I Spy

Chapter 5

The first days of Blackwood were unbelievable.  Everyone was so welcoming and warm to me that it filled the empty hole that had been in my stomach since I left America and Ant.  I made good friends with Casey and Charlotte, although I was still working on Ronny.  The twins and I also became great friends while we did classes together. 

I found the amount of work really overwhelming at the start, but eventually I got on top of everything.  Starting Mandarin seemed impossible, but with the three extra lessons I had gotten I was slowly starting to build up a small understanding of it.  Luckily for me, all the teachers at Blackwood were pretty understanding about me being new and all. 

By my fourth day I had gotten into a routine.  I would wake up, go have breakfast, go to classes, have a piece of fruit or a roll at ten thirty, grab a proper lunch at break and do some homework when I was finished.  Then once classes had finished for the day I would finish my homework, have an extra lesson in either Spanish or Mandarin, go for a long run around the athletic track and shower.  Then I would go to sleep at around nine thirty.  At lunch time on my fourth day at Blackwood, I was walking down to lunch when I heard a voice behind me. 

“So you’re the new girl?”  I glanced around and saw an incredibly cute guy with a skew grin staring right at me.  His face was long and his cheekbones were high.  He had brown eyes and brown hair which was styled up.  I smiled, feeling suddenly shy under his watchful gaze. 

“Yeah,” I said.  “I’m Marley.” 

“Ryan.”  His voice was deep and slightly husky.  “Welcome to Blackwood.”  He gave a small bow which made me laugh. 

“Thanks, but I think I’ve welcomed enough in the last few days,” I joked.  He held out his arm with a laugh. 

“Well can I accompany you to lunch, then?” he asked. 

“Sure,” I shrugged, threading my arm through his. 

“So, you’re the friend of Anthony Carter, right?” 

“Yeah, you know him?” 

“Of course, everyone in these grounds knows him,” he said with something similar to a smirk. 

“Is that a good or a bad thing?” I asked, slowing my pace down. 

“Depends who you are,” he shrugged.  I couldn’t help but think that that Ryan guy was either very jealous of Ant or thought he was better than him. 

“What grade are you in?” I asked suddenly, aware that I knew nothing about him. 

“Eleven,” he replied. 

“And rank?” 

“Pro, just like you,” he said. 

“Then how come I’ve never seen you before?” I asked, trying to slip my arm out of his.  I wasn’t surewhy, but I got a bad feeling about him. 

“I’ve been away, just got back this morning,” he replied. 

“Where were you?” 

“You ask a lot of questions, do you know that?” 

“Sorry, it’s a habit,” I replied, looking down at my feet as they walked over the concrete. 

“It’s not a bad one,” he said.  I looked up into his eyes and had trouble seeing if he was being honest or not, which was probably his intention. 

“Um, I’ll meet you at lunch, I need to go up to my room quickly,” I lied, pulling my arm away from his.  He caught my hand and leaned down, gently brushing his lips over the top of it.  I forced myself not to blush and instead raised an eyebrow.