I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Cute guys had that effect me. He tilted up his chin, like he knew it was his best feature. Or was he just trying to get me to read the flyer in my hands?
With a gold, fire-like logo, the flyer announced the Nexis Society’s new-recruit drive. Beads of sweat broke out on my forehead, as the linen paper became moist in my hand. My pulse quickened. James had been Nexis president before he disappeared. I always wondered, did they make him disappear? I planned to pledge the Nexis Society to find out.
Our parents tried to feed us some story about how James jetted off to Europe to recover from the mysterious death of his girlfriend. But I knew that wasn’t the truth. And here was my chance to prove it.
The flyer fluttered in my hand as I analyzed the words, trying to pick up a hint from my measly second-born powers like my brother had taught me. Could this Nexis guy help me find some connection to James? I scanned the crowd for my mystery man, but he’d already disappeared. No doubt the orientation dragon swallowed him up. Then someone ripped the flyer from my hand. The thick paper sliced through my flesh.
“Ouch.” I pressed my fingertip to my tongue. “What’d you do that for?”
Another guy crumpled the paper against his polo and banked it off a tree trunk into the trashcan five feet away. Show-off. I glanced up to say as much, right into the most gorgeous eyes ever.
Hold the phone—smolder alert at the orientation fair. At least six foot with inky hair, aqua-blue eyes. Almost the exact negative of Nexis guy and his golden hair. Hello, hottie.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. You should stay away from that guy, his group, too. You’ll be a lot better off without them.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at me.
“Who made you king of the school?” I ground my teeth together, nicking the inside of my cheek. A metallic taste filled my mouth. Yeah right, like it was some strange dude’s job to tell me what to do.
“I’m not king of anything, just the president of the Guardians. You should think about joining us instead.” Those blue eyes seeped through my thoughts, muddling them into mush.
My heart leapt into my throat. Here was my chance. “You want me to join the Guardians? Where’s your invite?”
“We’re a little more secretive than that.” A gust of wind tousled the hint of curl in his black hair, offset by pale skin that highlighted a dimple on his cheek.
I had to focus on something else. His mouth pressed into a hard scowl. That would do. “Do you always recruit by snatching Nexis invites right from people’s hands?”
“Touché.” That scowl didn’t last long. He held out his hand. “I’m Bryan Cooper. What’s your name?”
My fingertips sparked at his touch. Probably just the paper cut. “Lucy McAllen.”
His eyes widened like I’d just told him I came from the moon. He held my hand so long I almost pulled it back. Finally, he shook it. “No, that was a little unorthodox.”
I wriggled my hand from his tight grip. Wouldn’t want to give him any ideas. “By the way, no one likes to be told what to do. Next time ask or suggest something if you ever want it to happen.”
Bryan belted out a laugh so loud that people stopped and stared. Then he doubled over. Seriously? One good jab to the ribs and he’d crumple to the sidewalk. He’d deserve it too, for laughing at me.
He propped his hands on his knees. “You’re right, my mistake.” When he glanced up, his blue eyes were hovering at my level now. “I’ll find you on Monday to give you a personal invite to our first meeting. How’s that?”
“Fine, I guess.” I backed up, narrowing my gaze at Bryan. How exactly did he expect to find me? Did they just handout new student’s schedules to the campus presidents of all three secret societies? Creepy.
“Have a pleasant weekend. See you on Monday.” He stood up to his full height and waved, a laugh still lingering in his eyes.
I fought the urge to roll my eyes as he disappeared into the crowd. Like I really wanted to see him around. Hotties were always dangerous, especially ones with gorgeous eyes. But maybe all guys weren’t like my ex. Only time would tell.
Shaking off the odd encounter, I walked toward the fair and replayed the words from the Nexis flyer in my head. Tonight at sundown. Observatory Tower. At least I had my first genuine lead.
Teenagers packed the orientation fair, surrounding me on all sides as I approached the white tents of the activities fair.
I blinked at the clipboard shoved in my face. “No thank you.” Can we say personal space, people?
Luckily, I had a fabulous roommate who I’d met this morning. A real native New Yorker. She pushed her way through the snarled lines and snatched the orange Astronomy Club sign-up sheet from me. Her twelfth clipboard today. Shanda Jones needed an intervention.
“Let’s take a walk.” I slid my hands into the pockets of my frayed jean shorts.
“Okay, just a sec.” With an ebony hand she flipped dark braids over her shoulder and grabbed another clipboard, scribbling her name on it.
I peeked over her shoulder. “Fall play tryouts? I say go for it.” Memories of my stint in Alton High’s drama club fought their way forward.
Shanda’s eyes scanned my face like she didn’t believe me. “Why don’t you sign up, too?”
“Not me. I don’t need that kind of pressure right now.” I had enough to worry about. The crowd caved in on us. Who could see anything in this maze of people? “I’ve been dying to explore the campus on my own.”
On tiptoes, I gazed beyond the herd. Green lawn and freedom lay dead ahead.
“Sure. Let’s get out of here.”
