Page 48 of Theodore

"Oh. Well then, maybe we can hang out?" Mara suggested, and I nodded.

Mara located her case, and I noticed hippie stickers covered it, a bright pink scarf wrapped around the handle.

"Mom said I would find it in a sea of cases," Mara groaned as I laughed.

Mara was refreshing to be around, and I admired how she liked to be different. She wore tie-dye dungarees and a bright pink t-shirt with Doc Martens, which was a sharp contrast to the skinny jeans and crop tops most girls wore—me included.

"Your Mom sounds wise," I said.

We followed the wave of students as they spilled from buses everywhere, most of them wearing matching t-shirts as they danced their way up to the enormous building before us.

A large sign showed us we had arrived atRaleigh Freedom, and I saw zip lines and giant swings over by the field.

I wasn't remotely sporty and had hoped for nice weather, so I could attempt to get a tan.

I thought of Theo, and my heart ached. I missed his touch already, the way he always had to be touching me in some capacity. I had quickly gotten used to being his girlfriend, and I realized I would struggle more than I thought without him.

I followed Mara to our ‘house' which overlooked the football field. Luckily my room was on the ground floor, and I saw the door already open. A tall blonde stood there, in a sports outfit as she stretched.

"Hey there. I'm Freya, from Hill Halley High." She beamed as she turned to me.

I noticed she had severe acne that she had tried to hide with makeup, which only made it look angrier. I returned the smile as I pushed my hair behind my ear.

"I'm Hannah. From Foxton High." I reached out to shake her extended hand as I pulled my case over to the empty bed beside the window.

"I always get up for a run super early, so I thought I'd grab the bed near the door. I hope that's okay?"

Freya was unloading protein packs and bottles of water as I nodded, gazing out of the window. The guys had already started assembling on the field, which must be four times the size of the one we had at school.

"We need to sign up for what activities we want to do, if any. You coming?" Freya asked as she grabbed two keys from the desk beside her bed.

"Yeah, why not?" I followed her out, my heart pounding at the thought of seeing Kyle.

Maybe he hadn't come.

Mara bounded up beside me as she smiled at Freya kindly, introducing herself.

"Freya!" I heard someone squeal as they ran up behind us, grabbing Freya into a bear hug. "Oh, my God, girl, it's beensolong!"

"Hey! I've missed you so much! Guys, this is Vix. Vix, this is Hannah and Mara."

We all smiled at Vix, who bounced on her feet, pulling us into a hug.

"So what school are you guys from?" Vix asked.

"Foxton, you?" I answered.

"Foxton? Ooh, doesn't Jax Duffy go there?" Vix’s eyes widened as she spoke, and I held back a laugh.

"Yeah. Jax is my boyfriend's best friend."

"Nofrickingway!" Vix gasped.

Mara nodded. "Theo De Luca?"

"He'ssohot, youluckygirl.Pleaseintroduce me to Jax," Vix begged. "The hottest guys in our school are Harry Malone and Kyle Reef. But they’re only into college girls."

I froze at the mention of Kyle's name as a wave of dizziness came over me.