Someone Might Get Hurt

Except for the whole passing out in front of everyone thing, my morning went by without further incident. Classes here were small, but I was relieved to find that most of them were far behind where we were in my Atlanta school. At least I wouldn't have to worry about being behind on homework, especially since Ella May had been so serious about me keeping my grades up.

At lunch, I found Agnes and walked over to her, hoping she had gotten over whatever I'd done to make her mad this morning. She was sitting with two other girls and a guy who looked up as I walked over.

"Hey," I said. "Mind if I sit with y'all?"

"Sure," she said, her bubbly attitude thankfully returned. "This is Casper everyone. Casper, this is Kia, Flora and Randi."

"Hey," Randi said. "How's your day going so far?"

"Hi," I said sitting down. "Typical school day, I guess. How about y'all?"

"Always the same," Agnes said. "Too bad we don't have any classes together. I have math after lunch. What's next for you?" She squirted some ketchup onto her plate and dipped a french fry into it.

I glanced at my schedule, then slipped it back into my bag. "Sixth period Calculus," I said.

Agnes coughed, nearly spitting out her fry. "I thought you said you were a sophomore?"

"I am."

"Then how are you in calculus? That's usually a senior class?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not even sure they have my transcripts here yet. Maybe they put me in the wrong thing."

Agnes brightened. "Yeah, that's probably it. I mean, sophomores are hardly ever in the same class with seniors. I bet once they get your transcripts they'll move you into my class."

"Uh-huh," I said, stuffing a French fry into my mouth. I didn't want to tell her that I had been taking calculus at my last school too. She seemed sensitive when it came to certain things, and I didn't want to make her angry again or hurt her feelings. I figured it was best to feign ignorance. And change the subject. "So what's there to do around here for fun? Like on the weekends?"

Agnes didn't answer me. In fact, I don't even think she heard me. Her hand was stuck midway to her mouth and her eyes were glued to something on the opposite side of the cafeteria. I turned and followed her gaze.

That's when I saw them. A group of four girls more beautiful than anyone had a right to be. They seemed to glide across the room as a single unit. Nearly everyone in the cafeteria was staring at them. As they passed, a younger boy with glasses practically tripped over himself to get out of their way.

"Who are they?" I asked.

"Those are the cheerleaders," Agnes said.

Her tone carried a certain reverence, and I had to hold back a laugh. Man, these people really seemed to take their sports seriously. There was definitely something special about those girls, but other than their beauty, I wasn't sure why everyone was so awed by them.

"There are only four cheerleaders?"

Agnes looked at me and rolled her eyes. "No, silly. Those are just the four most popular cheerleaders. The girl on the right, the brunette? She's Brooke Harris, senior and captain of the squad."

I turned to look at the girl she was talking about. She had shoulder-length brown hair and was wearing tight black pants and a beaded pink tank top. Her smile lit up her entire face.

"Lark Chen is the Asian girl next to Brooke," Kia said, nodding toward the cheerleaders. "Her mum is the mayor."

Lark was shorter than the others. Her bone-straight hair fell halfway down her back and was the colour of obsidian. She was talking excitedly to the girl next to her.

"Then there's Allison Moore. She's got the most beautiful blue eyes. And don't you guys love her hair now that she's leaving it curly?" Flora said.

"Allison used to date Drake Ashworth," Agnes said, poking me in the ribs. I turned to study the girl with the dark blonde ringlets. She was cute and petite. Exactly the kind of girl who would look great with a guy like Drake.

"And the girl on the end. The unreal blond with the big smile? That's-"

"Tori," I said, interrupting Kia.

"Yeah," she said. "Do you know her?"

"Not exactly," I said. But I had seen her before. My first night at Shadowhall, she was the girl arguing with Jackson by the garden. She seemed so different this morning. Not at all like the kind of girl who needed to throw herself at a guy to get what she wanted. I wondered what exactly it was she wanted from Jackson anyway.

Agnes eyed me suspiciously. "Seriously, how did you know her name?"

"I might have a class with her," I lied.

"Yeah, that would make sense," Flora said. "Tori and Allison are in our grade, but Lark is a junior and Brooke is a senior. They're all best friends."

"I would give anything to sit over there with them at lunch, even just once," Randi said.

"I know, they are seriously the most beautiful girls in school," Agnes said.

I looked around and realised that since the four cheerleaders had stepped into the room, they had commanded the attention of nearly every table. It was weird. Sure, they were beautiful, but the way people were falling all over themselves to be noticed by them gave them almost celebrity-level status. As soon as they sat down at their table in the centre of the lunch room, a group of younger girls came over with cold bottles of water, as if they were servants. I didn't get it.

Of course, I was staring just like everyone else. I watched as the cheerleaders were soon joined by several other people, one of which caught my eye. Drake. I tried not to stare at him, especially after the way he treated me at his sisters store, but there was a part of me that was curious about him. At first, he seemed so nice and sweet, but then he'd changed in a heartbeat.

"You can quit staring," Agnes whispered. "Guys like Drake-"

"I know," I said. "They only date cheerleaders."

"Exactly," She said. "He's definitely gorgeous, but he's just out of our league and not gay, trust me."

She was probably right, but the way he'd flirted with me before he knew I was from Shadowhall. Well, he genuinely seemed interested.

When I went to dump my lunch tray, I walked by his table, just to see if he would notice me and maybe say hi. Unfortunately, I was too busy watching him instead of watching my feet, and I accidentally tripped over someone's backpack. My tray went flying, sending ketchup and left-over french fries flying.

I watched in horror as ketchup splattered all over Tori's white shirt.

"Jesus, what the hell?" She stood up and threw her hands into the air with disgust. Then, she looked up at me.

My face burned with fresh embarrassment. Of all people to fling ketchup on… why, God, why? It just wasn't my day.

"Sorry," I said. "I must have tripped on something."

I looked back to see what I might have stumbled over, but the floor was clear. I could have sworn I felt my boot hit something solid, but there was nothing there now.

"You've got to be kidding me," she yelled. "You are so dead. Who the hell are you anyway? I've never seen you here before."

"Oh, Tori, didn't you hear about the latest resident of Shadowhall's home for rejects?" Lark said with a laugh. "He fainted right in front of school this morning."

"That's right," Brooke added. "I heard they were getting a new freak over there. They should have warned us that he was so clumsy."

"What happened? Did you get too nervous on your first day of school little boy?" Allison said.

Everyone around the table laughed, and I looked to Drake, hoping to find at least one friendly face. He met my eyes for an instant, then looked away. Coward.

I straightened my shoulders, bracing myself against the painful blow to my ego. "Sorry about your shirt," I said. "It really was an accident."

"Oh, you'll be sorry alright. What was your name again?"

"Casper."

"Well, Casper, you just made the wrong kind of enemy."

The look in Tori's eyes was stormy and wild. My heart beat raced in my chest. I needed to get out of there. I moved to step around her and retrieve my tray, but she stepped with me and blocked my path.

"Look, I said I was sorry. What more can I do?"

I stepped to the other side, but she blocked me again. I felt the heat of anger and humiliation boil up inside of me. My fingers tingled with a familiar buzz, and I took a deep breath. I couldn't lose control. Not here. Not on my first day. Someone might get hurt.

On the table, my lunch tray rattled, then rose slightly into the air. I gasped and the tray fell to the table with a loud smack. Everyone around me grew silent.

Across the table, Drake's eyes met mine, wide and scared.

"I told you he was a freak," Brooke said, breaking the silence. Some of her confidence was gone, though, as if I had surprised her. "Come on, y'all. Let's get out of here before he really goes mental."

I stood there as the group of popular kids filed past me.

Tori stopped inches away from my face and narrowed her eyes at me. "Cross me again and I'll make you pay," she said.

I had officially made my first enemy at Asheville High School.