REBOUND

CHAPTER ONE They shoved me into the locker before first period. Not hard enough to really hurt, just hard enough to make a point, and I hit the metal with my shoulder in a way that was gonna leave a bruise. Someone laughed but I didn't look to see who. "Watch where you're going, scholarship girl." I kept my head down and kept walking even though my hands were shaking. Three weeks at Ashford Academy and I still couldn't figure out how to be invisible enough. The thing about elite private schools is they smell expensive. Floor polish and old money and something else I couldn't name, something that made it clear I didn't belong here no matter how good my grades were. I counted exits the same way other people counted change. East stairwell near the library, service entrance behind the cafeteria, side door by the gym that didn't lock right if you kicked the bottom corner. Seventeen ways out total, and I'd memorized every single one. Mom was working a double at the hospital again which meant I'd left at six AM to catch two buses here. But this was Ashford, this was the scholarship that was supposed to change everything, this was our way out. I just had to survive it first. I was at my locker after second period when someone slammed it shut on my fingers. Pain shot up my hand and I yanked it back, biting down on my lip to keep from making a sound. "Oops." The voice came from behind me, cold and bored. "Should be more careful." I turned around. Kai Donovan stood there with his hands in the pockets of his burgundy and gold letterman jacket, looking at me like I was something stuck to the bottom of his shoe. Captain of the basketball team, son of the guy who donated the new science wing, the kind of beauty that made people stupid. I'd spent three weeks making sure he never noticed me. So much for that. "You're in my way," he said, even though there was plenty of room to walk around me. I pressed myself against the lockers. "Sorry." "Sorry what?" My throat closed up. Behind him I could see other students slowing down, bringing out their phones. "I'm sorry," I said again, quieter. "Still in my way." He didn't move, just stood there waiting, and I realized he wanted me to leave, wanted me to run so everyone could watch. I grabbed my bag and walked away on legs that felt like water. The bathroom on the second floor was empty. I locked myself in a stall and stared at my fingers where the locker had caught them. Not broken, just red and sore. This was fine. This was survivable. My phone buzzed. Unknown number. Nice bag. Goodwill? My stomach dropped. I looked at my backpack, old and frayed at the corners, the one I'd been using since sophomore year. How did they get my number? Another text. That's a yes, isn't it? I blocked the number but it buzzed again immediately with a different number. Blocking me won't help. See you around, Iris. I didn't go to lunch. Couldn't stomach the cafeteria and the stares and the whispers, so I hid in the library and tried to focus on rewriting my notes, but my fingers hurt too much to hold the pen right. "You're Iris Chen." I looked up. A guy stood by my table, tall and athletic with dark eyes that looked at me with something that might've been curiosity. Same letterman jacket as Kai. My whole body went tense. "Do you need something?" My voice came out sharper than I meant it to. "Miles." He pulled out the chair across from me and sat down without asking. "We're in Peterson's Chem together." I didn't say anything. "I've got notes from the last three weeks if you need them. For the exam." He pulled a notebook from his bag and set it on the table. I stared at it. "Why would you help me?" "Why wouldn't I?" "Because you're friends with Kai Donovan." His name tasted bitter in my mouth. Something flickered across Miles's face. "Yeah, I am. But I'm not him." He stood up. "Notes are there if you want them. Bring them back whenever." "I don't need charity." "Good. Because this isn't charity, it's just notes." He started to walk away then stopped. "Word of advice? Don't block the numbers. It just pisses them off. Better to know what's coming." Then he left and I sat there staring at his notebook like it might explode. Pride is expensive, my mom always said, and we couldn't afford expensive things. I took the notebook. That afternoon I walked out the main entrance because I was tired of hiding, tired of being scared, and maybe that was stupid but I was just tired. Kai was leaning against the stone pillar by the steps. Waiting. I tried to walk past him. He moved into my path, not touching me but close enough that I could smell his cologne, something woody and expensive. "Iris." He said my name like he'd been practicing it. "We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Kai Donovan." "I know who you are." "Of course you do." His smile didn't reach his eyes. "You're the girl who's taking up space that could've gone to someone who actually belongs here." "I earned my spot." "Did you?" He tilted his head, studying me. "Or did you just fill a quota?" Heat flooded my face. "I have a 4.0 GPA." "So do a hundred other students here, except they don't need financial aid." He leaned in closer. "You know what I think? I think you're gonna spend the next four years pretending you're good enough when everyone knows you're not." My hands clenched into fists. "Why do you even care?" "I don't." He straightened up. "But I'm bored, and you're new, and I want to see how long it takes before you break." "I'm not going to break." "Everyone breaks eventually." He stepped aside, finally letting me pass. "Question is, will you do it quietly or make it interesting for me?" I walked away without answering and didn't look back even though I could feel his eyes on me the whole way to the street. When I got home the apartment was empty, Mom was still at work, and there was an envelope taped to our door. No return address. Inside was a single piece of paper with three words in expensive handwriting: Tomorrow will hurt. My phone buzzed. Did you really think blocking me would work? See you tomorrow, Iris. 7 AM, main entrance. Don't be late. I stared at the screen. This was a trap, obviously. But what choice did I have? Running meant losing the scholarship, and losing the scholarship meant losing everything Mom had worked for. Another message. And Iris? Your mom works at Memorial Hospital, right? Night shift? Would be a shame if something made her life harder. My blood turned to ice. He knew where my mom worked. I typed back with shaking hands. Leave her out of this. Three dots appeared, disappeared and appeared again. Then give me a reason to. 7 AM. And if you tell anyone, if you run, if you even think about transferring... I'll make sure everyone knows exactly why you're really here. I stared at that last sentence. Why are you really here? He couldn't know. Nobody knew except Mom and the admissions counselor who'd promised to keep it confidential. The real reason I needed Ashford, the real reason I'd taken this scholarship even though I knew I didn't belong. My little brother, ten years old, sick with something the public school system couldn't help with. Ashford's medical connections, their partnerships with research hospitals, the donor network that could get him into experimental treatment programs we'd never afford otherwise. That's why I was here. Not for me. For him. And Kai Donovan somehow knew. See you tomorrow. I didn't sleep that night, and when my alarm went off at 5:30 AM I already knew I was going to do exactly what he wanted. Because whatever game Kai was playing, he'd just m ade it clear he held all the cards. The only question now was what he planned to do with them.