The Evans family's catering was to die for. Tonight, students had four choices, each accompanied by a caesar salad or broccoli cheddar soup. Lewis ordered the chicken parmesan, Armina requested a Turkey burger with no tomato and extra onion, and Jayce said he'd take whatever the waiter thought he'd like. He ended up with a turkey burger and caesar salad with just enough caesar. They all dug in, grateful to be full-time students at the quite possibly richest school in North America.
"Oh my god," Jayce muttered, the worry melting off his face. "Did they feed this turkey gold?"
The blue level students sitting behind them were too hungry to laugh at Jayce, but little doe-eyed Wendy placed next to Jayce giggled between bites.
Armina grinned. "Is it... you know... wrong for you to eat meat?"
"Why would it be?" he asked, mouth half-full.
Armina curled her finger, motioning for Jayce to lean in across the table. He did so and listened to Armina whisper, "Because you technically are whatever you turn into?"
Jayce pulled away, his mouth frozen partially opening, turkey burger stuffed in his cheeks. The colour drained from his face. He looked like he might pass out.
"Jayce?" Lewis asked, shaking the boy's hand.
The caramel-haired boy chewed slowly and swallowed like the burger was sand. He sipped his water while pushing his plate away, making sad puppy eyes at the meal.
Armina burst out laughing. She slipped off her chair and landed with a loud thud. Students swiveled around in their own seats to watch Armina wipe the tears out her ears with gloved hands and struggle to get up, the laughing stealing the air from her lungs. Lewis had never seen her do anything more than scoff.
Lewis smiled and laughed along with Armina.
"What's so funny?" asked Wendy, her thin eyebrows pulling toward each other.
Jayce looked insulted, then the feigned anger washed off his face.
The three of them chuckled, holding the room's attention, even Mari and her crew, but a hint of sadness remained in Jayce's eyes as if he couldn't quite let go of whatever ate away at him. Lewis yearned for him to come clean and lay it all on the line right now, but he wouldn't dare force Jayce to do anything.
Then the room went completely silent. The presence of a power to fear entered and pervaded throughout. Andrew Evans stood before an abstract stained glass window, perfectly still and perfectly straightened. His greasy black hair shimmered silver under the colourful evening light flooding in through the window.
He cleared his throat, took in a deep, wheezy breath, and said, "I know we just said goodbye to Mr. Elliot Everhart, but I would like to help me welcome Mr. Jayce LeBlanc. He will be staying here full time as you all do." Andrew's eyes glared at everyone but Mari. It wasn't usual for her to stay, but Lewis guessed whatever business her and Jayce's family had ordered her to make sure he got settled in or make sure he didn't do anything reckless. "Mr. LeBlanc, if you'll join me."
Jayce scooted back in his chair and stood. Every pair of eyes landed on him, picking him apart like vultures would a dead buffalo. Jayce had left his jacket in the dorm and unbuttoned his shirt down to the upper half of his chest to look less formal. Still, Lewis could tell he felt naked under the gaze of thirty people. He gulped and made his way to Andrew. Andrew clamped his hand down on his shoulder. Jayce flinched under the pressure, then planted his feet firmly on the ground, feigning confidence.
"Mr. LeBlanc here is an eleventh grade level blue, and you are to treat him with respect as you do your other peers. I know it is not typically for a student to enroll so late in their academic careers, but the Evans Academy was built to help, not judge." Andrew gave the room a once-over as if to say, Whoever bullies this kid will be very sorry. "That is all."
Jayce returned to his seat, running off like a shy kid just shown off by his father to his friends. Look at my son! He gets straight A's! Lewis imagined Andrew saying, although it seemed ridiculous. He didn't flaunt Armina, and he certainly wouldn't brag about his own children if he had any.
Andrew turned and left.
In his wake, the intense atmosphere faded and the volume of students chattering rose quickly.
"Daddy dearest seems to like you more than he likes me," remarked Armina.
Lewis nudged her with his elbow. "Leave the poor guy alone. Now the full time students think he's the teacher's pet."
Jayce raised an eyebrow. "Do they actually?"
"We do!" shouted a blond kid with tanned skin from across the room.
"Yeah!" yelled another with red hair and a face full of freckles.
"Great. Just great. I'm gonna head back to the room. I've had a long day."
Lewis wanted to shout out for Jayce to stay, but he let the boy leave.
Armina grinned. "He's interesting."
"You make him nervous."
Armina held up her gloved hands then shoved a bite of burger in her mouth. "I make everyone but you nervous. I'm a ticking time bomb and you're indestructible."
Lewis didn't want to make sure he was indestructible. Sure, he healed relatively quickly and couldn't age, but everyone had a weakness. Weaknesses were human and kept superhumans grounded. He only hoped he wouldn't find that the only way to die would be painful like receiving a stake through the heart or being at the centre of a nuclear explosion. "As far as we know," said Lewis, leaving the conversation at that. "I'm going to head off too."
Wendy peered across the table at Lewis, one eyebrow raised as if to say you think you can just leave me with her? Lewis almost laughed. Despite Wendy's age, she showed intelligence much beyond her years. He wondered if her ghostly companions offered teaching services.
"You want to take a walk around the school before bedtime, Wendy?"
She nodded and leaped up, leaving her half-finished meal for someone else to clean up. She met Lewis on the other side of the table and grabbed his hand.
Armina hid envy for Wendy behind her dark eyes. Her power was too strong to deactivate for any longer than a few seconds, and even then there were misfires. From what she had told him, Armina left a few kids in the infirmary when she first practiced control.
"Well, see you tomorrow morning."
"Yep." Armina returned to her dinner, ketchup squirting onto her gloves and lettuce tumbling onto her plate.
The academy was whimsical at night. Strolling down the long, tall corridors, light from the setting sun poured in through floor-to-ceiling windows. Pinks, oranges, and yellows crossed Lewis' face, lighting up the shades of green and brown in his eyes. The stained wood floors seemed to have the northern lights dancing across them.
Despite the beauty, Lewis couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. Because he'd look fourteen forever. Because Jayce was hiding something. Because Armina, his friend, was destined to destroy everything. And especially because Mari was lurking around the school.
Two voices echoed from around the corner at the end of the hall. Lewis considered walking past them, but halted when he realized who they belonged to. The quieter, better pronounced voice was Jayce's, and the sweet yet sour voice was Mari's.
Speak of the devil, thought Lewis.
He pulled over to the wall, two feet back from the corner. He leaned against it, acting casually in case Jayce or Mari took off. His unfocused eyes stared at the nearest window. Every ounce of his attention was focused on deciphering the conversation. Normally, Lewis wouldn't snoop, knowing other people's business was just that - their own business, but he couldn't help Jayce if he didn't know what the boy had gotten himself into.
"-roommate?" asked Mari.
Jayce sighed. "Lewis. He's nice. Trusting. That's it."
"How are things with Armina?"
"Just fine. She hates my guts but keeps me around for amusement."
"It's only the first day. You have time to get closer to her. Six weeks to be exact."
Armina's seventeenth birthday. The prophecy.
Lewis almost gasped. He clamped his hand over his mouth, and the conversation went on.
"Then I'm free to go?"
Mari grumbled, "Sure." Jayce tried to leave, but Mari grabbed his arm. "Don't do anything stupid or you'll be dead before you can say sorry."
Mari came out around the corner and didn't give a thought to Lewis. He stood there, looking as casual as he could. He wished he were a chameleon. He wanted to melt into the wall and never be seen again.
Then he turned the corner himself and saw Jayce sitting on the floor, back against the wall. His face was in his shaking hands, but he wasn't crying. He tugged at his caramel-brown hair as his fingers ran through it, then he noticed Lewis.
"I'm fine," he said, getting up. He adjusted his shirt, making it more wrinkled than it had been. "Just stressed out from the first day. I've always hated being the new kid."
Lewis replied, "Yeah, me too." He knew Jayce was lying. He and Mari were involved in something bad, but he couldn't bring himself to accuse Jayce without the whole story. He didn't even know what was really happening.
"You want to walk with me?" Jayce asked.
"Is this because you forgot where our room is?"
A toothy grin crept onto his face. The anxiety was still there, but everything else worrying him washed away. "I'm not admitting to it, but it wouldn't hurt to be reassured of where I'm going."
They headed through the maze of hallways making small talk, but in the back of his mind all Lewis could think was please don't be on the wrong side of things, Jayce. But Lewis suspected his hope was misplaced.