Page 146 of Someday Away

“I told you about this psycho months ago,” Link grinds out.

“I remember our conversation, Mr. Evans, but I couldn’t just expel a student without a legitimate reason.”

“Money is a good reason,” he grumbles, and to her credit, Chancellor Edwards’s lips give a hint of a smile.

“Either way, it’s our prerogative to make our students feel safe, so at this point with four allegations under his belt, I can have security escort him off campus and fill in Coach Mitchell sohe can do damage control with our communications department and find another hockey center.” She looks at me with empathy. “I am on your side, Charlie; the sticky issue is that his status on the hockey team brings in a lot of money for the school, so the final decision is out of my hands if no criminal charges stick and the board votes to keep him here.”

I finish up the paperwork, and we all walk to the dining hall. It’s dinnertime, but my appetite is long gone, so I sit at the table and poke at my cereal with a spoon, trying to ignore the awkward silence, which is only broken when Fi and Serenity join us and Brantley fills them in on the situation.

I don’t know how much Serenity knew, but probably not a lot since she frowns at me more than once, her ice-blue eyes shocked. Whatever, though. I’m happy to let other people tell the story at this point.

“Your Lucky Charms are getting soggy, baby,” Trey murmurs. His arm falls over my shoulders as he tugs me against his side.

I stare at the little shapes, now bloated with milk and floating through a pinkish marshmallow deluge, and something inside me cracks. I look up at Trey through a blur of tears. “I guess they’re Unlucky Charms now.” My voice cracks as a sob shakes my shoulders.

No one says a damn word as I lose it, burying my face in Trey’s soft blue T-shirt.

Then, Serenity breaks the silence. “Why don’t we do something fun?”

She smiles at me when I lift my head from Trey’s chest and wipe my nose on his shirt.

“Sorry,” I mutter, eyeing the mess.

He kisses my forehead. “Anytime, Bennett.”

I look over at Serenity and return her smile shyly. “Sure.”

So she takes us across campus to the dance studio, leading us into the auditorium. It’s a beautiful space with elegant vaulted ceilings and a huge stage with a hardwood-esque vinyl finish.

Serenity runs ahead and slips backstage to hit the lights, and the whole space flares to life.

“Take your shoes off and come up here,” Serenity says with a mischievous grin as she steps from behind the curtain.

We all comply, tossing our shoes into a pile.

The floor has a springy feel as I step onto the stage with Trey and Link. “This place is amazing.”

“Wait, wait, I have a surprise,” Serenity says eagerly, running backstage again. She’s only gone a minute before she reappears when Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel” radiates from the sound system.

My eyes widen. “No way,” I squeal. “Are you seriously letting me live out all myCenter Stagefantasies?”

“You know it.” Serenity snatches my hands, and we spin around. I’m certainly not as graceful as Serenity, but with her leading, it almost feels like I’m dancing with some semblance of rhythm.

Before long, everyone is dancing but Link, who leans against a prop in the corner and watches while Trey swings me around. But let’s face it, no one thought Lincoln Evans would actually dance—it would ruin his image. He eventually takes over the music, and we try to imitate every dance movie soundtrack he throws at us—Flashdance,Pitch Perfect,Footloose,Save the Last Dance. Then Fi and Brantley try to recreate theDirty Dancingfinale, grinding against each other obscenely.

“Jesus, those two need to get a room,” Serenity says around a giggle as we watch them gyrate. But she’s right—their chemistry is off the charts. As the song fades out, Lincoln plays Genuwine’s “Pony,” looking back at us with a smirk, and Brantley and Trey take the cue perfectly in a poor attempt at imitating ChanningTatum’s moves fromMagic Mike, which is pretty much just them stripping.

Serenity and I whistle and yell, and Fi opens her purse and starts tossing dollar bills onto the stage. Then Trey starts shoving them down his boxer briefs, which causes the three of us to collapse in a fit of laughter.Even Lincoln laughs, shaking his head in disbelief, and I suddenly feel an overwhelming amount of love for my friends. We may not be blood, but they’re my family now.

By midnight, we’re all sitting with our feet dangling at the edge of the stage, sweaty and exhausted. My stomach is sore from laughing.

“Thank you, Seren.” I lean over to look at her. She pushes her blonde hair from her eyes and smiles. “You’re going to make a really awesome dance teacher someday, and we’ll miss you when you leave.”

Serenity blushes, looking down for a second before meeting my eyes. “Thank you, Charlie. I’ll miss you guys, too.”

“Who has the longest arms?” Fi says suddenly, glancing around. All three guys stick their arms out, and Fi hands her phone to Lincoln. “Think you can take a selfie of all of us?”

He nods, and we all huddle together, leaning in different directions to get the best angle before we all cheese for the camera.

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