Carnelian

by B. Kristin McMichael

First Day of College

  Sim overslept on her first day of college. I was already up and had watched her hit her alarm four times. I even asked her if she was going to class, and she grunted some sort of reply. I warned her before I left early for my own class, but I guess she doesn’t hear people talk in the morning. I could already tell the poor girl was going to spend her entire college career late.

  I found my way easily to the biology building on campus, and I was happy to find the hallways student free at such an early hour. I followed the loop corridor until I found the office Prof. Edwards told me to meet him at. An empty chair was perched outside the locked door, and I sat down to wait. I pulled out a book to read during my wait. Prof. Edwards was the reason I was at Morton College. He’d been my tutor the summer before my senior year in biology. I did an independent study of biology over the summer to not have to use time during the year taking the class. Prof. Edwards was a friend of my grandfather, and had been in the Chicago area over the summer. Grandfather lined him up as my mentor for the independent study, and thus began my summer of biology with him.

  “Beat me here?” Prof. Edwards said as he interrupted my book. I closed the book, keeping a finger on the page I was reading. There’d been no rush of music and emotion like there was a couple days ago when I met Seth for the first time. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood to get into the story.

  “I just got here,” I replied, standing to follow him as he unlocked the door.

  Prof. Edwards led me into his organized mess of an office and threw his bag down in its designated spot while his coffee stayed in his hand. There were articles, papers, tests, and more papers everywhere, but there seemed to be some sort of order. Prof. Edwards sat down and motioned for me to join him by taking the only clean spot in the room, the chair opposite his desk.

  “Thanks for stopping by so early this morning,” he began as he moved papers from one pile to another while talking. “I just got back last night from my summer research. Did you have a good summer?”

  I shrugged. My summer wasn’t all bad, but I was glad to be off to college with the chance to start over.

  “Ahh, here it is.” Prof. Edwards stopped rummaging through the papers and pulled out a stack of folders.

  “We actually had more students request tutors this year than we have tutors, and everyone is doubling up. I’m going to give you three students. It shouldn’t be a problem as their schedules are almost the same; therefore, you’ll be able to meet with them all at one time. Did you get the book and class handouts I sent this summer?” he asked, handing me the folders. Prof. Edwards had asked me to help him by tutoring other students for the basic biology class he taught. We had covered all the same material a summer ago. He said I’d be perfect for it.

  “Yes, it shouldn’t be too rough,” I replied. It wasn’t even half of what he taught me over the summer.

  “Good, good,” he replied. “I knew this would be just perfect for you. You understood this better than most of my college students when you were in high school. Now, I set up a meeting for you today with the three students. You can meet them and figure out a time that works best for you. We ask that our tutors meet at least two to three times a week with the students, and be available to answer questions online if they need it. With three students you’ll have a little more work, but I know you can handle it.” I nodded. It didn’t sound too bad. We were paid per student, and three would mean three times more pay.

  “When and where do I meet them today?” I asked, getting the details before he got sidetracked on a different conversation. Prof. Edwards was always getting off track when he taught me.

  “The Mitchell Center at four-thirty today. It should just be a short meeting to go over the schedule and answer any questions they might have.” Prof. Edwards took a long sip of his coffee. “If anything gets to be too much, just e-mail or call at any time. I know this is your first semester and all.”

  I nodded and stood up. It was almost eight fifteen, and I still had a ten minute walk across campus to my first class. I didn’t look at the files- that would have to wait until lunchtime. They would more than likely be freshman, and the majority of Biology 311 were freshman non-majors. It would be a bit odd to be a tutor for kids my own age, but even worse if they were older than me.

  “I told their father that I’d give them the best tutor here. I believe you’ll be the best tutor, Mari,” Prof. Edwards complimented me. “Don’t hesitate to ask about anything you need to know. These boys deserve a chance to do well after their hard lives.” I had no idea what he was talking about, but nodded along with him. I guess I was tutoring guys.

  “Sounds good,” I replied, and left his office quickly to dash across campus.

  Luckily for me, it was the first day, so the professors all waited an additional five minutes before starting class to make sure all their students found the right room. Maybe Sim wouldn’t be late after all, or at least not today. Classes were the normal start to a school year, with the exception that in college they actually started their first class with the course syllabus explanations and an actual lecture. By lunchtime I was happy to just stop at the student union and get a small lunch to have a break. I already had three chapters to read in one course, and two in another, along with a short assignment due Wednesday. I could see how quickly anyone could fall behind in college.

  I made my way through the line and grabbed an avocado turkey sandwich and chips before going off to a quiet corner. Students milled around the union, some were eating, some not. It wasn’t hard to find an empty table in a corner while most of the students were near the front of the seating areas waiting for friends. A quiet lunch was more to my liking as I planned to get some of my reading done at least. Before opening my textbook, I grabbed the files from Prof. Edwards.

  I opened all three files and laid them together to see who my new students would be. As I opened the last file and finally looked at the pictures, I shut them as quickly as I’d opened them. This couldn’t be happening. Fate had to be playing a game on me. I peeked back into the top file and held my breath, hoping I had read it wrong. I hadn’t. I opened all three files again and let out a breath. I was going to be tutoring Ty Sangre, Nadim Sangre, and Seth Sangre.

  I couldn’t help myself as I took Seth’s file. I shouldn’t read more. I should have immediately given the file back to Prof. Edwards, but I couldn’t help it. I carefully opened the first page and studied the picture staring back at me. It had to be a recent picture from the past year or so. He didn’t look any different. Even his slightly lopsided grin was the same. Darn. I was captivated by his dark eyes. Why couldn’t he have at least been a bit ugly—then the “no crushing on no-good guys” would have been an easier rule to keep.

  Seth was born in India and had been adopted as a child by the Sangre family. He was raised by them and homeschooled until he entered high school his junior year. All his records started that year, and they went on for pages. He was immediately a football star and rose to team captain for his senior year of high school after only playing one season. His grades were okay, mainly B’s- I had no idea why he needed a tutor. I continued to read on. He was a typical Midwestern high school student. Nothing mentioned his homeschooling, or why he waited to enter regular school.

  I opened up Ty and Dee’s folders to skim through them as well. Their stories were identical to Seth’s. They were adopted from foreign countries as children, homeschooled, and entered high school together. Ty entered as a sophomore the same year that Dee and Seth entered as juniors. At least Ty’s file had the reason he needed a tutor-he was dyslexic. But like Seth, no reason existed for Dee needing a tutor. In fact, he was a better student than Seth. The only thing I could think of was that being football players gave them privileges, tutors being one of them.

  I set all three files down together. Something just seemed off. I thought Seth was a bit strange before when I caught him mumbling foreign words while sleeping, but even this didn’t add up. Why were all of them adopte
d at the same time, but from different countries? Why was there no record of them prior to when they entered high school? Something did add up about these boys.

  I pulled my laptop from my bag. I hated not having answers. I pulled up a search engine and began to type- Seth Sangre. Quickly, the page was filled with articles and pictures of football captain Seth. All his star games were splashed across the internet. I scrolled through them. I didn’t need to see any more ego-boosting articles to know how great the guy was. I arranged the results based on date and scrolled to the bottom. I needed something more ancient than that of his wonderful high school, and now college, career in sports. As I neared the bottom, I was still finding articles of his high school years. I clicked onto the next page, but stopped when I realized it was blank. There was nothing more. It was as if Seth Sangre didn’t exist until high school. Could that be possible? I quickly typed my name into the search engine. I didn’t have as many files praising me, but at least I could find things as far back as junior high. I typed in both Ty and Dee’s names to find the same. It all ended at their junior year, with nothing at all before. Were they in the witness protection program? If so, why would the Sangre family be chosen? If you want to hide, you wouldn’t join a rich, prominent family.

  “Homework already?” Sim asked, interrupting me from my next search on the Sangre family.

  “What?” I asked, I was still confused by the fact that three boys that had no past and not didn’t fully hear her question.

  “You’re furiously typing away. I figured you were already working on homework,” Sim replied, sitting next to me. I actually hadn’t even notice her approach the table.

  “No, just looking up details on the students I’m going to tutor,” I replied.

  “You got the assignments, then?” Sim opened up her salad and began to pour dressing on it.

  I nodded and handed her the files. She opened the top one and could barely contain her squeal as I grabbed it back out of her hands before people started staring at us.

  “No way!” She grabbed it back. “You get to tutor Seth Sangre?” Sim was more excited than I had seen her yet.

  I picked up the other two folders. “I get to tutor all three brothers,” I answered. Sim was still drooling over the picture of Seth. I grabbed it back again. I didn’t need stains on the folder; I might even have to give back.

  “What do you know about them?” I asked, hoping Sim would be a better source than the Internet.

  “What everybody knows, I suppose. They were adopted by the Sangre family. Played high school football really well.” Sim took a bite while she thought more.

  “Did you know Seth was adopted from India?” I asked.

  “He’s not Indian,” Sim replied, stating a fact I was beginning to believe as well. “I’ve been to India and have seen lots of Indian people. He’s not Indian.”

  “It says his name was Sahit,” I added. Maybe she was wrong.

  “That’s an Indian name. But trust me, he isn’t Indian. Maybe if we hadn’t walked as close to him the other day, I might believe it from pictures. But in real life, once you get up close and see him, you can tell.” Sim didn’t doubt her own assessment.

  If he wasn’t Indian, why would they say that? I looked over to Sim, who had taken the folders back and was sifting through them. She was already on Dee’s file, and didn’t seem to find it odd that Seth’s file was fake.

  “Where would I find more information on the Sangre family?” I asked, going back to my computer. My search brought up nothing but junk. It seemed there were a lot more Sangres than I knew about. I didn’t think it would be such a popular name.

  “Go to their store sites,” Sim said, focusing on the file in front of her to the point that she didn’t even look up while she talked. “They always have a link to their family webpage.”

  “Family webpage?” I asked. That sounded a bit odd. What family had their own webpage?

  “Yeah, something about all the Sangres being related. They have a family page to keep track of it.” Sim continued to eat and read the guys’ files.

  “Do you think Dee likes brunettes?” Sim asked, paging through the file.

  “It’s not that kind of file.” I took them back from her, and she opened a book instead.

  “Too bad,” she muttered.

  I went to the webpage she mentioned and found the link to their family page. I stared at the old, gray-haired man in the picture. He was familiar. I had met him before. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Grandfather knew the man personally. With all the antiques in the background, the man was clearly a collector. I clicked through to more pages, but the only person in any of the pictures was the older man. There were no pictures of his wife, kids, or even pets. Finally, I found a biography page and skimmed through it. It mentioned children and a wife, and yet still no pictures. Seth Sangre and his brothers just went from confusing to mysterious. I didn’t want to get involved, but now I wanted to know more. Who were these three guys who had no past beyond the last four years?

  Sim finished her food and her reading before she had to head off to her next class. I still had thirty minutes before mine.

  “I’ve decided you can have the cute one. I want the tall one,” Sim added, pointing to Dee’s file on the pile. I smiled and waved to her. I wasn’t planning to have any of them, even if he did have the cutest brown eyes.

  I watched Sim walk away before shutting down my computer and packing up my bag. Why couldn’t college life be less complicated? If I wanted answers to who Seth Sangre really was, I would actually have to be around him, and I knew his intentions. I didn’t plan to be anyone’s number twenty-four on their list of conquests. I was done with that type of guy. I wanted one that was nice and devoted, not one you had to worry about running around behind your back and cheating.

  My final class of the day went by quickly; probably because I spent most of the class daydreaming a bit. Luckily enough I was a great multi-tasker and I was able to write down notes, even if I wasn’t completely listening. I would have to catch up later, but for now I was still trying to piece together everything I knew thus far about the Sangre boys.

  After classes, I made my way across the river to east campus and the sports side of Morton College. The training center, multiple gyms, the football field, the basketball arena, and everything else sport related were over on the east side. I had never actually toured east campus when I came up to visit Morton. I had no plans to ever need to be over there and wasn’t really the sport joining type. I wove my way down the sidewalks to my destination, hoping I was going in the right direction. When I found the massive grey building with Mitchell Center plastered across the top of the building in letters that had to be bigger than me, I realized that, thankfully, I was in the right place. Outside the front door of the center there were metal picnic tables scattered all over the lawn. The girls waited at the tables, talking to each other. I made my way to the other side where there were just benches. The team should have been done by now, but I got the feeling from the girls around me that it was normal for things to be late.

  I pulled out my book to ignore all the girls who were made out to the max with heavy makeup, perfect tans, and shorts that showed off more than just their legs. I couldn’t tell if the goal was to show more boob or more butt in what the girls were wearing. In the middle of the twenty or more girls was the brunette from my first day of checking into the dorms. She looked even more made up than when I first met her. The poor guy she was after was in the sports complex. I pulled out my book to ignore her when she pointed my direction, saying something to make all the girls around her laugh. I continued to read even after I heard the clang of the glass double doors opening, and the girls giggling and cheering as they flocked to each find their designated man. My book was way better than watching the public display of affection surrounding me.

  Soon enough a shadow fell across my book. I didn’t look up until I heard my name.

  “Hey Mari,” Ty said for a second tim
e. He stood before me, freshly showered and smiling from ear to ear. “I pegged you for the quiet type, but not the overachiever.” I smiled and stood with my bag on my shoulder.

  “I’m actually not an overachiever,” I teased. “Just don’t tell anyone that. I might lose my job.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Ty replied with a laugh. Ty was right. I had always been an overachiever, but it was easier to play quiet and mysterious than let anyone know.

  “We were hoping that we could get food first,” Ty replied, shrugging to his non-existent brothers. Both guys weren’t too far behind, but they caught up numbers of girls, greeting them with kisses.

  “Do they come with the scholarships?” I asked Ty, pointing to the girls. “Where’s yours?”

  Ty laughed and began to lead the way, not even waiting for his brothers. They seemed too preoccupied to care anyway. In reality, I didn’t need to meet with all three today as I just needed to go over their schedules, and I was sure Ty knew what his brothers were up to as well. Ty led me down the pathway, past a few buildings before turning into one. I didn’t know there was a food court on this side of the river until we stepped into a new building. I could smell the food as we opened the doors.

  “How was your first day?” Ty asked, holding the door for me.

  “Not bad,” I replied. It wasn’t as bad as my first day at Morton.

  “Lucky you. I got twenty pages of reading assigned in my first class,” Ty complained. I had read his file and Ty was the only one that really needed a tutor of the three. He was held back a grade from his brothers to catch up on his reading. That had to be hard for him as his first assignment. Ty led the way into the building and down the hallway to the line forming.

  I was surprised by how full the place was. I could now see that the majority of the football team ate here after practice. Luckily I could follow the hulking form of Ty. Even amongst guys all close to his size, he still parted masses of people easily. As we got in line, Ty began to pat down his pockets.