Superior

Chapter 17

Dedicated to MissBannanaBomb, who made the awesome banner on the side over there ;).

Chapter Seventeen

Delaney

Oh my god. I would recognize the dark hair, light brown skin, and hipster outfit anywhere. My hand flew to my mouth as I realized who the woman sitting across the room was.

"What is she doing here?" I breathed. I tried to keep my voice as quiet as possible. Trai just blinked, his face reflecting the disbelief that I felt.

For a moment, Trai was silent. Then, suddenly, he grinned impishly. "Let's find out." And he walked away, making a beeline toward the woman across the room. Try not to tread on anyone's feet, I scampered after him, my smallness finally proving to be an advantage. Thanks to my lack of height, I managed to make it before Trai. Uncertainty made me still for a split second, but I forced myself to speak.

"Ms. Shea," I whispered, tapping my art teacher on the shoulder just as Trai scooted up beside me. She turned around slowly, her narrowed eyes widening in recognition. She jumped to her feet. I sucked in a quick breath; suddenly, everything felt surreal. It wasn't too outlandish to be seeing my opinionated, hippie teacher at an underground meeting like this, but at the same time, it was wrong. She was an adult, someone in a position of authority, someone who should have been against things like this. All of the people here should have been like that.

Let's just say, that's when I really began to get an inkling of what we were getting ourselves into. At that point, my world began to, slowly but surely, flip upside down.

"Delaney, Trai; why the hell are you here?" Ms. Shea demanded in a hushed tone as she ushered us to the back of the room, breaking me from my reverie. I'd never heard her use a curse word, even one so small, and it shocked my response out of my mouth.

"We're here for the—to—" Even Trai couldn't find words to answer her.

"This is no place for kids," she hissed. "You need to leave. Now."

"Why?" I demanded, my curiosity flaring as I suddenly found my voice. "We're not doing anything wrong."

"Just trust me, Delaney. You need to leave, right this instant, before something happens that you can't fix."

I frowned suspiciously. "Just what do you think is going to happen to us?" My voice was a little too loud, and several people around flashed me disgusted looks.

"Keep your voice down," Ms. Shea ordered frantically. She sighed. "Look, I don't know what brought you two here. But believe me when I say that neither of you have any idea what you're getting yourselves into. What goes on here does not concern you, should not concern you. This isn't a place for two fifteen-year-old kids. Please, just leave."