Kilenya Series Books 1, 2, and 3, page 51
Jacob snorted. “Right. Tani isn’t interested in me—she’s like one of the guys. And I’m definitely not interested in her. She’s cute and all, but—okay, we’re not talking about this. It’s weird.”
Matt snickered, punching Jacob’s shoulder. “Two girls who’ll follow you everywhere.”
“Whatever.” Jacob shoved his brother, and Matt chuckled again.
“So . . . does she like you?”
“Who, Tani?”
“No, doofus. Aloren. Obviously.”
Jacob felt his cheeks flush. “Don’t know—and I’m not going to ask her.”
“I can, if you’d like. Give her a nudge in the right direction.”
Jacob’s jaw dropped. “Don’t, Matt. Please, please don’t.”
Matt rolled his eyes. “Dude, you’ve got to get over this phase you’re in. Be the man—ask her out.”
“Not until he’s sixteen,” Dad said, entering the living room. He sat on the couch opposite the brothers. “What’s this I hear? Jacob, you’re looking for advice on girls? I’ve got plenty of experience—you know, wealthy, handsome prince. I courted a lot.”
“‘Court?’ Geez, Dad! We’re not in Eklaron, and I’m not courting anyone.” Jacob buried his face in his hands, and his dad and brother laughed.
Luckily, the garage door opened, signaling Mom’s return, and Dad jumped up to meet her by the car.
Matt turned to Jacob. “Okay, so I assume you want me to drive you and Aloren to Tani’s house?”
Jacob nodded. “If you could.”
Matt shrugged. “Shouldn’t be a problem. Let me put my stuff away.” He went up the stairs, lugging his backpack and gym bag with him, then returned just as Aloren and Mom came in, followed by Dad.
Aloren ran to Jacob, carrying all sorts of bags. “Look, Jacob, look! I’m going to school in style!” She glanced at Mom, an admiring expression on her face, and whispered, “You’re so lucky. The queen understands fashion. And you’re her son!”
Jacob didn’t know how to answer that. He was still adjusting to the fact that his parents were—he was—royalty. And he’d never noticed his mom’s fashion sense.
“How’d it go? With the school?”
Aloren held up a sheet of paper. “My classes!”
Mom turned, smiling at Aloren’s excitement. “She’ll be with you for most of the day, minus your first and third periods.”
Jacob nodded. “What classes is she taking during those times?”
Aloren read from her schedule. “Art while you’re in math, and math while you’re in the woodworking class.”
“Art, huh? That’s cool.”
Aloren nodded excitedly. “I love drawing and painting.” She sat on the couch, going through her bags.
Mom looked Jacob right in the eye, lowering her voice. “Honey, the counselors wanted to put her in remedial courses. I wouldn’t have any of that—she’s here to experience things as an ordinary teenager. You’re really going to have to help her catch up. Her grades might not matter so much, but I don’t want her to be completely miserable when she doesn’t do well. Plus, if she decides to attend college here, it would be good if she figured things out in high school.”
Jacob nodded. “Shouldn’t be too difficult. It’s not like my classes are super hard anymore.” And it was true. Math had been his most difficult subject, but Mr. Coolidge no longer required him to attend early, and had stopped giving him a ton of extra work to do.
She laughed. “Don’t get complacent.”
“I won’t,” Jacob said, trying to sound mature and calm while his insides were about to explode from excitement. Helping Aloren catch up meant more time with her. This semester was going to be amazing! They’d be spending nearly every minute together.
“What time is it?” Mom looked at her cell phone. “Let’s eat dinner, then you can head to Tani’s.”
The ride to Tani’s house after dinner went quickly—Jacob was very aware of Aloren sitting next to him, between the brothers. Aloren’s colors were so bright, it was difficult to see past them. She was seriously excited about meeting Tani and going to Mountain Crest High School. He smirked to himself—she’d probably get over her excitement once she saw how much homework she’d need to do to catch up.
“What’s this vehicle called?” she asked.
“It’s a Toyota—a truck,” Matt said. “Isn’t it amazing?”
“Yes! I love these things.” She hesitated. “They’re . . . so fast, though.”
Jacob sighed in disappointment. He’d missed Aloren’s first car ride when she went to the school with Mom—it would’ve been really great to see how she reacted.
Tani opened the door when they rang the bell. “Jake!” she squealed. Her smile grew when she saw Aloren and Matt. “Hey!” She turned, yelling to the back of the house. “Mom, the Clarks are here. Can we hang out for a while?”
Kim, Tani’s mom, stepped into the front room, drying her hands on a towel. “Only for a few minutes—you’ve got too much homework.” Her eyes sparkled when she looked at the brothers. “Jacob and Matt. We haven’t had you around for some time. And who’s your friend?”
Jacob introduced Aloren as their exchange student, and Aloren shook hands with Tani and Kim.
He turned to Tani. “We’re hoping you could help her in school when she’s not with me. Mom thought you two would get along well.”
Tani nodded. “Yeah! It’ll totally be awesomesauce. I’ll introduce her to Sheena and Jen and everyone.”
“So, Aloren, where are you from?” Kim asked. She must have noticed Aloren’s leather pants. Definitely not American.
“Eklaron,” Aloren said. “More specifically, the land of Gevkan.” She gasped, realizing what she’d just said. Her face turned white and she turned to Jacob and Matt.
“Huh?” Tani said. “Where’s that?”
Jacob mentally kicked himself. They hadn’t decided which country she’d be from!
Kim looked just as confused, and Jacob’s mind raced. Aloren wouldn’t know enough about Earth to come up with an appropriate answer. “It’s, uh . . . near Hungary. It’s a really small English-speaking province-region-place.”
Kim looked confused, but Tani accepted the explanation immediately. “That’s why you don’t have an accent. Cool!”
Aloren nodded, clearly still panicked.
“Exactly.” Jacob rushed to change the subject. He already felt bad enough for leading them on. “So, Tani, if you could help her feel welcome in school, that would be cool.”
“Sure.” She grabbed Aloren’s arm. “Just hang with me and Jacob and you’ll be fine!”
Jacob blew out a breath in relief. “Tani, you’re so great.”
“I know.”
Everyone said goodbye, and Jacob, Matt, and Aloren returned to the truck.
“That was close,” Aloren said, doing up her seatbelt. “We’ve got to find a better story than that.”
Jacob nodded. “Yeah, especially since Kim is probably going to Google Eklaron now. Hopefully she’ll get distracted on her way to the computer.”
Chapter 2. Mushroom Beetles
Jacob was excited to take Aloren to school with him. He Keyed to the tree to get her, but she wasn’t ready yet, so he waited by the door. When she came downstairs a couple of moments later, he sucked in a breath of air. Something was different about her face—her eyes were even prettier than usual. It took him a second to figure out why. She was wearing makeup. Wow. She looked so . . . so . . . hot.
“Is this going to be okay?” She waved at what she was wearing. “Queen Arien picked it out.”
Jacob nodded. She was wearing jeans and a bright pink T-shirt. He’d seen clothes like that at school before. “I think so. Girls wear jeans all the time.”
She laughed. “You probably don’t know much about fashion.”
He shook his head.
“I kept up with it very well in Macaria. I was sad when your mom told me that Macarian fashion wouldn’t be helpful while attending school at Mountain Crest.”
“She’s right. ‘Course, there are dances throughout the year where you’d probably be fine wearing one of the more fancy dresses.”
Her face lit up. “Really? Great!” She motioned to the door. “Let’s get going.”
Aloren peppered Jacob and Matt with questions the entire ride into town. Matt showed Aloren to her first class—it was near his—and Jacob reluctantly left her so he could get to math.
Instead of continuing to make Jacob come early, Mr. Coolidge simply gave him other material to study during the period. Jacob had given up trying to convince Mr. Coolidge to let him just transfer to a different class.
Luckily, things weren’t frustrating anymore—his relationship with Mr. Coolidge had changed. They had an understanding that worked for both of them. Jacob helped out in the class whenever needed, and Mr. Coolidge didn’t ask him about the journal or anything else odd he’d noticed—including Jacob molding wood and metal with his bare hands.
Math ended and Jacob rushed to history, hoping Aloren would find her way. She did, and the teacher rearranged the seating so Aloren could sit next to him. Being an attractive “exchange student” who wasn’t shy and spoke perfect English really helped her fit in with the others.
Jacob reluctantly left her as he headed to woods class and she to math. When the period finally ended, he ran to the locker room to get his gym clothes, excited for Aloren to see him play basketball.
Kevin was in there too. “Hey, no more ball during lunch.”
“What? Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Dad told me this morning—the principal decided it was time to end the tradition. He thinks more work will get done if the admins aren’t reffing games.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Totally.”
Jacob’s stomach churned at the thought of no longer being able to play basketball, but he set the feeling aside, determined to find out for himself if what Kevin had said was true. He wouldn’t put it past the freshman to lie just to prevent Jacob from playing.
Jacob grabbed his clothes anyway and jogged to the orange gym. He’d had an interesting relationship with Kevin over the past few years, and it definitely wasn’t one of friendship.
Tani, Aloren, and Jacob’s friends Gus and Josh waited near the doors. Jacob stopped when he saw their expressions.
“Is it true? No more ball?”
Tani nodded. “Stupid principal.”
Jacob dropped his stuff. “Why, though?”
“Oh, the usual. They want to be ‘more efficient.’” She flipped her hair back. “It’s dumb, I know.”
“Now what?” He wasn’t sure where to eat lunch if it wasn’t in the gym. He’d only eaten in the cafeteria once since starting high school. It felt weird, thinking about eating there again.
“We could try the commons area,” Josh said.
“Yeah—that’s where Matt and his girlfriend usually eat, right?” Tani asked.
“And the rest of the football team.” Jacob wasn’t sure he wanted to eat with all the football players, but he and his friends turned and walked there anyway. Matt scooted over when Jacob, Aloren, and the others sat near him and Sammy.
“Heard about basketball,” Matt said. “Sorry ‘bout that, dude.”
Jacob rubbed the back of his neck and didn’t respond. He didn’t feel like talking about it anymore.
While they ate, Aloren and Tani got on the topic of guys. Jacob rolled his eyes, but his heart froze when Aloren mentioned seeing a cute one.
“What did he look like?” Tani asked.
“Tall. Very pretty eyes. We don’t have a lot of blue-eyed people where I’m from.”
Was she talking about him? But then she continued, and his heart fell.
“And his hair was blond.”
Jacob’s hair was dark brown. Really dark brown.
Tani nodded. “I’d have to see him to know who he was. Did he talk to you?”
“Oh, yes. Quite a lot. We sit next to each other. He’s an athlete—he spoke of some sort of sport. I think Jacob plays it as well.” She turned to Jacob. “What’s the name of the sport you play?”
“Basketball,” Tani said before he could answer.
“Yes! That’s it.”
Jacob tried to control the feelings of jealousy that hit him in the pit of the stomach. He’d never once considered that Aloren would get a crush on someone else. He felt like kicking himself. Just ‘cause he liked her didn’t mean she shared the feeling. And what had he been expecting?
He finished his sandwich, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his heart. He didn’t own her. But what about him rescuing her? Didn’t that count for anything? And they’d shared some pretty intense experiences together, hadn’t they? He sighed in frustration. None of that gave him a claim on her.
He nearly regretted his agreement to let her come to school with him. Not like he’d had much of a say, anyway. Aloren was headstrong enough to do it even if he said no. And he wouldn’t have—that would’ve been a jerk thing to do.
No one seemed to notice him withdraw from the conversation. That irked him, which, in turn, bothered him even more. He’d never been the type to get all sullen like that.
Everyone cleaned up and Jacob walked Aloren to class, neither saying anything.
Science was interesting. Shirley nearly freaked out when Mrs. Wiley made her move to an empty chair two seats behind Jacob and Aloren took Shirley’s spot.
“This is stupid!” Shirley said, throwing her bag on her new chair. “I’ve sat there the entire semester! Why do I have to move? Why can’t she sit here?”
“I’m truly sorry,” Aloren said. “I’m fine with going back there.”
Mrs. Wiley shook her head. “No. The note from the front office is very specific. She’s to stay near Jacob.”
Shirley pouted, pushed her bag off the chair, and plopped down. “Ridiculous.”
The expression of pity on Mrs. Wiley’s face nearly made Jacob gag. “I’m so sorry, dear.”
He pinched his lips together, trying not to scowl openly. How could he have forgotten that Shirley was the favorite here?
The ride back to Mendon went quickly—Aloren babbled about her first day of school, Jacob stared out the window, and Matt sang along with the radio.
Dad was home when they got there, waiting on the front porch. “Jacob, take Aloren to the tree, then come back.”
He looked upset. Had something happened? Jacob did as he was asked, then found his dad. He was already speaking with Matt, but filled Jacob in on what they’d discussed.
“Someone left the chicken run and coop open last night, and the chickens wandered away this morning. Since they usually come back on their own, and haven’t, I was just telling Matt they’re either dead or stolen by now.” He glared at Matt and Jacob, daring one of them to deny what he’d just said.
The brothers exchanged glances. Matt looked extra guilty. “Sorry, Dad, it was probably me—I put them away last night.”
Dad nodded. “Thank you for your honesty.” He sighed and didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, “You won’t do anything else until every chicken is found—alive or dead.”
Matt looked at his feet, but didn’t say anything.
Dad turned to Jacob. “I’m home early because we were planning to have a meeting in Eklaron today. That’s still going to happen. I need you to round everyone up and take them to Kenji’s place. When you’re done, return here to help your brother.”
Jacob’s mouth popped open. He’d never been left out of a meeting before! “But—”
Dad put a hand on his shoulder, addressing both him and Matt. “Come as soon as you’ve found all the chickens.”
Jacob nodded, and took Mom, Dad, and Amberly to Taga Village. He was disappointed—he’d been looking forward to entering the village with his family. Even though he knew they’d been there before, except for Amberly, he still wanted to see their reactions.
Amberly surprised Jacob by rushing up to Kaiya, Akeno’s little sister, as soon as she stepped through the door. They giggled, jumping up and down, then ran off to play. Jacob looked at his parents.
“She already knows Kaiya?”
His mom laughed. “Yes. We figured it would only be a matter of time before we were able to come here as a family, and I started taking Amberly for walks there a couple of months ago while you were at school and Dad at work. We wanted her to get used to the Makalos.”
“Well, dang it.” Jacob looked at his feet. “I would’ve liked to know.”
She put her arm around his shoulders. “You had enough on your plate.”
Jacob sighed in frustration, then Keyed to Macaria and the Fat Lady’s cabin. After he’d dropped her and Gallus off at Kenji’s place, he returned home and found Matt.
It took the brothers an hour to locate the chickens and get them back to the coop. Luckily, none were injured, but it was dirty, frustrating, and annoying work. Matt apologized several times.
When they were done, they cleaned up and Keyed to Kenji’s.
“We’re nearly finished here,” Dad said. “But come—have a seat.”
“Where’s Aloren?” Jacob asked, looking around. He ignored the slight pang that hit him when he remembered what had happened in school that day.
Kenji motioned out the window. “In the tree.”
Jacob frowned. “Why isn’t she here?”
“Are we positive she should be a part of these meetings?” Brojan asked.
“Of course,” Jacob said. He couldn’t believe the patriarch would even ask something so . . . stupid. “She already knows everything that’s going on—plus she’d be able to help a lot.”
“All right. Go get her.”
Akeno sprang up, grabbing his top hat. “I’ll come with—I haven’t seen the tree since she moved in.”
“Wait—she changed it?” Matt asked. “I’ve got to see this.”
Aloren gave Akeno and Jacob hugs, even though it had only been an hour and a half since Jacob had last seen her, then she stepped to Matt, but dropped her arms before hugging him too. She flushed. “I, uh . . . I’m glad to see you here.”
