To Taste the Fruit by Lorelei Sutton (desktop ebook reader TXT) 📖

my eye I catch Grayson looking at the newcomer. For him, looking at anything other than his drawings during class is extremely abnormal.

I glance around the table to find that all of my other classmates are also staring at the door, their expressions unfathomable. Ok, now I really do have to look at what's going on.

"Class!" Ms. Jackson announces, "We have a new student." I swivel around in my seats to look at her, surprised. I would have never guessed that all the commotion was about a newcomer. Our grade hasn't had a new student since freshman year, and Sunny Valley itself is similar in that new blood just hasn't come to our town for quite a long time. 

I call it "new blood" because most people that move here are related to someone else, and they don't really count. Here in Sunny Valley, the community is just like one gigantic family; with the same problems, endless bickering, and dirty gossip.  To have someone completely new in town... well it just doesn't happen. Usually the road from Sunny Valley to the next town is a one way street—out, of course. 

I mean, other people might not see it that way. But for me personally, I can't wait to get my ticket out of here. I seriously have a calendar dedicated just to counting down the days until I leave for college. I'm going somewhere far away, of course. No way am I going to spend my college years at SVU. 

My eyes widen as the teen beside Ms. Jackson coughs into his fist, and then calmly surveys the few of us. His bright blue eyes deepen into an dark turquoise as his face twists into a smile. This can't be who I think it is.

"This is Kai Mason, and he will be joining us for the rest of the school year," Ms. Jackson continues, smiling like her life depends on it. "Please make him feel welcome."

Well... at least I was right in assuming that the new student wouldn't be a new blood. In fact, he's not new at all.

I grimace as I examine him, taking in his muscled arms, undeniably attractive face, and that very same swagger that always made his presence so... commanding. When he left Sunny Valley, he was a boy. But now, he is every bit of a man, a man with self-awareness and confidence. The only thing childish about him is that expression of mischief in his eyes, the very same that he has possessed since the very beginning. I thought and hoped that he would never come back.

He sits down on a stool at the table, making eye contact with each and every one of us. I can tell what message he intends to send with such an assertive gaze. He is challenging us, challenging all of Sunny Valley. 

I look on my paper and scowl, grinding my pencil into the cloud. It must look deeper, darker... more thunderous. It must be the best thunderstorm I've ever drawn in my whole life. 

Grayson's laugh echoes throughout the room as I accidentally drill a hole through my paper. 

And I thought this day couldn't get any worse.

3

When Kai sat down and immediately started flirting with Margot, I knew he had never changed. 

It has been over three years since he left… three years since he completely wrecked Sunny Valley. And I’m not exaggerating either. Before he started causing trouble, there was no juvie. Now, there’s a specially marked cell in the shiny new detention center that practically has his name on it.  

It’s a shame, really, to have seen the empty building go to waste over these few years. With his departure all the trouble dissipated into thin air and now I think the only thing they have used it for is a daycare.   

I just like to look at the building as his memorial. Whenever we feel like our lives are too complacent and simple, we can just look at the detention center and remember that times weren’t always so easy.  

And it’s not like the pretty pointless prison would have kept him even if he had stayed long enough to use it. His daddy rules this town—quite literally—having been elected our Mayor consistently for over twenty years. No one else really wants the office, mainly because they enjoy having someone other than themselves to pinpoint all of the blame upon. Mayor Mason is the best kind of father in the worst of ways—always believing, always understanding. Kai could burn the town down and he wouldn’t bat an eye. The town never really said much about this unique style of parenting because pretty much all of the citizens have taken advantage of the Mayor’s goodwill at one time or another. 

And it’s not like people could really pin anything on him. Everyone knew the source of all evil was Kai, but those tricky little details and pesky loopholes in every escapade were utilized by him in just about every way possible. He was undeniably amazing at covering his tracks, yet somehow spreading a red carpet over them as well. Once the town got used to his reckless pranks and heists, Kai became the subject of conversation for quite a while. Mothers would argue over which of their daughters could tame the wild beast. Little boys would steal his picture from the newspapers and tape it over their beds to give them inspiration. 

Of course, all these little heists were mostly stupid and pointless in nature, such as marking up the town’s welcome sign and setting off fireworks in the grocery store parking lot. I don’t think he ever physically harmed anyone, though God knows how many broken hearts he has strewn across the courtyard of our school.  

I look up for inspiration of my own, trying to fix this terrible cloud that looks too much like a fat marshmallow. Unfortunately, Kai’s big head blocks most of the window as he bends down closer to Margot’s ear. Anger unconscientiously builds within me, and I try to take deep breaths.  

It isn’t like his existence is going to affect me in any way. I will not let his arrival bring down my spirits. It… isn’t like we have a blood feud or anything like that. In fact, I don’t think he ever knew my name. 

It is rather scary, though, to think of how the school—and all of Sunny Valley for that matter—will react to his untimely return. The kids here will probably go nuts, embracing him with open arms. They practically worshipped him before, and now that he’s back looking better than ever—I mean, if you go for that kind of look—the girls will be fainting at his feet.  

I will say that this is an understandable reaction for even the most frivolous girls here, because most of the guys here set the bar really low. Anyone with a decent pair of ears or eyes is above average. I’m just being brutally honest; what really chimes with our mostly dumbed-down student population is beauty, in any shape or form, and Kai just seems to have it all.  

I know I may seem like I’m ranting. I’m really not. I’m just bashing on one person for an extended period of time.  

“Noel!” Grayson mutters in my ear, startling me from my daze. “What’s wrong with you?” 

“W-What?” My head jerks up, and I suddenly realize I had enlarged the unsightly hole in my paper until it turned into a deep ravine, running through my cloud like an ugly scar. If clouds even had scars, anyways. 

I look up, and am not surprised to see the faces of classmates staring at me in shock. The idiots know I’m insane now, and for this one moment, I don’t even care. Yes, kids, I’m having a bad day. It doesn’t happen often, so savor the moment. 

Without changing my facial expression or reacting in any way, I get up from my chair, scraping the floor. My crumpled up picture falls into the trashcan, and my hand reaches for a piece of paper in the bin on the table. As I turn back, I try not to make eye contact with anyone, taking a seat and staring at yet another blank page. 

Yet somehow I cannot keep myself from looking around the table once more, and immediately my gaze meets a pair of eyes, electric blue in color. Ice immediately runs through my veins and I quickly look down, trying to banish the image of those piercing eyes from my brain. 

The blank page calls to me, this time as an escape. However, I cannot bring myself to make any marks upon the paper. All I can do is stare at it, look at the whiteness, and pray to the Lord that I don’t rip this one to shreds on another impulse.  

I guess I can always rely on Ana to empty the day’s grief upon. She seems to soak up my imperfections like a sponge and then continuously make the ridiculous claim that I’m the most perfect person in this universe. It’s not like I believe her or anything, but it is still an ego booster, although a little annoying at times. I am grateful for her, because she is the best friend someone could ever ask for, but all this perfect junk sets really high expectations. 

I look up again, and this time Kai’s face is turned away from me and is pretty much buried in Margot’s hair as he continues to whisper to her. She giggles, and her face starts to match her bright red hair. 

I almost fall off the chair as the sudden realization hits me. Grayson’s hand is suddenly at my back, supporting me, and he looks at my face in alarm. However, I barely notice his movement at all, my blood running cold. 

How am I going to tell Ana? 

 

* * * 

 

"Hey." A voice murmurs close to my ears, nearly making me jump out of my own skin. I drop the papers I'm carrying, causing them to scatter all over the floor. For a second I can only stare at it, stare at the madness that is my life. 

Trying to keep a calm composure, I turn around slowly. "Oh, it's you, Sebastian," I say, surprised. My anger fades away, leaving only confusion. 

"I'm so sorry," he apologizes, bending down to the floor of the classroom. "I'll pick this stuff up." I stare at the back of his head, still trying to comprehend the situation.  

"Don't worry about it," I finally respond, bending to grab some of the papers, "It's no big deal." 

"It is a big deal, because I was the one that scared you." He emits a deep, throaty chuckle that makes me smile and look up at him. "I didn't know I was so intimidating." 

A few moments of silence pass as we gather up the papers. I'm careful not to look at him so he can't see my shameful, traitorous face grow red. If this body doesn't slow down its heart rate pretty soon I'm going to kill someone after this. 

I wonder why Sebastian is even in here. I'm on classroom duty yet again, which I only sign up for because it gets me brownie points with the teachers. Surely he doesn't need anything from the classroom, or he would have taken it and left. 

I see a paper to the side and grab it, examining it quickly. My eyes widen and I turn in his direction.