Chapter One

"I want everyone to put away their books," said Professor Rumpkin. April could hear her classmates chattering excitedly. Class was almost over. It was a beautiful day outside, and everyone was eager to enjoy the fresh air after a long winter. "But don't leave yet."

The class let out a collective groan.

Next to her she could see Cody Aspen rolling his eyes, yet again.

"I have one little exercise for you before you go. I know we'd all like to get out and enjoy the day, but please five more minutes."

The class started at him expectantly.

"Each and every one of you are here for some reason. I want you to take five minutes and reflect upon why you are here and what brought you to this moment."

"Are we getting graded?" called out a voice.

"No," he said. "You don't even have to write it down."

More mumbles sounded throughout the classroom.

"But that doesn't mean you can just blow off the assignment. I want you to take five minutes right now and think about it," he continued, over the groans of his students.

April smiled and sat back in her chair. It wasn't often that she had time to just sit back for five minutes. It wasn't a difficult question to answer. She was here because there wasn't any other option. She'd known she would be going into a law program since she was five years old and picked up her father's old law book. He had laughed when he saw her trying to understand the words on the page.

She'd never even considered any other options. This was what she was going to do. This was her legacy. She would finish getting her degree and then take over her father's law firm. For the moment, it was being run by her father's business associate, Matthew D. Garnett. Matt was a good guy. It was nice to have him around, most of the time.

She was three years into her undergraduate degree, and still just as enthusiastic about as she was on her first day. She glanced around. Some people were still thinking. Other people weren't even trying to pretend they were thinking about it. In front of her, she could see a boy playing Flappy Bird.

Cody Aspen was doodling in his notebook. She knew most of the people in the room. There were only so many Legal Studies majors at the school. The program was amazing, but the school only accepted the very best, and April knew it was pricey. That didn't matter to her, of course, but she'd known several people who weren't able to attend anymore due to the cost.

It wasn't a large lecture size class at all. They didn't have those there. Everything was done in small groups. There were about twenty people in the class, tops.

The boy in the front playing Flappy Bird was Hunter. April knew that he wanted to go into copy right law, and work in a video game company making sure no one got sued. He was particularly interested in parody games, like Fall Out Bird.

There was only one face in the class that was new to her. Nika Jacobs. The rest of them had been here since Day 1, because New Field accepted very few transfer students. Somehow, Nika Jacobs had gotten past that. April wasn't sure how. It was her first semester there, and she was already being placed in upper level classes. April couldn't get a good read on her. She wasn't one for speaking up during class. She tended to stay to herself and not socialize with the rest of the group. April had considered inviting her out sometime, just to welcome her to the school, but she hadn't had a chance. Things had been busy lately and there were more important priorities to worry about.

Before she could stop it, her mind drifted off to her ever growing to do list. There was homework, of course. There was always homework, piles and piles of homework. She doubted she would ever get to the end of it. Once she had done all that was in urgent need of doing, she would have to put aside the rest and move on to sorting through her father's papers. Matt had done what he could, but there were some things she had to sign off on. He had offered to help her go through it, but she'd declined. She didn't need him for this, and honestly, he had enough to do. There wasn't any need to give him more to do. It was Thursday. She would do all of that tonight. Tomorrow night, she had plans with Mandy. She made sure that she had one night off every week. It was something her dad had taught her when she was little. Rest and relaxation was a very important part of being successful. If you weren't at your best, you wouldn't be able to do your best.

She had clung on to that through high school, when she spent her nights writing honors papers. It served her now just as much.

"Okay, class," said Professor Rumpkin. He was a short little man, who taught largely with bad jokes and often angrily ranted about the portrayal of the American Legal system in the media. "Have a good weekend. Don't do anything illegal." The class laughed. "I'll see you all next week."

April stood, and gathered her belongings. It was her last class, so she headed out of the building. She waved to quite a few people before she got out the door. Her car was parked near the front, like always.

Dean Hamburger, whose name had always amused her as a child, had saved a special spot for her. She hadn't asked for it. She honestly didn't mind walking to her car, but he had insisted. He wanted to do whatever he could to keep the Scott's happy. Her father had been a big investor.

Cody Aspen walked by as she was unlocking her car, and she could see him shaking his head. She wasn't stupid, she knew he didn't like her. She was only partially sure why, but that didn't matter. She wasn't one of those people who needed everyone to like her. She'd known him for years though.

"Fuck," she heard someone say behind her. She turned, the door of her car already open. Cody was standing there with his head leaning on his car.

"Need some help?" she asked. He turned to look at her slowly.

"Locked my keys in my car," he said, looking somewhat reluctant to talk to her. "Doubt you can help me with that."

"I've got a phone, if you need to call someone."

"It's okay," he said. "I've got mine too. Thank you though."

The thanks sounded forced. April shrugged and got into her car. She'd offered, not much more she could do.

Cody Aspen banged his head against the car. Of course, he would be the one to lock his keys in his car. There weren't too many people around. April Scott was driving away. She wasn't much help, and even if she could have been, he didn't want help from her. She was a spoiled little rich girl. She was only here because her Daddy gave money to the school.

"Need some help?" asked a voice behind him. He turned around. Oh. The new girl. He wasn't sure he'd ever heard her voice before, but it was different than he'd expected. An accent he couldn't quite identify.

"Not unless you know how to get my keys out of a locked car," he said with an attempt at a smile. No need to snap at the poor girl. It didn't seem like she had many friends in the area.

"How opposed to illegal measures are you?" she asked, a small smile forming on her face. He looked at her in surprised. "I can pick the lock and get you in."

"Uh," he said. He wasn't expecting that. She seemed so innocent. The kind of girl who never said anything in class, but always knew the right answer anyway. "Sure. Thank you."

"No problem," she said. "Hold my bag?"

He took her bag and she fiddled around with his lock. Three minutes later, the car door was open and the keys were in his hand.

"Thank you so much," he said, grateful. "I would have been stuck here all day if it weren't for you. How'd you learn how to do that?"

"Oh, it was a long time ago. In a place you've probably never heard of."

"Try me."

She just laughed, and took her bag back.

"Wait!" he called after her as she started to walk away. "I... What are you doing after this?"

"No idea. Why?"

"Would you like to go to Starbucks with me? As a thank you?"

She laughed. He liked the song of her laugh. It was... happy.

"Are you trying to ask me out, Cody?"

"No! I... Maybe. I don't know. I just wanted to say thank you."

"Okay," she said. "I guess I might as well."

He wasn't sure how he'd never really payed attention to her before. She was a pretty girl, with a nice smile. He didn't think he'd ever seen her smile before, but maybe he just wasn't looking.

He held open the door and she got in. He quickly went around the other side and started up the car.

"So," he said. "You're new here."

"Gee, you've got a real good grasp on the obvious there."

"And you've got a real good grasp on how to pick locks."

"I've got a good grasp on a good deal of things.

"Do you?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

"I'm surprised you're here at all, to be honest."

"Why? Think I'm not good enough to be at a prestigious little snotty school like New Field?"

"Not at all," he backtracked, careful not to offend her. "It's just that... New Field almost never accepts transfer students. Which means you must be pretty damn good in order to get in as a transfer."

"Oh," she said, calmed. "I didn't know that."

"Really? I'm surprised. I thought everyone knew that."

"I guess I must have missed that one."

He laughed.

"Wow," he said. "You're damn good, and you don't even know it."

"Oh no," she said with a laugh. "I know I'm good. I'm just new around here, that's all."

"Where are you from, originally?"

"Poland."

"Poland? Are you an exchange student, or a transfer?"

"Transfer," she said. "I live here now, forever."

"Wow!" he said. He thought of his little brothers and sister at home. He didn't think he would be able to leave home forever. "I don't think I could move so far away from home."

She shrugged.

"I like it here. I'd rather be there than there."

"Why?"

"You make more money here. But everything costs more. I don't know. I live a good life here, that's all I really need."

"Did you transfer from a school in Poland?"

"You ask a lot of questions," she said. "I can't even remember your name."

"Cody Aspen," he told her. "And you're Nika Jacobs."

"Correct," she said. "How'd you know?"

"You're the new girl. Everyone knows who you are. I told you, we don't get new students very often."

"Everyone, huh?"

"Of course," he said. "It's a small school. Everyone knows everyone."

"I'm not used to that," she said. "My last school, it was a big school. Lots of people. We knew practically no one."

"Which do you like better?"

"I don't know," she said with a shrug. "They're just different... not better or worse. Different."

"Different," he repeated. "I like that."

"As do I. Things don't have to be better or worse than each other. I hate when people ask me to chose which things I like better when I like them equally. They never accept no for an answer. They say, well what one would you chose, if you know, you had to? I say the answer is different every day and they don't listen to me."

"People have never been known for being the best listeners."

"And yet, we probably are. Think of the rest of the world, when you take out the people, all you are left with are the animals. They may not talk over you, but they also have no idea what you're saying. Not the best listeners, I'm afraid."

"I don't know," he said. "I like to think that animals understand at least the basic idea of what we're saying. Maybe not the words themselves, but the emotion behind them."

"Oh yes. Animals know what we mean. They don't know what we say. They're attentive, and they respond, but they aren't truly listening. They're observing. It's less from our voices, and more from our body language."

"I guess you make a point there. I was thinking about my dog, and how he goes over to my brother and can tell when he's upset. But you're right. It's not about the words my brother is saying, it's about the way my brother is acting."

"Exactly. Dogs are good like that. They just want to make their owners happy."

"Do you have a dog?"

She shook her head.

"I had one once, when I was a little girl. But it's been a long time. What about you?"

"Yeah, I've got a golden retriever."

"Those are cute. What's his name?"

"Princess Samuel McWinterson, Sam for short."

"What an interesting name. Tell me there's a story behind it."

"There is," he told her as they pulled into the cafe. "We let my little siblings name him. My one brother, Tad, wanted to name him Sam. Tad was the one who found him, so we decide that he got to pick the name. But then my other brother, Hugo, wanted to name him something ridiculous. I don't even remember the rest of it, but it ended in McWinterson. And then my little sister, Danni, was very insistent that we name the dog Princess, so we switched the name from Sir Samuel McWinterson to Princess Samuel McWinterson."

"That's a lot of little siblings. Three?"

"Five, actually."

"Wow," she said. "I can't imagine what it must be like to have that many people in a house."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"I don't see my family anymore," she said, pushing her door open.

"Are they still in Poland?"

"I wouldn't know," she said. "I've been here for a few years. And even before that, I wasn't really in contact with them."

"Oh," he said. "I can't imagine what that must be like. I've had siblings around all my life."

"You're lucky," she said.

He didn't press her any further, because they had reached the entrance.

"What do you want?" he asked. "It's on me."

"A hot chocolate would be fine with me."

"That's it?"

"Yeah," she said. "I don't need much. I've never been much of a coffee drinker."

"I love it. I've been drinking coffee for years. It's hard to get everything done without it."

She shrugged.

"If you never have it, you don't develop the dependency on it, and your body doesn't require it to function. I won't go near anything addictive."

"That's probably a good plan. I can't go a day without my morning coffee."

They sat down at one of the little tables by the window, where they could see the cars moving around outside in the parking lot. There were seagulls out there too.

"Tell me about your siblings," she said, relaxing back into her arm chair.

"My siblings? Uh, okay. There isn't much to tell."

"Well, who are they?" she prodded.

"Well, there's Tad. He's the one who found Sam. He loves adventures and often wanders off on his own. And then there's Reid. They're twins, but they couldn't be more different. Reid is very social and Tad's more of a loner. Then there's Hugo. He's a smart ass, always saying things and mouthing off to people he shouldn't. Dani's the youngest, she's only eight."

"That's only four. Earlier, you said five."

"The fifth is... Morgan. Morgan's the second oldest, seventeen. I don't even know what to say about Morgan. ...e's a very interesting person, but really weird."

"How so?"

"I don't really know how to describe it, honestly. I've told you plenty about me, don't I get to know a little about you?"

"There isn't too much to know."

"Bullshit," he said. "There's lots to know. You just don't want me to know it."

"That may well be true."

"I won't push if you don't want me to. I just... Honestly, I think you're fascinating and I want to learn more about you."

"Maybe another time," she said. "I don't know you very well. I'm not sure if I can trust you."

"That's fair enough. I understand."

"You do?" She sounded surprised to hear him say that. He wondered why. Of course he understood. It was perfectly natural to not want to tell people things about yourself, if you didn't know them. Stranger danger, and all that.

"Of course. You're obviously a very private person. You don't know me. For all you know, I'm going to leak anything you tell me to everyone else."

"Would you?"

"No. I wouldn't do that."

"Good to know," she said, with a glance at her watch. "Uh, I should probably get going."

"Of course," he said, jumping up. "Do you need a ride anywhere?"

"Back to the school, if you don't mind."

"Of course," he said. "Let's go."

She thanked him with a smile as he dropped her off, and disappeared into the building. He pulled away from the curb.

That was a delightfully unexpected meeting, he thought. He hadn't spent much time thinking about the new girl before that, but he kind of wished he had. She was a very interesting person. A lot of the usual cliched mystery that surrounded new girls. He wondered if it as an act, or if she really had things she didn't want to talk about. There were some people who acted more mysterious than they actually were. Morgan did that sometimes.

He was inclined to believe that Nika was acting genuinely though. He wasn't sure what it was. It was just a gut instinct. He knew he shouldn't rely on those as a basis of his opinion, after all, they basically meant nothing. There must be something behind it, but he wasn't sure what it was.

In a school where everyone knew everything about each other, it was hard to believe that he hadn't even known she was from another country before. He didn't know much about Poland. it wasn't one of the countries they ever talked about in history class, other than a passing mention when it got invaded from time to time.

"April!" called a voice as soon as she entered the house. She stopped in her tracks. Was there someone there?

A body rounded the corner. Of course.

"Matt," she said, taking a deep breath. "You scared me. I didn't know you were here."

"Sorry, he said with a sheepish grin. "I was looking for you."

"Obviously. I was in class."

She put her bag down on the table and made her way into the house. Matt had made himself at home in the living room. He followed.

"I got a call from the security company earlier."

"Oh?"

"Seems there was a sketchy guy lurking around earlier, and they were concerned."

April sighed.

"I doubt it was much of a threat. Probably some guy I met last week or something."

"There's a picture," he said, passing it over.

April glanced down. Nate. Of course. That shouldn't be a surprise.

"Nate," she said. "He's not a threat. Matt, you guys really need to get better at working out what is and is not a threat. Nate's been hanging around for awhile now, like a month. I don't need a call every time some guy comes to see me. I doubt anyone is going to break in here."

"Don't be so sure," he said. "Your father's orders..."

"I know my father's orders. But my father isn't here, is he? I appreciate the security. I really do. It's nice to feel safe all the time, but I don't need to get a call every time the guy I've been seeing comes around. Or a surprise visit."

"We're only thinking of your safety, Miss Scott."

"Oh don't you 'Miss Scott' me, Matt. I've had enough of this fake formal attitude."

Matt sighed and sat down on the couch. She was right. He'd been far too formal lately.

"Sorry. I'm just... I'm trying my best to manage your father's business, April. He's got a lot going on, and he spent a lot of his time worrying about you."

"I know he did," said April with a sigh. "I just... Don't you think I'm old enough to worry about yourself?"

"A father's worry isn't something that decreases with age."

"I know that. But he's not here anymore, Matt. We both know that. We can't go on acting like you have to take his place. You don't. I'd rather have you as a friend, than as someone who is trying to replace my father."

Matt nodded.

"Friends then?"

"Friends," she said with a smile.

"So tell me about this Nate boy," he said as he walked into the kitchen. April leaned up against the wall.

She rolled her eyes, but a small smile played on her face.

"Not much to tell. I met him a few months ago. He's a good guy, I guess."

"You don't sound very enthusiastic."

"I'm not."

Matt came back into the room with one eyebrow arched and a beer in hand.

"And you're still with this kid?"

"It's nothing serious," she said. "Just a fling, of sorts. A way to get my energy out."

"Be careful," he said.

"I know, I know," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Don't you have work to be doing?"

"There's always work to be done. But it can wait. I wanted to check up on you, make sure you're doing okay."

"I'm fine, Matt."

"How are classes going?"

"As good as always, of course."

"That's my girl. Top of your class?"

"Could be," she said. She wasn't always. It wasn't because she wasn't good, but because everyone there was good. Sometimes, there was only so much information that could be packed into one exam. She got all A's, of course. But it wasn't always enough. Not with this crowd. Cody Aspen had beaten her a few times. She didn't mind, of course. It wasn't always important to be the best. It was important to do your best.

"Should be."

"Yes, Matt," she said with a roll of her eyes. It was an attitude that Matt shared with her father, the desire to always be the best. April knew it was important to be on the top, but there was only so far she was willing to go for that. There were other things in life.

"Alright," he said, standing from the couch. "I've got to head out. Amy's waiting for me."

"Have fun," she said with a smile. Amy was his girlfriend. She was the first of his girlfriends that he'd actually bothered to introduce to April. That meant it must be getting serious. She seemed like a nice enough lady, a little on the bossy side. It suited Matt though.

He laughed, and gave her a quick hug before disappearing out the front door.

April sighed and settled herself down on the couch for a moment. The house felt so empty without him in it.

She could remember the days when it was filled with so much life that it felt like she could hardly find a place to hear herself think. It hadn't been like that since before her dad died. Having that many people here now felt weird, like it would be disrespectful to him to have a party without asking, even though he wasn't around to answer anymore.

She sighed and picked herself up again. Might as well go upstairs and get her homework done. There was a paper due tomorrow, and she should really be working on the research for the ones due next week.

Her steps echoed loudly in the empty house. Sometimes, she wished it was still full of life. She got more done now that there weren't any distractions, but it was lonely. There wasn't anyone to talk to. There wasn't anyone to ask how her day was.

Matt was there, sometimes, but it wasn't the same. He tried his best to be there for her, in the way her father was. It just wasn't the same. She felt like he was trying too hard, and not hard enough, all at the same time.

Enough of those kind of thoughts. It was time to get down to homework. That was what was important now, getting a good grade on this paper.

She had work to do.