Read Spearwood Academy Volume One (The Spearwood Academy Book 1) for Free Online Page B

double doors shut behind Perlow and his lap dog. Silence hangs, still heavy in the room. All their eyes are on me. Am I supposed to make a speech or something? “I’m a girl, not a zoo animal for you to gawk at.”
    They all come out of their stupor and go back to what they were doing before I entered the room. The noise level rises until it’s at a normal level.
    Someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn to see the boy called Horace, his eyes as green as emeralds. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Clementine.”
    “Avalon, or Avvi, either is fine. Miss is too formal for me.”
    He smiles. “All right, Avvi. Come with me up to the second level. There’s room for you up there.” He motions for me to go ahead of him. I start up the stairs. “Coming, Lennox?” I stop to look at Triton. He still stands where I left him, his jaw tense and his hands shoved in his pockets.
    “Yeah, yeah.”
    The second level has fewer tables than the bottom half, but it all still the same. Only some of the boys stop eating to glance up at me. I can’t wait until I’m old news. All these guys gawking at me makes me feel both like a side show freak and a piece of meat. I really should’ve had more of a social life before I came here. I’d probably be able to handle it better now if I had.
    Horace leads me to a table that stands in the corner near the iron railing. Two other guys already sit there; both have a thick book in their hands. I take a seat. Horace clears his throat as he takes his seat next to me. Triton completes the circle as he sits down across from me. The two boys look up from their books.
    “Avvi, this,” Horace gestures to the boy directly on my left. Short, golden curls sit on top of his head. I can’t help but sense a twinge of familiarity when I look into his hazel eyes. They remind me of my own eyes . . . strange. “Is Amr Radcliff, and the guy next to him is Dante Mathis.”
    Ebony locks fall down to the tops of Dante’s shoulders, and pools of liquid amber pierce me with their stare. My cheeks heat up, and I have an urge to hide my face, but I don’t want to act like some kid. He’s really cute. “Hello,” they both say in unison.
    “Hello,” I say.
    I almost jump out of my chair when a shadow falls over me. I didn’t even notice them walk up. Another one of the male servants hands me a menu. “Please, choose what you wish, Miss. I will come back in a few minutes to take your order.” French rides heavy in the tone of his voice. Is everyone at this school unbelievably hot, or am I just that undersocialized? My fingers tighten their grip on the edge of the leather bound menu, and I give him a nod. He walks away. I crack it open slowly as if the actual food will come jumping out it at any moment. All of the dishes have some sort of breakfast element to them. Most of them I’ve never even heard of. Edgar and I usually have a normal breakfast of an egg and some toast, and on the weekend’s bacon or sausage—for him—with pancakes. I see neither of those things on the menu.
    Salmon fillet with a poached egg and roasted tomatoes.
    Berry crepes in orange sauce.
    Apple cinnamon ricotta pancakes.
    Chilled blueberry soup.
    That’s not even a quarter of what they offer. I look for the most basic thing: toast with a bowl of fruit. The drinks list goes on forever as well, but I manage to find regular orange juice on it. I put the menu down, just to realize the boys at the table have been staring at me in silence.
    “Um, is there something on your minds, or do I have something on my face?”
    They all clear their throats at the same time and look away from me.
    “Sorry. We’re still trying to get used to the fact that a girl is here and sitting at our table,” says the boy named Amr. He looks at me with a frown. “Have we met before?”
    He feels the weird connection, too? “I don’t think so,” I say. I don’t want to reveal I feel the same way. I’d rather not seem extra weird on the first day.