Page 10 of Black Hollow: Awakening

“Man, what a mood you’re in today. Let’s go before you start criticizing me, too.”

First period was history. Dan wasn’t in that class with him, so Will took a seat in the row by the wall, somewhere in the middle, trying to draw as little attention to himself as possible. There was still a moment before the bell, so he pulled out his phone and started searching for information that might help him figure out what had happened yesterday.

Suddenly, he sensed movement. He turned his head and nearly had a heart attack when he saw Blake’s face next to his own, uncomfortably close.

Was he… sniffing him?

“What’s wrong with you?” Blake asked.

Before Will could react to the apparently insulting question, the bell rang and the teacher walked into the classroom. Blake took his favorite seat in the front row, but for the rest of the period, he kept glancing back at Will, making him increasingly uncomfortable.

After third period, Will managed to catch Danny.

“Hey, Dan,” he said, stopping him in the hallway.

“What?”

“Do I smell?”

“What?” Danny repeated, starting to laugh.

“I’m serious.”

Danny sniffed him, then shook his head.

“No. But you used my deodorant again,” he added accusingly.

For his own safety, Will decided to ignore that perpetually contentious issue and hurried to his locker to swap out his textbooks. He’d barely closed the metal door to find Liam standing right beside him. He had no idea when Liam had approached.

“Hey,” Liam said with a smile.

“Hey,” Will replied cautiously.

Liam leaned in toward him… and as if it were the most normal thing in the world, took a brazen sniff! Then he smiled again and walked away, leaving Will in a state of shock.

Will followed him with an indignant stare. Liam walked over to Blake, who was standing a few dozen feet away. He said something to him. Blake looked irritated. He gesticulated energetically. Liam just shrugged. And then they left.

That scene bothered Will for the rest of the day.

“They’re making fun of me,” he complained to Danny on their way home.

“Who?”

“Liam and Blake.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to piss off Liam?”

Will sighed heavily under his breath.

He had it coming.

September 11 | Wednesday

Every BHA student was required to cultivate extracurricular activities, which was just a fancy way of saying they had to join at least one club. There were a ton of them. Some were more like activist groups dedicated to pressing issues. Of course, there were also the traditional clubs—sports, music, dance, and others dedicated to popular hobbies.

Will had been super interested in the anime club, but its leader, Jonas Hale, had made fun of him during his first year, so he’d ultimately decided against it. He wanted to join the same club as Dan, but Dan had opted for the Tech Club. He claimed it was because of the flexible hours, but honestly, he’d always had a knack for that kind of stuff. Unlike Will.

So Will ended up here. In the Literature Appreciation Club, run by a couple who were a year older than him—Alana Gibson and Joan Birk. They met on Wednesdays, twice a month, in the school library, of course. The club was small, with only twelve members, though meetings rarely had more than five people. Will always came, even though he didn’t read much.