“Oh.” My generosity surprised her. “Thank you. How nice.”
“No problem.”
“Ah, I think that’s it. The rest of our stuff is already over there.”
“Okay.”
I followed her back and laid out the three items on the counter.
“Now we need to get a nice fire going so the mixture can boil.”
Fire? I volunteered. “May I?”
“Sure.”
I lifted the iron grate and arranged the coals in the center.
“Are you going to use your ability?” She asked it as quiet as a whisper like she didn’t want anyone else to hear.
“You want me to?” I saw her smile and it was a good chance to show off.
“I’d love to see it, yes.”
“Shh!” I whispered like I wanted it to be a secret too.
I turned my back to the class and thought about something I hated; forced labor always did the trick.
She stared blankly at my red eyes and I filtered fire through my hand to ignite the coals. It worked instantly and we had a nice fire going faster than anyone else.
“Wow.” She muttered. “That was amazing.”
I was glad she wasn’t afraid and smiled. “Thank you. What’s next?”
She took a long breath like she wasn’t looking forward to it. “Well, basically, get the juice from this pineapple into this pot.” She took one from overhead and set it in the middle in front of us.
“Is it against the rules if I help?”
“You want to do it? It’s a lot of work. It has to be cut and diced then we squeeze out all of the juice.”
“Trust me.” I smiled. “May I do it?”
She still seemed unsure but moved the pineapple closer to me. “Okay. Knives are in the drawer to your left.”
“That’s all right. I don’t need a knife.”
She was obviously curious but I couldn’t give up this chance to show off again. I picked up the pineapple, whole as can be and held it over the pot. She was very interested now and watched as I put both of my hands around it and squeezed all of the juice out in one grip.
“Wow, Dirk. I was wrong. That was amazing.”
I smiled to the easy success to impress. “Just another day of being me.”
“And it’s perfect.” She took the strangled limp pineapple from me and split it open. “The pulp is already mashed for the topcoat.”
“Is that called for?” She nodded excitedly that she didn’t have to do it. “Then you’re very welcome.”
“I bet we’ll be done first.”
We both laughed and continued with the recipe together. I liked that word and I was liking Lynn too. She was a great company. I wondered why she had no one to sit by her. It wasn’t like she sat on the right of the counter so she could interact with the other girls nearby. She stayed on the far left, not to be bothered with them.
Maybe it was because no one liked her but I couldn’t see why. She was fun and knew more about cooking than she really led on. It made her the perfect person to be paired with me in this class since I knew so much already too.
I tried looking around the room, maybe somehow figuring this out then I noticed Janie watching. I smiled at her but hers in return almost appeared fake like she didn’t like me sitting over here and worse that I seemed to like it. Was it some kind of jealousy thing? Did she somehow assume that I belonged to her because we kissed? Girls; I’ll never understand them.
It only got worse after class. I walked out with Lynn after putting our duck in the icebox and Janie was immediately at my side.
“Hey, Dirk. Ready to escort me home?”
She looked right at Lynn when she said it and took my arm. I for one had no idea I was going to do that but just guessed it was some female dominance thing.
“Okay. Ah, see you tomorrow, Lynn.”
She didn’t say goodbye. Instead she just ducked her head to get around us with an uncomfortable nod.
Janie laughed. “Don’t worry about that loser. Let’s get our horses.”
I ignored her insult so I wouldn’t get mad or start something I was completely unsure how to finish. “Why does no one seem to like her?”
“She’s disgusting. Hangs around dead people.”
“Dead people?” I was both confused yet unusually interested.
“Her father’s the city memorial director. You know, they clean up the dead so people can say their goodbyes then burns them. Right in their home too. It’s gross. She’s a freak.”
I felt the word burn inside me. Freak? I most certainly didn’t think so.
I looked in the direction Lynn went and she was walking all alone, her head still ducked from drawing an obvious unwanted attention.
“Come on.” Janie took my arm and began to pull me away.
I went with her to the stables and Bryce and Seth were getting on their horses.
“There you are, Dirk.” Bryce said. “Let’s go.”
“You go ahead. I’m escorting Janie home then I’ll be right there.”
They both looked at me, Seth showing the most unusual curiosity.
“Okay.” He said. “Just hope Darius will be okay with that.”
“I’m sure he’ll understand. See you at home.”
They nodded and turned their horses out of the stables. I readied mine and left with Janie. She rode really close and kept looking over.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“So, where exactly do you live?”
“Just up the street here.”
“That’s cool, so it’s close.”
“Why? You didn’t want to escort me?”
“No. Nothing like that. I was just saying it was good for you that you don’t have to travel all that far alone.”
“I’m usually not alone. Kent takes me in the morning. Just sometimes he goes with his friends in the evening.”
“Oh. Is that why you wanted me to come with you? You didn’t want to be alone?”
“No.” She smiled. “Not just. I sort of—like you. A lot.”
My palms started to sweat. How was I supposed to react when I shouldn’t have liked her that way back?
“Oh. I like you too.”
“Like a lot?”
I was nervous and didn’t want to say the wrong thing but I also didn’t want her to think it was love.
“I’m still getting used to it. We haven’t had attention like this before.” I made sure not to single me out and talked about the three of us as a group.
“I hope you don’t think I’m being pushy.”
“No. I don’t. It’s still all so new for us.”
“Well, this is me.”
We stopped in front of a house and she ended our conversation about it.
“Would you like to come in for a bit?”
This was another question I was careful to answer. “I’d like to but I should probably get back. My father didn’t know I was escorting you.”
“Oh.” She sounded disappointed.
“Perhaps another time. I can plan for it so he wouldn’t send out the palace guards to look for me.”
Now she laughed. “All right. We’ll make plans soon then.”
She brought her horse closer and leaned to kiss me. I leaned back to help this situation and our lips met for half a second.
“Bye, Dirk. Thank you.”
“No problem, Janie. See you tomorrow.”
She waved as she went around her house to put her horse away and I turned mine to get back to the palace.
I turned onto the street of the Academy and Lynn was walking alone, much like I’ve seen before with her head ducked.
“Lynn?”
She was startled and looked up. “Oh, Dirk! Hello.”
“Why are you walking? Don’t you have a horse?”
“Oh no. We don’t keep animals but it’s okay. I like to walk.”
“Would you like me to give you a ride home? Where do you live?”
“Oh
, no. That’s okay. It’s far. I couldn’t trouble you.”
“You’re not. I offered.”
“I’d really rather you not. I’m not really comfortable with the idea.”
“Me giving you a ride or being near your home?”
“Goodbye, Dirk. We have a duck waiting for us tomorrow.”
She walked passed me and my horse didn’t want to turn around to follow. He kept insisting that we press on so I gave in.
“I look forward to it. It will be delicious.”
She didn’t turn around to say anything. She just kept her ducked position and kept walking.
I was curious but didn’t want to push the matter and headed home. I could talk with her more tomorrow where she couldn’t walk away.
Chapter 25
Seth
Is it bad that Dirk was gone so long that I was getting concerned? We were having dinner now and his empty chair was next to me, just waiting for him.
“Don’t worry.” Darius said. “I’m sure everything is fine.”
He would be the one I expected to be concerned but he didn’t seem to be.
“It’s just taking him a long time. She doesn’t live that far.” I said.
“Maybe she invited him in.”
“Don’t even suggest it.” My father said.
“What? He’s nearly thirteen. I remember being thirteen.”
“You were a bit different.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked. Their conversation without us was getting to me.
“I was merely saying that he’s late getting home because he’s getting lucky.” Darius explained.
This conversation at the dinner table surprised me.
“You mean, having sex?”
“He can do that?” Bryce asked in awe or maybe even jealous of the fact.
“It’s part of growing up.” Troy said. “And soon it will be the only thing you want to do.”
“You really think he did it though?” I asked.
“Who did what?”
Dirk walked in to take his seat and we got quiet about it. I didn’t know how exactly I would feel asking it to his face.
“Where have you been?” Darius asked.
“Sorry, father. I escorted Janie home. Didn’t they tell you?”
“Yes.” I said. “But you took longer than expected.”
He kind of laughed and started eating. I was really curious now and no longer felt bothered by asking.
“What happened?”
“What do you mean? I just escorted her home.”
“Then why’d you take so long? Did you stay there?”
“No. We just talked for a minute. She wanted me to but I said no.”
“You said no?” Bryce’s voice was in disbelief.
Dirk took notice and also to how everyone was watching him. “What’s wrong with you? What did you think happened?”
“Nothing.” I said quickly. “Just interested.”
He looked around at us again and I think he was figuring our true question out for his own because he became really uncomfortable.
“Oh, no. Really? Are you trying to be completely embarrassing right now? Because you are whether you were trying or not. I didn’t. I swear.”
“Relax.” Darius laughed. “We were just curious due to your lateness.”
“And that was the only conclusion you came to? It wasn’t that perhaps I stopped to talk to someone else on my way back?”
“Who?” I asked.
“I saw Lynn walking home. I sit next to her in my Cuisine Study class.”
“Another girl?” Darius sounded surprised but I really wasn’t.
“She’s kind of an outsider and no one really seems to like her.”
“Does she have a deformity?” Troy asked.
“No. She’s quite pretty. She has hair like the color of Jaylyn’s but it’s straight.”
“You like someone that looks like my mother?” Bryce acted disgusted to hear it.
“Don’t act like you don’t know your mother is pretty.”
“It’s a completely different kind of pretty. There’s pretty and then there’s pretty. To me, my mother is the simplest form of pretty.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Dirk said, getting a little agitated having to compare pretties. “And I didn’t say she looked like her. They just have a similar shade of hair. Lynn’s eyes are a pale dusty blue, far from anything like your mother.”
“Why do people dislike her?” My father asked. “What’s her last name?”
“I don’t know that but her father is the memorial director.”
“That could be why.” Darius said. “A lot of people are uncomfortable thinking of a dead body.”
“You don’t seem to be.”
“We’re used to it but I’m glad you’re not taking society’s side and are getting to know her.”
“She’s nice and she can cook too. She might even be the best one in class, well—until I walked in of course. I don’t care what her father does for a living. Casting her out because of it is stupid.”
“We completely agree.”
“I don’t even think I can picture who you’re talking about.” I said.
“She keeps to herself and seems to like it that way. I offered to give her a ride home since she doesn’t have a horse but she refused rather uncomfortably.”
“Maybe that was just you.” Bryce joked.
Dirk nudged him. “It wasn’t. She was completely fine around me in class. I think it was because she didn’t want me to see where she lived and start to behave like everyone else. I wouldn’t of course but I let her have her space.”
“I’m becoming more impressed of you by the day.” Darius said.
“Thank you, father. Me too.”
I sighed, ready to end this meal. “Okay. That’s swell. I’m going to bed. Tomorrow is a big day. We’ll be talking to everyone about the new uniforms now that they like us again and hopefully get the High Master’s attention.”
“Sounds like you’ll have a full day.” My father said. “We give you our luck early.”
“Thank you, father. Goodnight.”
I left them to have whatever conversation they wanted and head up to my room with Rift unexpectedly following.
“Hey. I didn’t know you were in there, boy. You’re getting awfully sneaky, you know.” He just looked up at me while he kept pace but I still couldn’t hear him. “Come on. Let’s get to bed.”
Of course he continued to follow and we made it upstairs. All of the girl talk from dinner was starting to get me to think about Cadence. I haven’t gotten a letter from her yet so I decided to right her instead.
I didn’t have much to write about though. I just told her about things happening with the Royal Academy. If she was going to be my mother’s successor then I guessed that she knew about our gifts so I didn’t have to leave anything out. It could very well be possible that she heard the rumor about how it was now public knowledge.
I kept the letter fairly simple and ended it with my excitement to see her again without sounding too tremendously desperate. I didn’t want to come off that way but I did miss her and the other girls that like to keep my company could never fill it like she could.
Time wasn’t going by fast enough but I was going to have other things to occupy my time starting tomorrow.
I tried to plan it out perfectly but didn’t quite know how to plan things like this. Since we were all around liked, I was able to get support from everyone I had asked and the whole Academy was on my side. I just had to get the authority here onboard and thought to do it with showing them the actual uniforms on someone compared to the old.
“Janie, can I use your body?”
Her expression at the lunch table made me realize how it sounded.
“I mean, will you be willing to wear the new uniform when I present them to the High Master?”
“I get to be the first one to wear it?! Sure!” She sounded very excited after the momentary confus
ion.
“Good. Bryce you can wear the new one for the boys, I’ll be there for the comparison and Becca, would you be willing to be the comparison for the girls?”
“Sure, Seth. You’re jumping right on it, aren’t you? When?”
“This evening at the end of classes. Janie, I’ll find you so you can change and Bryce, well, you’ll already be with me.”
“Think he’ll go for it?” Janie asked.
“I hope so. I don’t want to wear this for another day which reminds me, Dirk, you should be there for the source of fire.” He didn’t respond. In fact, he wasn’t even looking. “Dirk?!”
“Hmm?” He turned his head quickly.
“Source of fire.” I said. “You being needed. Our social existence at stake.”
“Yeah. I’ll be there.”
He was distracted about something I wasn’t sure what but knew this wasn’t exactly the place to ask.
“Good. If everything goes as planned, I’ll be working on getting everyone’s uniform put together tonight after figuring out how many I’ll need.”
“A hundred and eighteen boys, ninety-six girls this year.”
I turned my surprised expression across the table at Kari.
“What? I’m good with numbers.”
“That’s helpful. Thank you. Let me write it down.” I jotted it on a tiny edge of the book next to me. “That will be a lot, won’t it?”
“Don’t act like it will be hard for you.” Bryce joked.
I smiled to the truth. Putting clothes together has always come easy to me and my range of gifts. I was confident that I could get it done swiftly.
The bell chimed and we headed off to our next class. It was almost nerve racking trying to wait out three more classes wearing this hideous excuse for attire. I hated wearing it and this better be for the last time. I had to be convincing. I expect him to object several times and had many arguments ready that I could use.
Those who needed to get ready did and were waiting outside of the High Master’s office until I was ready for them.
“I’ve never sat out here before.” Becca said.
“No?” I asked.
“One only would if they were in a serious amount of trouble.”
“Oh.” I should have guessed but it wasn’t making me nervous. I’ve had to sit out here before. “I’ll go in and will call you when needed.”
Blooming Life (Fate's Intent Book 10) Page 12
