"Where'd you disappear to this time?" Layla asked as Winter slid into her seat. She twisted the ring on her finger, "What do you know about Brenna Abbott?" Mandy scowled, "She is a demon spawn, if not Satan herself. Her hobby happens to be ruining the lives of the weak and innocent." Layla rolled her eyes at the mention of her name, "Her last victim was Scotty Pulsburough. Every day she would do something to humiliate him just because he didn't greet her every time she walked by. When she was done with him, he had to transfer schools and see a therapist regularly for the trauma." Mandy shuttered, "She truly lives up to her title of Ice Queen." Winter smiled, "Does she have any friends?" Layla sneered, "More like lackeys and slaves." Mandy nodded, "She somehow always manages to get her way. It's better to be on her good side." Winter scratched her head, "Too late." Mandy and Layla's eyes snapped to her, "Care to explain?" She shrugged innocently, "I met her on the roof just now and she told me to watch my back. I'm practically shaking."
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 did I do to be blessed to see 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, "Words can be a sharper than sword you know." 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, with a familiar clamor by the back door. Winter had quickly realized that the catalyst for such a scene had given her the cold shoulder several times already. So she ignored the chaos and instead kept her eyes fixated on the basketball court. Jax's expression darkened as he turned to survey the fuss, noticing Sam at the center.
Winter blindly reached around in her bag for her vegan sandwich when her fingers brushed along the spine of the book she had shoved in her bag. 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, "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, "So what ever happened to Lucas? Usually you two are attached at the hip but I haven't seen him around lately." At the mention of Lucas, the air around Jax softened, "His family took him on vacation so he's been gone the past two weeks. Barcelona was it? Whatever, he comes back tomorrow." Mandy grinned, "Somebody misses Lucas." Jax chuckled, "Better not tell him that." 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. 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 ruffled a hand through his hair, "Air conditioning. One of man's greatest inventions." He studied Winter for a moment from the corner of his eye, "You haven't seen the pool yet have you?" Winter's attention was piqued, "There's a pool?" Jax chuckled, "No." Winter lightly shoved him. "I'm messing with you. You think we can afford a movie theater but not a pool?" He smirked knowingly as he started listing off the building's amenities, "There's the theater, the courtyard, the pool, the arcade, the ballroom, the gym, the virtual reality chamber, the detention dungeon, the dorms, the headmaster's wing, the libraries, and the cafeteria." Winter processed each piece of information, "Detention dungeon?" Jax scratched the back of his head, "Well for most students, this is home. So if you get in trouble a certain number of times or do something extreme, you end up in the detention dungeon." At Winter's silence he added, "It's nothing bad. Just regular, ole detention." The lopsided, rugged smile on his face told her enough. He had been a regular of the dungeons. "What about the headmaster's wing?" "No one is allowed there, it's all closed off. Extra security parameters, alarm systems, guards. Dude doesn't mess around. Even ending up ten feet within the wing lands you an earful." "Sounds like you're speaking from experience." He only shrugged, "I'm a curious guy what can I say."