How to Survive High School Without Really Dying Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Mailing List

  Coming Soon

  About the Author

  Other Books

  Copyright

  HOW TO SURVIVE HIGH SCHOOL WITHOUT REALLY DYING

  Devin Harnois

  To Charles, for giving me the line.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Aiden sat with his friends, hoodie zipped against the chilly breeze passing through the square. Before long it would be too cold for them to eat lunch outside. They were in their usual arrangement: Aiden and Hanna on one side, Dylan and Tiago on the other.

  So far this year had been much better than last year. Aiden had started with everyone else, so he wasn’t behind on his classes. Even gym was sort of okay thanks to working with Dylan and Ms. Yang over the summer. And so far Conner had left them alone.

  “Can I come over tonight?” Tiago asked. “I have to write an essay for English.” He made a face. The werejaguar had gotten much better at reading and writing, but it was still a struggle.

  “Sure.” Any excuse to spend more time with Tiago.

  “And training after?” He arched an eyebrow.

  They’d trained over the summer. Aiden had given the excuse to both Dylan and Tiago that it helped to have people with different styles to practice with. There was some truth to that. Instead of using the pit, they’d started going to the woods. It fit both Aiden and Tiago’s magic much better. That helped with Dylan’s jealousy too, as they weren’t in “his” place.

  “Yeah.”

  “We should do something together on Saturday.” Hanna glanced around. “All of us.” She bit her lip. “I mean, I think it would be fun.” It almost sounded like a question.

  She meant she wanted an excuse to spend time with Dylan without it seeming like a date. Hanna was still interested in Dylan, but he seemed uncertain. Aiden had tried to talk to him about it, had kept insisting that if he wanted to date Hanna, it was fine. He wouldn’t be jealous.

  Aiden liked Hanna a lot, but she didn’t make him go all fluttery the way Tiago did. It’s stupid and hopeless. He doesn’t like you the same way, and he never will. Hanna did, and you could date her again if you really wanted. Of course there would be the drama with her parents to deal with, and after last year Aiden really didn’t need more drama in his life. Besides, he was happy being just friends with her.

  “I’d like that,” Aiden said, looking over at Dylan.

  His friend shrugged. “I guess.”

  “Sure,” Tiago said. “What should we do?”

  “Um… I don’t know. What do you want to do?”

  Tiago looked thoughtful for a moment, then he said, “Bowling.”

  They all stared at him.

  “Is something wrong with bowling? Oh, you don’t have it here?”

  “There’s a bowling alley,” Hanna said. “There’s two, actually.”

  “Is it not cool then? I know it’s kind of an old-person thing, but I’ve never been bowling, and I just want to know what it’s like.” Tiago pushed a fry around in his ketchup.

  “We should go,” Aiden said, maybe a little too eagerly. “I haven’t been bowling in a while. It’s kind of fun.” He mostly wanted to because Tiago did. He could pretend it was a date. A double date.

  Dylan shrugged again. “It’s boring, but I guess I’ll go. I can enjoy all the people staring at me.” He didn’t sound pleased at all.

  “They won’t stare,” Hanna said.

  “They stare every time I’m out in public.” Dylan shoved the last of his bacon cheeseburger in his mouth.

  “But you’re a hero now.”

  Dylan rolled his eyes and said around his mouthful of food, “Yeah, sure.”

  “If they distract you enough, maybe I’ll be able to beat you.” Tiago smirked.

  “Nobody is going to beat me.”

  “Maybe that’s why you don’t want to go. You’re afraid of losing.” Tiago’s smirk deepened, and Aiden had to tell himself not to stare. God, that boy was handsome. Sitting across from Dylan and Tiago every day was like a present for his eyes.

  Dylan glared, a tiny flicker of bright green in his eyes. “I’m going to kick your ass.”

  Tiago broke into a wide grin. “Bring it, Lizard Boy.”

  A pang went through Aiden. That was the kind of friend Dylan needed, someone more like him. Macho, teasing, competitive. Not like Aiden. I’m a wimp. Why does he even hang out with me? Yet despite their differences, Dylan was his best friend. Aiden wondered if Dylan wouldn’t need him anymore if he found another friend, a better friend.

  He supposed Dylan worried about the same thing. Dylan was jealous of the time he spent with Tiago, and he’d seemed a little jealous of Hanna too. He was never mean about it and didn’t ask Aiden to stop spending time with them, but he seemed insecure.

  All the more reason for the four of them to spend time together. No one needed to be jealous of anybody.

  “So we’re on for bowling this Saturday,” Aiden said. Then a problem occurred to him. “Will your parents let you go?” he asked Hanna.

  “Going out Saturday night with three boys? And none of them are werewolves?” Her smile was both shy and rebellious. “I’m sure they’ll freak out, but they can’t stop me.”

  Dylan tipped his Coke back, finishing it. “My dad can drive us.”

  “Great.” It wasn’t a double date, but he could call it that in his head. Where it was safe.

  CHAPTER TWO

  A black car waited in the driveway when Aiden got home. He knew what that meant. “Hi, Mr. Johnson,” he said as he walked in.

  “Aiden. How are you doing?” The warden stood from where he’d been sitting in the living room.

  “Pretty good.” His fear had lessened over the summer, although he still had bad days. The regular subjects in school were fine even if tests and homework were less than fun. He had Minor Magical Control with Maggie again, so that made him happy. They’d both been put in with the junior class. Maggie had gotten good enough with growth magic with help from Aiden to pass the test at the end of last year. And because of her patient tutoring early on, he’d been able to not only catch up but even get better than most of the other kids. He’d known he was improving, but he’d still been surprised when the t
est came back saying he qualified to skip a grade.

  The time working with Phoebe had helped too, especially in the second half of last year when they spent a lot of time on what he thought of as “little” or “gentle” spells. His mentor said his glamour skills especially were improving at a rapid pace.

  “Good.” Mr. Johnson nodded. “I’d like to talk to you about something.”

  Aiden went cold. That was never a good thing. Well, no. He told himself not to be dramatic, because one of the times Mr. Johnson had taken him aside, it was to ask him to help Tiago with his schoolwork.

  It could be something not bad, he thought as he followed Mr. Johnson outside. Aiden’s parents never asked him what they talked about in private. All they ever asked was if things were all right. If Aiden were in their shoes, he’d be burning with curiosity.

  “Is the protection spell still working?” Mr. Johnson asked.

  “What spell?” Aiden frowned. “Oh, you mean the one to keep… Uncle out of my dreams?” He didn’t even like to use the fake name the dark fae called himself for fear of drawing his attention. Although “Uncle” was the name he’d used with Aiden, so that might get his attention too.

  “Yes. Have you had any nightmares about him?” Mr. Johnson’s eyes were intense, like he was trying to look inside him.

  Aiden swallowed, his pulse going faster with fear. “No. Is something wrong?”

  Mr. Johnson glanced away. “We’ve been… noticing some unusual activity.”

  “What does that mean?” Aiden could imagine all kinds of horrible things.

  “I’d like you to keep an eye out for anything that strikes you as out of the ordinary. Weird dreams, shadows that seem to follow you, feelings of being watched. Anything like that.”

  Great. Now Aiden was going to be paranoid all the time and see things lurking around every corner. “Okay.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to add to your anxiety issues, but I need to warn you just in case. The dark fae is up to something. That’s all I can say. He might try to contact you again because of your connection. Dylan too. I’m going to warn him as well.” In a quieter voice, almost to himself, he said, “That should be a fun conversation.”

  If he weren’t so worried, it might have made Aiden laugh. Despite everything that had happened that spring, Dylan still didn’t like the warden.

  “I’ll keep an eye out. And I’ll call you if I see anything.” Aiden was going to renew the spell on the iron dagger that he kept under his pillow. It was supposed to keep Uncle out of his dreams.

  “Thank you. How is Tiago doing?”

  The change of subject was a little abrupt, but welcome. “He’s doing much better. He doesn’t struggle with words as much when he’s reading, and he’s doing some of the short assignments on his own.” If Tiago caught up, Aiden would no longer have his best excuse for spending time with him. A few times he’d had the brief thought that maybe he should be a little less helpful so he could keep tutoring Tiago. But Aiden would never do that. He wasn’t that sort of person.

  “Has he mentioned anything about his parents?”

  Mr. Johnson asked that question so often it made Aiden highly suspicious.

  “No. He doesn’t like talking about his past.” And what little snippets he’d learned, Aiden wasn’t going to tell Mr. Johnson. He wouldn’t betray Tiago’s confidence like that.

  “That’s fine. I’m not asking you to interrogate him. But if he happens to mention something… let me know.” Mr. Johnson stuffed his hands in his pockets. The breeze tonight was chilly. “Is there anything you want to talk about?”

  Aiden thought for a moment. “Has Uncle shown up? Is that why you’re asking me about him? Has he hurt anyone?” If he did, it was Dylan’s fault for helping him escape and Aiden’s fault for helping him cover it up. Aiding and abetting.

  Mr. Johnson’s expression turned carefully neutral. “I’m not at liberty to say.”

  “You know I can keep a secret.” He’d kept a big one for almost a year now.

  “It’s not about that. You already know too much.”

  Aiden decided to let it go, but another question occurred to him. “Do you think you caught all the conspirators?” Two wardens and their accomplices had been involved in kidnapping and murdering three people from Shadow Valley during the late winter and spring. Dylan would have been their next victim if Mr. Johnson and Aiden hadn’t tracked him down. Although maybe Dylan would have burned the forest, turned into a dragon, and flown away. No, he’d been shot and was no match in that state for one warden, let alone two.

  “To be completely honest, I can’t be sure. Things like this… they can go deep, spread farther than you think. I’m reasonably sure we caught everyone, and that’s the best assurance I can offer. Your testimony, and Dylan’s, will make sure that when those two former wardens come up for parole, they won’t stand a chance of getting out. Not for a very, very long time at least. The other conspirators, if they’re lucky, might be out in twenty or thirty years.” Mr. Johnson glanced up at the sky. “I suspect that when they do get out, they might have an unfortunate accident, and the police might be less than thorough in their investigation.”

  “You mean…?”

  “Just a theory. That’s all.”

  Aiden wondered if Mr. Johnson might help in that “accident” or if he was just talking about what other people might do. Aiden wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He hated violence, and that eye-for-an-eye crap just meant more people got hurt. But all of them had been complicit—including the corrupt cops and the others involved. Even though they hadn’t actually done any of the kidnapping or killing, they had known what was going on. They’d helped murder three people, including one of Aiden’s classmates. Dalton had been a year older, a werewolf in Conner’s pack. An asshole, but he didn’t deserve to die. Even Dylan agreed on that.

  Could one of the people involved still be in Shadow Valley? “If there’s someone still out there, would they come for revenge? For what happened to their friends?”

  “These types of things don’t really run on friendship. It’s far more likely that if we didn’t catch someone, he or she will do whatever they can to avoid notice. They got away with it, and they want to keep getting away with it.”

  “That makes sense.” Aiden was ready to let it go, but an even worse thought occurred to him. “But what about their family and friends? We put people they love in jail.” Aiden and Dylan had testified at the trial. They would be obvious targets for revenge.

  “We don’t have any indication that anyone is looking for revenge. No one has made any threats.” Mr. Johnson gave him a serious look. “We’ve got eyes and ears out, just in case. Try not to worry about it. Just focus on getting through school.”

  “Okay.” His head told him not to be afraid, but the tightening in his chest said his anxiety thought differently.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “Like this.” Aiden swept his arm back and then forward without letting the ball go. He wasn’t a great bowler, but he knew enough to hit pins most of the time and not chuck the ball into the gutter.

  “Like this?” Tiago made a similar motion standing next to him. It took most of Aiden’s self-control not to touch the other boy. He pictured standing behind him, pressing close, a hand on his arm as he helped Tiago make the right motion.

  Stop it.

  “Yeah,” Aiden said and made the motion again. “When you get to here, let go.” He paused at the top of the swing.

  “Got it.”

  “Give it a try.” Aiden moved out of the way. All the better because he got to check out Tiago’s butt, and everyone would just think he was watching to see how Tiago did.

  Tiago took a few practice swings.

  Hanna called, “You can do it.”

  “Miss! Miss!” Dylan said.

  “Don’t be a jerk,” Aiden said without taking his eyes off Tiago.

  With one more swing, Tiago let the ball go. It started off all right but slowly curved
and dropped into the gutter just before it reached the pins. “Shit.”

  “That’s okay. You get another try. You’ll do better this time,” Aiden said.

  Dylan laughed and called, “Gutter ball, Cat Boy!”

  Tiago half turned to glare at him. “I’d like to see you do better.”

  “You will.”

  “Ignore him,” Aiden said as Tiago’s ball rolled back into the corral. “Try to keep your arm straight.”

  “Take a step to your right,” Hanna said. “It might help.”

  Aiden held his breath as Tiago sent the ball down the lane a second time. It curved again, but this time it knocked four pins down. Aiden cheered.

  Tiago sighed. “It’s an improvement at least.”

  “I’m gonna kick your ass.” Dylan smirked as he got up to take his turn.

  “Is punching opponents allowed in this game?” Tiago asked as they passed each other.

  Aiden sighed and looked at Hanna. “Maybe this was a bad idea.”

  The corner of her mouth turned up. “It kind of reminds me of going out with the pack. They were always like this.”

  “Ugh. How did you stand it?”

  Tiago sat down next to Aiden. “Probably just stared at their asses the whole time.”

  Hanna blushed. So did Aiden.

  “I-I did not,” she protested.

  “Your face says otherwise.”

  Don’t look at me. Don’t look at me. Oh God, don’t look at me.

  “Argh!” Dylan’s exclamation made them all turn. “So close!” He’d knocked down all but two of the pins.

  “You can get the spare,” Hanna said.

  “I’m gonna beat Cat Boy either way.” Dylan stood by the corral, waiting for his ball to return.

  “Can’t we just have fun?” Why did those two have to turn everything into a competition?

  “I am having fun. Having fun winning.” Dylan grinned.

  A few turns later Tiago went to the bathroom and Dylan was up again. Hanna leaned over the little table in the seating area. “Has he said anything about me?” Her eyes flicked toward Dylan.