I groaned as my alarm went off at 5:00AM. It had been one week since my father had abruptly left me alone without a fairly decent good-bye and frankly I hadn't given much of a thought about it after that first night. The guys did their best to cheer me up that night and thankfully, they had succeeded. If it wasn't for them, I don't know how I would have handled everything. Zane, Asher Jett and I had been inseparable ever since. I suspect they think their duty is to keep my mood cheery and to keep me safe from any other events that might happen sometime in the future. Maxwell seems to have taken the role as my 'big brother.' None of the other guys on campus seem to bother me with my roommates around. Although, that might change today; today is the first day of classes.
Normally first day jitters didn't bug me, but the thought of being surrounded by a bunch of delinquent, hormonal, teenage guys wasn't comforting. I mean, sure, they could be like the guys in my dorm room, but that was unlikely. Very unlikely.
"Melanie! Get your butt out here for the morning run!" Jett shouted from the living room. I sighed as I finished tying my running shoes, quickly pulled my curly hair up in a ponytail and headed into the main room. This was going to be fun.
------
"That was fun!" I practically shouted. Running made my slightly hyper.
"Mel, how can running-no in your case, sprinting-ten miles be considered 'fun?'" Asher was still breathing heavily.
I shrugged, "What can I say? I was in track. Besides, I used to run all the time when I lived with the Webbs in Costa Rica."
"Really? Who are the Webbs?" He asked curiously.
I mentally slapped myself. I promised myself I'd leave them out of all conversation. I bit my lip, quickly scanning my brain for a factual response. "They were my host family."
His eyes lit up. "Really? I always wanted to-"
"Hey Mel, what class do you have first?" Blaze interrupted. I sighed in relief. Costa Rica wasn't one of my favorite topics.
Luckily, the topic was dropped for the time being. Asher, Blaze and I talked about classes until the alarm rang signaling that we had five minutes until we had to get there 'or else'. Apparently tardiness had huge consequences; every minute that they were late was ten extra chores everyday for the week. It's a little excessive, I think.
It didn't take long to find my first class; it turned out to be right next to Asher and Jett's class. Sadly, none of the guys in my room had that class. Consequently, I had to enter Sex Ed with a bunch of perverted teenage guys, alone.
"Ah, Miss Melanie Starrs, welcome. Please do come in." A large man with a head full of snow white hair and a matching beard motioned with his hands for me to move from my awkward stance in the doorway to the front of the classroom. I felt my cheeks heat up as all of the eyes in the classroom turned to me.
"Gentlemen, this is Miss Melanie Starrs. She will be joining us for the remainder of the year, at least, most likely longer. She is a special guest of Mr. Bradford's. Treat her with respect or else there will be consequences." His eyes softened as he turned to me. "Take a seat."
I quickly obliged, happy to be out of the spot light. I chose the lone seat in the center of the second to last row. Halfway through the terrorizing class the guy next to me whispered: "I'm Zack." He looked as if he had been in his fair share of fights. His nose was abnormally crooked, and he had a scar that started at his left eyebrow and traveled down his collarbone to where his shirt hid the rest. His eye was unaffected, as if he were wearing goggles at the time.
YOU ARE READING
