CONNOR

It took a long time to convince Chiron to let Travis and me to go to school, but he agreed if we had a satyr watching us. We wouldn't want someone to lose all their money on the first day of school, now would we? No, we certainly would not.

So when HorseMan found Jonas Greene, "a good-natured" satyr, my brother and I were set. Going back to Kentucky was going to be great. When the camp found out, though, they were surprised by two things: one, that we were going to school in Kentucky, two, that we were going to Kentucky. They said we didn't sound "country enough". They're all so stupid. It was my idea to even go to school to begin with. Travis and I were supposed to be juniors, but we never even went to high school. When we came to camp when we were ten, we never looked back. But then I started to see my stepbrothers, stepsisters, and unclaimed kids in Cabin Eleven talking about their school and the colleges they want to go into and what they want to do with their lives, if it wasn't too dangerous for them to leave camp again. It hit something inside me. So there we were—in a boarding school for smart kids.

Chiron thought my brother and I were smart, was my first thought to seeing the schedule he made for us—all honors courses.

Anyway, I was doing fine—I made all my teachers think I was a good student and build up a reputation of being a fine student, then turn around and mess everything up with toilet paper. Call it an investment. But then came Latin class.

I always liked sitting in the back, where no one can see me light a fire, or steal something that caught my interest, or money someone dropped, and no one would see me. Apparently, I wasn't the only one, because this girl was tucked tight into the corner, glaring at me, like I'd just filled the girls' bathroom with party glitter. I mean, c'mon, that was the guys' bathroom. Anyway, I thought she must have not gotten much sleep the night before and bushed it over my shoulder. I just nodded my head 'hey', and zoned out for the next hour and thirty minutes.

I didn't think twice about the girl until lunch. I'd just gotten my taco-like substance from the lunch lady, who looked strangely like a dude, when the door leading to the lunch room was blocked by a familiar face, er, familiar back.

"Going to sit down, or just watch the people eat?" I said, somewhat playfully. Maybe she was in a better mood.

She turned around and raised an eyebrow, frowning ever so slightly, like I was a problem to be dealt with. "Who's asking?" She asked.

Is she a total jerk all the time? I wondered. "The guy you're currently blocking from eating his lunch," I shot back with as much sass as she gave me.

Her face turned red and twisted into a face I recognized—disappointment. She said, "I'm sorry," head down, and moved away from the line. I took a second to really take her in—short blonde hair, eyes the color of steel, kinda short and thin and pale. She was wearing a white tank top, with a brown cardigan over it, matched with light jeans, and ratty old sneakers. She looked too young to be anything but a freshman. Fresh meat. Like at camp. She was just an aggressively shy person. I dealt with a lot of new-comers at camp like her.

"Hey. Come sit with me," I said, trying to break the barrier between us.

"Excuse me?"

"You have nowhere else to sit, so come with me."

She followed me just as I was about to leave, but said nothing more. Once we sat down at the table, I thought maybe she'd want to talk a little more, but she just poked at her taco, like it was an explosive, which, in all honestly, could be used as one. After giving her what felt like ten or fifteen minutes, I decided it was time to say something.

"My name is Connor, by the way."

"Cassidy Shay." She smiled, like she was happy I'd spoken up. She must not get out much.

We somehow managed to make a little small talk before Travis and Jonas sat down next to me. Cassidy eyed them suspiciously.

This my brother, Travis," I said, punching his almost-look-alike on the shoulder. "And our friend, Jonas."

When it was time to go to our next class, Travis pulled her aside. I didn't hear what they were saying, but Travis gave me a look that told me he'd tell me later. I nodded my head slightly, rushing to my next horror, geometry. Yay me.