Page 14 of Save Me (Maxton Hall #1)

I can’t read James’s expression as he stands in front of me. At that moment I have no idea what to make of him.

“It’s not like I have any choice, is it?”

I give him a skeptical glance. “You seemed to have a choice the other day.”

He just shrugs. Presumably, the coach had a go at him for turning up at training. Serves him right.

“I’m here. Just count yourself lucky.” Then he bends down and picks something off the floor—a pen. It must have fallen out of my backpack. James holds it out to me. It’s an almost-friendly gesture, so I clear my throat and try to think of something to say.

“It’s only for a term, James.” It’s the first time I’ve said his first name aloud.

His face changes. Suddenly, he doesn’t seem to be looking through me anymore—he’s looking into my soul.

There’s a fire in his eyes that burns me and makes me shiver.

There are butterflies in my stomach. He looks abruptly away and turns on his heel to return to the back.

“That doesn’t alter the fact that I hate all this. ”

My heart is hammering, and I swallow hard as he sits down, arms folded, and stares out of the window.

I don’t know what he means by “all this.” Not being allowed to play lacrosse. Or having to spend his time here. Or maybe he just means me. But I can live with that.

There’s too much at stake to let a spoiled rich boy mess with my head. We both have to get through this, whether we like it or not, and the sooner we face up to that, the easier this time will be.

Without another word, I turn to the whiteboard and write up the agenda for today’s meeting.

I don’t know whether or not James is watching me, and that’s making me antsy, but I’m too proud to turn around.

Luckily, the door soon opens. “Sorry I’m late, our printer at home went haywire, so I had to find somewhere here to print out my statement, but I’ve got it done now and…

” Lin stops mid-sentence as she spots James.

“Hey,” he says.

I wonder if that’s how he greets everyone. I bet he’ll say “hey” to all the panels at his university interviews.

“What’s he doing here?” Lin asks me, not taking her eyes off him.

“Community service,” I answer truthfully.

James says nothing. He bends down, opens his bag, and pulls out a notebook.

He puts it on the table in front of him.

It has a black leather cover, embossed with the elaborate “B” of the Beaufort logo.

I bet it’s worth a fortune. Dad and I went into a branch of Beaufort’s in London once, looking for a new suit for him.

It was a few years ago when he had to spend a lot of time in court after his accident.

I have a very clear memory of the four-figure price tags that made us turn tail after no more than two minutes and creep out of the shop as unobtrusively as possible.

Next to me, Lin coughs. Guiltily, I tear my eyes away from James and curse the way my cheeks are flushing yet again. Thankfully, Lin has the tact not to mention it.

“Here,” she says, holding out a clear plastic folder that contains several sheets of paper. “My statement.”

I fish mine out of my folder and hand it to her. “Here’s mine, but it’s not perfect yet.”

“Neither is mine,” says Lin. “That’s why we’re reading them for each other. Do you think you’ll have a chance to look at it this evening?”

“No can do, sorry. We can go through them tomorrow in the free period after maths.” I pull out my gold pen and jot down Read Lin’s statement in my planner.

“I’m honored to have my name written in your top-tier pen,” Lin whispers with a grin. I smile back at her then finish putting the agenda on the board as the rest of the team gradually drifts in. Everyone sneaks sideways glances at James, apart from Camille, who kisses him on either cheek.

Once we’re all here, we start the discussion.

“The most important thing today is planning the second big event of this term,” Lin opens, her face glowing. “Halloween.”

Kieran makes a quiet, spooky “oh-ooooh” noise, and everyone laughs.

“Last year’s masked ball was really popular,” Lin continues, opening a slideshow of pictures on her laptop. She turns the screen so that we can all see.

“Can’t we just do the same thing again? I mean, if it was so popular?” Camille suggests. “That would save a ton of work.”

“Certainly not,” Lin snaps, and Camille just shrugs. I walk over to the whiteboard and write Halloween in the middle of the right-hand side. Then I put a circle around it.

“We need to come up with a theme,” Lin says. “Let’s just brainstorm, OK?”

For a moment, there’s silence.

“I know what I don’t want,” Jessalyn says in the end.

“What’s that? Then we can rule it out from the start,” I say, gesturing to her to go on.

“I don’t want orange. Black-and-orange decorations are so childish; it’s not the look we want for Maxton Hall.”

I nod and write stylish décor in the top right-hand corner.

“How about black-and-white?” Doug asks. He’s the quietest person on the team and hardly ever speaks, so I’m pleasantly surprised that he’s made a suggestion. I smile at him and turn back to the board.

“It’s been done.”

Suddenly, you could hear a pin drop.

I slowly turn around. James is lounging in his chair, in stark contrast to the tension that’s now filling the room.

“I’m sorry?” Lin says what I’m thinking.

“Black-and-white’s been done,” James repeats, just as dryly as the first time.

“I heard what you said,” Lin hisses.

He frowns at her. “Then I don’t understand your question.”

“We’re brainstorming, Beaufort. We throw out ideas and write them all down without comment so that our spontaneous suggestions can lead to the answer,” I explain as quietly as possible.

“I know what brainstorming is, Bell,” he replies, jutting his chin at the whiteboard. “And I’m telling you, we won’t get anywhere like that.”

“Says the guy who thinks you need strippers to create atmosphere,” mutters Kieran.

“I wouldn’t have had to if I hadn’t known how lame your party was going to be.”

Nobody speaks, but I can feel the mood in the room going from bad to worse. Everyone but Camille is glaring at James with furious eyes, but he doesn’t seem remotely bothered. Eyebrows raised, he looks around. “Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.”

“You’re not all there,” says Kieran, and Jessalyn nods.

“Guys,” I say. I look at them all in concern. “Pull yourselves together.” James’s lips twitch suspiciously, and I point my pen at him like it’s a gun. “Stop grinning like that. We spent most of the holidays planning that party. It wasn’t lame.”

James leans forward in his chair, resting both arms on the table. “That’s a matter of opinion.”

It feels as though there’s a vein throbbing at my temple. “Oh, really.”

He nods.

“Why’s that, if I may ask?” Lin’s voice is sickly sweet. I know that tone. It bodes ill, and now I’ve got goose bumps, and not in a good way.

James lifts a hand and counts on his fingers. “The buffet looked cheap. The music was shit. The dress code was unclear. And it was totally dead for hours.”

I can feel Lin shaking beside me. If we were alone, I could wring James’s neck for his unconstructive criticism.

Everyone in this room put so much work into that party, it’s not fair to say it was all a total flop.

And not true either. But as team leader, I have to keep my cool.

And there were things that didn’t go entirely to plan; we agreed on that on Monday.

“I agree with you about the music,” I say. “It wasn’t great. But people danced anyway, so I wouldn’t call it a total write-off.”

“Because that’s what you do at a party. But decent music would have made for a way better atmosphere.”

Three years ago, at my old school, I did a course on conflict resolution.

It ran over five afternoons and taught us ways to avoid arguments.

I don’t remember everything, but one thing that did stick in my head is that you have to make everyone feel heard and that you should divert energy away from a row and into what matters.

With this aim in mind, I take a deep breath and look at James.

“I hear your criticism, and I’ll make note of it.

But that doesn’t alter the fact that we’re still deciding on a theme for Halloween.

Doug’s suggestion is a good one, and I’ll write it down.

And I’ll write down everyone else’s ideas, and in the end, we can have a look through and see what works and what doesn’t.

” I write Black-and-white on the board. Then I turn around again. “Anything else?”

“OK, I’ve got an idea,” Jessalyn says, raising her hands like she’s seeing a vision. “Classical chic with a ghostly touch. Candles, black flowers. Modernizing the traditional Halloween party.”

I make a note.

“Equally dull.”

“If you’ve got nothing to contribute, then shut the fuck up, Beaufort,” Lin snarls.

“Black-and-red vampire party,” Kieran suggests.

“Still lame,” mutters James.

I’m going to get through this. I am not going to stab him in the eye with a pen.

“The truly lame thing is the way you keep shooting down our suggestions,” Jessalyn retorts. “Come up with your own idea and spare us your negative energy.”

James straightens up and glances at his notebook. I doubt there’s even a single word in there to do with planning a Halloween party.

“In that case, I suggest a Victorian theme. Weston Hall would be perfect. We could get period plates and cutlery from the time, punch bowls, lace napkins, all that shit. Ideally in black. Have the whole thing lit by candles like they would have then, for a spooky mood. Obviously, we’d have to make sure we didn’t burn the school down, but we can take the necessary fire precautions.

The dress code would be decadent but classy, in keeping with the era.

And the Victorians loved Halloween games. We could include some of them too.”

Once he’s finished, the room goes silent.

“That’s a…great idea,” I say hesitantly.

His eyes sparkle as he looks at me. “I thought we were just noting down ideas without comment?”

I avoid his gaze and write the suggestion on the board.

“I read that in the nineteenth century, they used to bake cakes with five objects hidden inside them,” Kieran says. “Finding one would bring you good luck. We could update that and give prizes to the people who find a charm.”

“But we’d have to let them know in advance. In case anyone chokes,” Camille points out, wrinkling her nose.

“What kind of music would we play?” asks Jessalyn.

“Classical with a modern twist?” I suggest.

“Not your weird classical-electro-dubstep mashups though,” Lin groans.

“Hey! They’re cool. And they help me focus.” Everyone is giving me a funny look now. Desperately, I turn to Kieran, who generally shares my taste in music. “Come on, Kieran, tell them.”

“There are some great remixes of Victorian stuff. I heard something good by Caplet the other day.”

I smile gratefully and mouth, “Send me a link.”

“So, I’ll sort out a band,” James says. “And we can work on a dance to get the party started.”

A murmur of agreement fills the room, which makes me feel kind of sick. I can’t dance a step.

“OK, so it sounds to me almost like we’ve agreed on a theme,” Lin says, her voice as surprised as I feel right now.

She points to the whiteboard. “But all the same, I’d like to put it to the vote. Who’s in favor of black-and-white?”

Nobody raises their hand.

“Classic chic?”

No one, again.

“How about a sexy vampire party?”

No hands go up.

“What do you say to a Victorian-style Halloween party?” I ask, and before I’ve finished the question, four hands are in the air. For a moment, it looks like James considers himself too cool to vote, but in the end, he does too.

I wasn’t expecting the meeting to turn out this way. I raise an eyebrow at Lin. “Well then, I’d say we’ve come up with the theme for this year’s Maxton Hall Halloween party.”