The Secret Girl (Adamson All-Boys Academy #1) - C.M. Stunich Page 0,25
my breasts. I need to get back and take the damn bindings off. Then again, if I wasn't in such a rush to get down here after school, I would've done it earlier, and then maybe Spencer would've noticed something by now. Lucky me.
“Leave. Me. Alone.” My voice comes out in a growl, and Spencer grins, releasing me so suddenly that I stumble and end up on my knees in the leaves.
“If you had a crush on me, all you had to do was say something,” he adds with a laugh, tucking the fingers of his right hand into the pocket of his blue academy blazer. “Seriously, Chuck. You haven't made any friends at this school, and that's your own fault. Nobody cares if you're gay: we only care if you're an asshole.” He turns back toward the direction of the bonfire and disappears, leaving me with sweaty palms and a pounding heart I can't explain.
I suddenly miss Cody with everything I have.
“Dumbass,” I grumble, but honestly, the whole gay thing is plausible. I may just roll with it. Then again, one of the main reasons I want to stay hidden is because I'd like to avoid being hit on. If I come out as gay, I might have a few suitors. Like, imagine Ross lusting after me? Gross.
Spencer seemed a bit excited by the idea, I think, cheeks flushing. Although how stupid is that? If he is gay, then he wouldn't actually be interested in me at all once he found out, now would he? Not that I want him to be interested. Not that I care.
Not one bit.
There's no curfew on Halloween, but it's also sort of a moot point for someone like me who doesn't have a car. While most of the other students pile in limos or fancy sports cars and take off, I'm left at the academy virtually by myself.
“Dad, please,” I beg, holding his keys in my hand. “Just let me go into town for a couple of hours.”
“So you can go to a party and get drunk?” he asks, standing in the kitchen with a single jack-o-lantern glowing in the window behind him. “Absolutely not. You don't know anyone here, and you have no friends to go with you.” Wow, Dad, way to rub it in. I frown, but he's nowhere near done with his lecture. “Besides that, you're still in hot water with the Student Council, and you haven't exactly behaved in a manner befitting someone who deserves a night out.”
“Seriously?” I ask, my mouth hanging open in shock. Sure, Dad was strict back home, too, but not like this. For Halloween last year, I went with Monica and Cody to this private beach party that her cousin was throwing. Yeah, we got drunk, but the worst thing we did was spray paint a giant dick on the lifeguard sign down the way. That, and Cody and I laid in the sand while the sun came up and made out. “You're going to make me hang out in this ghost town all by myself?”
“Charlotte, I've got work to do, and Halloween is just another day for me. I'm sorry if it means that much to you, but you should have thought of that before refusing to help Church with his project, or racking up so many detentions.”
I toss the keys onto the counter and throw my hands up in frustration, heading back outside and slamming the door behind me. I'm fuming mad now, totally and completely pissed off. Monica and Cody won't even answer their damn phones, leaving me to wonder what the hell they're getting up to tonight that I won't get to be a part of.
Red, orange, and gold leaves swirl around me, and I shiver, tugging my blazer closed a little tighter. It's so damn cold here, cold and crisp and with that bite in the air that says it's getting ready to snow again.
I miss California; I miss the beach; I miss my friends.
Scrubbing my hands down my face, I make my way back to the dorm, trying to ignore the eerie feeling I'm getting. It's Halloween, so it's understandable, and the jack-o-lanterns lining the path don't help much.
The academy is completely bereft of students and staff; I think the only other people who are here besides me and Dad are Nathan, the night watchman, and Eddie, the janitor. Literally, that's it. I'm the only person on campus under age fifty.