Roads. They all just connect to each other to lead to a939Please respect copyright.PENANAah9IWMmRmE
specific destination. It’s like you need to memorize a specific combination—or939Please respect copyright.PENANAWxAmZNCf8e
two—just to end up with an even more specific outcome. But how do we remember939Please respect copyright.PENANAQP1UeYoqS9
the longest of combinations, like the one Ms. Sara Leslie had to memorize to939Please respect copyright.PENANA37eOE5ymAO
get to the Airbnb she rented. The same Airbnb she was driving Caspian Grenfield939Please respect copyright.PENANAL5JCC2w6bq
and all the other seven chosen boys were headed to.
“How did they even get there?” you may ask. Well, you see…
“Will Caspian Grenfield, Isaac Blueburn, Jax Jackson,939Please respect copyright.PENANAVAeBbK3QeT
Robinson Wyatt, Lee Emmet, Caleb and William Otto, and Mason Emalia please939Please respect copyright.PENANAEvLaZGFyhS
report to the principal’s office right now?”
Caspian flinched upon hearing his name come out of their939Please respect copyright.PENANAj0Z57b3eY4
school’s intercom. It was especially shocking to hear it along with those other939Please respect copyright.PENANAvxue4CQni3
names. He was a bit terrified of the thought that he might’ve become a939Please respect copyright.PENANAbPi9Xgd4Do
delinquent. I mean, yes, he is over exaggerating, but could you really939Please respect copyright.PENANAjl3GlGyeJ0
blame him? He was one of those kids who always passed their homework on time939Please respect copyright.PENANAjB3fu8dfPd
and has never had a grade lower than above average. He was always avoiding939Please respect copyright.PENANAGBiZXuyGDh
trouble wherever he went, and it just wasn’t normal to hear his name being used939Please respect copyright.PENANAvVQHKkIapy
along with all those others. Or at all.
He knew it must’ve been a mistake, so he ignored it and calmed939Please respect copyright.PENANAX8yz7NR4pI
himself down. Until the intercom called again.
Now this time, he knew it was real. His palms were damp, and939Please respect copyright.PENANANW8UEDB2Fy
his legs shook. He looked and acted as if he was actually gonna face an939Please respect copyright.PENANAEg8ZRSHkSb
executioner than a principal. Little did he know that it was absolutely nothing939Please respect copyright.PENANAEsgNkffxmo
like that at all.
…
“You called to see me, Ma’am…?”
When Caspian peeped into the principal’s office, his stomach939Please respect copyright.PENANAzRHpvxRss6
dropped. William Otto, Mason Emalia, and Jax Jackson stared at him, sitting on939Please respect copyright.PENANA44D9TU55nx
the three single armchairs along the side of the room. Their attention was939Please respect copyright.PENANAO3Kn0O2ajA
consumed by his presence, and he didn’t like it.
William Otto was an Alpha, the kind that shows it without939Please respect copyright.PENANAASEKUisMM0
effort at all. The doctors found out as soon as he was born—and that barely939Please respect copyright.PENANAo8zrYRuHu8
even happens. When he was going through puberty, he went from 4’11 to 5’9 in939Please respect copyright.PENANANHyW4kS2Iz
less than three years. People thought that he was fifteen when he was actually939Please respect copyright.PENANAHDxTRZO3ws
just twelve. Now that he’s a senior, he stood at 6’2—and that’s why it’s quite939Please respect copyright.PENANAJNwDcOYr5x
difficult to walk through the halls now without getting so much attention.
Though Will looked like the kind of Alpha that could939Please respect copyright.PENANAiVnbj8WGRW
kill a Grizzly Bear, he didn’t act like it. Yes, he was tall, had broad939Please respect copyright.PENANAxbkxrq3GxM
shoulders, and had abs that could bite; but he wasn’t all that. He was939Please respect copyright.PENANAXBWWJfqzCo
kind, compassionate, and really, really friendly. He was the type of guy939Please respect copyright.PENANAcYI5g8dlaj
you could depend on and talk to. He could work in groups of eight and make sure939Please respect copyright.PENANAqD6jq1XT6d
everyone had a job to do—and you wouldn’t feel the pressure of doing too much939Please respect copyright.PENANAQYrDX4l1qt
work. He was a sensitive giant, a large teddy bear. That was kind of why he was939Please respect copyright.PENANAjkV9Kibyvd
the student body president.
Mason Emalia was the Star Player of their basketball team.939Please respect copyright.PENANAYIAAXZUFLR
Though his performance at school wasn’t the best, he’d always make it up to you939Please respect copyright.PENANAyuHNaVnWFW
on the court. He was a ruthless player and a worthy opponent. The only thing939Please respect copyright.PENANAQVKGAbTkZi
you could beat him at was chess. Jeez, he hated chess.
And finally, Jax Jackson, the mischief. He was the definition939Please respect copyright.PENANA1FDRXCShIu
of “gay and ready to play”—it’s true, he’s the one who made it. Though nobody939Please respect copyright.PENANA6ZQhGPBvhc
really knew where he landed on the spectrum, everyone at school knew that he939Please respect copyright.PENANA6Ww0wdkFTQ
was only interested in men. All the girls would ever hear about him were, “I939Please respect copyright.PENANAtS560wBJVT
don’t know why, but he was amazing in bed,” and the like. There was even a939Please respect copyright.PENANAELqijgwxvw
rumor the spread like wildfire about him being able to get into their science939Please respect copyright.PENANAoXto5XhaPd
teacher’s pants—who was at least forty years old for your information.
Seeing all these boys here made Caspian feel so small, as if939Please respect copyright.PENANAf7MxXG2paH
he was just a puny ant who could get stepped on in any minute. It terrified him939Please respect copyright.PENANAUDyP5pfR1p
to the bone. And this was just the first three, where were the other four?
“Caspian, please have a seat while we wait for the others,”939Please respect copyright.PENANATZ1Sim2Iqk
Principal Gwen said calmly as she gestured to the seats in front of his desk.
Caspian took a seat on the couch in front of the three other939Please respect copyright.PENANA05IW1ZcHAF
boys who watched his every move (But that was what Caspian thought. They were939Please respect copyright.PENANAXKz6klHhwv
actually just bored out of their minds right now.)
They silently waited. All they could ever hear was the939Please respect copyright.PENANAXqowTQcXhX
tapping of their Principal’s computer keys. Tik, tik, tik, they went.
Finally, the silence was broken when someone opened the door.939Please respect copyright.PENANAFl98QHs6Kz
Another one of the eight boys who were beckoned by their intercom. And who939Please respect copyright.PENANAQ6HaVD8UTa
exactly? None other than Robinson Wyatt, Caspian’s one and only childhood939Please respect copyright.PENANAcwkVon6eMB
crush.
They weren’t close when Caspian first saw him, but he thought939Please respect copyright.PENANAsykYVvt6ud
that Robbie was… cool. He watched him play around in the playground from a939Please respect copyright.PENANASMKUI8iOHb
distance but never found the courage to actually talk to him. He was too afraid939Please respect copyright.PENANAeI0LtTkcz6
that Robbie would think that he was just a stupid Omega with no friends.
A few years later, word got around that Robbie was an Alpha939Please respect copyright.PENANAP2LIYUpK2z
and that just made things more confusing for him. He couldn’t understand why939Please respect copyright.PENANAN6QknXPNCj
his face would heat up or why his heart skipped a beat when Robbie passed him.939Please respect copyright.PENANADMOJfmIvYu
It was a weird feeling that forced him to grin for no reason. Soon, he found939Please respect copyright.PENANA9Q3GptnsGB
out that it was Love.
“Okay,” Principal Gwen started.
Caspian awoke from his mental nap, blinking his eyes939Please respect copyright.PENANAzEkhjyqQky
furiously under his round glasses. The boy didn’t even notice that Blue, Caleb,939Please respect copyright.PENANAttuBpAe1VR
and Lee had already arrived—and that Robbie ended up sitting beside him.939Please respect copyright.PENANADvzUxMKLLU
Fortunately, he could still breathe. For now.
“I called all of you here today to discuss something really939Please respect copyright.PENANAw6VHzoFvYP
important-” she leans forward, fixing her posture- “though it may sound939Please respect copyright.PENANA6MwQvTN5Oi
extremely odd.”
“Ma’am,” said Lee. “Are we in trouble of some sort?”
All eight boys leaned closer, as if they were programmed to939Please respect copyright.PENANA0CGF0SCXFu
do this in sync. Their ears were open wide enough to fit a moth.
Their once fully composed principal smiled. “No. I’m sorry to939Please respect copyright.PENANAWc3KeEZTem
disappoint you, Mister Emmet.”
All eight boys eased up. Lee sat back, pleased to hear the939Please respect copyright.PENANAQW6luYeD1Q
good news. A small phew was could be heard from Blue—that is, if you939Please respect copyright.PENANAqMqIu9CVb5
listened hard enough. You could hear familiar cuss words from Jax and Mason’s939Please respect copyright.PENANAf4MExyeWag
direction. Will, Robbie, and Caleb sighed for a good two seconds, thanking the939Please respect copyright.PENANAUxkmisjORK
Lord’s Holy Name. And Caspian finally eased every inch of his body.
“Why?” their Principal asked. “Is there something you should939Please respect copyright.PENANAbMjqLkGEB4
be in here for?”
“Nope,” Mason said immediately.
“Not that I know of… yet,” coming from Mason.
“Of course not. How could I?” babbled Lee.
“No, Ma’am,” Will said, shaking his head.
“…”: Caleb.
“Hopefully not,” Caspian muttered.
“I don’t think so…?” Robbie said slowly.
“Very funny, Miss Gwen,” chuckled Blue.
“Okay then good,” smiled Principal Gwen. “Because if there939Please respect copyright.PENANAFW4U2N3ef1
was, you’d still have to participate in this activity.”
“Activity?” blurted Blue.
“Yes,” Principal Gwen said enthusiastically—only in her voice939Please respect copyright.PENANAr0sYZPZiO0
though. “I would appreciate it if you eight would plan an event before this939Please respect copyright.PENANAO1NpHQnt7f
school year’s prom. You know, to commemorate the graduation of the seniors.”
“But Ma’am,” Blue said, raising his hand.
“Yes, Blue?” Principal Gwen said, giving Blue permission to939Please respect copyright.PENANAkFBTWsyfEU
keep going.
“What makes this year’s seniors make you want to plan a huge939Please respect copyright.PENANAH3aLt4qNm7
event for? (No offense.)” Blue continued.
We heard chuckles from some of the boys, knowing that Blue939Please respect copyright.PENANAPav3vNqaDZ
was referring to Will, the only senior in the room. He was a good sport who939Please respect copyright.PENANADmpXcMxP5u
smiled it out and muttered, “c’mon, guys.”
Miss Gwen chuckled along with them. “Well, what’s also funny939Please respect copyright.PENANADl810bFXMZ
is that we actually raised too much money for the yearly charity fund, and we939Please respect copyright.PENANAAU7Li2epus
couldn’t locate any other charities who were willing to accept the excess.939Please respect copyright.PENANAvv2hAhm1qH
Plus, the school’s had a good year, so I didn’t think it would be necessary to939Please respect copyright.PENANAqOLCt9i6p6
keep too much money on our hands.”
The boys go ooh because now they understand what’s939Please respect copyright.PENANAmwrualvzFC
happening.
“So,” Caspian blurted out, absent-mindedly. “You gathered all939Please respect copyright.PENANAKuYQiyDhPR
eight of us randomly to plan a pre-prom party?”
He realized that all eyes were on him again. All eight pairs939Please respect copyright.PENANA9reqhOYASX
of them.
“Uhm, yes,” their principal confirmed. “I like the sound of939Please respect copyright.PENANAJ5QBb9NnWj
that. ‘Pre-Prom Party’. You boys already have something to call it.”
“Way ta go, Cassie!” Blue cheers enthusiastically.
All the other boys cheer as well, even Robbie—who was still939Please respect copyright.PENANAAwCagQalnT
sitting beside him.
“Good job,” he whispered. “Caspian Grenfield.”
Hearing his name come out of Robbie like that made his face939Please respect copyright.PENANAzeZcR5POuq
grow warm. He put his palms on them, trying to hide his flustered face as he939Please respect copyright.PENANAC5w3TJpf8f
muttered back a shaky “thanks” to everyone.
“Okay, okay,” Principal Gwen hushed. “Here are the forms939Please respect copyright.PENANAYLX5se3KGt
containing most of the other information you need to know, -“ she passed a pile939Please respect copyright.PENANAYRZneoVKRv
of white paper to each of the eight boys as she continued to explain. “-and the939Please respect copyright.PENANAEfrgFtw53v
reply slip your parents need to sign in order for you to-”
“‘Stay at an Airbnb for a week’?” read Lee from the form.
“Miss,” Mason started, confused. “What do you mean by that?”
“Don’t worry, you will be accompanied by Miss Leslie.”
…and now they were arriving at the Airbnb.
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Oh, how time flies…
ns216.73.216.206da2