Page 73 of And They Were Roommates

My head lifts. The homeroom is a sea of horrified looks.

“This does not mean the winter mixer is canceled. However, there was an incident with students sneaking into the equestrian center after hours, and—” Principal Grimes sighs. “The horses have been let free. If you see any in the woods, please notify an instructor.”

Whispers pop up around the room.

I barely hear them, my thoughts swarmed by memories of my trip with Blaze to the equestrian center. The paddock gate. We walked through that.

“Until we know who caused this, we’ve placed twenty-four-seven security guards at our checkout booths to ensure top safety for students. Have a wonderful day.”

Five minutes later, homeroom is over, and I’m out the door on a burst of nerves. There’s no way we’re connected to this. Blaze had everything under control.

“V.H.!” someone shouts across the swarm during passing time. Zain, a typical midthirties rank who I tutored in chem last week. Apparently, Luis’s nickname for me is catching on. The moment he reaches me, he traps me in a hug tight enough to seize control of my body. “You SAVED my LIFE.”

“You’re ending mine,” I wheeze through my crushed lungs.

“Oh,” Zain says, letting go and stepping back. “I got aninety-eight on that chem quiz, thanks to our tutoring sesh. I love you, man.”

“Same,” another voice says behind Zain. Jack, a typical high-twenties rank who joined the tutoring last week, too, stepping better into view. “I scored a ninety-five.”

A smile travels up my face. “You guys deserve it.”

“You gonna be stuck in the library later?” Zain asks.

Maybe they want more tutoring. “I’m… not sure. What’s up?”

“We wondered if you wanted to tap into our Frisbee match. If you’re down, meet us at Dix after dinner hour?” With that, he takes off with Jack.

I follow them with my eyes as they walk away, a bit stunned. I’m supposed to keep my head down, yet all I can think is about is how much I’d rather play Frisbee than study in the library all night. How much I want to take that risk and spend time with some new friends.

“Charlie,” Xavier says over my shoulder. I jump and spin around. He’s rushing toward me. “You hear those announcements?”

“Yeah,” I say.

Xavier groans. “We’re holding an emergency meeting after classes.”

A piece of me wants to come to the STRIP Crypt to know what’s going on, but I know I shouldn’t. Not when I’m done with Jasper and the love letters. “Hey, Xavier, actually—”

“Oh, my bad. We were gonna train after class, weren’t we?”

“Ah, no, it’s fine.”

“After the STRIP meeting?” He playfully knocks my shoulder. Just a few seconds of discussing his passion for ripping apart his muscles revives him. “Youareready to train again, yeah? Or do you still feel off from”—his voice lowers—“lovesickness?”

“No—!” I lift my calculus textbook in front of my face, thenglance around to check that Jasper isn’t staring directly at me. “I mean, yeah. Yep. I’m good now.”

“Cool. Your stats should hit testing day requirements soon.” He grins.

“You think?” I bring the book down, but I still can’t return a grin. If I walk away from STRIP at a time like this, will Xavier stop training me? What will happen to my PE grade?

Will I have to say goodbye to everyone?

Maybe I have to go. Just this once. To find a way to leave STRIP without hurting everyone.

Xavier fist-bumps me. “See you at the meeting.”

“Blaze let out the horses.”

We all blink up at Robby. He stands on a tome table in the STRIP Crypt, his overfilled organizational binder wrapped tightly in his arms.

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