Free The Candidates by Inara Scott Page A

in their general direction, agree with everything they said, and then stay the hell out of their way.
    Of course, I’d never had to live with someone like her before.
    That might make things a bit more difficult.

C H A P T E R 9
    “ALL RIGHT, everyone, gather ’round.” Trevor gestured for us to come closer.
    I swallowed hard, and like everyone around me, obeyed without question. Tall Douglas firs and spindly vine maples surrounded us, creating pools of shade from the morning sun.
    “Look around you. These ten people will be your freshman team. Each team shares an adviser, a homeroom, ethics seminar, and study hall. You’ll see each other every day, and hopefully you’ll end up supporting each other through the year. Even though you’ll only officially be in a team for your freshman year, the friendships you make now will stay with you throughout your time at Delcroix. I know everyone on the team I started with are still good friends, even two years later.”
    I looked around the circle to assess the damage. Perfect Girl stood to my left, wavy ringlets framing her face like a golden-brown halo. Perfect Girl’s name, I had learned the day before, was Allie. It figured—cute and perky, just like her.
    Jack stood to my right. That also didn’t surprise me, because fate seemed determined to stick us together ever since we’d arrived at Delcroix two days before. Jack had shown up next to me in the auditorium our second morning at school, when they introduced us to all our teachers and handed out our schedules, and it turned out we had a lot of the same classes. We spent most of the day wandering around together, getting lost as we tried to find our classrooms, and talking about how weird everyone else was. That worked for me because, other than Esther and Hennie, who I kept trying to avoid, it seemed like every other freshman at Delcroix was some ultrasmart, ultracool, and ultratalented kid who made me intensely uncomfortable. It made me feel infinitely better to know that Jack was as unsure about why he was here at Delcroix as I was.
    The amazing thing about Jack was that he really didn’t seem to care what anyone thought about him. Once, during an assembly, a teacher came over to shush him, and he just stared at her, as if daring her to say something else. She didn’t.
    This morning after breakfast the team leaders had split us into groups and walked us out to the forest. Jack appeared at my side moments after they announced the groups. Even though the trail into the woods narrowed in spots, and we had to walk single file, Jack managed to stay close to me. A few of the other girls, including Allie, gave him come-hither looks, but for some reason, he only talked to me.
    Now Jack hung back a few feet from the circle, looking bored. He rolled his eyes as Trevor spoke, which was particularly bold because Trevor was staring right at him.
    “Mr. Landry, why don’t you go around the circle and say everyone’s name?” Trevor said. “I’m sure you remember them from roll call.”
    The faces of our group held a mix of nervous smiles and studied boredom. I kept my own expression blank.
    “Dancia, Allie, Alessandro, Paul, Emma, Hector, Marika, Gideon, and Yashir,” Jack said, pointing at each person as he spoke.
    Everyone looked amazed. I couldn’t remember more than one or two names in the group. Trevor narrowed his brow, clearly irritated that he hadn’t managed to embarrass Jack. We went around the circle a few more times, practicing all the names. Alessandro was a short, dark-skinned kid with longish black hair. Paul, Emma, and Gideon looked like your basic middle-class white kids, nothing too special. Hector was tall and buff, the kind of guy who would never notice me if we passed in the hall. Marika had long dark hair in braids down her back. She was cute in a wholesome sort of way. Yashir was the guy that Hennie liked. He seemed serious but friendly. He wore silver rings on several of his fingers, and he