Stranger

Chapter 11

Ethan reached over and typed in a key code in the panel and the gates slowly began to open. There was a long, curved driveway that was completely bare except for a couple of golf carts parked off to the side and palm trees that provided shade and beauty.

"If anyone needs to get something from town that requires a golf cart," Ethan explained as he parked his golf cart next to the other two, "they come here and rent one. Obviously there are time restraints and similar rules you might encounter if you were borrowing your parents' car, but sometimes it's nice to get away from all of this." He gestured at the school. "Everyone deserves a break."

Sophie nodded in agreement. This school felt like it was going to be her break from living on her own. At least she hoped it would be.

"The yellow and black colors signify that it's ours," he continued. He glanced over at Will, who had been suspiciously silent for the duration of the drive, and gave him a smile she couldn't decipher.

"Catalina, huh?" Sophie asked Ethan.

"Yes," Ethan said with a nod of his head. "I felt that an island close enough to civilization but far away enough to give us necessary isolation was the perfect place to open up a school." He shared a boyish grin with Jared.

"Like Alcatraz," she murmured with a faint smile of her own.

"Yes, like Alcatraz," Ethan said. "Except instead of housing the nation's most ruthless criminals, we're housing peculiars, teaching them what it means to be a peculiar, and helping them take control of their gifts."

"You know," she said, scooting up in her seat as far as the seatbelt would allow her to go, "Alcatraz really didn't house the most dangerous criminals. In reality, they held former Public Enemies, escape artists, and war prisoners. The majority of the people who were brought there were bank robbers, not serial killers."

"You seem to know a lot about prison," Will said cryptically. He raised his brows at her. "Ever been before?"

"Actually, no," she retorted. "But I was almost arrested, thanks to you."

"Well, you weren't hanging on to my charm like most girls your age," Will pointed out with an arrogant drawl. "If you hadn't been so stubborn—"

"I'll let you get settled in," Ethan interrupted. As per his usual, he had a smile on his face, but this was one too enigmatic for her to figure out. He turned to Sophie and shook her hand once more. Before releasing it, he placed his free hand over hers, smiling at her. His hands felt warm and not clammy like she knew hers were. "Miss Harper, I want to thank you again for coming here. You don't realize it, but you're incredibly special and we are lucky to have you." He released her and looked back at Will. "Since you are her RH director, I think it would only be fitting if you showed her where she'll be staying. It was nice to meet you, Miss Harper." With that, both Jared and Ethan turned and headed to the main building.

From where she was standing, Sophie could make out five tall buildings. Four of them seemed to represent each of the four directions, with the main building Ethan and Jared walked toward placed directly in the center. The building was long rather than tall, with three floors rather than seven. The fifth building was off to the side, directly across from the south building and it had twelve stories. Four balconies wrapped around its narrow frame in total, one on every third floor.

"Come on," Will said, tilting his head in his intended direction.

He led her to the building directly across from the entrance of the main building, the south building. They had to cross the driveway and a large field of grass before they reached it. Will opened the door for her once they reached the building, and Sophie walked in. There was a desk with a man behind it. He looked up and nodded at Will before offering a polite smile to Sophie.

"Sophie, this is Mark," Will said. "He's one of our guards. Mark, this is Sophie, our newest recruit."

"Glad to have you," Mark said before looking back down at whatever it was he had been doing before Will and Sophie had interrupted him—probably Sudoku or something.

Sophie's eyes were immediately drawn to the painting hanging on the wall behind the man. It took up the majority of the space and had a thick gold frame. A woman was bent over a large male lion, petting his snout as he licked her hand. The woman was wearing a white long-sleeved dress with flowers that decorated her hair and wrapped around her waist. She had an oddly shaped halo—the infinity symbol, Sophie realized—against a yellow sky. In the background, there were blue mountains, green trees, and green grass.

"It's Strength," Will said from beside her.

"It reminds me of you," she murmured before she could stop herself. When she realized what she said, she tilted her head so her red hair pooled over her shoulder and masked Sophie's red face. "So, I'll be sleeping ... ?"

She hoped he couldn't tell. The last thing she wanted was for him to find out she accidentally complimented him.

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