Page 5 of Depraved Boys

The following Monday morning, after picking up our uniforms from the school outfitters in Carlisle, Ashley and I took a taxi to Brittas Academy. I could have taken Mom’s car, as I was an okay driver for someone who had passed their test a mere month ago, but driving through the mountainside roads leading to the academy was a terrifying prospect.

Last week, I had been numb throughout the journey, but this time, my stomach lurched at the sight of the mountain’s plunging valleys, twisting roads, and hair-pin turns.

“I still can’t believe you would uproot us from home,” Ashley muttered.

Pressing my lips together, I exhaled a frustrated breath. After I’d explained that the bursary would only cover the maintenance of an unoccupied house and wouldn’t stretch to the living expenses of two teens, she had reluctantly agreed to join me at Brittas Academy.

“What’s the alternative?” I asked.

“We could have sold the house and split the money.”

“Then what?” I replied.

“Then I’d be able to help Bones with his DJ business, and we’d go to Spain and make it rich.”

I held onto the edge of my seat as the taxi driver negotiated a sharp curve. “Then what?”

“What do you mean?”

“Would you finish school or get a job?”

“Investments are a form of work,” she snapped.

The taxi pulled into a lay by to let a truck trundle past. “Mom and Dad fought hard to keep you from being expelled for skipping classes. They would want you to continue your education.”

We turned into the magnificent, wrought iron gates of Brittas Academy, and I sucked in a breath at seeing the beautiful, medieval building again. Ashley and I, two girls from Cummersdale Comprehensive, would be studying among the elites in these breathtaking surroundings.

She muttered, “So, now you’re taking over as my parent and putting me in this prison?”

“Mom wanted us to stay together. You know that.”

“And she also wanted us to be happy.”

The taxi stopped outside the academy’s double doors. I turned to Ashley and asked, “What would she say if you told her you wanted to spend a fortune on a thirty-five-year-old man to achieve his dreams of becoming an international DJ?”

She folded her arms across her chest and huffed. It was the gesture she made whenever she had no answer to a question, but it still made my chest ache with guilt.

“You can take the taxi back home if you really don’t want to join the academy,” I said.

Her face paled. “And leave you alone to wallow in your books?” She grabbed my hand. “We’ll always be together, no matter what. Twins are soul mates, and we’re opposite sides of the same coin. I can liven up this stuffy old establishment in no time.”

The double doors opened, revealing a tall woman with black hair pulled back into a severe bun. She wore black, academic robes over a shapeless, black pantsuit that looked like some kind of uniform.

“Ha!” Ashley shot me a triumphant smirk. “I told you this place was a prison. There’s the warden.”

My insides cringed. “The headmistress looked nice. I’m sure the other teachers aren’t so stern-looking.”

After I paid the driver, we stepped out of the car and took our cases out of the trunk.

“Miss Evergreen, I presume?” asked the woman. “Wendy Claymore, deputy headmistress of this academy. I am in charge of student welfare and discipline.”

“Willow.” I gestured at Ashley. “And this is my sister—”

“Yes… Mrs. Benazir informed me of your stipulations for joining us.” Miss Claymore spun on her heel, not even acknowledging Ashley’s presence. Her black robes swooshed around her ankles, and she strode into the marble hallways with her back as straight as a broomstick.

My sister and I exchanged glances. Ashley whispered, ‘Does she teach potions, too?’

Suppressing a smile, I nudged her on the arm and mouthed at her to shut up.