One
There was a special kind of hell in the world for teenagers from every walk of life: high school.
Sometimes he felt like he was better off not knowing what it would be like to exist outside of his little bubble of friends, but he knew that his mother and father had his best interest at heart. They wanted him to experience being a typical teen.
Normal was for people who didn’t learn how to use a gun at ten. It was for people who lived in pretty little houses and apartments that didn’t have lock-down blinds over the windows as a precaution. It was for people who had to go through their lives without watching their backs for a targeting dot that would end them in a heartbeat.
It wasn’t for him.
He was an heir to a Mafia that caused grown men in leather to piss themselves at the mention of the name alone. Mentioning his father’s name usually parted crowds like the Red Sea, but the name of his grandfather would have them bowing their heads in respect.
Walking his Ninja to the available space next to his best friend’s car, he groaned. He didn’t want to go to a public school that ridiculed his way of thinking, but his mother would not be swayed in her decision. She’d ultimately used her position as the Donna of the Mafia to force his hand.
The red-haired girl he’d been best friends with since childhood got out of the car. She made sure she had everything she would need for the day before shutting the door. From the passenger seat, another girl slipped out and stretched her limbs.
“Look who finally decided to show up, Kenni,” the brunette said with a grin.
Rolling her eyes, Kenni turned to the blond teen and sighed, “She’s a morning person, as always. I can’t believe Ambrosia’s making us do this. To drag our butts up out of our nice, cozy beds and go to this prison of a place should be a crime in itself.”
“They want us to have the typical teen experience, including going to a freaking public high school.” He replied.
The brunette grimaced. “Dad just wanted us to stick together, but he’s worried that I’m going to get hit on here.”
“Uncle Russ not enough for you, Sky,” he asked.
She flipped him off, “Shove it up your ass sideways, Mr. Know-it-all. Russell is the only one I want, so the punky little horn-dogs around here better stay out of my way. Do they really have metal detectors at the front doors? What if my purse sets them off or something? I don’t want these people bullying my little brother either.”
“Sky, chill,” a young black man walked over from where he’d parked his motorcycle. His braids swayed in the late summer breeze. Two more joined him from the Mercedes parked next to Kenni’s Outlander. “We’re in this together, remember? Don’s orders.”
Shrugging out of his jacket, one of the other boys looked over at their leader. “Morning, Phoenix, is walking around with your fly down the new trend?”
Phoenix breathed deeply, “Don’t piss me off, Mark. Today is not your day and tomorrow ain’t looking that great for you. Memphis, what’s your schedule?”
“Same as yours, boss.” The African-Canadian boy answered as he pulled out a slip of paper. He groaned as a few girls walked by in clothes that left little to the imagination. “If this is what I have to look forward to, I’m going to need my father’s porn mags. At least they leave something to the creativity of my mind’s eye.”
One of the girls stepped up to him and raised her hand. Before the slap connected, Sky grabbed her by the wrist.
“If you want to keep those perfectly manicured nails on your pretty little hands, don’t ever do that again,” the brunette seethed.
Wrenching her arm from the other girl’s grasp, the blond said, “But he called me a slut!”
“He’s got six witnesses to your three,” Kenni scoffed. “Who’s the Dean going to believe in this equation?”
Paling, the little blond ran from the crew and over to her friends. Laughter rippled through the group as they made their way inside.
Waiting by the desk, looking like he could be the poster child for the Hottest Man on Earth contest, was Declan Reyes. He watched as they walked through the doors of the school like they owned the place.
Their strides were purposeful and light. Their heads were bowed slightly as their eyes searched for threats while they laughed and joked like regular teens. No one would never know what the seven teens were up to just by glancing at them, but every single one gave off a don’t-mess-with-me vibe.
They were all things they’d learned from him while in training. Things they’d been raised to do since they were old enough to hold a weapon.
His nephew looked up, catching his uncle’s dark blue gaze. “Good morning, sir.”
Nodding, Declan handed Phoenix a small black book. “Follow the rules and don’t start any shit here. The public system has a big issue with bullying, so try not to mouth off, Kennedy.”
“Why am I getting targetted? Go tell the school brats to keep their sights off my friends, and I won’t have a reason to lose my shit.” The red-headed girl snapped.
Declan raised an auburn brow, “Don’t start, Ms. Rubin.”
“C’mon, guys,” Phoenix said as he slid the book into his backpack. “Let’s go to class before, Mr. Reyes has a conniption. Kenni, I know that it might be a little hard for you, but please keep the sarcasm at a minimum? Mom and Dad don’t want us in any kind of trouble that might put me on a targeting radar.”
Yeah, they knew the rules. Following them was another matter altogether.
Declan reached down for his briefcase and followed them down the hall to his new Level Three English class. Like always, he was there to both work and to protect his nephew. Not that the kid didn’t have six friends at his back. None of them would hesitate to pull a trigger in Phoenix’s defence.
As he walked into the class, the first thing he noticed was that Kennedy was already into another fight. He took a deep breath and gently placed his case on the desk. Holding his fingers to his mouth, he let out a shrill whistle.
Most of the students covered their ears as confusion took over the classroom. Kenni dropped the male student she was threatening and turned ready to face the next threat. He fought a smirk at the way her bright blue eyes narrowed, scanning the room.
He had taught her well.
“Sit down, shut up, and listen up,” he said as he walked to the front of the desk and leaned against it. “Those are my class rules, and I expect them to be followed. You do the work that’s handed out, or you get a zero. Any complaints can be mailed to wah-wah-wah dot com, cause I don’t do sympathy.”
A student scoffed at him, “Dude’s a drill sergeant.”
“Raise your hand to speak. Otherwise, I will not acknowledge you. Bullying of any kind will not be tolerated. Flirting will not get you better marks, but it will get you a free pass to the office. I expect a modicum of self-control from each and every one of you. This is grade twelve, not daycare, so don’t expect me to sugar-coat anything.” Declan said as he walked the rows of desks.
“Hands and feet are to be kept to yourselves,” he continued. “This is English 3201, not Phys. Ed. You are solely responsible for how well you do in my class. You put in the work, you get the grade you deserve.”
Walking up to the whiteboard, he grabbed a marker and wrote his name in big black letters. “My name is Declan Reyes. No, you may not call me by my first name, and no, you may not give me a nickname. Sir or Mr. Reyes is how you will address me, am I clear?”
There was a chorus of yes’s from the students. Many of them were now sitting in fear of the man at the front of the class.
Someone knocked on the doorframe. “I don’t think any of the other teachers made anything so clear.”
“Principal Greene, I was just laying the foundation of the rest of their year. I don’t believe in sugar-coating anything because they should be able to understand and follow simple commands at this age.” Declan said stoically. “If I’m up-front about my expectations, then they can’t complain that I didn’t give a fair warning.”
The woman grinned seductively at him. “In any case, it’s good to have you here, Mr. Reyes. I hope to see more of you.”
“My no flirting rule is for the staff as well. I’m a married man and not the cheating type,” he scowled. The tell-tale sound of Kennedy snickering from the third row, nearly made him laugh. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have a class to teach and only so many minutes to teach them in.”
Her face red from embarrassment, the woman all but ran from the room.
He turned to Kennedy and grinned, “You nearly made me laugh. So now we’re going to play the Introduction Game. Each of you will stand in front of the class and tell us a little about yourself. You get two minutes. Ms. Rubin, since you were the one snickering, why don’t you start us off, then we will go alphabetically.”
“Are you serious, Declan?” Kenni’s jaw dropped.
He held up one finger, letting her know that his three-strike rule was in effect.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Reyes. I overstepped,” she rose to her feet and walked to the front. “My name is Kennedy Rubin, but my friends call me Ken or Kenni. Mr. Reyes is my brother-in-law, and no, he’s not kidding when he was talking about his rules. He also has a three-strike rule. If you break three rules, you’re headed to the office.”
He nodded, satisfied that she’d caught onto the fact that she was no different than the others around her. “Thank you, Ms. Rubin, for reminding me of that one. I had forgotten about it. Next, we have Anderson, Tobias.”
As Kenni sat back down, Sky caught her eye using sign language. She answered back in kind, keeping her hand movements to a minimum. They would have to talk at break.
On the other side of the school, Memphis, Markus, and Phoenix were warming up for Phys. Ed.
Since Jaxon and Lukas were a few grades below them, they didn’t need to look out for the two youngest members of their team. They all knew that the boys would be able to hold their own in a fight, no matter the odds.
Memphis grabbed a basketball and dribbled it a few times before jumping to shoot it from the three-pointer line. The net bounced as the ball fell through the opening.
“He shoots, he scores,” a familiar voice mocked.
Memphis turned to face his father, “Hi, Coach Slade.”
Thomas glared at his son and pointed to the basketball. “Pick it up and start running laps. Three times around the gym floor, ladies and gentlemen, let’s go.”
Groaning, Memphis winced as the older man blew the whistle around his neck loudly. He glanced at his friends who were shaking their heads, laughing. “You guys knew and didn’t warn me? That sucks!”
“Mr. Slade, Mr. Roberts, and Mr. Callumsson get your butts moving or go to the office,” Thomas snapped. There was a hidden meaning to his words, and they all understood that practise that evening would be harder for them if they didn’t comply now.
There was nothing worse than having a relative being your teacher.
Phoenix shuddered as he kept up with his friends. “This is so messed up, Memphis. Did you know your dad taught here?”
“Hell, no,” the dark-skinned boy replied. “I thought it was because of your uncle getting the teaching job here, Nix, but that theory is out the window.”
“Man, we’re going to get his long-ass rules speech again, aren’t we?” Mark asked under his breath.
Sweat started to bead over their skin as they ran at a steady pace. Their footfalls echoed in the cavernous room.
Nix turned his dark eyes to Coach Slade. When he knew that the man’s attention was elsewhere, he said, “We can ask the girls, they had Uncle Declan’s class first.”
Just when their shirts were starting to stick to their skin, Thomas told them to take a two-minute break and get hydrated.
He signalled for the three boys to join him at the bleachers. “These kids aren’t like you guys, so I appreciate the fact that you kept a good pace today. Don’t let on to anyone that you’re stronger than you appear. I don’t need the added stress.”
“No problem, Sir,” Nix replied. He ran a hand through his blond hair and sighed as they walked back to the rest of the class, “Damn it, they’re looking at us weird.”
“If I were a gay guy, you’d be a prime choice, Phoenix,” Memphis joked.
Markus laughed nervously, “What would you guys say if one of us was, you know, gay?”
“Don’t bother confessing, Mark,” Phoenix breathed before taking a swig from the water fountain. “We’ve known since we were kids, so don’t stress over it. The hardest part is going to be coming clean to your dad, but he’s a pretty open-minded guy.”
“Yeah, man,” Memphis laughed. “I got a bet going with Kenni that Jaxon’s gay too, but I’m not so sure if it’s true or not. I mean, he’s hard enough to get out of the house to go to the arcade, so it’s not like he gets a chance to flaunt it.”
Markus leaned in closer, “I’ll let you in on a little secret as long as you split the winnings with me.”
“Shoot, you serious,” Memphis asked. “I can’t lose to her again, Mark. She’s freaking ruthless.”
Phoenix chuckled, “Getting desperate, Dragon?”
“You know it, Firebird.”
Shaking his head, Markus bit his lip, “It was easier than I thought coming out to you two. I just hope the others are accepting of me. Jax is gay, but he’s not worried about the team finding out. He more concerned that his dads gonna disown him.”
“David wouldn’t dare unless he wants to go toe-to-toe with my mother.” Phoenix scowled. He wasn’t sure what was worse, his mother’s temper or his father’s ability to sniff out a secret from a mile off. He shrugged it off as the class was called back to the floor to partner up for endurance exercises.
It was going to be one hell of a long year for them.
