Free The Academy: Book 2 by Chad Leito Page B

on a good Winggame team, Jen’s shout was almost offensive. Heads turned to see who had broken the silence, and to know who had uttered the murderer’s name. People threw disgusted looks at Asa, and he felt the urge to bury his head. But, he had an image to keep up; if people weren’t afraid of him, they might attack like Shelby had last year.
    Teddy seemed to feel the tension too, and neither of them said a word until Jen had plopped herself down right in between them.
    “And you should be Teddy,” she said, putting her hand out to shake.
    Teddy looked at Asa as though for help, and then glanced down at all the dirty looks people were throwing at them. Why is she sitting with you? What are you up to? the looks seemed to say. Reluctantly, Teddy shook her hand and said, “yeah, how’d you know?”
    “Do you know Meggers? She’s a graduate. Meg, I think her real name is. She’s always chewing gum.” Jen seemed to not notice the stares or the silence that now fell over the Town Center. “Anyways, she’s looking over the female Fishies’ dormitory this semester. She told me that you were friends with Asa.
    “And you, Asa,” she said. She put her hand on Asa’s knee; this made him feel incredibly uncomfortable, but at the same time he felt frozen. “You never told me about your reputation earlier in the woods.”
    Charlotte was looking at Asa, displaying a mixture of anger and pain.
    “Uh. I…” was all Asa could get out.
    “They say that you’re a murderer, you know. I don’t believe it myself.” She picked up a red pedal and held it up beside her eye for examination. “What’s all the decoration for?”
    Asa shook his head; he felt like he was unable to speak.
    She tossed the pet al, and it fluttered to the floor. “I’m just excited to get the semester started. I’ve heard that this place is very competitive. I mean, I’m still upset that they kidnapped me, but while I’m here, why not make the most of it? You know?”
    You don’t know how deadly this place is; you’d wipe that grin from your mouth if you only knew what was to come, Asa thought. But he didn’t say anything. Instead he nodded slowly. His mouth was dry. Since Shelby’s death last year, the other students had mostly left him alone; they were afraid of him. But, if they thought that he was spending time with a newly arrived Fishie, what suspicions would they come up with? Would it be enough to make them act?
    Asa felt relief wash through him as soft, but ominous music began to play into the air, distracting some of the onlookers. Asa deferred from responding to Jen by looking at the stage, where the presentation appeared to be about to begin. A thin, young Multiplier with chestnut hair was about to take the stage. Asa saw that gunmen now flanked the outer walls, sitting high above the crowd—this was normal for an assembly at the Academy, but still, seeing the weapons unnerved Asa. Robert King was nowhere to be seen; Asa wondered if other students would notice this.
    The man took the stage, sauntering with a certain aggressive gleam in his eye that Asa didn’t like at all. He smiled, showing his black, shining gums. His teeth were closer to purple than white, as though he had recently secreted the black saliva that Multipliers sometimes do when they feel like killing someone.
    The watching students became even more still than they were before he took the stage: Jen was the only exception to this. She brushed a hand through her hair, a carefree smile floating on her face.
    Is she insane?
    The man was handsome, and wearing a suit like a politician might wear—neutral tones complimented with a red tie. His hair was short and well groomed; his face was shaved clean. He looked very different from the Multipliers that Asa had encountered in the woods.
    But then, he did something that contradicted his appearance: his action was brutal and chaotic.
    He leapt up into the air, landed, thudded a fist to his chest, and asked the audience: