Blackstone Academy: The Rogue

36. Jax Flores

Jax P.O.V

Date: November 17, 2238

It's over. It's all over.

I grabbed some clothes from my dresser and stuffed them into the worn backpack, waiting on my bed before getting more.

"Jax, what are you doing?" Troy asked, watching me intently from the bathroom doorway while drying his freshly washed hair.

"Packing."

"I can see that." He slung the towel over his shoulder, walked over, and picked up a t-shirt I'd dropped in my haste before tossing it to me. "But why? Shouldn't you be lazing around in bed like you do every Saturday?"

"Nah, mate. Just beating them to the punch." I throw the shirt into my bag before collecting the stuff off my desk.

"Beating who?"

I said nothing, just continued packing my shit.

"Hello?" He called before stepping in front of me and blocking my path. "Would you stop and talk to me? Beating who?"

"The school officials. It's only a matter of time before they announce they're closing the school."

He ran the towel over his head once more, then tossed it in the hamper. "Closing th- Who told you that?"

"Nobody. It's obvious with everything that happened with Ms. Jacob, Joseph, and Mary." I stepped around him, went to the closet, and grabbed my duffle bag. "And now, Dexter. Oh yeah, it's definitely coming any day now."

"Jax, listen." He laid his hand on my shoulder and looked me squarely in the eyes. "They won't shut down the school. Not without another system in place to replace it. At most, they'll probably send us back to First Foundation for a while."

"And what? Those deaths will just be forgotten."

"No, they won't. They'll live on in the memory of everyone that knew them. Alright?"

I nodded.

"Now, will you stop this madness? You had me worried someone found out about your brother."

"Yeah. Sorry." I muttered.

He audibly exhaled. "I need to get out of here and clear my head. Want to grab some lunch?"

"Sure."

Putting all my stuff back could wait.

I followed him to the door. And to our surprise, when he opened it, Stacy stood there with her fist raised, poised to knock.

"Is Nova in there?" She asked, slightly breathlessly as she peered around us.

Troy and I exchanged glances. "No. Why would she be here?"

She muttered a curse under her breath, running her hand through her hair. "She never returned to the dorm last night, so I thought she might be here."

"What?! Where did she go?" Troy demanded.

"She said to do her laundry and then see Ms. Eve. But she never showed up to Ms. Eve's. And when I checked the laundry room..." she let out a slow breath. "The only thing I found was her clothes."

Without another word, Troy took off down the hall, narrowly avoiding running into Maverick.

"Whoa, whoa! Where's the fire?" He shouted at his back, but Troy never once stopped.

Stacy and I rushed to catch up with him, and on the way past, I called out, "Nova's missing!"

"Really? I just saw her in the infirmary." He said, joining us.