Page 22 of The Star

Levi pulls the door open, and they both leave without another word, slamming the door behind them. I sag forward once I’m alone, my heart racing and my chest heaving once my body catches up with my mind.

They’re going to be a problem, I can feel it.

ten

LOGAN

Ido end up finding the office, but by the time I get there, first period is almost over, thanks to my little run in with Hayden and Levi. The woman at the desk is less than impressed with my tardiness butlets me off with a warning this timeand gives me my class schedule, as well as a map of campus.

Looking at the professionally done drawing of the school, I’m annoyed beyond belief with myself. I went the wrong way when I came in the front doors this morning, and the office was about fifteen feet from where I started. The entire beginning of my day could have been avoided if someone had given me a map before I came here.

My second class of the day is gym, so I follow the corridors I hope match up to the map until I’m outside the entrance to the gym. I wait the twenty minutes left in first period, then when students are pouring out of the doors, I push in to find the teacher.

Once I find the office door in the back of the gym, I realize that the gym teacher is also the football coach.Great.Probably Carson’s biggest fan.

There’s a framed football jersey hanging above the door, the letters printed on the back reading RAINES. I look closer to read the golden plaque that hangs below it, and scoff once I’ve absorbed the words.

CARSON RAINES, VARSITY QB.

I knock on the door, and it swings open on the third rap of my knuckles, a middle-aged man appearing in the doorway. “Yes?”

“Hi.” I hold my hand up in greeting. “I’m Logan Briar. It’s my first day.”

“Okay?”

I blink a few times. “I was told to see you for some gym clothes.”

“Right.” He turns and walks into his office again, so I follow him. There’re trophies lining the shelving behind his desk, every single one for football. I know from the last couple of years at Franklin that Luxington leads in football, but I never really gave a shit. Not that I do now, the fact that Carson is on the team doesn’t change anything.

Coach Anderson digs around in a box under his desk, then pops back up to hand me the gym clothes I’ll need to wear for class. I take them, nodding in thanks before I turn around to leave the office.

“Coach?” Carson’s head pops in the doorway as I’m nearing it, catching me off guard. He ignores me, looking through me like I’m invisible. “You got a second?”

I curl my lip as I sidestep him, but it’s the coach’s voice that catches my attention again. “Carson, this is Logan."

Turning, I quirk an eyebrow at the coach. Carson chuckles. “Yeah, she’s my stepsister.”

“I’m not your stepsister.” I find myself snapping, but quickly correct myself. “Our parents are dating.”

His eyes go wide with humor. “Right.” He addresses the coach again. “She lives in my house.”

“Can you show her to the locker room please, Carson?” Coach asks.

I answer before Carson can, holding up my map. “I’m good, Coach. I can find it without him.”

“Suit yourself,” Coach Anderson mutters, then gives his attention to Carson.

I don’t stay long enough to hear what comes next of their conversation, instead heading back out into the general area of the gym. I look at my map, sighing at the fact I look the part of the lost new girl before spinning to head in the opposite side of the space where the map says the locker rooms sit.

The doors are labeled, thank God, or else I would probably wander into the boys’ locker room on accident. I push open the right door, and I’m hit with the sweet, sickly scent of body spray and teen hormones.

I keep moving forward, finding the locker room filled with girls already, all of them changing into their gym uniform. There’re showers at the back, separate stalls versus the prison style strip of showers we had at Franklin, and I say a silent thank you to the boujee gods in Luxington for that perk.

A few heads turn to look at me as I walk through the slim space lined with lockers, but I keep my eyes facing forward until I reach the very end, where there’s a group of lockers unattended. I pop the lock, reading the combination that’s taped on the inside and hoping I remember it at the end of class, then stuff my backpack inside.

I check out the clothes the coach gave me, realizing they’re pretty decent. The tee is plain black with a Luxington Athletics logo, and there’s matching basketball shorts to go with it. I put them on the bottom ledge of the locker, then strip from my street clothes. Once I’ve put my own shirt and jeans inside the locker on top of my backpack, I slip my legs into the shorts.

“You’re Logan, right?” The sudden voice makes me jump, clutching the t-shirt over my bra. I find a girl standing behind me, a few other girls scattered around, watching.

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