holding limply in his hands. There it was written, in clear
typewritten letters, A-Format 8:00 am. Introductory
Physical Fitness. Cutter Gymnasium.
“I guess my first class was gym,” I said, feeling
stupid. “I'm sorry – I got confused...”
“You mean, you were misled.” Coach Matthews
fixed a great, beady eye on Varun. “I don't blame you, Miss
Evers. You couldn't have known.”
“Known what?”
“Nice try, Mr. Cutter. But just because you want to
have the first crack at the pretty new girl doesn't mean you
get to make her miss her first class.”
“It wasn't that, Coach Matthews,” Varun's ears were
now a bright scarlet. “Our tour just took a while, that's all.”
Besides Varun, I giggled, thinking about how
Varun’s tour also meant him giving me a full imitation
impression of each of the teachers.
“M hm.” Coach Matthews raised a pair of bushy gray
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KAILIN GOW
eyebrows. “If you don't know it yet, you should, Miss Evers.
Young Mr. Cutter here is a good soul – but he does have a
way with the ladies. I was the school lothario when I was his
age – but he puts me to shame, don't you, Mr. Cutter? Ah
well. Those that have the gift of charm must flaunt it.” The
other students – nearly all males – laughed, excepting
Chance, who stared down Varun with pure hatred in his eyes.
“I'm sorry I'm late, Coach Matthews,” I said. “It
won't happen again.”
“Mr. Cutter?” Coach Matthews turned to Varun.
“Won't happen again!” Varun grinned at me. “Right,
sir. Promise. My word!” He patted me on the shoulder, and I
could feel the ocean-cool blue of his gaze pouring into my
soul, comforting me. Everything's going to be fine, he
seemed to be saying. Just stay cool. “Find me at lunch,
Mackenzy. Sorry I got you in trouble.”
“Make sure it's the last time!” Coach Matthews
called after Varun as he strode out the door, but there was no
anger in his voice. It was clear that Coach Matthews, like the
rest of the school, genuinely liked Varun and enjoyed giving
him a good tease once in a while. If Varun was the school
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Princes of Paradise (M.A.G.E. #1 )
lothario, as Coach Matthews had joked, he certainly wasn't
a cocky playboy like Chance, who seemed more annoyed by
the second at the prospect of Varun's having already claimed
the title
“Now, I know wrestling isn't the most popular sport
with the ladies,” said Coach Matthews, “but signups for fall
sports were last spring – this is the only class that had any
slots left by the time you enrolled. So I hope you'll learn
quickly to play with the boys.”
I scanned the class quickly, hoping nobody would
have already judged me for my tardiness. But luckily, most
of the boys in the class seemed to be more amused by Varun's
half-hearted attempt at spending time with me than they
were at my confusion. And they were almost all boys. Only
two girls were sitting beside the wrestling mat. One was a
slight, elfin figure with pixie-cropped hair and a pair of
glasses sitting atop a tiny button nose. She couldn't have
been more than fourteen or fifteen, I thought with surprise –
and certainly she didn't look like she was capable of pinning
a gnat to the mat, let alone a burly eighteen-year-old boy.
Beside her was another girl with electric-blue hair in a messy
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KAILIN GOW
fringe, who was glowering almost as much as Chance, albeit
far more indiscriminately. She looked as if she'd rather be
anywhere but in class – and preferably as far away from the
other students as possible. Her nose ring glinted in the pale
fluorescent light of the gym.
What Varun had said about me being fresh meat was
evidently true. Between the dearth of girls in the gym class
and the clearly exhausted dating scene at Aeros overall, the
boys evidently regarded me as hungry dogs might a new-
killed carcass. As they looked me up and down, evidently
sizing up my dating potential, I turned redder than Varun had
done earlier. I wanted to be popular in my new school, but
certainly not that popular.
“Well, Miss Evers,” Coach Matthews's voice burst
through my thoughts. “Are you going to join us or not?”
“I want to,” I said, fumbling for words, “but I haven't
got any clothes to change into. They weren't mentioned in
the orientation letter...”
“That's okay!” The tiny girl sprang to her feet.
“Coach Matthews, I've got my spare set in my locker. Can
she borrow those?”
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Princes of Paradise (M.A.G.E. #1 )
“Fine,” said Coach Matthews. “But be back quickly,
both of you! No socializing in the locker room.” He tossed
the girl the locker room key.
“I'm Alice,” the girl explained as we walked, her
voice as wispy and small as her frame. “I know it's tough to
be new here. When I arrived freshman year, I'd skipped the
seventh and eighth grades, so I didn't know anyone either.”
She went over to her locker, expertly dialing the lock,
and removed a crisp white tank top and blue shorts, neatly
folded, from her locker. “I always keep a spare in case I don't
have time to do the ironing,” she said.
Certainly, I thought, Alice looked like the kind of girl
who would evidently iron all
