What the hell?
A couple students noticed my stare and glanced at me. They frowned in my direction and turned their backs on me.
Well, Okaaay then.
“Hey, cuz!” Javi’s voice startled me.
I turned around to face him. More than a few heads turned in our direction; their hostility from earlier turning into curiosity.
He flashed me a smile. “How was your first class?”
“It was a freshman class, Javi. I was the oldest one there.”
He winced. “Yeah. I forgot to tell you about that.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “Yeah. What else did you forget to tell me?”
A sheepish smile spread on his face. “That’s it, promise.”
“And you drove off so fast, you took my ID card with you.”
“Oh…. Sorry about that.”
“Some help you’ve been.”
His shoulders slumped. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Rose. I should have taken more responsibility for you.”
I frowned. “No. That’s not exactly what I mean.”
“Let me make it up to you. Buy you a coffee?” His eyebrows waggled.
The boy knew my weakness.
“Fine. Extra large.”
“Sure.”
I walked over to the coffee cart with him, glancing at our onlookers. I still couldn’t hear them.
“What’s up with the sound here? Am I going deaf?”
He glanced at me as he ordered and swiped his card. “What? Oh, no. That. This lounge is warded to keep the noise level down. You can’t hear anyone unless they want you to. Since nobody knows you here… yet…”
“Oh. That’s… crazy. So, no one can hear me either?”
“Not unless you want them to.”
I smiled. “Not even if I yell at the top of my lungs? Like, something totally embarrassing about you?”
His eyes narrowed. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. I seem to remember a particular little boy who mistook dog treats for people food.”
He glanced around, eyes wide. “Shut up. No one needs to hear that.”
“But I thought you said no one could hear me.”
“Well, she can hear you.” He nodded to the girl behind the counter, picking at her nail polish.
I snorted. “She’s not listening, Javi.”
“Don’t tell anyone that story.”
“Why not? It’s hilarious. You ate almost the whole bag before you realized it.” I snickered. “And remember, you couldn’t figure out why Roxi kept trying to put her paw in your hand to do her ‘shake’ trick.”
His ears reddened. “Stop, Rose. I know stories about you too.”
My eyebrow arched. “I didn’t eat dog treats.”
“Yeah, because I’m a nice guy. I wouldn’t have let you eat dog food. But you thought it was sooo funny.”
“It is funny.”
I grabbed my coffee cup and added my three bags of sugar, still smiling at the memory of my cousin. Papi made me apologize. Pain pierced me as his face flashed in my mind.
For a moment, I’d forgotten he was gone and not just back home, waiting for me. I wasn’t ever going back there. This was my life now.
“Rose, come on,” Javi called me over to a group of people.
My chest tightened. No. I couldn’t handle their eyes and questions right now. My throat burned as I tried to discreetly motion to my cousin that I didn’t want to. He was still frowning at me, waving me over.
I turned back to the condiment table and kept stirring the sugar in. My whole body was flushed, my ears ringing. What was happening to me? I glanced at the bracelet. Was it doing something to me?
No. I didn’t think so. The room spun around me, and it felt like something was pressing on my lungs. A panic attack? Was that what this was?
“Rose, are you okay?” Javi came up beside me.
Concern flashed in his dark eyes. I sucked in a breath and nodded, unable to make my mouth move to form words.
“I’ll walk you to the next class. Mine is right next door.” He smiled.
Nodding, I ignored the stares as we made our way to the elevators. Once inside, the panic ebbed and I could breathe normally again. It was just the two of us.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Javi asked.
I forced a smile. “All things considered.”
“You can tell me, Rose.”
“I know. Thanks.”
We fell silent as the elevator took us to the third floor. Javi apologized for not having the same lunch time, promising to change it as soon as possible. He helped me fix the tablet before heading to his class.
I squared my shoulders and vowed to get through the next class without having a meltdown. The classroom was big and set up like a regular class back home, except the desks and chairs were much nicer.
Everyone fell silent as I entered. Ignoring them, I chose the only seat left—front row. Groaning inwardly, I set my tablet down on the large wooden desktop and slunk into my seat.
To my left, I noticed a heavy stare.
A tall, brown haired guy sat beside me. His golden-tanned, muscular frame better suited for surfing than sitting in a classroom. Blue eyes met mine. Blue-gray that reminded me of the sky before a storm. I scoffed at myself. No more romance novels for me. Shaking off the discomfort, I steeled myself.
“What?” I asked.
His eyebrow arched in surprised, but he quickly recovered. “They don’t allow transfers this late in the school year. Why are you here?”
I flashed him a wolfish smile. “Guess they made an exception.”
His lips pursed and his forehead creased the way mine did when I was doing math equations. He continued to glare at me as if I’d disappear the longer he looked.
“Didn’t your mom tell you it’s rude to stare?”
He stiffened. “My mom died.”
I winced. “Oh. Sorry. Mine too.”
“Who are you?”
Sighing, I leaned back in my chair and stretched my legs out. “Rose.”
“You’re Javier’s cousin, aren’t you?” another boy spoke up.
All eyes settled on me. I frowned. What did they care?
“Yeah.”
Whispers grew. Gray eyes scowled. Not a friend of Javi’s?
“Then, why haven’t we seen you before?” His voice silenced the room.
I turned back to face him and size him up. Ah. I saw it now. The alpha. Was this what this was
