Clear Lake Academy holds the worst of the worst delinquents from around the country. Each and every student there holds a notorious background that led them there and almost everyone avoids them.
After setting the tenth building on fire, which just...
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T H I R D P O V
Adir strolled into the room, an apple in his hand as he appeared from the kitchen. Upon inspection of the main room, his gaze landed upon his friend who sat peeking out the window.
Adir took a small bite out of the green apple in his hand, walking towards the couch and as he sat down, he spoke up. His voice clearly spooked Hendrix who was intently staring out the window. "What are we doing?"
Hendrix turned around, eyeing Adir unsurely. He let out a sigh, turning back around, shoulders curved inwards. "I'm nervous."
"For?" Adir lifted his feet and crossed his ankles as he placed them on the neat table.
Hendrix didn't answer for a few seconds. Silence reigned. Then, "It's only you and Bentley left. Who knows what will happen?"
Hendrix's voice wavered with worry and Adir's face twisted into a frown. He crossed his arms, holding his occupied hand before his mouth as his two-toned eyes remained on Hendrix's stiff back. "It'll be fine. We'll deal with it."
"Yeah -because that's all we ever do, isn't it?" Hendrix spun around, his face etched with rare annoyance. The sudden outburst shifted the air in the room. He was usually the happiest among them, the one who carried light wherever he went, and seeing him even slightly frustrated was unnerving because it happened so seldom. Yet, it didn't faze Adir as he sat, watching. "That's all anyone expects of us, isn't it?"
Adir's gaze flicked toward the hallway leading to the bedrooms, and Hendrix caught it instantly, reading the unspoken understanding.
Pandora didn't realize that the rest of the boys had heard what had happened the night before. The retching, the quiet sobs, the way she had struggled to sleep—it had been impossible to ignore. Bentley had been there for her, thankfully, helping her through it and finally calming her down.
Adir's thoughts drifted back to the phone call he had had last night with Sophianna, right before the two had returned.
She had looked stunning—her face framed perfectly with makeup—but he found himself wishing he could see her unguarded, natural expression as she fired question after question at him. She had been on her way to a party, yet the moment she heard the news, she dropped everything. His chest tightened at the thought, heart swelling at her genuine care.
After a few minutes, Hayden and Liliane had joined the call, their voices full of concern, peppering him with questions of their own. Each one, like Sophianna's, carried the same warmth—a shared worry for what had happened, and for him.
"We cause all this trouble," Hendrix spread his arms, motioning to nothing and everything at the same."And all we're told is to deal with it. Does anybody.....anyone even think to look into why we do what we do? Why we feel the need to rebel?" The words moved something in Adir, and it dawned on him that this was affecting Hendrix a lot more than he had thought.
