Chapter 3

DANTE

I woke up to the annoying ring of my cell phone. I knew I shouldn't have gone out and I couldn't even remember what time I'd gotten home. Aunt Tabatha had probably given me a nice long lecture about drinking. But I couldn't come to Dakota and not tell my old friends or celebrate my unwanted or unplanned arrival.

Of course, I didn't imagine that my grandparents would actually throw me to Aunt Tabatha. Despite the threats, I was the famous Thomas, I had to see it to believe it and here I was, forced to wake up early, much earlier than the average student. I massaged my temples and stood up, turning off my cell phone alarm. Miraculously, Amberthy hadn't burst into my room and complained to me about annoying her dear mother, as my cousin took pleasure in trying to make me feel bad for getting in the way of my aunt's plans.

I took a quick shower and went downstairs, arriving in the kitchen and observing my aunt, who was already sitting at the table drinking coffee, wearing her nurse's uniform and eating her pancakes as if that was the last meal she would ever have. Her daughter was also there, staring at me with a typical dissatisfied look.

"Good morning," I said without much interest, grabbing some coffee and sitting down, feeling my aunt's irritated gaze on me."Do you want to say something, Aunt Tabatha?"

"You know I said everything I needed to say yesterday, Dante," she said, her mouth half full, taking a sip of coffee."Even though I'm still angry, I'm not going to fight with you again, here." My aunt sighed and undid her sullen frown, tossing me the bike key. "Go to school and don't make me regret it."

Amberthy rolled her eyes and I smiled, putting the key back in my pocket and watching my aunt, who bore a great resemblance to my mother in many ways. I pushed any memory of Leona Montreal into the deepest, most unreachable space in my mind, continuing to sip my coffee.

Tabatha left first with her daughter, who insisted on arriving too early to have time to plan anything geeky with her even geekier friends. I left last, locked the house tight and headed for the garage, stepping inside and smiling as I saw the beautiful, sleek black Harley that I took such good care of. I had gotten the bike two years ago, the last present my father had given me, and even after all this time it looked like it had just come out of the store. I got on the bike, turned the key and the roar of the engine filled the garage. I maneuvered and, a few moments later, I was riding, perhaps a little over the speed limit, towards Saints Louis School.

When I arrived, the parking lot was already full of teenagers and a few teachers. I parked the bike and took off my helmet, watching the crowd of students for a few moments.

I slung my backpack over my shoulder and fixed the jacket I was wearing. It was a cold morning, but then everything was always a bit chilly in Dakota. I knew the day would be unusual, after all I was the new student and that was always stressful. I walked into the classroom building, feeling the stares on me, hearing whispers everywhere, I was walking with the most indifferent expression possible, determined to find my locker. However, before I could continue my search, a small buzz caught my attention.

A group of girls were surrounding another person and were firing off jumbled questions that I very much doubted anyone could understand. I approached slowly, listening to the women's laughter, and couldn't help but half"smile when I heard something like "he's so beautiful" in a small, well"aligned chorus. I stopped in front of the laughing group, looking at the girls and seeing their smiles gradually cease, giving way to silly, nervous expressions.

Although all the girls were already static in their seats, one of them still had her back to me, I saw another one discreetly nudge the brunette, then she turned around, her smile also slowly fading, her brown eyes caught mine and I appreciated her as her eyes traveled up and down me.

I had to admit that, for some reason, her beauty struck me as more striking than all the others, despite my conscience pointing out that she looked quite ordinary physically. Her beautiful brown eyes locked onto mine again and I smiled once more.

"Good morning, girls, can one of you help me with my closet?" I asked in a mocking tone, watching as the brown"eyed brunette, who I now noticed was very short for someone who was already in one of the last two years of high school, was pushed forward."Do we have a volunteer?" The somewhat silly expression gave way to a flash of dissatisfaction and irritation, which surprised me a little, as I wasn't used to that kind of reaction, except for my aunt Tabatha and her daughter.

"Unfortunately," she said. Her voice was melodious and sent a strange shiver down the back of my neck."Come with me and wipe that smile off your face before I leave you standing here.

She surprised me once again, who would have thought that such a smiley girl would have such a sharp tongue? I walked alongside her as we made our way down the long corridor. The girl seemed a little airborne in her task and for a moment I thought she had forgotten that she was helping me find my locker. I was sure she was distracted for a moment when she stared at me, blinking repeatedly and making a discreet beak.

" What's your name?"she asked, making me smile again, and I saw her eyebrows draw together, probably thinking I was thinking something stupid, and maybe I was."So we can find your locker," he quickly explained.

"Dante," I replied after a few moments, smiling slightly and receiving another irritated look, accompanied by rapid footsteps.

It didn't take the girl more than a few minutes to find my locker. Maybe I could have done it myself if I'd walked a bit more before talking to the girls. Before I had time to thank her, the warm brown"haired girl turned around, ready to leave without even saying goodbye, which instigated me to tease her some more.

She seemed strangely interesting and, although she wasn't my type at all, she was exciting. I heard her protest the instant I grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks, touching the girl's soft, warm skin, watching her surprised features quickly change to a new expression of irritation.

"Don't you think it's unfair to leave without introducing yourself? Where's the receptivity they talk so much about from the citizens of the state of Minnesota?" I asked sarcastically, letting go of her arm just as she pulled it roughly ."What's your name?"

For a moment I doubted that the girl was going to answer my question, her gaze was a little dangerous and I couldn't think how someone so small could get angry so easily and so intensely so quickly.

"Aurora," she said, without giving me time to say anything else, turning and walking away quickly.

I cocked my head to one side and sighed, laughing to myself. The day had started off interestingly enough, and maybe being here wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

The school system here wasn't so different from what I was used to. The initial classes, English language and literature, had very similar content to what I was studying at my old school, so it wasn't difficult to get into the rhythm on the first day. A few people had talked to me during the first three periods, boys from the basketball and soccer team, a few girls, but I hadn't seen the hot girl since the beginning of the morning.

When the bell rang, the literature teacher got up and gathered her things, leaving the room. I was about to do the same when a boy with slightly Asian features and slightly messy hair intercepted me before I left. He gave me an appraising look and, from across the room, I recognized some boys who had spoken to me earlier. I remembered that they had asked me something about my aptitude for sports, I just didn't understand why they were so interested at the time.

"My name is Clay," said the stranger who was staring at me."Captain of the basketball team, it's a pleasure." Clay held out his hand to me and I shook it, still confused by the strange situation.

" Dante."

"Well, the principal sent me to talk to you, she said you came with great recommendations from your old school," he said, without much ado. Clay seemed as withdrawn and suspicious as I was. "So, if you want, we're going to do some basic training now, you can try out, maybe join the team if you're interested."

"Not a bad idea, I guess."

Clay didn't say anything else, he just started walking out of the room and I followed in silence. After passing through a few corridors, we finally reached an indoor court. The place was big, there were huge stands and the structure was great for anyone who wanted to play a few games or a championship. After changing and the arrival of six other boys, Clay explained how the training would work and introduced me to the other players.

After dividing the team into two small teams, the game began. Despite being a warm"up game or, as the captain had said, a light workout, everyone seemed very competitive, including me. After a few leaps, jumps, passes and a couple of baskets, I was sweating and panting. My team had scored fifteen points, and I was completely excited, as were the other players, but before we could continue or finish, a female voice caught my attention.

"Hi, guys," said a girl with a strange accent, and when I turned around, I was faced with a whole team of cheerleaders, dressed in their beautiful, tight"fitting uniforms. "We can't delay practice any longer."

"Sorry, cuties, the boys just wanted to try me out for the team." I took the lead, receiving a disapproving look from the captain and a little smile from the brunette I was talking to.

The skirts were a bit short, even if they wore shorts underneath, tight blouses that left part of their bellies showing and long sleeves. The girls' uniform was in the school colors, dark blue, yellow and white, with a shield and sword embroidered on the left side of the chest.

"Sorry I'm late, girls!" I heard a familiar voice echo throughout the place, making me look away from the girls to the entrance of the gym.

She was wearing the same uniform as the others, her brown hair was tied up in a ponytail and, despite looking perfectly the same as the other girls, she strangely looked prettier and sexier. Small, hot and very tasty were the adjectives I had to describe her.

"Clay, today was our day, you know," said Aurora impatiently, and I looked at the team captain, who didn't seem to be afraid of the angry little girl running towards him.

"It was just a practice session with the new member of the team, we weren't going to be long," he said, hugging her.

"New member?" she asked, after letting go of him, and then I realized that she hadn't noticed me there until now, while I'd been watching her since I'd entered the place.

Disappointing.

Clay tilted his head in my direction and Aurora's brown eyes landed on me. I smiled as I saw her eyebrows draw together, she looked confused. I deliberately looked at her without any shame, traversing her body with my eyes, lingering on her shapely thighs and moving up her exposed skin.

"Ah, hi Dante," she said, apparently displeased.

"Hi, shorty," I replied, laughing at his expression.

I crossed my arms and, for a moment, I had the impression of seeing her gaze shift from my face to my tense arms, then back up again very quickly. Aurora looked disconcerted when she noticed that I was still staring, but disguised it well.

"Have you met?" Clay asked, assuming a less relaxed posture now, which made me think they had something, at least secretly.

"Yes, I took him to the closet earlier, he was lost."

Aurora relaxed her arms and ruffled Clay's hair, who also relaxed a little more after the act. The two made a good pair, but they didn't look like a couple, despite the strange tension between them.

"Come on guys, the girls need the court, and you know..." he said, laughing and clapping his hands as he walked out, followed by me and all the other team members. "Our queens command and we obey."

That said, we left the court, drawing amused laughter from the girls.

Before leaving, I glanced over my shoulder; everyone had already started stretching. Aurora was further away, a little hidden among the bigger girls, but she was already stretching too. I was tempted to stay and watch the practice, but as soon as she noticed my delay in leaving, the leader of the Chers gave me a slightly threatening look and, so as not to end up being assaulted, I headed for the changing room.