Bluffington Preparatory Academy

Seven o’clock in the morning on a Saturday is not a decent time to be awake. Especially when you snuck out the night before. But here I am, staring at my closet trying to find an outfit suitable for gardening. It is evident that I will be late (causing another detention) if I do not throw something on and leave in the next five minutes. I grab a pair of yoga pants and a University of Washington sweatshirt from the very back of my closet. Shoving my feet into my running shoes, I leave, locking the door behind me.

The wind blows around me as I speed through campus. A huge gust of wind blows. I catch a whiff of a familiar smell. It is the smell of summer. The smell of fresh cut grass and campfire smoke. The smell of the lake. It is the smell of him.

Fortunately, I do not have time to think about it because I arrive at The Hub, the quad in the middle of campus. There is always something going on around here. At seven o’clock on a Saturday that something is detention.

“Thanks for joining us Miss Graham,” Mr. Dumas says taking a second of his precious life to reprimand me. I smile sweetly at him. “I was just explaining to the others what your assignment for the day is.”

Mr. Dumas goes on to explain how we will be planting trees and stuff in The Hub to make it look nice. I do not really pay too much attention. I never really do when Mr. Dumas talks. I look around to see who I will be spending my Saturday with. They are all seniors, so at least I do not have to deal with any annoying underclassmen. I do not really know any of them though. I mean, I know them since I have been going to school with all of them for the last four years. But I know close to nothing about them.

Caden Royston stands with his arms crossed staring blankly at Mr. Dumas. He is probably thinking about soccer or football or whatever sport is in season. Caden is the only one here that I have ever known outside of class. We hang with the same people. I sort of had a thing for him sophomore year, but he was more into sports than girls.

Beck Weiss stands in the back, away from everyone else. Beck has always been the outcast. Does not really have friends. Always the butt of the joke.

Bentley Rae, the hippie freak, is sitting criss cross on the ground. I have always tried to avoid her. She is just so odd. Not to mention all the drugs she does. Bet that is why she is here.

Phoenix Ryan listens intently to Mr. Dumas. The purse hanging off her shoulder is no doubt filled with books. She is a good person. I roomed with her freshman year. Pretty sure she wrote a few papers for me. I have not talked to her since then though.

Bree King is right next to Caden. The two are practically inseparable. Not sure what he sees in her though. She is super quiet. Does not really socialize with anyone except him.

“Miss Graham, did you hear that?” Mr. Dumas asked pulling me out of my reverie.

“Of course I did sir. Nate and I will be planting flowers around the fountain.”

“Good, now get to work everyone. I will be back to check on you in a few hours.”

Nate Johnson picks up the crate of potted flowers and carries them over to the large fountain in the middle of The Hub. Nate is notorious across campus. Talking back to teachers, drinking, and smoking. You name it, Nate’s done it. I go for more of the sporty guys who are actually going somewhere with their lives, but I must admit Nate is gorgeous. There is just something about a rebel that makes a girls heart pound.

I grab one of the pots and start to dig a hole in the soft dirt of it. Nate pulls out a cigarette and a lighter. I instantly smelled the disgusting smoke.

“Really? Can you put that out and get to work.”

“I’m going to be here for the next month. I’m in no hurry honey.”

“First of all, don’t call me honey. Second, you may be good friends with detention, but I am not. The faster we get this done the faster I can leave.”

“Oh that’s right. Daddy usually pays off the school so his precious daughter doesn’t have to do any hard labor.”

“Look who’s talking. Don’t act like the Johnson Building wasn’t built from the check your dad cut after you threw that huge party last year.”

Nate smoked his cigarette silently after that.

“Whatever let’s just get this over with. I have better things to do than to spend my Saturday with a princess.”

I roll my eyes. Nate takes half the flowers to the opposite side of the fountain. We work in silence, my mind floating to a place far away from Bluff. A scream erupts from the other side of The Hub. My head turns to see Caden holding Bree. She is whispering something to him. I go back to work. She probably just touched a worm or something.