House of Darken (Secret Keepers #1)(42)

“Who are you?” Cara whisper-shouted. “The first day I met you on the bus, you barely spoke at all, and now … you just stood up to Lexen Darken. Lexen. Darken.”

She was getting louder and louder, so I quickly shushed her. “I just don’t like being told what to do.”

I sensed she wanted to ask me why he was even in a position to tell me what to do, but the teacher entered then and there was no more chance to talk. I struggled to pay attention in class, and as someone who prided herself on meticulous note taking, mostly because I was gunning for a scholarship, I was bothered by my lack of focus.

“We still have to join a group, or some sort of extra-curricular activity,” Cara reminded me as we were packing up our books.

I groaned. “Did you have any thoughts about which one?”

She shrugged as she threw her bag over one arm. “Drama? Debate? The newspaper? Prom committee?”

I visibly flinched at the last suggestion. Prom … I’d gone with my ex-boyfriend; it hadn’t really been my thing. The new shoes were nice, I supposed.

“Chess club? Mathletes?”

I shook my head. I liked math, but not every day after school. And I’d never played a game of chess in my life. I was a checkers girl. Checkers all the way.

Ben joined us. “I’m thinking about running for student body president.” He straightened his spine. “The top positions always go to the elites, but I figured it was worth a shot.”

I met his gaze. “Maybe I can try for student government too. Lesser positions are fine by me.”

There was a clearing of a throat, and a low laugh from my right side. I turned to find the exotic, dark-haired beauty standing there beside Lexen. She was the one who had laughed, so I locked my gaze on her. “Something funny?” I found myself asking, one eyebrow raised in her direction.

She shrugged. “I wouldn’t bother trying out for any of the leadership roles. They’re all reserved for…” She looked me over, wrinkling her nose. “Not people like you.”

I blinked a few times, shaking my head. I was about to reply with something highly creative and snipingly witty, but Lexen interrupted before I could: “You need to get to your next class. Jero will meet you there. Kotar is going to show you the way.”

I knew Cara and Ben were hanging on every word. No doubt their mouths would be wide open as they wondered why I suddenly had an elite escort everywhere. I didn’t look at them to find out. I glared at Lexen. “Kotar?” I asked, my eyes flicking to the girl at his side. Was he talking about the snobby bitch?

She let out a breathy sigh. “Come on. I don’t have all day to be a guide. Follow me.”

She turned and flounced across the room, her shiny black hair cascading around her as she headed for the door.

I narrowed my eyes on Lexen, squinting hard enough to hurt myself. “Why are you doing this? I can walk to class on my own.”

He just crossed his arms over his chest, staring me down with that formidable expression on his face.

“Okay, fine,” I groaned. I sucked in a deep fortifying breath and followed Kotar from the room. She was already halfway down the hall, so I hurried to catch up. She looked forward, paying me no attention at all. I had a bunch of questions brewing in my mind, like, which house was she from? How did she know Lexen? How well did she know Lexen?

But there was no way to ask those questions without sounding like a pathetic human, and she clearly already hated my kind.

What do I have to lose, then? Before I could suck up the guts to open my mouth, we arrived at history class. Kotar waved at the door, which was her only form of communication, before she continued walking. I watched her tiny form as it disappeared around the corner.

Well, that went well.

Entering the classroom, there were a few students seated already. Jero was in his section. Aria, the leggy redhead, was nowhere in sight. I noticed Derek, the glasses-clad guy I’d met at lunch yesterday, already sitting front and center, a bunch of textbooks open in front of him. That was one serious-about-his-studies dude. No doubt he would be valedictorian of our year.

“Princess, over here…” Jero’s loud call drew everyone’s attention. I headed straight toward him. I had no problem sitting with this particular Darken.

He draped an arm around me and there was barely a sliver of discomfort. I had mixed emotions about this step forward. I didn’t want to forget my parents – I would never be able to do that – but I wanted to hurt less. I’d survived, through some miracle. My psychiatrist told me I suffered from survivor’s guilt. I didn’t disagree. I had no idea why I had been the only one to make it out alive; we should have all gone as a family. But we hadn’t. I knew my parents would not want me to beat myself up over my stroke of … luck. I still wasn’t sure if it was good or bad luck that I had lived, but it was luck nonetheless.

“Ready to learn about my illustrious family?” Jero hadn’t removed his arm, and I got the distinct feeling he was leaving it there as a warning of some kind. Or maybe he was just a tactile kind of guy. He was certainly flirty enough.

“House of Darken today, right?” Mr. Perkins had mentioned that we were going to start on the founders straight away. “That should be illuminating. Do you get an instant A?”

He chuckled, both of us staring toward the door as the classroom started to fill. As more students stepped inside, more gaping faces were directed toward us.