The Boy Uniform

6: Undercover, Underwater, and Under Pressure

Eva stared down at her notes, the words blurring together as she tried to catch up with her subjects. The lectures had been fine; nothing she couldn't handle. But staying focused felt like trying to hold onto smoke. Her mind kept drifting back to that moment on the field, the sting of the football, and the mocking laughter of Chase and his friends. No matter how much she tried to block it out, it clung to her thoughts like a bad dream.

Her fingers tapped impatiently on her notebook, her eyes flicking to the clock at the front of the classroom. She had barely been here two days, but already Crestwood felt suffocating, like it was pressing down on her from all sides. Everyone around her seemed to be fitting into place so easily—except her.

And then there was Chase. His stupid smirk. The way he had watched her, toyed with her. She was starting to feel like she had been marked, like she was the academy's latest game, Chase's newest plaything. The kind of guy who saw people as toys, just something to mess with until he got bored.

Eva swallowed the lump in her throat and forced herself to focus on the paper in front of her. Swimming program, her mind echoed suddenly, pulling her away from her studies again. That was another thing she had to worry about. She hadn't thought about the logistics when she signed up for the extracurricular program, but now the very idea of being in a swimsuit, surrounded by all these boys, made her palms sweat.

Her disguise was barely holding together as it was, and the swimming program felt like stepping onto a minefield. She could already picture the swimsuits, the changing, the close proximity. How am I going to get through this without someone noticing? The thought made her stomach churn, and she quickly flipped to the next page in her notebook, trying to push it from her mind.

But Chase lingered, his presence like a dark cloud she couldn't shake.

What was worse was the feeling that her presence at Crestwood was no longer something she could control. From the moment Chase had laid eyes on her—on Eli—she had become some kind of amusement for the school's elite. And the academy was filled with boys like him: the untouchable, arrogant ones who held the school in the palm of their hands. They got whatever they wanted. And right now, what Chase seemed to want was to play with her, to push her buttons, to see how far he could go before she broke.

Eva's pen slipped, leaving a streak of ink across the page. She sighed, scrubbing a hand across her face. Just get through the week. Keep your head down. Stay out of trouble.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, and Eva snapped her notebook shut, grateful for the distraction. She packed her bag quickly, hoping to avoid any more interactions with Chase or his friends, when Landon caught up with her outside the classroom.

"Yo, Eli! You heading back to the dorm?"

Eva blinked, pulling herself out of her thoughts. "Uh, yeah, I guess."

"You signing up for the weekend outing?" Landon asked casually, falling into step beside her.

"Outing?" Eva hadn't paid much attention to the announcements or anything beyond her classes. She was too preoccupied with staying under the radar.

"Yeah, they're collecting names today. It's a weekend trip to the lake. Crestwood and Bellemont Academy." He raised an eyebrow, grinning. "You know, the girls' school."

Eva felt her pulse quicken. Girls. The thought of being surrounded by other girls, students from a nearby academy, made her even more aware of her own charade. She couldn't imagine a worse situation. What if someone recognized her? Or worse—what if she slipped up in front of the girls?

"I don't think that's a good idea," Eva muttered, shaking her head.

"Oh, come on," Landon nudged her playfully. "It'll be fun. Plus, you get to see the girls from Bellemont. They're—well, let's just say, you don't wanna miss it."