Carolina Wren

Chapter 17

Wren's POV

Mr. Blackbourne turned away from me, hands on his hips as I watched his shoulders rise, stay there for a few seconds and then lower as he breathed out. As he repeated the action, Dr. Green settled back on his heels, giving me more room without moving away. Mr. Blackbourne turned back around and both men shared a long look before he said, "Miss Nelson, we have much to discuss."

I stay quiet as my eyes dart between the two men. They're so young. They seem older when they're acting all professional, especially Mr. Blackbourne but they're not that much older than me. I'm 16, I'll turn 17 in a few months and they can't be that much older than me. Two years, maybe three. Too young to be teachers, much less doctors and administrators.

"Wren, how much have the boys told you about the Academy?"

"That it's set up differently," my voice feels hoarse and I don't know why I'm so nervous. "That the two of you are something between a mentor and a teacher for the group. That you all have a close bond because of it, although I could have figured that out on my own." I huffed, looking down at my hands, "Nobody could miss it after being in a room with more than one of you for any period of time."

Outsider. Outsider. Outsider.

The word was running rampant through my mind. I always felt a little on the outside with the boys, it was inevitable. They had known each other for longer and I was new. Today was one week of knowing them and it's not like I've been with them every moment of every day since then. But these secrets, they made the divide larger. Or at least made me more aware of it.

I'm not stupid, I know they have years of experiences together that I will never be able to share. I'm more of a stray they've taken pity on than a member of their group. They don't owe me anything but how weird they've been makes me nervous.

With one more shared glance, Mr. Blackbourne said, "The Academy is an organization designed to help those that might otherwise fall through the cracks. They have teams on multiple continents, but most prominently across the United States, that act in the gray areas where red tape from official channels might fail those most in need."

"So, it's... not a school."

Dr. Green smiled at me and it made my heart flutter, but I was too busy trying to wrap my head around what they were saying to let myself get lost in it. "Education is one facet of the organization; it's just more than that. They accept members of all ages and those that are minors are given the same education that you would be and more. They focus on individual needs and can even put students who are at a faster pace than their peers on a track that is geared towards their interests."

I eyed him skeptically. "Are you really a doctor?"

His eyes twinkled with humor. "They don't just hand out the white coats for no reason."

"I haven't seen your white coat."

"That is a problem," he teases before pulling out his phone and pulling up a picture. "Here is my medical license hanging on the wall in my office." His smile turns to something fond as I look at it. "North made the frame for me as a gift when I was licensed. He's also the one that hung it on the wall."

Mr. Blackbourne spoke up from behind him, "Dr. Green is useless with a leveler. If you have handy work that needs to be done, look for the younger Mr. Taylor or Mr. Korba."

Dr. Green glared over his shoulder. "That's not very nice. It was one time!" He reached over and pulled a badge out of his bag. "This is my ID card for the hospital. It lets me get into all the fancy locked hallways, medicine cabinets, and supply closets." He gave me a teasingly stern look, "You have to be careful in those. The nurses don't like it when you misplace things and you never want to piss off your nurses."