callum’s new toy would be me.
They could try.
I took a deep breath, and the exhaustion of today weighed me down enough to remember why I’d come up here, wanting only to move past them and live a moment of peace.
The boy next to me finally stepped forward and continued down the hall, but he didn’t make it far as Callum sauntered closer, meeting him in the middle.
“Wolf Kingsley has arrived at Castle Hill. You left a prince, and now I hear the long and sweltering summer made you king.” His friends laughed quietly, but the meaning was lost on me.
The boy, Wolf, didn’t say anything, but I watched his back. Watched it tense and lock as he pulled his right hand out of his pocket and curled it into a fist.
Callum seemed to notice it too, and maybe that was why he averted his attention to me. “And what about you? A poor soul given a chance at redemption?”
This time, he laughed at his own joke and this time, I was privy to the emphasis he’d placed on the word poor.
I watched him for a moment and contemplated thinking of a response or simply walking away. Cutting my losses or starting this new experience with an unintentional target on my back.
What would kill a man like Callum?
I blinked.
“Is your dorm around here?” My voice came out steady but scratchy. I wanted to scold myself for not clearing my throat before climbing those stairs.
My hand found the strap of my bag as I curled my fingers around it and clawed into the fabric for a modicum out of my quickly emptying well of strength.
Wolf turned to me over his shoulder with an unreadable look, but I barely glanced at him as Callum spoke up again, “No, why? You looking–”
“I suggest you find it then.”
I didn’t wait to see what might be made of me as I shuffled past the lot clogging the hall, shoving shoulders and being sure I’d feel myself being pushed up against the wall like August with a fist through my gut.
Thankfully, nothing came. I made it past and around the next corner without issue, but my erratic heartbeat wouldn’t calm, and my hand around my bag strap wouldn’t let up. I was on edge and out of my element, and I knew it.
This wasn’t like transferring into a different American high school whenever I needed to skip town. With the freedom of doing as I pleased, whether there was a way out of the consequences of my actions or not.
I was stuck here, and though I hadn’t minded it on the drive up, I was beginning to notice the error of my thoughts.
I needed to find my dorm and lock myself in until I was ready to swim in the dark waters where these students seemed to excel.
It was just around the corner.
2-2.
Which meant those stairs were the only way out, if the window down the dead-end hall was anything to go by.
Running my hand down my sides, I pulled the copper key out of my pocket and shoved it into the keyhole with more force than needed, before granting myself access to my dorm