The Fix

Chapter 8

"Wake up." 

The voice is demanding. It said: I am not dealing with your shit. I blink sleepily and roll onto my side, squinting at the clock on my bedside table. Only problem is it's not there. There's no bedside table either. I sit up quickly in bed, my heart fluttering in my chest. 

"Hello?"

A flashlight is flicked on, taking me by surprise and blinding me.

"Your friends are in the hallway. Get the hell out." 

Everything comes back to me in a rush. I'm at a reform school in New Jersey. I'm sleeping in my new room with my psychotic roommate Tessa. I realize it's her voice. 

"I don't have friends," I grumble, pushing back the covers and swinging my legs over the side of the bed. The flashlight clicks off. I hear feet padding across the room, bed springs squeaking as Tessa lays back down. I stumble to the door and open it a crack, golden light from the hallway streaming into the room. I squint.

"Come on!" Abby hisses, reaching through the crack in the door and grabbing my arm. She pulls me out into the hallway, shutting the door behind me. I stare at her.

"What the hell are you doing?" I say, pulling my arm out of her grip. She grins at me.

"It's your first night here. Figured we'd show you what there is to do around here after hours," she whispers.

"We?" I look up and down the hallway. There's no one else to be seen. 

"They're waiting for us, c'mon!" she says excitedly, trotting quietly down the hallway. After a few seconds I follow her. She leads me downstairs and out into the yard, her bare feet slipping on the dew-covered grass. She runs around to the back of the school and gestures to an open window on the second floor. 

"Up you go."

"You're kidding me right?" I say, gaping at her. She rolls her eyes. 

"If you can't do this then what are you even doing here?" she says, raising her eyebrows. I watch her grab onto the ivy that's clinging to the stone wall and carefully begin scaling the side of the building. My heart is pounding in my chest. I hesitantly wrap my fingers around the ivy, tugging on it to see if it will hold. It sways a bit, making me jump. 

If you can't do this then what are you even doing here?

I swallow hard and heft my body up onto the ivy and slowly begin climbing, making sure not to look down. Abby has already disappeared into the window, and is sticking her head out to watch me. The ivy bends under my weight but holds. 

When I reach the window, Abby grabs me under the arms and heaves me through the window. I fall onto the floor, breathing hard. 

"You're fucking crazy," I say breathlessly, rolling onto my back and sitting up. Abby crosses her eyes and sticks out her tongue. I shake my head and hide my smile. 

"This way," she says, pulling me to my feet. I follow her out of the room and up a flight of stairs. The air becomes progressively warmer, and the stench of chlorine fills the air. 

"There's a pool?" I ask in surprise. 

Abby grins at me over her shoulder and pushes open another door. The room is huge. There are bleachers lining one wall, and rows of lockers lining the opposite wall. Red triangular flags dangle from the ceiling. In the middle of it all is a massive rectangular pool, a few lights in the bottom providing a dim glow. There are a few light splashes, and I realize there are three dark shapes in the water. 

"Abby, that you?" a voice calls out. Ethan. 

"Sure is. I got Olivia," she says, skipping to the edge of the pool. Ethan swims over and grins up at us. 

"Get in, it's awesome," he says encouragingly. Abby leaps into the pool, squealing. Warm water splashes onto my legs. 

"Coming?" he says, poking my ankle. I glance down at my pajamas and shrug, slipping into the water. 

I haven't been swimming for what feels like forever. The water wraps itself around me, gliding through my fingers and across my skin. It really is awesome. The other dark shapes are Declan and Amelia. 

"You made it!" Declan says, splashing me playfully. 

"Hey!" I complain, splashing him back. Abby winks at me and I dunk my head underwater to avoid her gaze. When I come back up for air, I realize there's someone sitting at the top of the bleachers. 

"Who's that?" I whisper, pointing. Abby follows my finger and pushes her hair out of her eyes. 

"It's Grayson."

"Why isn't he swimming?" I ask, still watching him. 

"He doesn't break the rules but he won't turn us in either. So he just comes to make sure we don't get ourselves into trouble."

"Oh." 

He's hunched over, his arms wrapped around his knees, his chin resting on his forearm. Part of me feels bad. 

Who am I kidding?

The kid's an ass. There's no reason to feel bad for him. 

I turn back to the others and slide underwater.