007

KYLIE as Kayden

The second morning, I woke up early—before the triplets. Before they could glare at me, sneer, or throw me out again. I particularly did not want to encounter Ryan again.

I bathed quickly, knowing the water would away the scent suppressors, so i applied another layer since It was a risk for me not to use after bathing—I’d been warned about not using them after bathing, so I had no choice. I couldn’t afford to be discovered.

I slipped out before anyone could wake up and start harassing me about leaving the place. I had to find a place to stay, somewhere safe, somewhere I wouldn’t be tossed out like yesterday. And I needed to be fast in securing the place.

By the time I reached the school, the halls were already buzzing with students. The moment I stepped inside, a strong arm wrapped around my neck in a firm, brotherly grip.

“Hey man!”

I stiffened, intending to push him away, but when I acted I saw that it was just Andrew, the guy I’d met when yesterday. He was laughing, unaware of my discomfort as he leaned on me.

“Were you just about to push me away?” He taunted. “Do I look like I bite?”

I rolled my eyes and slapped his arm off me. “I just don’t want you hanging around my shoulders like that.”

He scrunched his face. "It’s not my fault you’re a foot shorter." Then, he thumped my shoulder. "You’ve got to toughen up, you know? Your skin’s too soft like a woman. Harden up now while you still can—so you can be a broad, strong man and people won't mistake you for a feminine”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” I said sarcastically as I pushed my way through the students, Andrew hanging close. “I had a tough night so let’s not worsen that, hmm?”

“Oh yes that’s true.” He jumped excitedly towards me.

“Your first night with the triplets!” Laughing, he held a hand to his chest. “Tell me about it.”

My jaw clenched. "They threw me out."

His expression shifted, like his laughter was taking a break as he waited for me to finish. "What?"

"They made me sleep outside," I said flatly. "Well, at least until one of them let me back in. But it was only for the night and that was after I had fallen into the trap of a guy like that."

I exhaled sharply. “I really went through a lot.”

Andrew’s laughter came in broken spaces. “Wow. After all this they actually let you back in? Damn.”

I frowned slightly while tilting my face sideways to look at his profile. "Yeah, after making sure I nearly froze first."

He shook his head. "You don’t get it. The triplets don’t do that. They hate people in their space, they don’t let anyone in. You’re lucky, they allowed you to sleep over in their apartment."

"Lucky?" I scoffed. "I need a real place to stay. Can you bring up suggestions on what I can do?"

We walked into the wide hallways as students thinned into their classrooms. Some hung around, discussing.

Andrew ran a hand through his hair. "Well… I would have offer, but I don’t have room either so you can’t stay with me. But, there’s another option.”

“What’s that?”

He suddenly shifted into one of the hallways and started to move in another direction. “Come with me.”

I didn’t exactly trust Andrew, and the last 24 hours had been hell, but I followed anyway. My need to find somewhere to stay far outweighed my sense of safety.

We ended up outside one of the student housing buildings, where a group of older students stood talking. Andrew nudged me forward. "This is a team house. If you manage to get recruited into their team, they’ll let you stay."

I looked at the place. It didn’t really look great and the living conditions of the hostel seemed a bit rough, but maybe this would work. Now I was hopeful. I took Andrew’s hand and stepped forward, but as soon as we were close, someone in the group of students shook their head.

"No more spots," he said bluntly. "We’re full."

Andrew sighed. "We came too late. Their team is full and now they won’t let anyone else in."

I clenched my fists. "So that’s it? There’s nowhere else?" Oh no. This can’t be happening. I need to find a place to stay.

"Not officially," Andrew admitted. "Look, these teams help their own. If you’d gotten in, you’d have had a place until they assigned you a dorm."

“We have to go back to class,” Andrew continued as he started forward. “We must have missed a period or two.”

Frustrated, I followed Andrew back to class. My shoulders ached from the tension of going back to those triplets. I don’t even want to see them again. I was still homeless.

Then, just when I thought my day couldn’t get worse, the basketball team walked in, brushing past us in the hallway, reeking of sweat and loudly gossiping among themselves. Andrew held me back, forcing me to wait as they passed. But then, one of them stopped, turned around, and pointed straight at me.

"You. You are a new student. Come with us."

Confused, I glanced at Andrew, who had gone pale.

"Don’t," he whispered. "They’re bad news."

I hesitated. "But—"

"They’re not what you think," he warned under his breath. "Don’t go."

But they were looking at me. There was no way I could ignore them—not with the way they stood there, staring us down.

Sighing, I stepped forward, hoping this wasn’t just another test meant to wear me down.

“Hey,” I nodded to the boy who had called me over in greeting.

He was a little above average, not that tall but had a great aura. Was he their leader? The rest of them looked towards him like he was their leader.

“I’m Justin, head of the basketball team,” he said as he eyed me. “And you are?”

“I’m Kayden,” I answered, a bit flustered.

“Kayden.” Smirking he motioned to his teammates. .

“We need one more teammate, so care to join?”

I blinked. Could my luck really be shining on me? If I joined their team and became a member, at least I would have a dorm!

Justin frowned. “You don’t have a team, do you?"

I shook my head vigorously. “No, but I’m joining yours!”

He gave me a cocky smirk. “Good. I’ll see you later, then.” He started to walk away.

“Wait!” He stopped and turned back to me. “Do you perhaps offer dormitory services?”

It sounded stupid the moment it came out from my mouth, but I couldn’t help it. I could hear Andrew groaning in embarrassment from where he stood. The teammates even started laughing at me.

“Dormitory services?” Justin snickered, his eyes bright with tears and humor. “No, we do not offer dormitory services, but I will see you soon, okay?”

I watched as they laughed and walked away. I was back to square one—to not having a place to stay.

**************************

After class, I went back to the dorm, hoping that my things were still intact. I’ve had a long, eventful day, and all I just need to do is disappear into the room and never appear again. Perhaps my absence the whole day had convinced the triplets to not react so harshly to me.

This was what I had hoped for when I got there, but upon reaching the dorm, I saw that my things had been thrown outside. Worse, my bag had been rummaged through, and my belongings were scattered everywhere.

I froze in front of it, realizing they must have searched through my under wear, at that moment panic sets in ..what if they have discovered my gender.

“Shit.”