Not to mention, because of the Clann, I'd had to stop being friends with Savannah. I still had nightmares about the way Savannah had looked at me when I'd had to tell her we couldn't hang out together anymore. The raw hurt in her eyes that day, and every time she'd looked at me since, was all the Clann's fault.
Someday, somehow, I would find a way to get it through my dad's head that I would never follow in his footsteps. Then I'd be free. Free to be friends with anyone I wanted. Free to date anyone I wanted...
Clenching my jaw, I stared at Savannah's back. Obviously she was sick. She should be seeing a doctor right now, not trying to tough it out in school. She would have passed clean out if I hadn't caught her.
A foot kicked the side of my leg. What the...? I turned to my left to find Anne Albright glaring at me.
"Quit staring," she hissed.
I scowled at her, hoping she'd back off and leave me alone. The last thing I needed was somebody else telling me what to do. Especially today.
I went back to staring at Savannah. Anne kicked me again, the little wench. The sting spread up the side of my calf. I bit back another curse. That better heal before practice.
"Anne, keep your feet to yourself please," Mr. Chandler warned from his desk. "Or do I need to put you in time-out?"
Nice. I grinned.
"No, sir," Anne muttered, sounding murderous. But at least she didn't kick me anymore.
When the final bell rang, I jerked in my desk, my nerves strung as tight as if I were on the field at game time. Finally, Savannah could go home. Or even better, to a doctor.
Anne got up, circled around to Savannah's desk and shook her awake. "Hey, Sav, time to go home."
"Ungh," Savannah groaned. She tried to stand, but her legs gave out.
I jumped to my feet without thinking it through. "Need some help?"
"Not from you, no." Anne slung one of Savannah's pale arms over her shoulders so she could pull her up.
"Stop, this looks ridiculous," Savannah croaked.
"Oh, who cares, pretty princess?" Anne snapped. "Let's go. Gotta get you to your grandma's car now, and it's a long walk."
Yeah, talk about ridiculous. They would take forever to get to the parking lot, and I could carry Savannah there in about five seconds. She probably weighed all of fifty pounds. Only problem was all the witnesses we'd have. The Clann elders-especially my parents-would hear about it through the local grapevine before I could even get home from practice.
So I stood there and did nothing, grinding my teeth and feeling like a grade A jerk for letting Anne help Savannah out of the classroom all by herself. Then I saw Savannah's backpack and books still under her desk. At least I could do this without attracting Clann attention.
The girls had made faster progress than I'd figured. They were near the parking lot by the time I caught up with them. Knowing Anne would bite my head off again if I took Savannah's free arm to help, I stayed a few paces back.
Anne didn't say anything to me as she guided Savannah into the passenger seat of a car waiting at the curb. "Mrs. Evans, she's really sick," Anne told the driver through the open passenger door. "I'm pretty sure she's running a fever. She wasn't feeling good at lunchtime, either, said she was tired and didn't eat anything."
"Hmm. Okay, thank you, Anne. I'll get her home and fixed right up," Savannah's grandmother promised. I snuck a peek at her. She looked like a sweet, little old lady, her cheeks round and rosy as she smiled at Anne. Then her gaze darted over to lock onto me, and I jerked upright again. The woman had eyes like a hawk. I'd be willing to bet Savannah got away with nothing at home. That woman wouldn't miss a thing, old or not.
"Here's her stuff," I told Anne, holding out Savannah's backpack and books.
Anne's eyes narrowed as she snatched them from me then set them in Savannah's lap.
Savannah's head never lifted from the seat's headrest.
I waited until the car exited the parking lot. Then I turned and started for the field house.
"Hey!" Anne's voice stopped me, but I didn't face her as she caught up with me. "Why'd you do that?"
Unsure what to say, I settled for a shrug.
"You know, if you're trying to make people think you're nice, it usually works better to have an audience to see it."
"Whatever."
She muttered something that sounded like "egomaniac."
Man, Savannah had the worst taste in friends lately. I rolled my eyes and walked away.
CHAPTER 2
Tristan
I looked for Savannah at lunch the next day, even trading seats with Dylan so I could have a better view of her friends' table. But she never showed up. Wednesday, I traded seats with Dylan again, thinking she'd have to be back by then. But she was nowhere in sight, and her seat stayed empty. She didn't show up for algebra that afternoon, either.
Algebra had never been so boring or lasted so long.
By Friday's lunch period, Savannah was still missing. Which didn't exactly put me in the mood to deal with Dylan's latest show of attitude.
"Hey, man, trade seats with me again," I told him, keeping one eye on the cafeteria doors in case Savannah walked through.
Dylan didn't move, staying slouched in his seat. "Why should I?"
"Because your spot's got the better view, and I need to watch out for...something."
Dylan smirked. "Trying to check out the chicks, huh?"
It was as good an excuse as any, and basically true. "Yeah. Now are you gonna trade or what?" I tried not to show my impatience. Otherwise he'd take twice as long to move just to mess with me.
"And what if I don't? You gonna call Daddy and have him and the other elders spank me at the next Clann meeting?"
I glared at him. Man, he could be such a pain sometimes. It was just a chair!
He snickered. "Okay, okay, don't get your panties in a wad. I'm moving." Slower than a resident at the local elderly home, he peeled himself out of the chair, then made a big show of bowing over it. "Your throne, Prince Tristan."
Letting out a long, slow breath, I sat down.
He took his time making the four short steps around the table to my old seat. Once in it, he proceeded to sit and stare at me for the rest of the lunch break, sorely tempting me to punch him.
What was with him lately? We'd been best friends growing up. But something about starting high school this year seemed to have set him off. All year long, I'd been getting more and more attitude from him. Like he resented me because my father led the Clann or something. Or maybe it was because my family wanted me to be the next Clann leader? Except that didn't make sense, either. Dylan knew better than anyone how much I just wanted to be normal and live my own life, not the one my parents wanted for me.