The Guardians (The Highest Order, Book One)

CHAPTER 12

The next few weeks went by in a blur. Staying true to her word, Maia sat with me at lunch the next day and every day after that. Kaleb and I didnt interact... at all. We ignored each other for the most part, even in algebra.

A small part of me missed him, which leaves me confused on a daily basis.

He didn't mention my involvement with his sister anymore, in fact, it was if that entire conversation never happened.

Daria left me alone too. Thank God for that. In fact, it became almost tradition for me to eat while she death stared at me from Kaleb's lap. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you heard correctly, she sat on his lap with not a care in the world.

Some times, I'd catch her eye accidentally and she'd smirk, as if she won some competition. I almost snorted when she did.

As for Harlow, she damn near went into cardiac arrest when Maia joined us. I'm not sure if it was because of the whole 'intimidation' thing or because she was genuinely shocked she decided to join us. Either way, it was a pretty humorous experience.

Gradually, everything settled and we spoke as if we were old friends. It was odd, if I had to admit but I welcomed it with open arms. They gave me a sense of normality and showed me what real friends were.

The stares subsided after a while, people got on with their lives and, like Harlow said, lost interest.

I could still feel Kaleb's eyes boring into the back of me every now and then. It was distracting, and made it hard to focus on the conversation. A part of me wondered if he was doing it to annoy Daria but that seemed stupid, they were dating right?

Today was Wednesday. Back in Miami that would have meant early finish but here? The only significance about Wednesday was Sport. One whole hour of dodgeball.

Fun right? Wrong.

The only semi decent thing about it was that this was the only class Maia and I actually had together. Here, seh officially introduced me to Cassandra Montoya, who I found out wasn't as bad as Daria. I wouldn't go as far as to call her sweet but she wasn't a complete dick, she even joined us for lunch a couple times.

Her hair was a muted silver, clearly dyed, indicated by her dark eyebrows and roots, but she suited it. I found the only time she had it tied back was during gym, the girl meant business when it came to dodgeball. Her eyes were what stood out most though, they were a bright sort of honey colour, I'd never seen anything like them. They were startling. They were complemented by her perfectly angled eyebrows, high cheekbones and soft chestnut skin. Much like Maia and, dare I say it, Daria, her beauty was shocking. She left me stunned for a few seconds in that first gym class when Maia had introduced us to one another.

There was a sort of respect in her eyes and something about that told me she wasn't Daria's biggest fan either. Knowing that made it easier to get along with her.

Walking into the girls locker room, I place my gym back onto the bench. Maia and Cassandra were already standing in our usual spot talking intently. Maia, much like Cassandra, had her hair pulled back into two tight braids on either side of her head. She'd went for a haircut earlier this week, so in the place of her previously long locks, was hair closer to the length of my own. Cassandra on the other hand, her hair was still long, even in the braids, which came to the middle of her back.

They stared intently at one another, Maia with her hands crossed over her chest and Cassandra with her hands on her hips. They looked worried about something.

I leave them to their conversation, not wanting to interrupt, as I change into my gymwear. Thankfully, there isn't a mandatory uniform for gym so it's fairly easy to change into my sweatpants and crop top, over the top of my sports bra.