Elite (Eagle Elite) Read Free Page A

he barked.
    The sound of doors slamming down the hall may as well have been nails in my social coffin. One, two, three, six… I closed my eyes and waited.
    My door was the final one to close, but I hadn’t done the deed. No it was Nixon, and now he was behind me.
    “You don’t like rules, do you, New Girl?” he whispered in my ear. He wasn’t touching me, but my body shivered involuntarily anyways. Treacherous hormones.
    “There is one, final, rule.” Nixon moved from behind me and was now standing a foot away from me.
    “What?” My voice sounded braver than I was feeling.
    He closed the distance between us. I backed up, he pursued.
    The cool metal door met my back making me shiver. My sweat had run cold and now I was completely terrified.
    “You earn the right to use what we have. The elevators are locked. The Elect have copies of the key card. The pools, the weight rooms — everything you have access to, even your food — has a key card.”
    He reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue key card and dangled it in front of me. “Say thank you.”
    “For what?” I would not cry. I would not cry!
    “Allowing you to eat, of course.”
    “What?”
“I’m not finished talking,” he said smoothly. “This key card gains you access into the elevator only once a week. It also gains you access into the cafeteria, twice a day. Not three times. We don’t want you gaining weight. Use it wisely and if you impress me with your ability to follow directions. I may just up your freedom. Until then…” He shrugged and cleared his throat. “Move aside.”
    I couldn’t move. It felt like a nightmare. Who the hell was this guy, and seriously, who made him the president of the school? I was afraid to talk to anyone. Afraid to do anything except stand there and stare at the card in my hand. It said E. E. , but it may as well have said Nixon’s .
    “Move aside,” Nixon repeated, this time his teeth were clenched together. I jerked up my head and looked at him. I mean, really looked at him. His eyes were a crystal blue, like the fires of hell had frozen over and the ice staring back at me was the result of orange flames dying slowly. His entire face was symmetrically perfect. As if some famous supermodel and actor decided they should create a love child and programmed perfection in a computer. His hair fell over his forehead haphazardly.
    Nixon slammed his hand on the door above my head.
    Okay, that was it.
    I could take someone talking down to me. I could take someone making fun of me… I mean, hello? I knew I wasn’t anything important, but for someone to threaten me with violence? To my face? Especially some guy souped up on steroids? Hell. No.
    Something snapped. I pushed against his chest. He stumbled backward, the look on his face changed from complete anger to disbelief.
    “Did you just touch me?”
    “You threatened me.”
    “I threaten everyone.”
    “Then you’re a bully.”
    He opened his mouth and then snapped it shut again. A wicked smile played across his lips. “So you wanted to touch me?”
    “No, I want you to leave me the hell alone.”
    “Say please.”
    “Please?” I begged looking directly into the depths of his soulless eyes.
    “Hell. No,” he whispered and then moved past me and jerked open the door. A girl was waiting outside. He backed into my room and slammed the door again.
    “I thought you were leaving.”
    “Change of plans,” he muttered and then went over to the window and flung it open.
    “What, you’re going to shimmy down the drain pipe?” I joked nervously. If this guy stayed any longer in here I was going to kill him myself.
    “Nixon, open the damn door!” the girl screamed from the other side.
    He laughed and stepped out of the window onto the ledge.
    “Are you insane?” I yelled at him and grabbed his shirt. I would not be witness to his death, even as deserving as it may be.
    “Hands off,” he barked, and then he was flying through the air. Holy hell,