The layers of Kaid Isherwood (The 1st book in the 'Layers' series)

Chapter 10

I was finally ready to go to lunch. It would be my first time ever eating lunch at Iverling Prep, and you'd think that would be a big deal. But honestly, I was prepared for the usual awkwardness of being... well, me. Nobody expected much from the guy who was just trying to survive high school via lies and deceit.

And then, I walked into the cafeteria.

"Kaid! How come you didn't tell me you were coming to lunch?" Lucan called out like I'd forgotten to sign up for the world's most obnoxious social club.

"I was listening to music," I said, not even looking up as I moved through the line. People were staring at me—wide-eyed, as if I had just made an entrance in a slow-motion scene from a movie. Lucan had done it. He had broken the sacred decree—the one rule that no one, no one, was ever supposed to break: Don't. Ask. Kaid. Questions.

And yet, here we were. Lucan, in all his glory, had shattered the illusion of my mysterious, "I'm-just-a-regular-student-like-you" persona.

"Yeah, I thought you were dead," Lucan continued, unbothered, and as I started walking away, he grabbed my arm like we were about to reenact a scene from a buddy cop movie.

"Lucan, I've told you this already," I said, yanking my arm free. "If I were dead, I wouldn't be breathing."

I sat down in an empty chair, mentally preparing myself for whatever ridiculousness would follow. Lucan acted like I needed a chaperone to get through lunch, which, frankly, was insulting.

"Well, that's my brother Jonah," Lucan said, pointing to a guy at the table who looked mildly confused. "And these are our friends, Casey and Isaac."

I glanced at Jonah. "Phone call on the first day, Jonah?" I asked, my tone flat as ever. Jonah looked even more bewildered.

"As in the phone call you made me hang up? Yeah, that Jonah," Lucan confirmed. I gave a single, slow nod, and Jonah still looked like he had no idea what was going on. It wasn't my problem. I wasn't here for a family reunion; I was here for lunch.

Speaking of which, the food wasn't terrible. I stabbed at the chicken with my fork, but I could feel the eyes of the entire cafeteria boring into me. People were expecting something—anything. A dramatic scene, an epic speech, maybe me floating above the table in a cloud of stardust. Who knows?

"Hello," Isaac and Casey said in perfect unison. I glanced at them between bites.

"Hi. I think I remember one of you," I said, chewing slowly. "Were you the one I told I was from Mars?"

Isaac grinned and nodded. "Yeah, that was me."

"Great. Don't wait up, I'm out," I said, finishing the last bite of my chicken. The food was good—nothing spectacular, but I wasn't about to critique the cafeteria like I was a Michelin-star chef. One thing was clear, though: the place needed spices. A lot of spices.

The walk to the kitchen was long, mostly because I didn't feel like dealing with the looks that still followed me. When I got to the spice rack, I was horrified. It was like a wasteland. Salt. Pepper. And that was it. What kind of kitchen doesn't have a single other spice? It was as if someone had gone in, raided the shelf, and left behind only what they didn't know how to pronounce.

I felt a wave of despair wash over me. The kitchen was in crisis. So, I did what any reasonable person would do—I marched straight to the Headmaster's office without even knocking.

"Have you seen the kitchen? It's a disaster," I burst out as soon as I entered.

The Headmaster, who was clearly no stranger to students bursting into his office mid-rant, raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing from your entrance, that it's very little," he said dryly, which did nothing to improve my mood. "Ms. Lindson said it was fine, though."

"Fine doesn't even begin to cover it," I retorted, crossing my arms. "They have salt. They have pepper. That's it. What are you looking at?" I glared at the stranger who had been staring at me like I was a science experiment gone horribly wrong.

"Your hair," he replied bluntly.

I stared at him for a moment, not sure if I should be offended or impressed. "Who the hell are you?"

The Headmaster sighed. "That's Lucan Ashworth's older brother."

I immediately sank to the floor. "Of course it is," I muttered. "Of course, it's Lucan's older brother who's here when I'm flipping out over spices. Just my luck."

"Mr. Ashworth, this is Kaid Isherwood. He's Lucan's roommate," the Headmaster said as if that was supposed to make this whole situation better.

I stood up and started rummaging through the Headmaster's desk. Maybe there was something interesting in here that could distract me. My hands found a bottle of vodka. I raised it triumphantly. "I'm going to drown myself in the water fountain after drinking this," I said, taking the cap off and taking a swig before the bottle was snatched out of my hands.

"Do you not care about germs? And that's my vodka," the Headmaster said, sounding like a parent scolding a kid who had just opened the family's last pack of cookies. "Get your own. Though, with your connections, I'm sure you have some already."

"I came back from Russia with exactly one bottle of vodka. I'm not an alcoholic," I said, rolling my eyes. "And honestly, your germs don't bother me much. I kissed your daughter once. Remember? I owed her a favor."

The Headmaster narrowed his eyes, clearly disapproving, but not totally surprised.

"You kissed his daughter... because you owed her a favor?" Lucan's brother asked, clearly amused.

"Yeah, she was testing to see if I would kiss her back. Naturally, I did. I get bored, okay? A kiss was a good waste of time when I had nothing better to do," I explained, shrugging like it was no big deal.

"Surprisingly," the Headmaster said with a sigh, "I can totally see her cashing that in as a favor."

I held out my hand. "Look, I need the kitchen funds to get new spices. They're in dire need of help."

Lucan's brother, Adrian, shrugged. "I think Kaid seems okay."

"Yeah, well," I said, "I make up elaborate lies to get people banned from talking to me, I dye my hair at least once a month, and I never attend classes. I'm the poster child for basket cases."

The Headmaster handed me the envelope, but before I could make my exit, guess who waltzed in?

Millina Quartson, the Headmaster's daughter.

"Millina!" the Headmaster boomed. "What's this I hear about kissing Kaid?"

"Well, you know me," Millina smirked, "always spilling secrets, especially to your father. This time, it involved vodka."

Adrian called after me as I walked out, "Take care of Lucan for me!"

"Don't count on it," I shot back. Lucan was his problem now.