CHAPTER 6 - POLITICAL ENEMIES

The television was already on when Ezra came downstairs.

His father sat at the head of the table with a coffee mug in one hand and a tablet in the other. Across the screen, Senator Ryland stood behind a podium answering questions from reporters.

“…and if elected, I intend to continue supporting educational reform across the state..."

His father snorted.

“Educational reform.”

Ezra’s mother looked up from her breakfast.

“Thomas.”!!!

“What?” he asked. “The man has spent six months repeating the same speech.”

The reporter asked another question.

Senator Ryland smiled for the cameras.

His father immediately looked annoyed.

“There’s that smile again.”

“Good morning to you too,” Ezra muttered.

His mother hid a smile behind her coffee cup.

His father pointed a fork at him.

“Don’t start.”

“I’m not starting anything.”

“Tell that to the Rylands.”

Ezra groaned.

There it was.

The daily ritual.

The Monroe-Ryland feud had become so normal that nobody in town questioned it anymore. Reporters loved it. Voters loved it. Everyone loved it except the families themselves or at least that was what Ezra assumed, he grabbed a piece of toast and headed for the door before the conversation could continue.

“Fundraiser next Friday,” his father called after him.

Ezra stopped.

“What about it?”

His father exchanged a look with his mother.

“Just be on your best behavior.”

“Why are you looking at me when you say that?”

His mother laughed.

“Have a good day, sweetheart.”

Ezra shook his head and escaped before either of them could say anything else.

By the time he arrived at school, everyone seemed to be talking about the fundraiser.

Students clustered around lockers, exchanging gossip.

Teachers looked stressed.

Even Principal Lawson looked like he hadn’t slept.

Ezra had barely reached his locker when he heard his name.

“Monroe.”

Not Jace.

Worse.

Logan Pierce.

One of the football players.

Ezra turned around.

“What?”

Logan grinned.

“You excited for next week?”

“No.”

“Smart answer.”

His friends laughed.

“Maybe this year our senator finally finishes off Ryland.”

Ezra rolled his eyes and turned back to his locker.

Big mistake.

Logan stepped closer.

“What’s wrong?”

Nothing.

Everything.

The usual.

Before Ezra could answer, another voice cut through the hallway.

“Pierce.”

The laughter vanished immediately.

Ezra froze.

Jace stood a few feet away.

One hand tucked into his pocket.

Expression unreadable.

Logan frowned.

“What?”

Jace’s gaze shifted toward him.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

The silence that followed felt strange.

Logan looked annoyed.

Jace looked bored.

A second later, Logan scoffed and walked away with the rest of the football players trailing behind him.

Ezra stared.

Jace looked back.

“What?”

“You just told your friend to leave.”

“So?”

“So that’s new.”

Jace shut his locker.

“He’s an idiot.”

The answer caught Ezra off guard.

Before he could think of a response, Jace started walking away.

The conversation should have ended there.

Instead, Jace glanced over his shoulder.

“You coming?”

Ezra blinked.

“What?”

“English.”

The bell rang overhead.

Students immediately rushed toward class.

For some reason, Jace was still standing there waiting.

Ezra hated that his pulse sped up.

“Right.”

Together, they headed down the hallway.

Not side by side.

Not exactly.

But close enough for people to notice.

And people definitely noticed.

Whispers followed them the entire way.

By lunchtime, the rumors had multiplied.

Sophie dropped into the seat across from Ezra carrying her tray.

“You and Jace walked to class together.”

Ezra groaned.

“Please don’t.”

“It’s already spreading.”

“Fantastic.”

“I’m serious.”

She pointed her fork at him.

“People are talking.”

“When are they not talking?”

“Fair.”

She stole one of his fries.

“The fundraiser is next week.”

Ezra immediately regretted sitting down.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Your families.”

He sighed.

Of course.

“The fundraiser is basically a Monroe-Ryland cage match with finger foods.”

Despite himself, Ezra laughed.

Sophie looked pleased.

“See? Even you know it’s true.”

Unfortunately, she wasn’t wrong.

Every year both families attended.

Every year reporters showed up.

Every year someone said something they shouldn’t.

The town treated it like a sporting event.

The final bell rang later that afternoon.

Students flooded out of classrooms.

Ezra was shoving books into his backpack when a shadow appeared beside his desk.

He didn’t need to look up.

“What now?”

Jace pulled out the chair beside him and sat down.

“We need to start the project.”

Ezra zipped his bag shut.

“We have weeks.”

“We have research.”

“We have the internet.”

Jace looked unimpressed.

For a moment neither spoke.

The classroom gradually emptied around them until only a handful of students remained.

Mr. Holloway was organizing papers at his desk.

A few girls lingered by the door.

Watching.

Waiting.

Probably hoping for entertainment.

“We’re meeting Saturday,” Jace said.

Ezra nodded.

“The library.”

“My house.”

“No.”

Jace blinked.

“No?”

“The library.”

A slow smile appeared on Jace’s face.

“Afraid of me?”

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

The smile widened.

Ezra immediately regretted answering.

Jace looked entirely too pleased.

“The library it is.”

He stood and slung his backpack over one shoulder.

As he turned toward the door, one of the girls whispered something to her friend.

Both immediately started laughing.

Jace ignored them.

Halfway out the classroom, he stopped.

“One o’clock.”

Ezra looked up.

“What?”

“Saturday.”

Then he walked away.

Just like that.

No joke.

No insult.

Ezra stared after him until he disappeared into the hallway.

Only when he was gone did Ezra realize something unsettling.

That had been the longest conversation they’d ever had.

And somehow, that bothered him more than all the times Jace had made him the joke.