Chapter 14: Chapter Thirteen

I had expected the first day of school to be a bit awkward since it was our senior year, and we were new. People had known each other for forever and we were the new faces. I wasn’t prepared for all the rumors though.

We parked our bikes next to each other in the parking lot and it felt like everybody was looking at us. My skin was thickened by years of verbal abuse, but I knew the rest were struggling with it. This time though, I wasn’t from the wrong side of the tracks or the poorest kid in school and that thought made me straighten my shoulders and walk past them without giving them a second glance.

‘I heard they were all in juvie.’

‘They work on that farm as community service.’

‘I can’t believe the school let them in here, they’re criminals.’

‘I heard the big one failed two years in a row. He’s already twenty.’

I kept my resolve not to say anything as everybody stared and we headed to the front office to get our schedules. Students lined the walls as we walked past them, and the whispers continued. Sloan didn’t have the same resolve and he glared at people as he brought up the rear.

“Morning, how can I help you?” The woman at the front desk was probably in her sixties and she looked like I imagine a grandmother would look like.

“We were told to pick up our schedules today. Hawthorne.” Her eyes roamed over each one of us and then recognition flashed through them.

“Ah, yes, the Hawthorne boys. Here you go,” she said with a smile and handed me our schedules.

“Thanks.”

I handed the schedules out after exiting the reception area and we headed to our respective lockers. I had already assessed most of the students, the cliques, and I was glad that we as brothers were so tight knit. I doubted that we’d make any real friends here.

“Take it easy, guys. Alexander asked us nicely not to start any fights. We can’t get into trouble on our first day,” I said.

Sloan smirked. “It wouldn’t be a fair fight anyway.”

“Let’s just keep our heads down, do the work. It’s one year, we can do it,” I said.

“Yeah, one year,” Castiel murmured.

We didn’t have all our classes together, but we shared some of them. I was the only one that had two classes without them. We all headed to our home room, which we shared and took the only empty seats in the front. The looks and whispers continued, and I could see Castiel clenching his fists.

“Take it out on the bag this afternoon,” I whispered to him.

“Hawthorne!” the teacher said loudly and all five of us looked up.

“Sir?” A few boys snickered in the background.

“Coach Ramsey would like to see all five of you after lunch,” he said. “His office is in the gym.”

“Yes, Sir,” I said.

As we left the classroom, Sloan and I headed towards History and the rest of my brothers headed to their respective classes, a group of guys headed our way. The leader of the group, a tallish boy, bumped his shoulder with mine as he gave me a look of disdain.

I ignored it as he turned around and pushed me from behind. He was shorter than me by at least a head and I probably had about twenty pounds on him. His whole attitude screamed jock, but instinct told me that I could take him.

“Hey! I’m talking to you,” he said.

“What?” Sloan said as we faced each other in the hallway.

“I said, don’t bother reporting to Coach, our team’s set,” he said with a sneer.

“Yeah, there’s no space for delinquent criminals,” another one piped up.

“Is that all?” I asked him.

“Let’s go,” Sloan said.

Sloan and I continued to our class and looked at the only two empty seats left. One right in front and one in the back. Sloan gave me an apologetic look and headed to the back. I took a seat in the front of the class and sat down.

“Hey,” I said to the girl seated next to me. She flicked her hair over her shoulder and briefly glanced at me.

“Are you sure you’re in the right class?” she asked me.

“Because I’m already twenty and just got out of juvie?” I asked her. She looked down briefly and her cheeks reddened with embarrassment.

“Good morning, class. I hope you all had a good summer. This week we’ll recap what you did last year and focus on our city’s history before tackling the new curriculum,” he said and turned to write his name on the blackboard.

His name was Gareth Walsh and I hoped that this year would be a fresh start for me, and I really hoped he wouldn’t be prejudiced against me because I didn’t exactly have the best track record in New York, but I was determined to change things.

“Now, who’ll break the ice and tell me about the discovery of Jamestown?” he asked.

Nobody raised their hands, and I refrained as well. He glanced around the classroom and took a list off his desk. He scanned the list and looked at the students. He smiled as he looked at me, and I knew what was coming.

“Kage Hawthorne.” He leaned back against this desk and folded his arms across his chest.

“Jamestown was founded in 1872, Sir, by General Thomas Rosser,” I answered him.

“When was the town incorporated?” he asked as his eyes roamed over each student. Silence continued to reign.

“In 1883 and in 1873, Jamestown became an official county seat when Stutsman County became the first county,” I said.

“Very good,” he said with a smile.

“Brown noser,” someone said and more than a few laughed.

“Now, who can tell me something interesting about the area?” he asked us.

“Jamestown is known for having the largest buffalo,” one student said.

“Is that the best you can come up with?” He looked around at the students again and shook his head.