Mandy and Layla glanced over at her, as Winter entered the classroom. "Where did you go?" Layla asked. Winter shrugged, "Just to check something out." She turned her hands over, "Do you guys know Brenna Abbott?" Mandy scowled, "Yeah we know her. She is a demon spawn, if not Satan herself. Her hobby happens to be ruining innocent people's lives." Layla rolled her eyes, "Her last victim was Scotty Pulsburough. Every day she would do something to humiliate him just because he was shy and didn't greet her every time she walked by. He didn't fit into her perfect image of the school. When she was done with him, he had to transfer schools and get a regular therapist for the trauma." Mandy shuttered, "She truly lives up to her image as the evil ice queen." Winter smiled, "Does she have any friends?" Layla sneered, "I would consider them more as lackeys and slaves than friends." Mandy nodded, "Most everyone does what she asks one way or another. You'll find it's better to be on her good side." Winter scratched her head, "Too late." Mandy and Layla's eyes snapped to her, "What did you mean?" Winter looked at her nails, "Nothing much. I met her on the roof just now and she told me to watch my back." Mandy and Layla paled, "Well it seems like you've made her enemy list." "Look at me I'm practically shaking," Winter said sarcastically as her friends laughed. "Fearless or not, we've got your back no matter what." Winter smiled, "Thanks you guys."
The lunch bell rang and they decided to eat outside by the basketball court. Jax strode up to them, "Ladies." He gave them a mock bow, "What gives me the pleasure of seeing your beautiful faces three times in one day?" Winter shooed him away, "Buzz off Jax, we're trying to enjoy our lunch." Jax feigned a pain in his chest, "Hurts Knight. Words can hurt." Layla and Mandy giggled into their hands and Winter rolled her eyes. Jax took the seat next to her. Winter's eyes drifted to where some of the boys were playing basketball. There was clamor by the back door but Winter got to know that the only thing that could prompt that kind of noise at this school had given her the cold shoulder several times already. Winter ignored the chaos and instead kept her eyes fixated on the basketball court. Jax's expression darkened as he turned to monitor the fuss, realizing who stood at the center. Mandy and Layla noticed the look on his face and understood that Sam was in his line of sight. Winter stretched her legs and blindly reached in her bag for her vegan sandwich. Her fingers brushed along the spine of the book she had shoved in her bag. Jax tried to look over her shoulder in her bag before she pushed him away, "Got any snacks in there?" Winter closed her eyes briefly, "Not for you." Jax puffed, "So greedy." Winter pulled out her sandwich as Jax watched. She ate only two bites before Jax exclaimed, "What is that?" Winter felt an imposing stare on her coming from a distance, but she glanced at her sandwich, unfazed, "My lunch?" Jax snatched it from her and turned it over. "This is not edible. It's grass." Winter plucked it from his grasp, "My mom made it for me. Either way, whatever it is, it's mine. Paws off." Jax smirked, but he seemed to sense the stare too now and he looked around. He glared threateningly at the crowd that gathered to the right side of the basketball court. Layla caught the change in the atmosphere almost immediately, "Jax?" Jax turned towards Layla. "What happened to Lucas? Usually you two are always together but I haven't seen him around lately." At the mention of Lucas, the air around Jax softened. Winter noted the effect. "His family took him on vacation for the past two weeks. I think they went to Barcelona. He comes back tomorrow." Mandy grinned, "Somebody misses Lucas." Jax chuckled, "Better not tell him that." Winter continued staring at the basketball court as she finished her lunch. Jax glanced between her and her friends, "She really likes basketball that much?" Mandy shrugged and Layla disagreed, "I don't think it has anything at all to do with the sport." Mandy smiled smugly and glanced at Winter, "You think it's more about the mystery. The allure of the hidden truths." Layla tilted her head, "I think it's more about people-watching than it is about the game." Jax laughed, "That's really all you do, isn't it?" Winter didn't look at them, "Now you decided to include me in the conversation?" They laughed. Mandy fixed an earring that was coming loose, "Well you seemed to be rather preoccupied." Winter narrowed her eyes at the court and saw that Brenna was glowering at her from within the crowd. She scoffed. There was an abrupt uproar from the females in the crowd and it didn't take long for Winter to find out the reason. Mandy cursed under her breath. Winter caught a glimpse of Sam taking off his shirt and getting on the basketball court before she rolled her eyes and stood up. Jax spit on the ground in front of him. Mandy didn't notice Winter or Jax, as her eyes were glued to the game. Layla, without taking her eyes off the court asked, "Where are you going?" Winter mumbled, "Anywhere but here." Mandy and Layla ignored her. Jax stood too, "Agreed."
Jax and Winter went back inside the school. Jax ruffled a hand through his hair, "Air conditioning is so nice." He studied Winter for a moment from the corner of his eye, "Wait you're new?" Winter didn't respond. She was beginning to wonder if he had anything going on inside his head. "You haven't seen the pool yet have you?" At that, Winter's attention was piqued, "There's a pool?" Jax chuckled, "No." Winter lightly shoved him. "No I'm messing with you. What, you think we can afford a movie theater but not a pool and an arcade?" Winter gasped, "There's an arcade?" "Yep and a mall." Jax relented, "Okay there's no mall but there's the theater, the courtyard, a pool, an arcade, a ballroom, a gym, a virtual reality chamber, detention dungeon, the dorms, the headmaster's wing, a library, and the cafeteria." Winter processed each piece of information Jax had unknowingly provided her with. "Wait. Detention dungeon?" Jax scratched the back of his head, "Well for most students, this is their home. They're being raised here. If you get in trouble a certain number of times or do something extreme, you end up in the detention dungeon." Winter pieced it together in her head. When Jax noticed the look on her face he added, "It's nothing too bad. Just regular, ole detention." The lopsided, rugged smile on his face told her enough. He had visited the detention dungeon throughout the years, more than he'd liked. Winter thought of something else, "What about the headmaster's wing?" "No one is allowed in the headmaster's wing. Since he's super secretive, it's all locked off. Extra security parameters, alarm systems, guards, he doesn't mess around. If you even end up ten feet within the wing you'll wind up in major trouble." "Sounds like you're speaking from experience." Jax snorted, "Wouldn't you like to know." "But it also sounds to me like he's practically begging someone to try and find him." Jax's eyes widened, "I wouldn't push it Winter."