Sweet Deadly Lies (A Dark Academia Mystery) Watty Winner ✔️

Eleven

Instead of going to the dorm, I head to the dining hall and find a quiet place to do homework.

Completing assignments is foreign to me. Back home, I rarely thought of school after I left for the day, much less school work. But things are different here. If I want to stay at Maliseet Bay I'll need to put in the effort, even if my head isn't in the right place.

I can still feel the paintbrush in my hand. The smooth wooden handle, and the tickle of bristles as they flicked across my skin. For a split second, I felt that familiar connection as my brain conjured up the different patterns and shapes I could bring to life. And in that split second, it felt good—losing myself to the freedoms I used to have.

Until the memories snuck up and snatched that freedom away.

"Mind if I sit down?'

When I look up, Eli is standing at my table with a tray in his hand.

"Shit, what time is it?" I glance at my phone. Almost two hours have passed since my dramatic departure from the art room. "Sure, have a seat," I say, tucking my homework into my bag.

He sinks into a chair and plops his tray on the table. "What are you working on?"

"Statistics." I give him a wry smile. "Have you started the assignment yet?"

Eli stuffs a french fry in his mouth. "Not yet. I had football practice after school. Is it hard?"

I shrug. "It's just a histogram. No big deal."

"Oh my God, you guys—that histogram is killing me!" Natalie Pierce, a girl who sits next to me in our statistics class, flings herself into an open chair. "Have you finished it yet?"

I exchange a look with Eli and laugh. "I was just working on it."

"Damn. I was going to see if I could copy." She tucks a piece of short blonde hair behind her ear and stares at the empty space in front of me. "Aren't you eating?"

"I will."

"So Eli," Natalie purrs, losing all interest in my appetite. "Are you ready to kick some Wolverine ass this Friday? I'm taking the shuttle to the game." She bats her inky black eyelashes in his direction and doesn't wait for a reply. "You're going to the bonfire afterward, right?"

"I'll be there," Eli says, bumping fists with a passing friend.

Natalie flashes him a smile, and the overhead lights glisten off her pearly white teeth. "I'm really hoping I don't have to go alone."

And just like a boy, Eli doesn't get the hint. "Yeah, that would suck."

I interrupt before Natalie makes a complete fool of herself. "Where do they have the bonfire? When I asked Iris, she acted all mysterious and didn't say."

"That's right. You've never been to one before!" Natalie grasps my arm, her hazel eyes widening. "We have a fire after every football game down on the beach. This week the team's away from home, so it'll probably kick off a little later than usual, but it's always so much fun!" she says in a rush. "And get this—there's alcohol."

Of course, there is.

A knot of dread coils in my chest. "How do you get alcohol?" I ask. "And what about the headmaster? Does he know about these parties?"

"He knows, and he leaves us alone for the most part. As long as we don't get too loud," Eli says between bites of his hamburger. "And as for the alcohol, some of us have friends at the public school in town. They can usually get us whatever we want as long as we pay."