Sapphire

Chapter 1.5

School. A place full of underpaid teachers and clicky students, gross lunches and bullies. A place where children go to learn but don't appreciate their lessons until they're out. Shay was one of those kids who dreaded going. She didn't have many friends, didn't see the value in what she was learning, and she definitely had other things that she'd rather be doing.

At least she had Wendy.

Her red-haired, small, nerdy friend was standing next to Shay at her locker in between classes, pushing thick-framed glasses higher on her nose while clutching a stack of books in her arms.

"I still can't believe your step-mom adopted another kid." Wendy commented.

"Yeah. He's old, too." Shay rifled through her locker searching for the book her English class was reading. To Kill a Mockingbird. How original.

"Ohhh, an older guy. How exciting."

"It's not like that." Shay held up the tattered book triumphantly before stuffing into her backpack "Besides, I haven't seen him since yesterday. He won't come out of his room."

"I wish I could come over sometime." Wendy muttered as they started trudging to their next class. "Your house sounds so interesting."

Though they had been friends since Shay started high school, they didn't often hang out outside of those cement walls. Shay's step-mother had rules against visitors that neither of them understood, and Wendy's homelife wasn't stellar either. From what she'd told Shay, her parents fought constantly, making for an unpleasant environment that Wendy avoided. She spent a lot of time after school in the library doing homework, and Shay often joined her.

"I know. Maybe someday." Shay's voice conveyed a hope that she didn't feel. She'd been rejected too many times to know better than to ask again.

The rest of the school day went uneventfully, both girls finding time to chit chat between classes and avoiding contact with any other humans in the building. They parted ways as soon as the bell rang, Shay getting on her bus while Wendy got on hers.

Since Shay's house was so far from town, she had to ride until the last stop. Headphones playing pop songs in her ears, sitting near the front since all of the cool kids were in the back, she kept her gaze trained on the window as she rode silently.

Thirty-five minutes after getting on, she hopped off and made the long journey down the winding driveway. After being buzzed through the gate, she entered the code on the keypad for the front door and was finally inside. Settling at one of the barstools in the kitchen, she threw her book bag on the floor and let out a huff. Val, who was drinking a glass of water from the sink, raised her eyebrows when she saw the youngest occupant return.

"Long day?"

"Always." Shay groaned. She fiddled with her thumbs for a second before looking at her step-mother again, asking the question that had been tossed around in her mind during the bus ride. "Why is he here?"

"He's decided to work with us." Val said.

Shay narrowed her eyes, somewhat disbelieving. "Does he know anything about your work though?" All Shay had heard about their job was that everyone in the house went to a lot of meetings far away, and that it was business related. And that they all worked at the same place, though not at the same times. Though she knew better than to ask questions, she had theories. They were all in extremely good shape, Eli in particular with his broad frame and bulging biceps. The amount of injuries they arrived home with was uncanny, too. They always had a story to go along with it, but Shay was suspicious. Were they killers? CIA? Bad guys?