Borderline

Chapter 14

When I got to my first class (after spending about 10 minutes trying to find it), the first thing I noticed was the female uniforms.

Let's just say, I was glad I was posing as a boy.

I fell into my seat, since there didn't seem to be a graceful bone in my body. The only other person there was a girl who was reading, so I decided to make the most out of my time.

I closed my eyes and tried to get a little bit of sleep.

***

"Ryder, wake up."

I jolted awake, opening my eyes to come face to face with Joshua. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Awesome. You're in my first hour."

"Yeah, and if you wouldn't have woken up, you would have been kicked out of your first hour."

I shrugged. "You act like I care."

He rolled his eyes, but I saw him smiling.

RIIINNNNNGGGG!!!!!

"Good morning, class!" Chirped an older woman. "My name is Mrs. Miller. I will be your home room teacher." She wrote her name out on the blackboard in cursive. How old is this place?

"Since this is the beginning of a new school year, I thought it would be a good idea to introduce yourselves." Well, you thought wrong, missy. "You will each take turns saying your first and last name, along with three facts about yourself."

I resisted the urge to glare at her.

The introductions started off on the other side of the classroom. Thank God. I made mental notes on everyone in the room.

Veronica Grable, who I remembered from the check in line. Elizabeth Johnson. Timothy Davis. Andrew Duncan. Marissa Taylor. Jeremy Hartford. Theresa Milton. Anna Davis, who was Timothy's sister.

There weren't very many kids in my home room, but I wasn't surprised. The school was huge.

When it was Joshua's turn, he stood up like everyone else had and cleared his throat. "Hi. My name is Joshua Oliver. My favorite color is red, my parents are currently in France," he glanced at me with a slight smile. I smiled back. "And I have an amazing little sister."

I froze, staring at him in a mix of horror and anger. How could you out me like that?

He sat down and looked at me with a smile, causing me to realize that he was just trying to get a reaction out of me. No one would be able to figure that out, you dummy.

"Mr. Morgan? You're the last one," Mrs. Miller smiled.

That smile seemed to be mocking me.

I stood up shakily and made my voice slightly lower, just in case.

"H-Hello. My name is Ryder Morgan..." I'm an assassin, I live in a box, and I killed my best friend's brother. I opened my mouth, then closed it when nothing came out.

Joshua tugged at my sleeve and gave me a worried look. I clenched my hands, closed my eyes, and breathed out before telling a few white lies.

"I'm Joshua's twin brother, I like board games, and I have a cat named Sherbet." I quickly sat down and sank into my chair. My face felt like it was melting off.

"Wonderful!" chirped the teacher. "Now, let's begin today with..."

I decided to tune her out. I figured nothing she had to day was going to be important.

I was staring at the back of Joshua's head when he suddenly turned around and gave me a worried look. I raised an eyebrow. "What?" I mouthed.

"Physical exams tomorrow," he mouthed back.

I shrugged. "So what?"

Joshua's eyes widened and he looked at me like I was stupid. He turned back around, which told me that he would tell me about it later.

***

After the bell rang, I walked out the door and was immediately yanked into a small hallway.

"What do you mean, 'so what'?" Joshua snapped at me.

"I mean, who the hell cares about a physical exam?" I waved my arms in mock excitement. "Ooh, you can run super fast and pick up a tennis ball! Good for you! Oh, and your reflexes are great, too! Super!"

Joshua didn't smile, so I stopped.

"Seriously, Josh. What's the big deal?"

"Do you know what a physical exam entails?"

Well, apparently not. I shook my head.

Joshua pinched the bridge of his nose. "They measure your height. They measure your weight. They gather information about your physical state." He gripped my shoulders. "You're gonna have to be undressed for parts of it."

Whatever he was trying to tell me must have just been going over my head. I stared at him with a blank expression.

"Ryder, they're gonna find out you're a girl."