Illusions That May (Court High 2)

I shoved him. “So much for looking out for me.”

He lifted big palms, chuckling. “What? You thought it was all about you?”

I hit him again, but was happy it wasn’t. I liked Ramses, but if he was willing to uproot schools for me, he might feel he had a connection with me a little deeper than I was comfortable with. He was good-looking enough and a nice person, but I wasn’t interested in him in that way. Especially not now. Boys were way too much drama for me, and I had a track record.

I crossed my arms. “Well, I’m happy you’re here. I’ve had my own run-in with the Court, so it’s nice to have friends.”

That didn’t settle well on his face, but when the bell alarmed across the campus, signaling the end of third period, he kept whatever opinions he had about that to himself. He faced the school, and I did too.

“Probably should go back before I bury myself even deeper with how far behind I am,” I said, getting my coat on. “That month being away messed me up. I might not even graduate. Especially if I fail my finals.”

I expected some kind of sympathetic response from Ramses with what I said. Not a damn grin, but that’s what he gave me. He flicked out his jacket lapels. “Well, I guess it’s good you have Dr. Brain here at your service. I can tutor you. No problem.”

No, this guy did not just call himself Dr. Brain. I chuckled. “I’ll take all the help I can get.”

Twenty-Four

December

Ramses failed to mention something during his first week at Windsor Prep. Ramses was… popular, and not just any kind of popular, uberly so to the point where being in his wake kind of got me pushed out during some conversations. He hung with Birdie, Shakira, Kiki, and me at the beginning of the week, but by the end, basically, we were hanging with him. Whatever damage the Court had done to his rep prior to him leaving had obviously dissipated, and pretty much everyone knew him. Even kids who couldn’t have possibly gone to school while he’d been here, Ramses pulling both guys and girls in for hugs in the hallway. He’d clearly built something before he got here and was quickly getting right back into it. It was wild, like Court-status popularity but different. Where people usually cowered in fear upon seeing someone from the Court, they did the opposite with Ramses Mallick. They acknowledged and laughed with Ramses, pointing toward him with props when he passed by. He’d done so back every time, knowing everybody’s name, and I mean everybody. He may have been gone for the last three years, but he obviously hadn’t forgotten anybody. At lunch, he pretty much built a rapport, and his table was basically the hot new lunch spot to eat at. Birdie said she’d save him a spot to eat with us, but we ended up eating with him, him and the rest of the boys’ basketball and wrestling teams. I gue

ss that was the clique he hung out with back in the day. Oh, them and the IT nerds. He literally had friends everywhere, people just short of selling tickets to eat lunch with him and see where he’d been. He told that story too, and I felt like I heard it a hundred times. He’d become a world traveler apparently, going away to boarding school and to the rough deserts of Arizona. The whole thing I found humorous, genuinely having me laugh, since what I knew about him was pretty laid-back. It was a switch from how things used to be, humor and I decided I’d take laughs where I could get them. They were welcomed definitely. Things had been way easier this past week, and I didn’t find myself looking at the Court and what they were doing all the time. I still noticed them, of course, how couldn’t I?

That happened when people gave you the stink eye.

That stink eye hadn’t been for me per se, but clearly for Ramses, the new/old kid who suddenly had their table a little less occupied these days. I mean, they still had a crap-ton of people over there. Like all the time, but the weight it lost I definitely noticed. We over here had gained it.

Eating my tofu today, I glanced up from time to time, seriously trying not to still be pissed the fuck off that Mira and Royal were together. She sat with him, of course, and though they were never all over each other, they were together—clearly. He kept a hand on her hip, talking while she twirled that damn necklace around her neck, and I didn’t get it. I didn’t get them. He thought we moved too fast together, okay, but that?

Shaking my head, I attempted to eat my lunch, but when I got a nudge, I peered up. Apparently, away from his party on the other side of the table, Ramses stood above me, grinning as we waved for me to make room.

Laughing, I let him, the boy threading one long leg, then the other into a cafeteria lunch table made for normal-sized people. I swear to God, I had no idea how the tables held the capacity for the superhumans I ate with at lunch.

Getting himself nice and comfy, Ramses snatched a bite of my fried tofu, something he tended to do ever since he found out I was vegan. I swear he loved my food more than Birdie’s, but that didn’t stop him from getting hers too next to me. He swiped one of her chicken nuggets, getting a hard punch in the arm, and between me and her, he got his daily quota of punches for the day. He should try not stealing people’s food.

I stuck my tongue out at him, making him chuckle. When he went for my apples, this time I held up my fists.

“Okay, okay,” he said, raising his hands. “I’m done.”

“Good.” I shook my head, attempting to listen to Kiki and Shakira’s conversation about their upcoming math final. They sounded pretty prepared for it, but I was still dreading mine. Ramses had started to work with me during our study period in the library, but there was only so much one could do for a lost cause. I was really behind, but he wouldn’t give up. We’d been working pretty well together, and I had appreciated him taking the time when he didn’t have to. I noticed him listening to the conversation too for a while, but eventually, he panned over to the Court table. He absentmindedly chewed a fry he’d gotten from behind Birdie’s back.

“So Prinze and your sister,” he said, making me come out of the conversation too. He nodded over there. “They were still like joined at the hip? I know what you said before, but they were still ride-or-dies? I mean, as kids they were inseparable, but I know things like that can shift or change in high school a little. They were still like really, really cool?”

I brushed my hands off. “Um, yeah, as far as I know. Why?”

He shrugged big shoulders, absentmindedly chomping on Birdie’s fries. In fact, he took so many that she hit him again, and he laughed.

“I’m going to kill you,” she threatened.

“Oh, I’ll buy you some more,” he said, taking one last one before hopping out of the booth. I noticed he didn’t answer my question, but in the next moment, he was throwing his long reach around Birdie and me. He faced the table. “So what does everyone think about coming to my house tonight? A small gathering, nothing big, but you’re all welcome.”

The table stopped, like literally everyone stopped eating.

Shakira, sitting on my other side, grinned. “Um, how about fuck yeah? Of course we’re coming over.”

“Sweet!” Kiki chanted, clapping and everything. “You still have the ping-pong table? Game room and movie theater?”

Movie theater? What the fuck?