Jack starts a game of tag. Liam joins, laughing loud. I move without thinking, the rain soaking through to my skin, my own laughter in my ears. I can't remember the last time I laughed like this.
"Alright, that's enough!" Bill's voice cuts through. "Inside, all of you, before I change my mind about those write-ups!"
We stall, not wanting it to end.
"Now, boys," Bill says. Firm, but with those kind eyes.
Jack shakes his head like a dog, spraying water everywhere. Liam's hair is plastered to his forehead, blue eyes bright. He smiles at me. Just with his eyes. Miles is already inside, standing in the doorway.
"Get toweled off and change," Bill instructs. "If anyone asks, you got caught in the downpour while helping secure outdoor equipment. Understood?"
"Thank you, sir," I murmur as I pass him.
"Everyone needs a minute of freedom now and then," hesays.
As we move down the hallway, leaving puddles behind us, I catch Liam watching me.
"Who'd have thought you could be so much fun?" he says.
"Don't get used to it," I answer. It doesn't sound convincing. I don't try to make it.
Chapter 14. Liam
The library smells like an old encyclopedia that we had at my grandma's house. I don’t think about that much, though, because it’ll make me miss all the ghosts from my past, and I go crazy when I think too much. That’s why I try not to think every time I can help it, especially as I don’t want to ruin the fucking moment, which is super wholesome, because all four of us are together, clustered around a table in the back corner. And I enjoy the fact that this is the only place that doesn't smell like bleach. I don't know why, but they're always bleaching everything. I can't stand bleach, especially not after scrubbing those damn MMA mats so many fucking times.
Tests are next week, and in a rare act of mercy, they've granted us Quiet Time in the library instead of our cells. Sorry,rooms. Griff heard me calling itcellsthe other day, and he gave me a scolding of at least fifteen minutes about beinggratefulthat this isn’t real jail, and not totake for grantedwhat I have, and my eyes rolled so far and wide that it’s ridiculous. And it's also ridiculous how this privilege feels like Christmas morning here, when it should feel like the most ordinary thing ever in my past life. But the bar islow,and I'll take what I can get.
Miles sits to my left, a biology textbook open to a chapter on cellular respiration that he's clearly already memorized. He hasn't said a word in twenty minutes, but there's something different about him today. For Miles, being allowed to sit in aroom full of books instead of scrubbing industrial pans is the equivalent of a vacation in the Maldives. His blue eyes scan the page, and he seems… content.
Jack, on the other hand, has the focus of a golden retriever in a room full of tennis balls.
"Okay, listen to this," he whispers, except Jack's version of whispering is pretty fucking loud. He holds up his history textbook and reads. "'The subsequent collapse of diplomatic relations led to a period of unprecedented economic turmoil.' Unprecedented. That's a word that means they didn't see it coming. You know what else they didn't see coming?" He pauses for effect. "Me failing this test."
I snort, and it encourages him. We both take carpentry, but they have us all doing these basic subjects because they assume we are all high-school failures, which, fair, it's true. So, everybody has to take English, Geography, History, Arts, and Math.
"Perry," Ethan says from across the table without looking up from his anatomy notes. That's Jack's last name. Ethan thinks it's funny to call everybody by their last names, but he freaks out if we use his last name. Hypocrite. "If you can't study quietly, you can study in your room."
"No, I need the atmosphere here," Jack protests, gesturing around at the sad fluorescent lighting and metal shelving units. "The studying energy."
"The studying energy of you reading at full volume?"
"I was using my indoor voice."
Ethan raises one eyebrow, his mouth becoming a thin line.
"Your indoor voice is most people's outdoor voice."
Jack grins and turns to me. "Back me up here, Liam."
"He's right," I say to Ethan. "That was definitely his indoor voice."
Ethan's green eyes flick up to mine, and he looks like he wants to have my neck for daring to defend Jack.
"Both of you," Ethan says, pointing his pen at Jack and then at me. "Open your books. Actually study. I'm not covering for either of you if you fail."
"Yes, sir, Mr. Leader, sir," Jack says. He does open his textbook, which lasts approximately forty-five seconds before he's leaning over to Miles.
"Hey, Miles. What's the powerhouse of the cell?"
