Fast-Tracked by Tracy Rozzlynn Page B

you from?” he asked. On closer inspection, I realized he wasn’t a lookalike. He just had a lot of the same coloring as Avery, but his features were much more rugged.
    “Let’s dance.” Avery shot Trevin an angry glare and pulled me to my feet.
    Deciding not to make a scene, I waited until we got to the dance floor to demand, “Just what was that about?”
    “Me doing you a favor,” he said flatly. “ Trevin’s a complete and total sleazebag. His main goal in life is to charm the pants off of every girl he meets, leave before the next morning, and never call back.” It was hard to see his expression under the strobe lights, but I felt his muscles tensing under my hands. Whatever was between the two of them definitely went further than Avery thinking that Trevin was a slut.
    The slow song we were dancing to ended, but we stayed out on the floor as a fast song replaced it. I loved to dance but I didn’t get the chance very often. So I closed my eyes and let the music move me. When I opened them back up, most of Avery’s friends had joined us. We spent the next hour dancing as a group on the floor.
    When we were all hot and sweaty we collapsed back into our chairs. Immediately a waitress came over to get our drink orders. I was surprised when everyone started ordering mixed drinks. The drinking age apparently didn’t apply to fast-trackers. But I stuck with ice water: the last thing I needed to do was get drunk and make a fool out of myself or wake up with a hangover.
    “You’re not scared of a little alcohol, are you?” a boy named Grayson teased.
    I had guessed my lack of drinking might be an issue, so I already had a response handy. “It’s not worth the extra calories. Might be something you want to consider,” I quipped back.
    “ Oooh , burned,” several people simultaneously teased.
    Scarlet flipped back her honey blonde hair, walked over, and patted Grayson on the stomach. “She does have a point, you know.” She gave him a rueful smile before skipping over to sit on Slade’s lap. Grayson immediately flushed so red that his freckles disappeared, and it was hard to tell what was brighter: Grayson’s face or his bright orange hair.
    After that, if felt like the group had accepted me as one of their own. We easily chatted about nothing in particular for most of the night. I was able to avoid the subject of my newbie status the entire time. But I didn’t have the luxury of sleeping in tomorrow morning like they did. Plus, I had to deal with Mrs. Glabough and the girls. So the rest of the gang was still alternating between dancing and chatting when Avery and I left.
    As we walked back to the college I noticed Avery’s hand kept brushing against mine. I sidestepped away from him repeatedly, but he kept on doing it. In the end I let out a loud sigh and crossed my arms, hoping he’d get the hint. I simply wasn’t interested in him that way.
    He stopped short, shook his head at me and then stared at me with confusion. “You know, on the plane I passed your melancholy off as a symptom of nerves. But now that I’ve spent more time around you, I’m beginning to think it’s a permanent state. Don’t get me wrong, you put on a good show to hide it – most of the time – but it’s still there.”
    His insight took me by surprise, and before I really had a chance to think about my answer I threw up my hands and blurted, “It’s hard to enjoy yourself when you know your best friend in the world is living his worst nightmare. Especially when you know he should be right here beside you, not stuck in some hellhole.”
    “Ouch. So your friend got sunk.” Avery grabbed my hand and gave it a sympathetic squeeze.
    I quickly pulled my hand back. “What do you mean ‘sunk’?” I snapped, confused.
    “He was given an assessment ranking a lot lower than anyone ever dreamed was possible – one that defies explanation. Right?” Avery asked.
    I nodded, because my voice was choked off by a wave of