His was of a skyline, a shadowy figure standing atop a tall building with a billowing cape. Above the character were the wordsBoredom Man! Here to put villains (and students) to sleep!His handwriting was atrocious; she struggled against her giggles once she deciphered what he’d written.
“Miss Cox, is there something you’d like to share with the class?”
“No, sir, Mister Harper. Just thought of somethin’ I saw on TV last night.”
The teacher pinned her with an unimpressed look then heaved a sigh. His potbelly rose and fell with the motion, and he suggested she keep her mind on the chemistry lesson. She nodded and waited for him to turn his back before scribbling,Thanks for getting me in troubleat the edge of Calum’s drawing.
Anytime.
Rolling her eyes, she tucked the paper away and focused on the lecture on the US government.
Calum vanished at lunch again, like he had the day prior, but unlike then, he didn’t reappear after the half-hour was up. Rett waited for him until the warning bell, but he never showed. Sighing, she waited another moment longer then headed off to English. She’d tried. She could only try again later.
She would get through to him eventually.
four
Calum
HE KNEW IT WAS a horrible decision, but Calum still waited for Rett to sit with her friends before slipping out of the cafeteria. It was too close to friendship, that moment in US Government, and he wasn’t there to make friends. Rett was only meant to be someone he could mimic, not someone he could potentially care about. All he would do was get through the year then go back to Las Vegas.
Calum would happily leave her behind. He would leave this whole town behind without remorse or looking back. He could only do that if he didn’t give a damn.
Calum spent the afternoon walking back to town, cursing himself for letting himself get drawn in by Rett. His black T-shirt clung to his soaked skin, and he wished he’d worn anything butjeans in that weather. It was a horrible combination. Something lit up in his head the longer he walked: He regretted leaving the school. At least the building was cooled by an archaic air conditioning system. It had been a surprise to hear the rattling for the first time. He’d assumed that with a town so small, he would have to suffer through the heat.
Thankfully, someone approached in a beat-up pickup truck, and Calum stuck out a thumb, praying they held a modicum of kindness. Sympathy.
They did.
No one was at the house when he finally arrived, and he filled a glass with water only to drink it all within seconds. Filling it once more, he headed to the bedroom he was forced to live in. Calum yanked the curtains closed and changed from his jeans and T-shirt into a pair of basketball shorts. He didn’t bother with a shirt. He might as well be comfortable if he had to be miserable.
Though the windows were open, no breeze came through. The curtains hung from the rod, unmoving and drab.They’re like my life. Stuck at a standstill with nowhere to go. Calum groaned and rolled over onto his belly. He was getting maudlin. He only hoped it wouldn’t get worse the longer he was in Oak Creek.
He let himself think of his mother and siblings as he dozed off. His friends. At least he had them to look forward to.
His eyes snapped open at the banging.Gunshots?The thought barely crossed his mind before he remembered where he was—a town where people didn’t need guns if they weren’t hunting for their food. He tugged the pillow over his head and tried to ignore the knocking, because that was what it was. Someone was at the house, and he didn’t want to see them. Though he could hardly breathe with his face beneath the pillow, he didn’t remove it. It muffled the sounds, but there was no escaping the squeal of the door as it opened. Calum let out an unamused huff. Of course people there had no respect for other people’s homes.
“So. Thought I might find you here.”
He squeezed his eyes closed, pretending he hadn’t heard Rett’s voice. Maybe if he ignored her long enough, she would go away. Unfortunately, his luck had never been what one would call ‘good’: She plopped down onto the mattress beside him. Her fingers grazed through his hair as she tugged the pillow off his head, then she poked his shoulder. Repeatedly. Did the girl ever stop being so annoying?
“What do you want?” he snapped despite knowing it was her goal to get him talking.
“To bring you your homework. Told the teachers you had a headache and was about to throw up, so they said feel better.”
“Great,” he mimicked her drawl before waving a hand in the air. “Leave it in the trash.”
“Nope. You’re gonna do it all ’fore you come back tomorrow.”
“And who said I am?”
“I did,” she said as if he was meant to obey just because she told him what to do. She really didn’t know him if she thought he’d do it. “Don’t make me look like a fool.”
Before he could formulate a response, the weight beside him disappeared. He listened to soft footsteps creaking across the room then blew out a breath. The sight of the window-frame met his gaze. The wood was rotting, just like he was in the backwoods town. He twitched when she spoke from the doorway.
“If you ever wanna get outta here, ya gotta play by the rules.”
He gave a quiet snort but didn’t roll over. “Haven’t you heard? I’m a rule-breaker.”
