"Did you just say an all-boys school?" I repeated, my eyes as wide as saucers. It felt like I was going to faint...
My mother continued to smile sheepishly, clutching the paper in her hand a little tighter now. "Yes, I did. I'm sorry, Delilah, but... it's the only choice we have. It's the cheapest private school in the country and it's really far away..." my mother explained, trying to keep the smile on her face.
"But how can I get into a school that's only for boys?" I asked her. Wasn't it impossible? Who would let a girl in an all-boys school?
"Lieutenant Shrew said that he'd make some calls. He's sure the headmaster will make an exception if he's heard your story..." She then thrust the piece of paper into my hands. "Look it up. The website's on the piece of paper."
I nodded, taking the paper from her hands and walking out of the foyer and into the family room, hopping on the family computer. I looked at the website that was written on the paper with my mother's handwriting and typed it in as quickly as I possibly could. It popped up in only a matter of seconds.
"Bentwood Institute for Boys," I read, staring at the screen flatly. "Humph."
"Why are you looking at an all-boys school?" a voice suddenly said behind me, causing me to jump highly in my seat. I whipped around quickly to see Jake smirking at me, causing me to glare at him. Why did he always have to scare me?
"Nice reaction," he told me simply before staring back at the screen. "But seriously, why are you looking at this school's website?"
I sighed, glancing back at the screen for a moment. "This just might be my new school."
"New school?" Jake asked, his eyes widening. I nodded, shrugging slightly, as if I didn't care. But I did. I cared a lot. It was an all-boys school! I was a lot more nervous than I was excited, mostly because I really wasn't excited at all.
"I got another note from him today," I explained, turning fully back toward the screen.
Jake's eyebrows furrowed. He didn't look very happy. "How does that have anything to do with sending you here? Mom's actually sending my baby sister off to a school filled with boys?" he demanded, almost pushing me out of the way as he sat down in the chair. He began scrolling down and reading what the website had to say. It took all I had not to roll my eyes at him. He acted so stupid sometimes.
"It's far away, and my stalker would never expect that I was going to a school for boys," I told him, trying to look over his shoulder at the computer screen. He suddenly stopped as he was reading, jumping up from the seat, knocking it over behind him. He almost knocked into me as he stormed out of the room, and I followed him quickly, hopping over the fallen chair and not even looking at the website.
Stupid protective older brother. He always got in the way.
"Mom!" he called, entering the kitchen with me following close behind him. "Are you seriously thinking about sending Delilah to that school?"
My mother sighed, looking up from the can of soup she was trying to open. "She probably is going there, Jake. Is there something the matter with that?"
"What's the matter with it?" Jake sputtered. "You're sending a sixteen-year-old girl to a place filled with teenage boys! Do you really think that's a good idea? Have you even heard or read anything about this school?"
My mother's grip on the can tightened as she continued to try and open it, barely looking up at my brother. "I know that it doesn't sound that great, Jake, but I trust Delilah—"
"I trust Delilah, too," Jake cut her off. "But I don't trust those boys she'd be going to school with! Go read the website, Mom. Go read what it says! I don't trust those boys!"
"And why is that?" my mother asked sharply, looking up from the can once again, exasperated.
Jake stared at her for a moment with wide eyes. "Did you not look at the website? The place's practically juvie!"
"J—juvie?" I found myself stuttering, causing Jake to turn back toward me.
"You didn't read the website either? Yeah, the place's for delinquents!"
"Wh—what?" I stuttered again, blinking. My mother was sending me to a juvie school? That was filled with boys?
My mother looked at Jake disapprovingly. "I know that, Jake, but we don't have any other choice. She's a lot safer there than she would be here where her stalker could be sitting right next to her in any of her classes!"
My brother went silent.
"Juvie?" I asked again suddenly, breaking the silence. Juvie, as in a school for young criminals? My mother was sending me to a place filled with criminals? Was she insane? I was leaving so I could get away from a criminal, not meet other ones!
My mother looked at me with sorry eyes before shrugging. "I'm sorry, Delilah. We don't have any choice. It's safer there for you than it is here."
"But how is sending me to a school full of boys that have broken the law supposed to be safe?" I choked out, still shocked over the whole thing.
My mother then sighed, putting the can down once again. "At least when you're there you'll be surrounded by adults. I know it doesn't sound like it's a good idea, but... we have to at least try it. It's the farthest away from us, and the only school we can afford. You'll be away from your stalker, which is the main thing we're worried about right now. It'll be safe, I promise you that. I really do believe that you're a lot safer there than you would be here."
I blew a piece of my hair out of my face silently. I'd have to try and go to a school that was technically a juvie? And not only that, a juvie for boys? That didn't sound like a good idea at all. It didn't sound safe. Who knows what kind of boys were at the school? I almost broke out into a sweat just thinking about it. I now understood why Jake was being so overprotective.
"Fine, Mom. I guess I'll have to give it a try. But what if something bad happens to me there?" I asked, drumming my fingers against the counter nervously.
My mother shook her head, trying to open the can once again. "Then you'll just have to come home then, I guess..." she told me, and then added, "Make sure to not tell anyone where you're going. You can tell Arianna and the other girls that you're going to New York, but no one but them. And you can't tell them that it's an all-boys school. Okay?"
"Fine, Mom," I shrugged.
My mother then groaned. "Jake, can you please open—" Jake took the can from her before she could finish, opening it before I could even blink.
My mother smiled sheepishly. "Thanks, Jake."
Jake grunted, obviously still unhappy. "Whatever."
*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~*
"Did you just say—" Arianna started to screech until I reached over the lunch table and covered her mouth with my hand.
"Don't tell anyone," I hissed at her, my eyes narrowing. "You can't tell anyone. No one at all. I'm leaving to get rid of him. He can be watching right now..." I looked around the lunchroom cautiously, removing my hand from over her mouth. If he was watching right now, I didn't want Arianna to yell out that I was leaving.
"You're so lucky," Violet swooned. "You get to go to a school with new boys... I bet boys from the east are hotter than boys here from Washington..." I was happy she was whispering, but I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I didn't tell them what the school's name was or that it was filled with boys who broke the law. In fact, I didn't even tell them it was an all-boys school. I didn't tell them what school I was actually going to just in case he was in fact listening at the moment. They didn't even know it was in New York.
"I'm not that lucky," I muttered, but the girls must have not heard me. I didn't exactly feel like going to school with a bunch of delinquents. It was all my stupid stalker's fault. If it wasn't for him, I'd be able to stay where I was, with my family.
What was so appealing about me? I didn't really think there was that much about me that was likeable. I was no Arianna, I can tell you that. She had almost every guy in the school following at her heals, and pretty much the same with Violet and Ericka. It would be the same for Julie if she wasn't so shy, and if she got contacts, but I was glad she was as shy as she was. It didn't make me feel like a total loner in our group of friends.
"You can't tell anyone," I told them again. Even though I hadn't told them much of anything besides the fact that I was switching schools, I didn't want anyone knowing yet. Sure, everyone was going to find out that I wasn't going to the school anymore when I didn't show up, but I didn't want my stalker knowing before I left.
Arianna shrugged. "Whatever."
"Seriously," I continued. "You can't tell anyone."
Arianna waved her hand in front of her face, rolling her eyes. "You don't have to worry, Delilah. We all know how you desperately want to get rid of your precious secret admirer, so I guess we won't ruin it for you. I'm not that mean," she said simply, adding a little chuckle at the end, and taking a bite of her salad.
I wanted to tell her that she was that mean, but I didn't want to get on her bad side. Especially since she knew where I was going.
"Why do you call him that?" I asked, and she looked up at me, an eyebrow raised.
"What are you talking about?" she questioned, taking another bite of her food.
I rolled my eyes this time, letting out a small breath of frustration. "Why do you call him my secret admirer?"
"What's wrong with me calling him your secret admirer? Would you rather me call him your stalker?" Arianna asked, her eyebrow still raised. "I'd rather call him your secret admirer. Sounds less creepy."
"But it is creepy," I told her flatly. "I have a stalker. It's creepy."
She shrugged. "Delilah, you have to see the good side in these things. Maybe this guy is actually someone you'd want to be with, like Connor Gibbs."
I continued looking at her flatly. "Connor Gibbs is a senior," I reminded her. "He's best friends with the most popular guy in school, and it friends with every other popular kid in school. And he's never even looked my way before. I'm sure he doesn't even know who I am. Well, maybe he does, because he's kind of friends with Jake... but that doesn't matter right now. Honestly, if Connor Gibbs or some other popular senior was stalking me, I wouldn't be very interested."
Arianna shrugged once again. "I would be," she informed me, taking a sip of her water. "But you never know, Delilah. Who knows, he could be at the table next to us right now. He could be watching or listening to us right now."
I felt my blood go cold for a moment. She was right. He could sit right next to me in any of my classes, he could have even been my partner on an assignment. I was nowhere near finding out who he was, and I was afraid I never would.
*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~*
"Are you going to tell me what school you're going to?" Julie asked when I entered my room again. She kicked her legs back and forth as she sat at my computer desk chair, trying to look as innocent as possible, which she succeeded at.
"I can't tell you."
"Oh, come on, Delilah! We're best friends!" she cried, spinning the chair around in circles. She sometimes reminded me of a little kid when she wanted to be, but she definitely didn't look like a little kid. I was surprised that more guys didn't go after Julie. She was beautiful and had a great body, but the only thing they noticed was her glasses, which was a turn-off for them. She didn't want to be bothered by contacts, so she never got any.
"You can trust me! I'm not going to tell anyone!" she continued, smiling even brighter. I did trust Julie, I trusted her with my life. But I really didn't want anything to get out. Yeah, we were in the privacy of my room, but I still didn't feel safe.
But Julie was my best friend.
"You have to swear you're never going to tell anyone," I told her, sitting on my bed and crossing my legs. "I'm finally escaping whoever this guy is, and I don't want to have to deal with him ever again."
"I swear I won't tell!" Julie exclaimed again, excitement in her eyes. I smiled slightly; Julie acted even more like such a little kid when she was excited.
"It's in New York," I started slowly, and before I could say anymore, Julie cut me off by bursting out laughing. I stared at her flatly, waiting for her to stop. When she continued laughing for five minutes straight, I kicked her in the shin.
"Ow!" she cried, grabbing her shin. She was still laughing a little, but it had died down after I kicked her.
I stuck my tongue out at her, smirking. "That's what you get when you laugh too much. It wasn't even that funny."
"Yes it was!" she laughed loudly again. "Your name's Delilah, and you're going to live in New York! What's even funnier is that you hate the song!"
I continued to look at her flatly, waiting for her to stop laughing once again. She stopped this time without me having to kick her, which I was glad about because I didn't want to hurt my foot, which happened a lot when I kicked someone, since I was so weak. She wiped the tears from her eyes, a few chuckles escaping her lips. "Ah... so funny."
I didn't find it very amusing.
"That's not the best part," I grumbled sarcastically, crossing my arms over my chest.
Julie raised her eyebrow in confusion, asking, "What do you mean?"
I jumped up from my bed, walking past her and over to my laptop that was lying on my desk. I typed the school website into the browser and it popped up in a matter of seconds, just like it had the first time.
It didn't make me any happier, though.
"Look," I told her, moving out of the way so she could see. "This is the school I'm going to. Does it seem very funny now?"
She stared at the screen for a moment, as if nothing was wrong. She then saw the top of the website with the school's name and her mouth went wide, and then her eyes. "This is the school you're going to?" she asked, not even blinking as she continued to stare blankly. "You're going to an all-boys school?" she then shouted, but I slapped my hand over her mouth. trying not to make it very hard, but failing.
"Shh!" I hissed. "Be quiet!"
She removed my hand from her mouth, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry," she told me. "It's just so hard to believe! How did you get into an all-boys school?"
I heaved a sighed, happy that she had finally lowered her voice. "Lieutenant Shrew made some calls and talked to the headmaster. After hearing my story, he said I was welcomed to the school," I explained to her, and she nodded her head as I spoke.
"This is so cool," she said, smiling brightly. "You're going to a school with all boys. That's just... so cool! Do you know how awesome that would be if they were all hot?"
I didn't think it would be very awesome. Not only would I be going to a school that was practically juvie, if they were all hot it would just make things complicated. That just made me even more nervous. What if I fell for someone while I was there? That wouldn't be good, especially since they were all criminals.
"I hope they're not hot," I voiced my opinion. I shook my head, wrapping my arms around my knees after I sat on my bed once again. Julie snickered, looking back at the website. Her jaw dropped once again once she started reading.
"You're going to juvie?" she cried, turning back toward me.
I rolled my eyes, sighing slightly.
"It isn't juvie," I told her. "But it's like juvie!" she cried once again, her dirty blonde hair falling into her face. I had always been jealous of her light hair.
My hair was a boring dark brown color. It in no way complimented my eyes, which were a lazy brown. I had to accept that I was nothing special, that I was only common. So why did my stalker decide on me instead of all the other girls in the school? I just didn't understand it. No normal guy had ever shown any interest in me, and yet some creeper did? Why?
"I'll be perfectly safe there, Julie," I told her, waving a hand in front of my face. "There's a bunch of teachers. Just because those boys broke the law doesn't mean anything bad is going to happen to me..." I replayed what I had just said in my mind and realized how stupid I sounded. Something was probably going to happen, but saying that nothing will just made me feel better. And that's what I needed, to feel better.
My orange and white tabby kitten named Oscar meowed as he hopped up onto my lap, snuggling into my stomach. I scratched his ears and smiled; I was really going to miss him. He always made me happy, even with the entire stalker situation. He could always put a smile on my face no matter what, he was just too cute. He never really came out from under my bed, especially when people were over, so I found this as a good omen.
"You're going to have to call me every day," Julie warned me, hugging me so tightly I couldn't breathe. For a small girl, she was really strong. She smiled when we broke apart. "Now I'm going to have to deal with Arianna and her clones by myself."
I chuckled slightly, rolling my eyes. "I'm sure you'll do fine. They like you a lot more than they like me," I informed her, crossing my legs on my bed once again.
Julie grinned and pushed her glasses higher on her nose so they wouldn't fall off. "I don't think Arianna really likes anyone but herself," she informed me. "It sure seems that way."
I didn't say it out loud, but I did agree with her. Arianna probably only cared about herself. "But I hope you have a great time at your new school," Julie continued, changing the subject. "And you have to call me when, as Arianna would put it—I've always wanted to say this—you lose your v-card!" She started giggling then, and I just started choked on my own saliva.
"Julie!" I cried, and she smiled innocently at me.
"What? You're going to be the only girl at a school full of boys. What do you think's gonna happen?"
I felt my face heat up in embarrassment as I thought of the possibilities. I really didn't want to think about that.
"Th—that's not going to happen," I told her quickly, looking away from the computer screen. She had continued searching through the website, and I didn't want to look at the uniforms the boys would be wearing.
"Oh, come on, Delilah. There's going to be hot guys there, I'm sure. At least one of them is going to like you. You're just so pretty, and you're going to be the only girl there... And you're going to be living in dorms, so..."
"Dorms?" I almost shouted. "What do you mean, dorms?"
Julie turned back toward me, a confused look on her face. "You didn't know you're going to be living in a dorm?" she asked. "Delilah, you can't just come back home after every school day. You're going to live across the country."
"But dorms are shared, aren't they?" I choked, now staring at the screen with the information.
Julie shrugged, reading along with me. "Normally, yeah. But since you're a girl, I'm sure they'll make an exception."
"They've already made so many exceptions for me," I mumbled, but Julie only shook her head. "I'm sure you'll do fine, Delilah. Don't worry, I have faith in you."
I smiled at my best friend. "Thanks, Julie."
She smiled right back at me. "No problem."
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