Dying to Know You » Chapter 1

Alemany Academy was the most prestigious private school in the region, the epitome of education, and with the astronomical tuition rates, the student body came from wealthy, high-class families. The sons and daughters of government officials, CEOs of international corporations, independently wealthy families, and others that can claim citizenship in the higher echelons of society all gathered in one place was bound to attract attention.

A young man, the dark slacks, white shirt, and dark green vest clearly identified him as a student, stood outside a classroom door. He glanced down at the slip of paper in his hand. A paper that had the room number and name of the professor scrawled in the secretary’s messy handwriting. He did not need to look, he had committed the information to memory when the secretary had handed it to him ten minutes ago, but he went through the motions. If anyone happened by, all they would see is a nervous new student making certain he had found the correct classroom.

He took a deep, calming breath and ran through the list of facts regarding his life. His name was Andrew Hennessy, a transfer student accepted into Alemany Academy on one of the rare academic scholarships the school gave out to those unable to afford the yearly tuition. He had recited these facts and others so many times in the last few months that it almost felt real.

Now it was real.

Andrew reached forward and pushed open the door. The sounds of the lecture and a marker squeaky against the dry-erase board filled his ears. As he entered and closed the door quietly behind him, his eyes quickly surveyed the entire room. First, locating all possible exits. Then focusing on each face and pairing them with the photos in the dossiers he had memorized.

Pausing in the middle of writing out a complicated equation, the professor gave him a curious look. He was clearly suppressing his irritation at the interruption.

“Yes? Can I help you?”

Andrew feigned an embarrassed smile. “Uh, yes. Sorry. Are you Professor Biffle? I’m Andrew Hennessy. I’m a new—”

“Oh, you are the new student. Yes, yes. Come on in. There is an empty seat in the back near the windows. Here’s a textbook.” Professor Biffle picked up a large book from his desk, and Andrew took it. “We’re on page seventy-one, the third example problem.”

“Thanks.”

Andrew turned and made his way between the desks, eying his new classmates carefully and giving the perfect imitation of a friendly smile to anyone who made eye contact. There were two empty desks at the back of the room, and he slide into the one pushed against the window. He opened the textbook and idly turned to the correct page.

For the next hour, he studied the mannerisms and voice patterns of everyone in the room while pretending to take notes.

In the front row sat Jenna Lane, daughter of the computer software tycoon Will Lane. She was anxious, made obvious by the way she kept tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.

Two rows back lounged James Philips Jr., “Jay” to his family and friends, the academy’s star athlete, and oldest child of the stock market guru and multimillionaire, James Philips Sr. His expression was one of boredom, but from the movements of his pencil, it was clear that he was paying attention to the professor and copying the equations diligently.

Next to Jay was Nick Ramos, a self-proclaimed rebel by the modifications he had made to his school uniform and razor-cut hair styled to look windswept. His head bobbed subtly up and down as he quietly drummed his thumbs against his desk. He was the youngest of famed fashion designer, Gloria Ramos’s three children.

On the other side of the empty desk beside Andrew sat a petite brunette discreetly chewing gum and glancing down at the cell phone hidden on her lap. Tiffany deGriffith was only a mediocre student – as evident from the secret text messaging she was conducting when she should have been listening to the lecture. She was also the only child of Simon deGriffith, a wealthy businessman who had built an import-export empire from nothing.

Andrew smiled.

The dossiers had contained personal information on each person he would come in contact with at the academy, but nothing was better than observing people in a casual environment to fill in the blanks of their personalities, habits, and motivations. The more he knew about them, the better prepare he was to manipulate their emotions and gain their trust.

And once he had their trust, he would be able to carry out his assignment. That is what he was trained to do.

By the time the class ended, he had carefully observed every single person in the room and had monitored the activity of the parts of the campus he could see from the second story window. After Professor Biffle dismissed them, Andrew stood with the rest and gathered his meager belongings.

“Hey, new kid,” Jay called out.

Andrew looked around, as if searching for whomever had called his name. He finally looked in Jay’s direction. He was slinging a bag over his shoulder, and Nick was leaning against his desk.

“Andrew, right?”

“Yeah, it’s right.”

“We have free period next. Do you want to hang with us?” Jay jerked a thumb at himself and then Nick, who was currently occupied with fixing his hair.

Andrew hesitated just long enough to keep up the new kid appearance and then grinned. “Sure.”

As the three of them left the classroom, Jay threw his arm over Andrew’s shoulders. A year ago, he would have knocked anyone who so much as touched him to the floor, but now he tolerated the physical contact without so much as a flicker of the irritation he felt inside.

“So, Andrew, you look like the type of guy who plays sports.”

“I did play some at my old school.

“Really? What did you play?”

“Soccer was my main one, but in the off season I ran cross country and did baseball.”

“What a coincidence! One of our varsity soccer players is out due to an injury, but none of the juniors have the skill to take his place. You’re decently fit and must have amazing endurance to do cross country. Want to tryout?”

“That’s not a coincidence,” Nick interrupted. “That is what we call ‘fate’. My horoscope said we would find the solution to our problem today.”

“You’re still reading that junk? You do realize that some person is paid to make all that up, right?” Jay retorted. He shook his head and looked at Andrew. “Anyway, come down to the field after school today. Coach will run you through some tests and see if you are good enough to make the team.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that.”

They exited the main academic building and entered the main courtyard, informally called the Square by students and facility alike. There were tables and benches scattered around the large center fountain. Other students had arrived at the Square before them, laying claim to most of the seating. That did not deter the seniors, and Jay tossed his bag on to the ground next to the fountain. He dropped to the wide rim and stretched out his long legs. Nick sat on his right, but Andrew remained standing with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

His eyes quickly scanned the Square, locating all of the discreet security cameras. He calculated the percentage of the area covered and pinpointed all areas of vulnerability. He would be able to exploit these blind spots later.

Andrew flashed a smile and chuckled at some trivial thing Nick said.

So far, everything was going according to plan.

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