The Boy Band Who Adopted Me!

Chapter 37 - The Red Queen's Court

My phone vibrated gently in my hand. I turned it toward myself to see the screen glowing.

Gavin, 4:33 PM: Are you sure it' s not bothering you?

I replied as quick as lightning to defuse Gavin's concern.

I'm okay. See you when I get there.

The break had wrapped up. I was on my way back to Carroll, curled up in the backseat of my parents' car, laid across the seats under Gavin's hoodie. My parents chattered about the news while the frosty blue sky pressed unwavering against the windows, leaving nothing to betray the passage of miles.

Gavin was concerned because the end of our fall semester also meant the end of the brief comfort that had been cradling me. Maisy Davids was coming back to school; she wasn't going to be my roommate, but she was probably going to be my classmate. I was mortally terrified of any hint of gilded blond hair sweeping around a corner, into a doorway, past my lunch table. 

There had been a relative lull in the amount of bullying going on at Carroll Academy, but there was definitely still a social hierarchy of sorts. Cheerleaders would still stare just a second too long when I walked past; Roland's friends would still occasionally make comments at Computer Club kids in the lunchroom, or swipe their chocolate milks for fun.

Another vibration.

Gavin, 4:38 PM: You stay safe. xoxo

I smiled and closed my eyes. The drive propelled me forward into a much-needed sleep.

---

"Let's worry about classes now, Maisy later. We have a few hours to kill." Gavin walked me hand-in-hand to the schedule pickup table. It wasn't long before I was walking up to a group of boys on the campus grass. I sprinted from Gavin and flung my arms around Will, who looked thin, tired, and even somewhat relieved.

"ALY!!!!" Cody intercepted the hug with a near-tackle; Emmett and Jamie were soon to follow. A crowd of scruffy-haired music nerds enveloped me in their hoodied hugs. "Aly, look what I got for Christmas, check it out..."

---

My first class was drama, which distressed me. My only acting skills were acting like things didn't bother me or like I was fine, and I didn't recognize anyone in the room, which meant I was going to have to make new friends. I'd confirmed with the guys that I had all of my other classes with at least one of them, so it was drama that was going to be the most grueling part of my day.

This was further confirmed for me when Maisy Davids walked in the door, scanning the room before her eyes settled on me.

Oh, shit.

Her gaze was at first hard, as if to betray great resentment, but then it quickly softened into something more... devious? She smirked a little, then widely, before sitting down at a desk not too far from my own. I turned my head away and pretended not to care.

I could hear her fingernails tapping on her desk as our drama teacher walked in.

He was a tall, aloof-looking man of slender proportions and, honestly, impeccable style. "Students," he began with a long, dramatic near-whine, "I am Mr. Panteras, your teacher for this semester's drama class." His every word seemed to end with a decadent, theatrical sigh. "Before we begin, just know that everybody in this class is going to work... I grade for participation, so there's no use being shy." 

My hunched over, timid, dark demeanor seemed to give me away to Mr. Panteras without me even saying anything, and on the word shy his eyes settled on me with affectionate sternness. I heard Maisy snicker, but didn't turn my head.

I browsed my syllabus as Mr. Panteras went through a list of class activities that mortified me. Speaking exercises, group scene acting, and a series of plays we would work on together in class.

"Excuse me, Mr. Panteras?" Maisy said, raising her hand after she'd already spoken, words edged with false sweetness.

"--Er, yes?" She'd interrupted him.

"Will we be acting together every day?"

Mr. Panteras pressed his fingers together with purposeful drama. "Of course," he seemed to purr delightedly, "Every day we will have a new exercise."

I refused to turn and look at Maisy, but I thought I could practically hear her smile. I was melting from stress in my seat.

---

The class passed uneventfully, but something about the way Maisy Davids carried herself made her presence in the room feel like something to pay attention to, probably a factor to which she owed her popularity. She was tall, beautiful, and her gaze was so sharp that you felt speared on her judgment even if you'd never met her. Maisy was a force to be reckoned with. When she got up and walked out of the room at the ring of the bell, other students' eyes naturally followed her; everyone knew who she was.

I group texted all of the boys immediately.

Capn_Cody: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT

Jamie_the_Lame: ;-;

Northern_Downpour: Oh geez.

---

Pretty soon, everyone was clued in, and we floated through the day - World literature and US history for me, another free period with Gavin, lunch,  graphic design, and physics - before all deciding to have fast-food dinner in Wonderland with the purpose of discussing our day.

"So then after she f'kipped my name on the roll call, she told me I was in the wrong claffroom," Cody said with a mouthful of chicken nuggets, "and I had to--"

"Cody," Will said, putting his hands on Cody's cheeks with a laugh, "please chew."

"Who else does everyone know in their classes?" Emmett asked as he shook the ice in his drink.

"I have Creative Writing with Mason," Gavin said. "He really likes to sit in the back, huh?" The palpable tension there made Cody loudly swallow his chicken nuggets in an instant.

"Yeah, he does tend to do that," I said sheepishly, trying to to change the subject. Nobody said anything. "Anyway, what should I do about drama with Maisy?"

"Just try to ignore her and focus on the class," Will said. "If you guys have to work together, do the assignment and nothing else."

"Yeah," Emmett added. "You don't want to make things worse than they already are."

I did get Maisy kicked out of her own dorm room and suspended, so I had plenty of reasons to be cautious of her. When I was in bed, later that night, I texted Mason, who I didn't have any classes with.

Mason, 11:38 PM: lmao drama with maisy. so fitting. don't let her bother you.

I rolled over in bed, clutching Kevin the turkey and Tony to my chest, almost ready to give up again.

-

AN: Trying to pick up my momentum with this story! Long time no see, guys!