Chapter 3: The Novak’s

Liam’s P.O.V

When the bell rang later, I sat there, watching as everyone moved with the easy familiarity that said they’d been doing this for years. Books slammed shut, chairs scraped, laughter echoed.

I felt like an outsider.

Thankfully, though, Mia didn’t seem to forget her promise to me. She appeared at my desk, a smile already tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Ready for that tour I promised?”

Before I could answer, another person joined us. I recognized him as the guy sitting next to me. Noah, I think I recall Ms. Rayner said. Now that he was standing, he was quite tall. That, and the nerdy look he had on him probably made him an easy target for bullies.

Mia took one look at our awkward silence and scoffed. “Let me guess; you guys haven’t spoken to each other once even though you’re seatmates.”

“Um,” was the smartest thing I could think of saying.

She rolled her eyes like she expected this. “Do I have to do everything around here?” she sighed. “Fine. Liam, this is Noah. Noah, Liam.”

“Hey, man,” I said with a nod.

“Hey,” he replied. “Welcome to Devil’s Lake High. It’s not as bad as it looks. I think.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

Noah laughed, and just like that, we were walking down the hall together—Mia in the middle, talking as she pointed out different classrooms and bulletin boards covered in faded posters for clubs I doubted anyone actually attended. (I mean, seriously? Oracle Club? Star Wars Club? Come on.)

The hallways looked normal enough at first glance—pale green lockers, flickering fluorescent lights, a faint smell of cleaning supplies and something metallic—but, like in the Devil’s Lake High fashion I was slowly starting to get the hang of, the vibes just seemed off. Strange.

I bit my tongue, forcing myself not to ask a stupid question like, Was this school built over an old graveyard? Lest I end up weirding out the only two people in this godforsaken place who seemed interested in being my friend.

“So,” Mia said after a moment, glancing at me. “Where’d you say you transferred from again?”

“Somewhere in Minneapolis,” I said vaguely. “Just a small town. Nothing worth remembering.”

She nodded, waiting for me to say more, but I didn’t. “And where are you staying now?” she asked instead. It was said lightly, but I clearly heard the barely suppressed curiosity in her tone.

“Uh, near the lake,” I said, adjusting the strap of my backpack. “The Novak mansion.”

The words slipped out before I thought about them too hard, and clearly I shouldn't have said them because Mia stopped walking and Noah slowed, his grin fading slightly.

For a few seconds, neither of them said anything. The hallway seemed to stretch longer than it was, the hum of the lights growing louder in the silence.

“What?” I asked, looking between them. “Did I say something weird?”

Mia blinked, forcing a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “No, it’s just… the Novak place, huh?”

“Yeah.” I frowned. “You know it?”

“Everyone knows it,” Noah said with a weak shrug. “Hard not to. Big house by the water. Kinda hard to miss.”

I stuffed my hands into my pockets. I didn’t know if it was just my imagination, but I could’ve sworn I felt the air around us shift a little colder. “So… what, are they that weird or something?”

Mia tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

I shrugged, trying to sound casual but feeling the edge creep into my voice anyway. “I mean, my stepfamily. The Novak’s. They’re… I don’t know. Off. I can’t explain it. Just this… feeling. Like something’s wrong, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

Mia’s expression changed again, and I had a difficult time trying to read it. It was not quite shocked, but… suddenly alert? Why? “Wrong how?” she asked cautiously.

“I don’t know,” I said, but this time more quietly. The way they were acting made me feel like I’d said something wrong. “Just weird. My stepdad’s always… polite, I guess. Too polite. My mom acts like everything’s perfect, but she’s different around him. And my stepbrother—”

I stopped myself before saying Elijah’s name. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe because even saying it out loud felt like inviting this strange feeling closer.

“—he doesn’t really talk to me. At all. Like I’m not supposed to exist.” I laughed under my breath, but it came out flat. “Anyway, I just… can’t shake the feeling that there’s something they’re not telling me.”

Mia just stared at me, and Noah said nothing. Then, something in her softened face, but not the way I expected. With the strange way she was acting, I’d half-expected she’d agree. But she didn’t lean in conspiratorially and say yeah, they’re creepy as hell. Instead, she looked almost… defensive.

“They’re not that bad,” she said.

I blinked. “What?”

“The Novak’s,” she said. “They’re not bad people. Maybe a little private, but that doesn’t make them weird. Once you get used to them, you’ll be fine.”

“I didn’t say they were bad,” I said slowly. “Just… weird.”

She shook her head, smiling again, but it didn’t reach her eyes this time either. “You’ll see. Devil’s Lake takes some getting used to, that’s all.”

Noah nodded, but he didn’t say anything either. His hands were in his pockets now, eyes fixed on the end of the hall where the doors opened out to the gray light beyond.

We kept walking, and I kept to myself closer. I was genuinely thinking it was something I said. It wasn’t just my imagination—I knew it wasn’t. Every time I said Novak, it was like the world around us seemed to hold its breath for a second too long.

What’s up with that?

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Hey guys, for those who are confused, the plot of the story has changed, as well as the character names. Hope you enjoy the new chapters.