Leo was no stranger to long car rides. It's the type of thing you get used to when you're in the system. Car rides were always long, silent, and anxious. Sometimes the social worker would try to make conversation, lighten the mood, but it never worked. They were all the same, with a tendency to view kids like Leo as little more than a peculiar and difficult case.
This car ride, however, was different. All the other times, he'd been taken to various police stations, foster homes, and several psychologists. But not this time. After successfully causing several boatloads of trouble, Leo was being shipped off for good.
He pulled the brochure out of his jacket pocket. 'The Wilderness School.' What sort of name was that? He could imagine the subtitle: Where the kids are the animals. Supposedly, it was a place where juvenile delinquents like him could "work through their problems in a picturesque natural setting." Leo wasn't sure about the whole 'picturesque' part. So far, all he'd seen in rural Nevada were some tumbleweeds, patches of grass, and a whole lot of rocks.
"About five more minutes," said Laura, his chief social worker. She was a tall, blonde woman whose hair was always pulled into a tight twist. Out of all of them, she was the closest to sympathetic, but that didn't mean she was his favorite person. He nodded in acknowledgement, and slumped against the window. It would be difficult to run from a place like this. The closest thing to civilization in the area was a gas station and convenience store, about 15 miles back. Even if he were to make it there, chances were he'd be spotted as one of those 'bad kids' and be sent straight back to the school.
Pretty soon, Leo spotted a building in the distance. It was unimpressive, and looked a lot more like a prison than a school. But of course, it was probably meant to look that way. Just a friendly reminder that they were not here by choice.
Laura pulled into a parking space, and she and Leo got out of the car. She unloaded his single suitcase and beckoned him to follow her to the entrance. A few other kids were arriving as well. There was the usual crowd of girls with heavy makeup and designer-label jeans, and rough-looking guys that were likely to pick a fight at any moment. There was one kid who reminded Leo of John Travolta in Grease, with slick dark hair and impossibly shiny teeth. Then there was a girl with coppery skin and choppy chocolate-brown hair, wearing tattered jeans and a t-shirt, with a snowboarding jacket slung over her arm.
Leo was ushered through the door, and Laura pulled over to discuss something with a staff member near the entrance. He wasn't really paying any attention to them. He was easily distracted by all the hustle-and-bustle that came with the first day of the new term. Most students appeared to have been returning, because they knew exactly where to go for their dorms and check-in. Others held back, unsure of where to go or what to do.
A hand appeared on Leo's shoulder, and he looked up to see Laura pointing him toward the headmaster's office.
"I just need to speak with the head of the school, then we'll go to your new dorm room," she said. "Just wait outside. I'll only be a couple minutes."
"Okay," he replied, taking a seat in one of the super luxurious folding chairs stationed along the wall. He drummed his fingers on his knees, and his leg started bouncing, either from anxiety or his ADHD. Maybe both. Then his ears picked up on a conversation between the girl he'd seen before, with the choppy hair, and the woman escorting her.
"Piper, I promised your father I'd make sure you were all set before I left." The woman's voice was snobby and annoyed, like this task was an inconvenient but necessary chore.
"I told you, Jane, I really don't need your help. Just talk to the warden, then leave me alone." The girl, Piper, made no attempt to disguise the bitterness in her words.
Jane rolled her eyes. "Suit yourself. Wait out here while I talk to your new headmaster." Piper shot her a look of pure contempt before taking a seat next to Leo. He studied her face a bit closer. Dang. She was beautiful, but obviously tried her hardest to hide it, like it was something to be ashamed of. He couldn't quite figure out the color of her eyes. They seemed to shift between brown, green and blue. Something about her reminded Leo of someone he'd seen before, maybe in a movie, but he couldn't quite pinpoint who.
Piper glanced over at Leo, and his cheeks flushed at having been caught staring. He looked down for a second, but then back up. Fortunately, she didn't look too weirded out. A smile played at the edge of her lips. Leo was sure he looked pretty funny, being a short, skinny Latino kid with a large, tangled mop of curly black hair hanging over his forehead. His clothes were all too bulky, hanging off his scrawny frame.
"Hi," she said. "I'm Piper."
"Leo," he replied, extending a hand. "You're new here too, then?"
"Yeah. I don't think Jane could be any more pleased about it." She smirked, and Leo couldn't help but smile as well. Glancing at Piper's load of luggage, he saw there was quite a bit of it compared to Leo's single suitcase, but something told him she hadn't packed all that herself.
Laura emerged from the office, holding a folder, which she then handed to Leo. "This has all the information you might need while you're here- schedule, dorm room, campus map, my phone number, as well as the agency if you can't get a hold of me. I'll be checking your grade reports regularly." Leo nodded in acknowledgement, and she told him to follow her to where his new dorm would be. He gave Piper a quick, "See ya around," and went with Laura down the cold hallway.
Leo decided the place felt like a mix between a hospital and a prison. There was a tile floor that made your every step echo across the barren walls. Everything was a sterile white or gray color, except for the forest green door of each cell—oops, room. His was toward the end of the boys' hallway, number 103. It consisted of a single cot (there were no roommates at the Wilderness School, lest they cause trouble), a pathetic-looking lamp on a wooden dresser, and a desk in the corner. The only window was in the upper corner, and it was so small and thick-paned that not even he could squeeze through.
It didn't take more than a few minutes for Leo to unload his things into the dresser drawers. There wasn't much decorating to do, other than place the photo of himself and his mother on the corner of the desk. Supposedly, a staff member would bring his sheets and pillow later. Laura stood awkwardly in the doorway as he finished, then escorted him back to the lobby.
Apparently, all students were to report to the gym for introductions and all that other first-day-of-school nonsense. Laura leaned down to Leo's eye-level and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"You'll be okay, Leo. I know it's different, but I think this place will be a good for you." She sighed, straightening back to her full height. "You're a good kid, Leo. I can sense that about you. Just… don't get yourself into any more trouble." She patted him on the back awkwardly, then left, her high heels clicking rapidly against the tile floor. He figured that was about the closest thing to a real goodbye that anyone had ever given him.
Students were already starting to file into the gym, where rows of chairs had been set up. He spotted an empty seat next to Piper, at the end.
"Do you mind?" Leo asked, gesturing to the chair.
"No, go ahead," she replied. He sat down, and they didn't speak for the remaining ten minutes it took for the rest of the kids to get settled. Then a short, stocky guy with curly hair and a baseball bat started yelling through a megaphone.
"Alright, cupcakes, quiet down! For all you newbies, my name is Coach Hedge, and you can call me Coach Hedge. I'll be teaching you cupcakes lots of important stuff this year, so we'll be getting to know each other real well." He fixed his gaze on Leo and Piper, like he'd already pegged them as potential troublemakers. Great, Leo thought. This time, I made it on the naughty list without even trying.
"Do you think he uses the baseball bat instead of detentions?" Piper mumbled quietly.
His mind wandered for the rest of the speech, his fingers tapping nervously against his knees. A few other teachers went up and said their piece, but Leo was more concentrated on arrangement of ceiling tiles, the neon soles of one girl's running shoes, and the number of skid marks on the floor. Before he knew it, Piper was nudging him, as the others filed out. He figured it was probably a tour, and he was right. The place was certainly no castle, but it wasn't too bad. At least there was air conditioning and curtains in the showers.
Leo sat with Piper at dinner, since neither of them seemed to have much interest in interacting with anyone else. The meal was edible, but not exactly gourmet. Then again, with Leo's experience, he'd learned not to be picky. He went for the dried-out hamburger patty on a bun that was grainier than the whole state of Kansas, with a side of mush that somewhat resembled vanilla pudding. Piper (whose last name was apparently McLean—where had Leo heard that before?) just had a soggy PB&J, and a salad composed of wilted lettuce, a single hunk of carrot, and ranch dressing.
"So," Leo ventured as they sat down, "how did you end up here?"
She picked at her salad. "I'm a kleptomaniac." That took Leo by surprise. From the looks of her luggage, the brand name on her snowboarding jacket, and the fact that she was escorted by (presumably) her father's personal assistant, Piper seemed to be rich. Those two things didn't often go hand-in-hand.
"How much—I mean, what kind of stuff would you steal? Not to be nosy, or anything."
She cracked a smile. "Well… I did steal a BMW. That was the final insult."
"What? How did you manage that?" Leo's tone carried a strange sense of awe.
"Um… well, I didn't steal it precisely. I kind of just… talked the dealer into giving it to me. Of course I got caught later." She paused, exhaling. "What about you?"
"I'm a runner," Leo replied, as if it explained everything. When he got a blank stare, he elaborated. "I've been in foster care since I was eight, but I've never stayed anywhere long. I ran away… let's see… six times. Usually I evaded them for as long as a month or so, but they always caught me and put me somewhere else. Even if I didn't run, the foster families weren't what you'd call… overly caring. I got on their nerves pretty quick, until I ran away or was moved. Number six was the last straw."
"Oh." The sound was barely audible. Leo wondered about the rest of Piper's story. There was something deep behind it all, but considering he'd already dumped his baggage on a girl he'd just met, he figured it wouldn't be wise to push just yet.
To lighten the mood, he added, "But hey, I could give you a rockin' tour of the Texas sewer system if you want." Again, Piper cracked a smile, her kaleidoscope eyes sparkling.
Then a hand appeared on her shoulder. The John Travolta impersonator grinned down at her with teeth so white, Leo swore he saw a twinkle, like in the movies. Piper's expression was a mixture of surprise and repulsion.
"Hey there, beautiful. Got a name?" His voice was smooth and deep, almost seductive, and with an undertone of arrogance. His eyes gave Piper a quick once-over, as if determining whether she was worthy of his affections.
"Yes, but I don't think it should be of interest to you," Piper replied with a glare.
"Oh, don't be like that. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort, do you?" He cocked his head toward Leo, who frowned. The guy continued. "Name's Dylan. I can help you there."
Piper responded icily. "I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks. Feel free to trip on your way back to… wherever creeps like you come from."
Dylan tried to look offended, but was unsuccessful. He released his grip on her shoulder, and turned around after a final glare at Leo, as if it were his fault. Then, on his way back to the established "cool table," his shoe caught on the leg of a chair, and he stumbled, almost falling down. From Piper's expression, she was amused, but seemed to have been expecting it. Which was impossible… right?
Nevertheless, Leo chuckled, and extended his hand. "Piper McLean, I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."