A gust of wind whipped my hair across my face. I brushed the dark tendrils away, raising my face to the sky as gray clouds chewed their way through the horizon.
Splat. A drop of rain pelted my face. I pedaled my legs as fast as they could go down the cobblestone path as raindrops pelted the sidewalk around me. At last, I caught up with her at the cafeteria door.
She held the door open for me. “I can’t get wet or it’s bye-bye sleek hair, hello frizzy mess.” Julia smoothed down her stick-straight golden brown locks, hoisting her bag over her head.
“Wow, girl.” I huffed in the thick air, biting back a retort at her lame excuse for running away from me. It took way longer than usual for me to catch my breath. “You should be a track star. Don’t worry. Your hair is still perfect.”
“I’m sure it won’t last through the day.” She curled up those pouty lips as we scurried inside the cafeteria to a mess of food smells. My stomach gurgled, probably because I’d neglected breakfast today. The sharp sting of pepperoni hit me first. It simmered in the pizza oven on the back wall. Then the meaty smell of boiling hot dogs mixed with the greasy goodness of fried chicken. Montrose spared no expense to ensure they represented all the regions of the country in the cafeteria. But pepperoni couldn’t cover up the damp odor of wet teens streaming inside from the rain.
“That could’ve been us.” She handed me a tray and headed for the salad bar.
I followed her, adding a small salad to my plate. Mom would be proud of that, at least. She’d probably hate the self-serve sandwich station, saying I put too much cheese or mayo on my turkey and rye or something ridiculous. Even after all she did, I’d probably never be able to shake my mom’s nagging voice in my head.
Julia topped her salad with piles of veggies. I loaded up my sandwich with the final touch, honey mustard, and scanned the tables for Shanda. No luck. The crowd pushed me to the checkout line, separating me from Julia.
After I swiped my card, I spied two red-heads lounging at an enormous table by the front windows.
Felicia motioned me over, a small gesture that pulled me out of my inner ramblings and back to the reality like a lifeline.
I set my tray down across from her, next to Laura. “Hi, girls.”
“Lucy, I’m so glad you found us.” Laura put down her sandwich and flashed her warm hostess-with-the-mostest smile.
Felicia munched on her hot dog, her green eyes bright and friendly. “Me, too. I can’t wait to hear about your class today.”
“Really? It’s just a class.” I swung my bag off my shoulders, eyeing the red-head with flashing green eyes. “Okay, maybe a little weirder than normal.”
“Wait, how was it weird?” Laura held up her tiny hand.
“Why do you ask?” I scrunched my eyebrows at her, stuffing my turkey sandwich into my mouth to keep from saying something rude. The deli turkey was salty and delicious, especially paired with the juicy tomato and crisp lettuce. I could still make a mean sandwich, even if I had no clue why everyone cared so much about my Origins of the Three Societies class.
Laura shrugged her red-orange curls off her shoulders. “It’s an introductory class, so I just figured since you’re a junior and your brother was Nexis president that you’d already know everything.”
“I guess everyone knows I’m James’ sister, huh?” I unscrunched my eyebrows. I twirled my silver ring around my finger, hoping that rubbing the family heirloom would make everything clearer. Did I really see some strange vision of a long-dead Biblical character? Better keep that part to myself, or the whole school would figure out my little secret.
Laura and Felicia both bobbed their heads as they ate. Julia wandered among the tables and I waved her over. She settled herself in next to Felicia.
“This is my suitemate, Julia Donovan.” I introduced her to Felicia and Laura.
The gingers exchanged odd looks. What was that about? I opened my mouth to ask, right as the guys yelled at each other across the cafeteria, heading to our table. I bit back my question and glanced up into those famous blue eyes that unnerved me. Bryan closed snapped his mouth shut, while Tony cocked his head at Lenny with a quizzical glare.
That made two things I’d have to ask about later.
Tony pulled out the chair next to Julia, and Lenny plunked down beside him. That left one chair for Bryan, the one next to me. His lips twisted, not exactly a frown, but not really a smile either, until his shoulder grazed mine. I scooted closer to Laura, and we all munched in silence.
“Hey, girl.” Shanda waved at me across the dining hall.
Bryan snagged a chair from another table, sliding it between us. My jaw clenched as if he’d dissed me. Where’d that come from? I stuffed my sandwich in my mouth to distract myself from any more hormone-induced silliness. Maybe he just thought we’d like to sit together since we were roomies.
“Thanks, Bryan.” Shanda plopped into her seat next to me. “What’d I miss?”
“Lucy was going to tell us all about Harlixton’s class.” Laura nudged me and I put down my turkey and cheese. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at me. My face flamed.
I took a cool sip of iced tea. “There’s not much to tell, really. It was a little odd, that’s all.”
Julia coughed. “Odd is an understatement.”
“How interesting could that class be? Origins of the Three Societies sounds like such a drag.” Shanda slurped her smoothie.
“Actually, it was more interesting than I imagined.” Rolling the words over in my brain, I decided on a bland, generic response. “For instance, I didn’t know there were three chosen ones.”
Felicia leaned in, putting her elbows on the table. Her
