Page 30 of Waysider
They dumped the food on their trays, scraped the plates clean, and put them on a shelf. Cass and Finch parted ways in the courtyard. Finch waved and beamed so hard that Cass wondered for the tenth time if the other girl was on drugs. But she waved back and managed to muster a tiny smile.
On her way to the coffee cart, Cass checked her watch—it was actually Cal’s, which she’d taken from his room before she left New York—to make sure she wouldn’t be late for her next class. She was cutting it close, but after her late night, caffeine seemed worth the risk. Cass got in line and rocked on her heels, enjoying the feel of sunlight on her skin. God, she’d missed this. Just being outside. Breathing fresh air. Cass tipped her chin, her eyes sliding shut.
“How’s your first day going?”
Cass turned her head, then tilted it back to look up. It was Teddy Crane. Cass wasn’t usually good with names, but his came to mind effortlessly. Something about him stood out to her, other than the obvious. E&B’s golden boy, Finch had called him.
“It hasn’t been boring, I can tell you that,” Cass said, shouldering her backpack.
Teddy grinned, and Cass’s eyes darted down, noting the subtle dimple in his chin. “It never is around here. But which part has you spooked? Was it Professor Horn’s B.O.? I promise he doesn’t always smell like that. No, wait, I bet it was the lasagna.”
Before Cass could respond, a gust of wind stirred up, so strong that it tangled her hair. Cass noticed other students making remarks on it as she reached up to fix her bangs. Her eyes roamed the area around them, watching the wild gale claim homework and hats, forcing people to chase after them.
A moment later, it felt like Cass’s stomach dropped out of her. Cal was charging up the path, his expression panicked.
What is he doing? she thought furiously. This place was crawling with people who could potentially see him! They’d been lucky so far, but Cass didn’t want any trouble and she didn’t want to deal with questions.
So why was her idiot brother drawing attention to himself?
“What happened?” Cal demanded the second he was within earshot.
Cass didn’t answer him—she couldn’t. Teddy was still standing beside her, waiting for a response. Unlike Cal, she wasn’t about to announce his presence to the entire school. Cass refocused on the golden boy, half-expecting him to be staring at her like she was insane. It was how most people looked at her eventually. But Teddy just waited, his hands shoved in his pockets, the sunlight catching strands of his hair and making them glitter.
“Sorry,” Cass said finally. “I get distracted easily.”
He grinned at her again, more fully this time. “I’m feeling a little distracted, too.”
Awareness shot through Cass’s body as she realized that Teddy Crane was flirting with her. For a moment, she was tempted to flirt back, but she stopped herself. Cute or no, Cass wasn’t about to break her rule about dating E&B boys, and the fact that her brother was watching didn’t exactly set the mood. Then there was the matter of Finch’s crush. Cass looked at her watch again, and some of her panic wasn’t feigned as she said, “Shit, I better get to class. I swore things would be different here.”
This last part she hadn’t meant to say, and Cass caught a glimpse of amusement—and maybe a little intrigue—in Teddy’s eyes before she turned, rushing down the path. Cal was right beside her every step of the way. Thankfully, he waited until the coffee cart was out of sight before he tried to speak again.
“What happened earlier?” Cal pressed. “You were terrified. I felt it.”
“Well, that’s creepy. And nothing happened, I just had a scare in the chapel,” Cass muttered. She glanced down at the small piece of paper resting on top of her books. Her eyes flicked around. “The schedule just says ‘Fastly Hall’. Do you see any buildings with that name on it?”
The problem was, none of the buildings were marked. Frowning, Cass consulted the map she’d found in the welcome packet. She knew Cal was talking, but there were still other people around. She also really wanted to get to this class on time.
One of the lecture halls seemed promising—it was the same shape as the one on the map. Cass hurried toward the entrance and went inside. Everyone’s next class must’ve started, because the hallways were practically empty. There was a marble staircase in front of them, and Cass hurried toward it, desperate to find someone. At the second landing, a boy rushed past, a backpack thumping against his spine.
“Hey, is this Fastly Hall?” Cass called to his retreating form.
“Nope!” he called back, and then he was gone.
Cass stopped, swearing. She was officially lost. The thought made her launch into movement again, and she whirled to go back down the stairs.
“…what’s going on?” Cal demanded. “Cass. Cass. Answer me, goddamn it.”
At the next landing, Cass swung to face him. Fuck it, she was already late anyway. “Hey, how about this. You tell me where you went today, and I’ll tell you why I almost shit my pants. Deal?”
“I’m sorry, when did you become my keeper?” Cal snapped, raking his hair back. The flaps of his jacket brushed against his hips. “I don’t owe you any explanations, Cass. I’m still a fucking adult.”
But Cass didn’t hear him—she was too busy staring over Cal’s shoulder.
There were frames on the walls along these stairs. They contained portraits and class photos, snapshots and old newspaper clippings. One hung just behind Cal. It was a black and white shot of six boys, all of them standing in a row, arms slung over each other’s shoulders. They looked her age, give or take, and each of them bore a pin on their old timey clothing. All of them were smiling, except for a single boy.
He stood on the very end, his dark, solemn eyes terrifyingly familiar. Cass felt like the breath had been knocked out of her.
It was Michael.
