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“What’s in it?” I eye the drink suspiciously. There’s a cocktail umbrella in it for goodness’ sake!
“Lemonade, lime, mint, ice and sugar.”
“I don’t really like mint,” I tell him, unconvinced.
“Try it. Trust me.”
I sigh and take a sip of the drink through the metal straw he’s provided. It’s light and fresh, sharp with the twang of citrus but with sweetness from the sugar. It’s amazing.
“Oh wow.”
“See? I told you.” He beams at me, and I take another longer slurp of the drink.
“That’s seriously good. I wish I’d discovered it sooner! You said it was virgin? What should be in it?”
“Well, it’s usually made with soda water.” I gag. “But I know you don’t like that, hence the lemonade. And usually it has white rum.”
“Oh, that doesn’t sound so bad.”
“I’ll make you a proper one next time then.” He smiles and climbs in beside me.
We sit in the hot water with the jets going noisily for a while, which prevents all conversation. I observe Jax warily, and although he never fully relaxes, I do see him unwind. It’s a while before Ace and Rebel join us, both wet from showers and looking slightly worse for wear when they slip into the water with a fresh round of drinks for everyone. Eventually Jax knocks the jets off so that we can talk.
“Okay, let’s run over the plan of action,” Jax says.
“Plan?” I ask
“Yeah, we have exams starting next week, and then it’s – what, three weeks? - Til the end of term. We have to keep you safe until then,” he tells me.
“Okay. No school,” Ace chimes in.
“I agree, Ace. For the rest of this week at least. Once the exams start, we can go to class once I check that Tilly’s in isolation. I don’t want us even bumping into her in the corridors.” I watch their exchange and can see why Jax is considered to be their leader, he’s efficient, to the point and practical.
“I’ll cook,” Ace offers.
“Great. I don’t want to see her in the canteen so we’ll have all meals here. What else?” Jax looks to Rebel and Thorn.
“The exam hall?” Thorn suggests.
“I’ve demanded that Tilly sit her papers in the office so we should be fine there,” Jax tells him.
“That’s good. Sounds like you’ve covered everything.”
“What about the others?” I ask in a small voice.
“What do you mean?” Rebel’s head spins to focus on me.
“I know they didn’t do anything, but they’re her friends. Do they pose a threat?”
“Good point,” Rebel ponders. “Jax, what do you think?”
“I think without their leader around they’ll be timid, but we can keep a close eye on them, and if there’s even a hint that they’re up to something, I’ll sort it out.”
“Thank you,” I whisper. I’m not going to lie, I was shocked and unnerved to see the princesses reunited. “But why are Lexii and Natalia back?”
“Their parents struck a deal with the school board to allow them back to complete their exams despite their drop in attendance. The board agreed because they’re both model students who are on track to get good grades. Good grades make the school look good...plus they made donations.”
“Oh.” It always comes down to money, doesn’t it? I was sure that Lexii and Natalia at least were gone for the year because of their poor attendance. More to the point, why were they all together and laughing? The last I remembered, Tilly was looking for new cronies because Amber was in hospital and she was too homophobic to hang out with Belle anymore. Were they friends again? I wouldn’t have thought Belle would put up with that kind of behaviour, but then again, she did allow the girl she allegedly loved to be bullied without doing anything, so what did I know?
