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“He’s been here five years, ‘Mara,” Vin reminded her. “He’s not new anymore.”
“I know,” she stepped over a stone. They were almost home now. “That’s just what everyone calls him.”
The light from the building showed Vin’s dark, floppy hair and dark eyes, his front tooth slightly crooked as he spoke. “He doesn’t talk to anyone. The kids don’t train with him.”
“He’s a kid too,” climbing the steps, Amara pointed out.
Vin shook his head, the hair on his forehead swaying. “He’s not like any of us. Stay away from him, okay?”
Amara looked at the lake in the distance. She’d never been to that part of the compound. Thinking of the angry boy who lived there, she didn’t even want to go. On the landing of the huge building where she and Vin lived – she on the ground floor and Vin on the third – she stopped him, excited to share her little finding from the day.
“I found a little shed in the woods today,” she told him, trying to keep her voice low so nobody would hear.
Vin, who had been looking up at the stars, looked at her with wide eyes. “You went to the woods alone? Are you crazy?”
“Shh,” she looked around, scared someone older would hear him. If the news got to her ma, she’d be grounded. She hated being grounded. After a second, when no one came, she relaxed slightly.
“The woods are dangerous,” Vin reminded her softly. That’s something every single adult around them had told every kid. Don’t go into the woods.
Amara rolled her eyes. “I didn’t go in deep.”
“But-”
“Oof,” Amara exclaimed in annoyance, punching his arm to shut him up. “I wasn’t the only one there. Mr. Maroni’s son was there too. With a girl,” she whispered, remembering the thrill of going into the woods, only to stumble upon the two teenagers.
Vin blinked, his eyes widening in excitement. “With a girl? An outsider?”
Amara nodded, grinning. Vin whistled. Or tried to. He practiced every day.
“They were kissing,” Amara informed him, her voice dropping even lower. “Kissing! Can you imagine? He was kissing an outside girl!”
Vin tugged at his collar, looking at the entrance door, looking uncomfortable. “That’s cool.”
Amara grinned. “Are you blushing?”
His chubby face flushed even more. “Of course not.”
Laughing, she nudged his side with her elbow and hobbled to the door. Ma always told her to never make people uncomfortable. Though Vin was her best friend, he was uncomfortable, so she stopped.
“Don’t go there alone again, okay?” he told her, entering the building behind her.
She went straight to her door and smiled at him. “Good night, Vinnie.”
He shook his head, heading towards the stairs, already knowing her well enough to know she would sneak out again. Amara watched his back under the lights in the hallway, seeing the bruise on his leg under his shorts turning a nasty color, but he wasn’t limping. She didn’t know what they were doing to train him, but she didn’t like it. Not one bit.
Angry at the thought of something hurting her friend, she opened the door to her apartment and entered the dim living room. It was late and her mother was most likely already asleep, tired from all the work she did during the day.
Her ma was the head housekeeper at the big mansion. She had joined as a cook in the kitchen and over the years gotten promoted. Now, she overlooked the entire kitchen and cleaning staff and the gardeners. And there were lots of them because the grounds were so big. It was one of the highest positions for the staff, which was why she had such a lovely apartment with three big bedrooms, even though it was just her and her mother. Her father had left them years ago. She remembered him sometimes, but she had always loved her mother more. As long as she had her ma, she was happy.
Making her way to the bathroom next to the living room where the first-aid kid was kept, Amara turned on the light.
“And where were you, young lady?”
Amara looked up at her ma, only a few inches taller than herself, her pleated hair falling over one shoulder. People said she looked like her – same dark green eyes, same inky black hair, same sun-kissed skin.
“I was walking with Vin,” Amara told her the half-truth, knowing her mother trusted Vin.
Ma shook her head, sighing, before her eyes fell to her knee. “Oh Mumu, what happened?” she asked, reverting to the little nickname she loved.
