Coveted [New/Revised Version]

NEW LEADS

     "Turn to page three hundred." Mr. Gavin repeated in a stern voice.

Iris groaned and flipped through the pages of her history book. Mr. Gavin replaced "Mr. Huller" after he suddenly resigned. He had high expectations and graded harshly. Lisa—who strangely wasn't present just then—immediately took a liking to him because, like Mr. Madoff, he was very knowledgeable when it came to history. As for the other girls in their history class, their reasons weren't as innocent.

Mr. Gavin was tall with broad shoulders and long, curly brown hair he kept tied back in a low ponytail. His eyes were an exceptional shade of brown and when he smiled, he brightened up the whole room. His smile was warm and bright with straight teeth against his tanned skin. But those moments were infrequent. However, that didn't stop many of the audacious girls from trying to put that smile on his face.

He droned on through a lesson but Iris couldn't focus. She was highly aware that Vladimir was staring at her. His eyes watched her every movement and it made her self-conscious. She peered at him from the corner of her eye to find him shyly looking away. Iris smiled inwardly.

After a moment, the weight of his gaze completely lifted from her and she started feeling tired again. Her eyes drooped heavily though she fought against the fatigue. She and sleep weren't on the best of terms right now. Nevertheless, she slipped into a semi-unconscious state.

An image floated behind her lids.

Zander Erin stood smugly in the teacher's lounge alone. From his varsity jacket, he produced a lighter and played with it for a bit, admiring the small, bright flame before proceeding. He leaned down and ignited a tiny piece of paper then lazily dropped it on the table in the center of the room. The second it landed, a fiery line blazed across its surface.

With a smirk, Zander left the teacher's lounge, pulling the fire alarm as he did. He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned around. For the oddest second, something out of the ordinary happened. It was as if Iris was physically pulled into her premonition and Zander's eyes met hers, filled with dark humor. The image fell from her mind when Mr. Gavin's hand forcefully slammed down on her desk.

Her eyes snapped open and hazelnut ones stared back at her. Mr. Gavin gave her a disapproving look before he turned back to continue his lesson. Iris looked up at the clock above the board. Why hadn't she thought of doing that in her premonition?

The fire alarm abruptly went off in the middle of Mr. Gavin's teachings. The annoying lights that always came on flashed mercilessly. The loudspeaker beeped once before Principal Cromwell spoke. His voice was panicked as he spoke in a rush.

"This is not a drill. I repeat this is not a drill! Gather your belongings and vacate the premises!"

There was a rise of murmurs around the room. Everyone took their stuff and quickly shuffled out. In the hall, it was chaotic. People rushed, some even ran, for an exit. In the crowd of frightened teens, Iris lost Mae, losing her sense of direction in the process.

A strong hand tightened around her upper arm and drew her into a small crevice in the hall between two rows of lockers. The minute she looked up at the tall figure in front of her, fear licked Iris' heart. The first things she saw were crystalline gray eyes locked onto hers. Her initial thought was Zairian had somehow gotten into the school but she dismissed it as the face of the young man standing in front of her came into focus.

"Zander," she groaned.

He grinned down at her. "Iris."

Iris rolled her eyes at the same time she yanked her arm out of his grasp. "There's a fire in the building and we need to be elsewhere."