Boarding School 101

Chapter 3 - SynchroClaire

Chapter 3 is brought to you by SynchroClaire

Luke

    My pen was poised over the official Academy stationery. Pets weren't allowed on campus, but a formal request could be issued for one. There was no guarantee it would be granted of course, but I had been wanting a skunk for years and this was my last shot to get one while I was still in high school. Now, how to write an argument for having a pet skunk?

    The clock above my desk ticked obnoxiously as I strained brain cells unused since last semester. I hated that clock—the numbers on it were written in base four—but it was a gift from Kota so I didn't have the heart to take it down. Each minute that passed elicited another groan from me. It was the last week before school started up, the sun was shining, and I was stuck in my room writing a letter about a skunk. I was bored.

    Voices from the hallway piqued my interest. The pen lay forgotten on my desk as I crept over to the door to listen. Creepy, I know, but if someone wants a conversation to be private they shouldn't hold it in a hallway. I wasn't shocked to hear Kota's voice. What set my heart pounding was the delicate, feminine voice of the person he'd spoken to.

    "I know we've just met, but you can trust my teammate. He's like my brother, and I trust him with my life," Kota said.

I immediately transitioned into panic mode. I was going to meet her? Would she come into my room? My eyes twitched as I observed the piles of dirty clothes and candy wrappers littering a floor that hadn't seen a vacuum in months. My room was in no way girl-ready.

    Adrenaline surged through my veins as I kicked clothes under the bed and gathered wrappers in my arms. I went to chuck them into the trashcan, but then I realized—the girl was going to think I was some kind of pig! There was a solid knock on the door, distracting me from my crazed thoughts.

    "It's open!" I called out.

There was more talking from the hallway, but at this point that was the least of my concerns. Where was a suitable hiding place for a mountain of candy wrappers? When the door started to creak open, I made a snap decision and tossed them onto my bed before pulling the covers up.

    Ready. And just in time—when I turned away from the bed, both Kota and the girl were standing in the doorway. "Take good care of her, Lucian," Kota said gravely. His eyes burned into me, threatening dire punishment if I messed this up. His phone buzzed. After one last lingering glance at the girl, he grimaced and walked away. What was that all about?

    With Mr. Moody gone, I could finally focus on the little beauty standing in front of me. If she was standing up straight, she probably would have only been half a foot shorter than me, but as it was, her hunched shoulders made her appear even shorter. Her arms wrapped protectively around her stomach. My heart clenched when I realized she was standing exactly in the middle of the doorway, avoiding touching anything. Her gaze was fixed firmly on something behind me.

    I didn't know why she was here or how she knew Kota, but if I didn't do something to lighten the mood, I was sure I was going to keel over right then and there. "Hello, Cupcake," I said. "My name's Lucian, but everyone calls me Luke."

    At the mention of Cupcake, the girl's cheeks tinted red. Her gaze shifted to the floor in front of me. "My name is Sang," she murmured. Her mouth curled up into a small smile. I looked around, trying to find what was so funny. I paled when I saw what she had been looking at.

    Hanging off my bed was a pair of boxers with cupcakes printed all over them. To make things worse, they had little speech bubbles. "Lick my frosting" and "Peel off my wrapper" were some of the milder things written. The boxers were a Secret Santa gift from Gabriel a few years ago.