Tough Shit (Rejects Paradise 1)

I fly to my feet, scrambling around the room. “Someone help me get all the blinds down,” I demand, knowing we’re all going to be safer if we can work together and get ourselves hidden. I wonder if this classroom has some kind of storeroom.

“Ocean, babe,” Milo’s voice cuts through the noise and I look to him with fear. “No one has a gun. It’s the fire drill alarm. There’s no shooter here.”

I look to him in confusion, because I don’t believe what I’m hearing. “What?” I question, my heart still pounding in my chest.

Milo nods, but it’s not until I look at Colton at the back of the room and see the concern lining his hazel eyes that I finally start to get it. He nods so discreetly that no one else would be able to see it and in that moment, relief washes over me, taking the fear of my memories with it.

I notice the faces of the students around me. A fuck up like that should have them all laughing, but all I see are somber expressions and for the first time since being here, I think they might just understand the type of world I’ve grown up in.

I take a shaky breath, looking back at Milo. “It’s just a fire drill,” I murmur to myself, almost as though I need to hear the words repeated over and over again to make it more real.

“Yes,” Mr. Hall demands with a sour tone to his voice. “It is a fire drill and you’ve made us appear incompetent of clearing the classroom in a timely manner. Now, please unlock my classroom door and promptly file out of the room and make your way to the designated meeting area.”

Well, shit.

I nod and turn on my heel, feeling like a fucking idiot.

I hightail it out of here, not giving a damn that I have no idea where this designated meeting area is. All that matters is getting out of here before someone has something to say about my little performance. Standing in a towel in front of the whole student body is nothing compared to being confronted and questioned about one of the scariest days of my life.

“What the hell was that about?” Milo demands, quickly catching up with me.

“Nothing,” I rush out. “Just a startling reminder of how different our worlds really are.”

“Did that shit used to happen a lot back home?” he questions, his voice low and full of concern.

My eyes drop to the floor, not wanting to discuss this. “More than you’ll ever know.”

Milo picks up on my hesitation and drops the topic, choosing to slip his hand into mine and pull me along to the gymnasium where the whole school is lined up in alphabetical order, far away from the main buildings of the school. Milo explains what’s going to happen and ten minutes later, I’m standing with the rest of the M’s waiting for my name to be marked off.

Ten minutes pass and then twenty before I lean over to the guy beside me. “What’s taking so long?” I ask, trying not to laugh at the horror on his face as I speak to him.

“Oh, um…” he starts, stumbling over his words. “They like to be precise. They have faculty checking every classroom, storage room, and bathroom to make sure they have everyone accounted for. There are always a few kids who disappear during this shit to get us out of class.”

No shit.

“In that case,” I say with a smile. “I’m out of here.”

I slip through the crowd as I hear his voice trailing behind me. “Wait, no. You can’t.”

I lose him in no time and start making my way around the gymnasium. There are teachers everywhere, most of them lingering by the main entrance so if I want to get out of here undetected, I’m going to have to go exploring.

There’s only one door that’s mostly out of sight and I quickly duck through it to find a back hallway. I have no other choice but to follow it and then find myself laughing as I walk right through to an Olympic sized swimming pool. I should have known there was one of these here. I wouldn’t even be surprised to find this thing heated. The good news is that a pool like this is bound to have a proper entrance that I’ll be able to freely walk through, assuming it’s not locked.

I start walking around the massive pool and find myself gawking up at the grandstand. They must be able to fit at least two thousand spectators in here. Why the hell would they need this much seating? Is rich boy swimming that popular? Who would have known?

I get halfway around the pool when a voice calls out from behind me, so close behind me that it sends chills sweeping across my skin. “Seems we’ve got a stray.”