Read The Academy: Book 2 for Free Online Page B

thought of how Teddy had made the joke about drilling his and Charlotte’s heads off.
                  But it was only a joke! No reason to be frightened.
                  An awfully morbid joke, though, don’t you think?
                  I’m not scared of him, Asa said to himself, but still, he was tempted to slip out quietly; Asa was just starting to realize that something was not right with his friend.
                  “Teddy?”
                  “WHAA!” Teddy jumped: the cutting board he had been working on flew into the air, sending onions, red and green peppers, and jalapeños scattering all over the ground. Teddy was crouched in front of the stove, knife held out in front of him in a defensive position.
                  Teddy’s reaction made Asa jump too: he was leaning up against the wall, hand pressed up over his chest in surprise.
                  Teddy straightened up, and held the knife down. “Jesus, Asa, you scared me! Why’d you do that?”
                  “I wasn’t trying to,” Asa said back.
                  A cold smile broke onto Teddy’s lips, and then he burst into a high-pitched cackle: the transition seemed odd and unnatural. “Well come help me pick this up, then. No harm done.”
                  Asa smiled for a split second, and then began to walk towards the stove to help: he felt very aware of his legs while walking: it was as though the motion that was typically unconscious was requiring all of his mental efforts.
                  There’s nothing to be scared of. I mean, this is Teddy: He’s my friend, I trust him.
                  As they cleaned the mess on the floor, Teddy said, “I made us dinner. I know how you said that you missed the Mexican food in Texas, so I thought that I’d make you fajitas. I found a recipe in the library.”
                  Asa stood up, putting the chopping block with the assorted vegetables he had picked up back on the counter. He looked into Teddy’s face, and was shocked by his friend’s appearance. Teddy was loosing weight: the suit that he had been so delicately measured for last semester was now hanging on him. Both his eyes and his skin were a sick yellow color, as though his kidneys and liver weren’t functioning properly. Asa thought about telling Teddy that he needed sleep, but then reminded himself of how mad he got when Asa tried to assert that anything was wrong. He just wants to let it fester. Instead, Asa said: “The fajitas smell great.”
                  Teddy gave an enormous smile. “I don’t think the peppers are ruined; you keep this floor pretty clean.”
                  Something about the staggered way Teddy was speaking made the hair on the back Asa’s neck stand up. Before he entered, he was sure that he wanted to confide in his friend about all the things he had just witnessed in the woods. Now, he wasn’t so sure.
                  This is crazy! He’s my friend! I can tell him!
                  “I’m not worried about the peppers,” Asa said.
                  Teddy stared at Asa for a moment, measuring him. “I feel as though there’s something that you’re not telling me.”
    Asa’s palms grew sweaty and he rubbed them on his suit. It’s normal that he’s a bit disturbed after last semester. Remember the half dead students chasing after us? I don’t think there’s anything particularly dangerous about Teddy. I just think this awful place has changed him. “Listen, umm, on my walk today I saw some things. I wanted to talk to you about them.”
    Why am I talking so formally? He’s going to notice!
                  Teddy picked up the knife and held it firmly in his right fist. “Some things, eh?” He lifted the cutting board and slid the vegetables into the pan of meat with the