Double Jinx (Wattys2017)

Chapter 7

Dodging Carmen's questions was hard considering she sat right next to me during Study Hall again. She was polite but I felt as though it were a politeness masking an underlying feeling of a desperate need for knowledge. She wanted to know everything that happened between Ace and I during our lunch, the lunch Ace so graciously forgot to tell me wasn't even during his allotted time.

    Luckily, my anxieties were put to rest once I reached my Senior Seminar class. Creston was waiting for me at the back of the room like yesterday, a sweet smile already dressed across his face. He patted the chair next to him, pretending to brush it off, "Only the finest ma'am."

    "Thanks." I responded, ducking my head to hide the blush on my cheeks from the other students. With Creston sitting next to me, their stares decreased. Almost as if an angered Creston was the last this these students wanted. I allowed my mind to wander through all the possible reasons why Creston and Ace held so much power here, but my imagination could only come up with illegal narcotics or ties to the mafia.

    Creston seemed to notice how I was lost in my thoughts. He tipped his chair until his back was braced against the wall, "Don't worry. No one will bother you with me around."

    Now was the perfect time to ask. All I had to do was gain the courage to open my mouth and mutter a few words but alas, it was not to be. Because the moment passed. My mouth remained closed, my tongue feeling like leather in my mouth, and then the teacher began talking which cut off any chance I had of asking Creston why everyone here seemed afraid of him.

    And Ace.

    That worried me. More than a little. Was Ace caught up in something bad? He had to be, right? Why else would the entire student body act as though he were death itself? They avoided him, feared him. I saw it in their faces whenever Ace or Creston neared, I even noticed this phenomena when Tommy escorted me to class earlier today.

    Why was everyone so afraid of them?

    And should I be afraid too?

    Carmen hadn't said anything after we returned from lunch though I'm sure she was a little preoccupied with drilling me for answers. She knew these boys, more than I did anyways. She wouldn't let me stand in harm's way without warning me ... right?

    I wanted to believe that the few friends I had made since yesterday weren't like that but in all honestly, I didn't know anything about these people. Carmen was practically a stranger, as was Tommy and Creston. As for Ace ... well, I haven't seen him in ten years. That was a lot of time that I couldn't account for. I had no idea what Ace has been up to since I saw him last. While I wanted to believe that Ace wasn't involved in illegal activities, I couldn't be sure.

    But the one thing I wanted to know above all else was whether Ace was still with his parents or not. Creston didn't seem all too worried about Ace's living conditions but that hardly meant Ace was safe. What if he was still being abused and his injuries were just hidden? What if he had been put into foster care and his so called guardian was starving him every night?

    Whoa, Genevieve, hit the brakes. Firstly, there was no way Ace could be in foster care because he was older than I was which meant he would have aged out. So if anything, he was living on his own. Whether that was a good or bad thing was still up for debate. Secondly, even if Ace was still living with his parents, he wouldn't take the beatings anymore. He did as a child because he didn't know better but Ace was different now.

    He was stronger now.

    Ace held an authority that even I couldn't fully understand. Almost as if he were in control of everything and everyone around him.