Chapter 5: The Stingers

Life had never been normal at Sunset High, not with all its gangs and drug-dealers. No principal had been able to bring order to this madhouse. Detention didn't work and neither did suspension. Expulsion was not an option, because this was the only school in the small town of Sunset Coast.

My first day of high school and the usual nerves kicked in: I was shaking, like you wouldn't believe. My mind was in a jumble. Would I be able to make friends, cope with the work and somehow still manage to not get involved with the wrong crowd? For the sake of my future, I hoped so.

Then I saw him for the first time: Caspian Gray. He had been my crush since fourth grade. He had probably been everyone's crush at some point. He was also a freshman, but he had somehow already managed to make a whole gaggle of girls fall down at his feet. Besides the girls, he had other company. He was talking to a couple of guys who all wore matching yellow hoodies, with a thin black strip around the waist. The only person who wore yellow and managed to not look like a banana. Well, to be absolutely truthful the boys around him didn't look like bananas either. They looked more like the minions from Despicable Me. I chuckled quietly to myself.

Caspian's eyes met mine. He smiled and waved me over. I nervously walked up to him.

"Hi," I lamely said, and shuffled awkwardly on my feet.

"Hi." This was from a slim girl hanging on to Caspian's arm, as she rolled her eyes at me in a very conspicuous way. Why had Caspian called me here? He already had the perfect supermodel yearning for his attention. My curly, dark, auburn hair was nothing compared to her purple dyed, blow-dried hair. Her figure was absolutely perfect and...

I wasn't trying to remember how jealous Amber Arnold had made me feel. I was trying to remember the fact that the gang Caspian was part of was called the Stingers. All the gang members had tattoos of bees just above their collarbone. Had Asher been part of this gang?

From what I remember the Stingers had a bad rep, always doing stuff that was illegal and getting away with it. Asher wouldn't do anything illegal, but maybe he was forced to by the same person who had murdered him. If Asher's killer was in the same school as him, they wouldn't have to force him to write a suicide note. They could learn his handwriting by looking over his shoulder during class.

Maybe it was the Stingers that caused Principal Hugh's disappearance.

Maybe Principal Hugh's suicide wasn't suicide at all, but a murder committed by the same people who had killed my brother.

I had to speak to someone on the inside, and the only Stinger I knew was Caspian.

I rushed to the school cafeteria. My whole Algebra class had consisted of trying to figure out what to say to Caspian. The cafeteria was like any other cafeteria: circular tables, chairs that hurt your back if you leaned into them and very slippery floors. I couldn't count the number of times the contents of lunch trays were scattered across the floor.

I carefully navigated my way towards the Stingers' table. Eight pairs of eyes turned to look me. I gave them a shy wave with one hand. My other hand held a textbook to my chest, hoping that I could use this book to protect my heart from being hurt by the rude remarks the Stingers would most probably throw my way.

"You can't sit with us," Gregory Small told me. Gregory Small was anything but small. It was ironic that the biggest guy in the school was a Mr Small. He was a six-foot giant with muscles that stuck out of his arms like extra appendages. He had a gruff voice that never failed to send shivers down my spine. Him being intimidating wasn't the only reason he didn't have a girlfriend; he was also incredibly obnoxious.

"Of course she can." Caspian patted the chair next to him. His striped hoodie hid his sun- kissed face from my view. I couldn't see if he actually meant what he said, or if he was just trying to be polite. Either way I was touched at his effort to make me feel comfortable.

"Actually, I just wanted to talk with you," I stated.

"Ok," Caspian said. I waited for him to move away from the table, but he made no move to get up. He just looked up at me expectantly.

I waited with my hands nervously clasped around my textbook. "In private," I said, when he didn't seem to take the hint.

Caspian bolted upright, so quickly that his chair threatened to fall over. He smirked and guided me to one of the many empty tables. Not many people ate at the cafeteria. Most, including myself, brought their own lunch-packs. It was probably the expensive food that kept everybody away, but I liked to think that it was the fear of the Stingers' scrutiny.

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