The Mafia Boy In My Class

The kitchen light was still on when Ariana came downstairs, even though it was almost seven in the morning and her mother should have left for work an hour ago. "Mom?" Victoria Bennett was sitting at the table, a stack of envelopes in front of her, one hand pressed flat against her forehead like she was holding her own head up. "You're going to be late," Victoria said, not looking up. "What's that?" "Nothing. Go eat something." Ariana walked closer and picked up the top envelope before her mother could stop her. The electric company's logo was printed in the corner, red letters stamped across the front: FINAL NOTICE. "Mom." "I said it's nothing." Victoria took the envelope back, folded it in half, and slid it under the others like that would make it disappear. "It's handled." "How is it handled?" "Ariana." "Just tell me the truth. How much?" Victoria finally looked up at her, and for a second neither of them said anything. Then she said, quietly, "Enough that I need you to focus on school and let me worry about the rest." Ariana wanted to argue. She wanted to sit down and go through the numbers with her mother the way they used to when she was younger, back when her mother still let her help. But she'd learned a long time ago that pushing on mornings like this one didn't get her anywhere except late for school. "I'm going to get that scholarship," Ariana said instead. "I know." "I mean it. If I get it, this," she gestured at the envelopes ",this stops mattering so much." Victoria managed a small smile. "Go. Before you miss the bus." Ariana grabbed her bag and left, the screen door banging shut behind her. She caught up with Lily two streets over, already scrolling through her phone with one earbud in. "You're doing the face again," Lily said, not even looking up. "What face?" "The one where you're mentally paying bills that aren't yours to pay." "They're kind of mine to pay too." "You're seventeen." "So?" Lily finally glanced at her, softer now. "So it's not fair that you're the one carrying it." Ariana didn't answer that. There wasn't really an answer that made either of them feel better, so she changed the subject instead. "Did you finish the reading for Halden's class?" "Half of it." "Lily." "I got distracted. There's a new kid starting today. Apparently he came from some private academy across the city." They turned the corner and Ariana saw what Lily meant before Lily even said another word. A crowd had gathered near the front gates , more students than usual, most of them with their phones already up, all facing the same direction. A black car sat at the curb. It wasn't like anything else parked on the street. Long, dark, polished enough to catch the morning light. The door opened, and a boy stepped out. He was tall, dressed simply , a dark jacket, nothing flashy , but there was a man behind him in a suit who didn't look like he belonged at a high school at all. The man scanned the crowd once, quick and practiced, before falling half a step behind the boy as he walked toward the entrance. "Who is that with him?" Ariana asked. "No idea. Driver, maybe." "Drivers don't usually check out a crowd like that." Lily wasn't really listening anymore. She was too busy staring at the new boy, who hadn't so much as glanced at the students whispering around him. He walked like none of it touched him. "Ten bucks says he doesn't say a single word all day," Lily said. "That's a bad bet. You'd win it." "You don't know that." "I know his type." Lily raised an eyebrow. "You don't know his type. You know guys from around here. That's a whole different category of person." The bell rang before Ariana could argue, and they hurried inside, shoes squeaking against the hallway tile as the crowd near the entrance finally started breaking apart. By the time Ariana reached homeroom, the boy was already seated by the window, a folder open in front of him that he wasn't reading. "Everyone," Mrs. Halden said, clapping her hands twice, "we have a new student. This is Damon Blackwood. Please make him feel welcome." A few scattered hellos went around the room. Damon nodded once. Nothing more. "Damon, there's a seat open next to Ariana. Ariana, raise your hand." Ariana raised her hand, feeling her face warm as half the class turned to look. Damon picked up his bag without a word and crossed the room, sliding into the seat beside her. "Hi," Ariana said. "I'm Ariana." "I heard." "Right. Well. Welcome, I guess." He didn't answer. He opened his notebook and started writing, and Ariana turned back toward the front of the room, deciding right then that Damon Blackwood was probably every bit as arrogant as the whispering in the hallway made him sound. Class went on. Mrs. Halden explained the semester reading list. Ariana took notes mostly out of habit. Halfway through, she glanced sideways and caught Damon watching her , just for a second, gone the moment she noticed, like it hadn't happened at all. She frowned and looked away. When the bell rang for the next period, Damon was the first one out the door, a folder tucked under his arm, gone before Ariana had even zipped her bag shut. "See," Lily whispered, leaning over. "Not one extra word all morning." "I told you not to bet on that." "I didn't bet. I predicted." "Same thing." At lunch, Lily dropped into the seat across from her so fast her tray nearly slid off the table. "Okay. Tell me everything. What's he like up close?" "Rude." "Rude how?" "I said hi. He said 'I heard.'" Lily burst out laughing, loud enough that a few heads turned. "That's incredible. That's so bad." "It's not funny." "It's a little funny." Ariana shook her head, fighting a smile she didn't want to give Lily the satisfaction of seeing. Across the cafeteria, she spotted Damon sitting by himself at the far end of a table, not eating, just staring at his phone with the same unreadable look he'd had all morning. "He's sitting alone," Ariana said. "So?" "So that's kind of sad, isn't it?" "Or he wants to be alone. Some people do." "Nobody wants to be that alone on their first day." Lily shrugged and stole a fry off Ariana's tray. "Maybe he's got somewhere better to be after school. Guys like that usually do." Ariana didn't argue. She watched him a second longer, then made herself look away and finish her lunch. She didn't see his jaw tighten when his phone buzzed against the table. She didn't see him glance down at the screen and go completely still, one hand curling slowly into a fist beside it before he forced it open aga in. Across the cafeteria, unnoticed by anyone but Damon, one line sat lit up on his phone before the screen went dark again. They're watching you..