“What are you, Sophie?” she asked once the three were back in the bedroom. “If you don’t mind me asking, of course. I’m a mental, myself, an animus. I can read minds.”
“I’m a shifter,” Elle said. “I change into a swan.”
“Oh, um, well I’m … I’m a physical,” Sophie said then pushed her brow down. “I think that’s what it’s called. At least that’s what Ethan said.”
“Shut. Up!” Elle exclaimed. She turned to Jane. “That is so cool! I mean, we’ve learned about physicals in history, but I never thought in my entire life I’d ever meet one!”
“Really?” Sophie asked, clearly puzzled. “I just, I don’t know. I’ve always sort of felt like I was a freak.”
“We’ve all been there,” Elle said with a smile. “My parents barely even acknowledge my existence anymore.”
“Because you’re a shifter?” Sophie took a seat on the foot of her new bed.
“Because I’m Ignis,” Elle said, sitting on her bed across from Sophie. Jane leaned on one of the bed’s columns that held up the curtains. “My entire family, and I mean generations upon generations, have been in Aqua. My twin brother’s in Aqua. There’s this huge rivalry between Ignis and Aqua. It’s like everyone from Aqua hates everyone from Ignis and vice versa. There are even rumors that Will and Depogare—that’s Aqua’s RH director—have some unresolved tension between them. Anyway, I ended being placed in Ignis because I was late; I was born on the 26 of July rather than the 25. My parents pay for me to be here and everything and they get me things I need, but other than that, they just … don’t care.”
Jane placed what she hoped was a comforting hand on Elle’s shoulder. “You’ll meet a lot of people here whose parents have just abandoned them here, so Ethan lets them live at the school all year round,” she explained. “It’s a place that allows peculiars to come together and not feel different.”
Sophie smiled, revealing straight, white teeth—well, not entirely straight, and they could use a thorough brushing. “I’m glad,” she said, “to be here. I’m sure I’m going to love it here.”
“You will,” Elle assured her.
“Dinner’s in an hour,” Jane said after glancing at the clock on the wall, just above the bathroom door. “Sophie, why don’t you take a shower and clean up? I have some extra clothes for you to wear until you get your own. I think they’ll fit. Hang on …” She headed back into the closet and grabbed some jeans and a t-shirt, as well as a bra and some underwear. When she was satisfied with the outfit, she walked back to her two roommates and handed Sophie the clothes. Before the red head could protest, Jane said, “Those should do for now. I have some extra pajamas for you to use tonight too.”
“I can’t,” Sophie said. “I’m not sure …” She stopped and locked eyes with Jane. “It really means a lot that you’re doing this for me. You don’t even know me.”
“You’re one of us, Sophie,” Jane stated. “That’s all that matters.” Suddenly uncomfortable with where the conversation was leading, she cleared her throat. “When you’re done, we’ll go get you some food.”
“The food is delicious,” Elle put in.
Jane smirked. “Elle would know,” she retorted. “Though you wouldn’t guess, seeing as how she’s so skinny.”
“Oh, shut up,” Elle said.
Sophie laughed at the easy bickering between the two, clutching the clothes tightly to her chest. “Thank you,” she said. “Again. I know I’m going to like it here.” She turned and headed to the bathroom.
Elle turned and leaned over so she could nudge her friend playfully. “You really are the nicest person I know,” she said.
Jane blushed, pointedly looking at her bare feet. “Anyway,” she drawled. “What do you think they’re going to serve at dinner tonight?”
“What they always do,” Elle remarked as the water from the shower sprung to life.
After Sophie had gotten out of the shower and changed—Elle gave Sophie her one of her extra toothbrushes—Sophie asked her roommates to keep what she was secret for the time being. She knew that eventually people would know what she was, but for now, she didn’t want any more unnecessary attention than she was already receiving because she was the new kid.
Jane watched as Elle grabbed her plate and stood up, eagerly anticipating the food that was waiting for her. She loved food. She loved meals. And she knew that compared to other middle and high schools, AckPec served the best food money could buy.
“It all smells delicious,” Sophie said from behind her.
“Doesn’t it?” Elle asked, almost wistfully.
“Elle loves food,” Jane said once more.
“That I do,” Elle agreed. “Hey Jane, since we’re up, you should go ask Ethan if you can talk to him. You don’t have to mention what you want to talk about, just schedule an appointment or something. And don’t worry about Depogare. He’s all the way on the other side of the table.”
“Ha, ha,” Jane retorted dryly. “Okay, I’ll be right back. Save my place.” She handed Elle her plate and headed to the staff table.
“Is everything okay?” Sophie asked, watching Jane’s departure.
“Oh yeah,” Elle said with a nod. “She just needs to talk to Ethan about something. Nothing serious. Actually,” Elle smiled, “she went to talk to him earlier today, but he was gone—I think getting you—and since Will was with you guys, Depogare was left in charge. He’s the guy at the far end of the table, the one with the black hair and the big nose. On top of being RH director to Aqua, he’s the mental trainer. Thank God I’ve never dealt with him personally. You should hear some of the stories Jane has.” She suddenly furrowed her brow and glanced at Sophie. “Speaking of training, who’s going to train you? I mean, since you’re a … you know.” Elle’s voice had dropped to just above a whisper.
Before Sophie could answer, Jane reappeared. “God, I’m starved,” she muttered.
“How did it go?” Elle asked.
“Fine,” Jane said with a shrug. “He said I could come to his office tomorrow at nine.”
“Nine?” Elle nearly dropped the serving utensil holding up her generous portion of salmon. When Jane saw it, she wrinkled her nose. “But what about—”
“I’m just going to have to wake up early,” Jane said, pouring herself some broccoli cheddar soup in a small bowl. She put the bowl on her plate and grabbed a sourdough roll.
“Soup again, Jane?” Elle asked with an arched brow.
“Do you know how limited my options are, being a vegetarian who doesn’t like vegetables?” Jane asked. “Except, apparently, in soup. And celery with peanut butter. And diced onions on grilled cheese sandwiches. And carrots just in general.”
Sophie laughed at this. Jane watched as she piled various foods on her plate, filling it so the bottom was practically nonexistent. Somehow, Jane knew it wasn’t because Sophie loved food as much as Elle did, though that might very well be true. Sophie must be starving. When was the last time she ate, anyway? In fact, when was the last time Sophie did anything a normal teenager got to do? She had been relatively quiet about her family history besides a few tidbits of information, including being abandoned when she was young, thanks to her peculiarness, living in foster homes, and traveling up and down the coast just trying to survive. Sophie should have been worrying about whether or not the cute boy in third period would ask her to the Halloween dance, not whether or not she’d have shelter for the night.
As the three girls made their way back to their table, Elle hung back with Jane.
“Do you think we could invite—”
Jane interrupted Elle with, “I was just thinking that.”
Once the three sat down, Elle leaned toward Sophie, making sure to keep her voice low. “Hey Soph. Can I call you Soph?” Not waiting for ananser, she continued, “Jane and I were wondering if you wanted to come to Ultra with us. It’s a nightclub that actually plays good music and doesn’t remix the songs with techno music.”
“Y
ou can wear one of my dresses,” Jane said from the other side of Sophie. “But you’re a little taller than I am, so they’ll be shorter on you … which might actually be a good thing.”
“The catch,” Elle said, “is that we’ll be out after curfew. But Jane and I have been going to Ultra since the beginning of Year Three and we’ve never gotten caught.”
“We really are good kids,” Jane felt compelled to add. “We don’t drink or smoke or do drugs. We do our homework.”
“Jane’s a real brain,” Elle teased. “4.0 GPA. I’m not kidding.”
Jane blushed, but ignored Elle’s chiding. “We just like dancing,” she said. “And we’re smart enough not to get caught.”
“You guys!” Sophie exclaimed, though her voice was low. “I’ve always wanted to go to a club!”
Elle caught Jane’s eye, feeling the excitement brimming in her blue irises. “Tonight is going to be so much fun!”
“Oh, and you’ll get to meet Brie!” Jane said. “Okay, see that girl sitting over there at the Aqua table with the chestnut brown hair and glasses? She’s kind of by herself eating the salad and fries? That’s Brie Hale. She’s in my Numerology class and super sweet. She’s quiet at first, but I promise she’s really nice.”
“Aqua?” Sophie asked, looking between the two girls. “I thought Ignis and Aqua have some rivalry thing going on.”
“We do,” Elle confirmed. “But Brie’s not like that. And we’re not like that.”
“If you say she’s nice, then she’s nice,” Sophie said before a brilliant smile captured her face. “I’m so excited, I don’t think I can eat anymore!”
“You have to eat,” Jane said with a grin. “We’re going to be dancing our asses off, thank you very much, and as such, we’re going to need all the energy we can get.”
“Here, here,” Elle said, softly clinking her glass of rootbeer with her fork. Then she took a big bite of her salmon.
5
The butterflies in her stomach had grown abnormally large since dinner which seemed to disorient them because they continuously crashed into the walls. Currently, Sophie was standing with Jane and going through potential dresses she would be wearing tonight.
Tonight.
She was going to her first club. Ever.
Even now, she couldn’t keep the smile off of her face. It was an odd thing, what she was currently feeling. It was this mixture of excitement and nervousness. She was brimming with energy to the point where she had to tap her right foot to relieve herself of at least some of it.
As Sophie looked through Jane’s section of closet, she learned two things about her new roommate. One was that Jane was nothing short of organized. The clothes were arranged by type and then color; the same went for her shoes. Two, Jane was obviously rich. She had tons of different clothes, but interestingly enough, none of them were really designer. Neither were her shoes. In fact, Sophie remembered walking by a Payless Shoes and seeing two pairs of flats that Jane owned in the store window.
Jane was also probably the nicest girl Sophie had ever met in her entire life. Currently, the two were looking through Jane’s dresses—the red portion, more specifically—for an outfit Sophie would wear tonight.
“I like this one,” Jane said, pulling a dress from its confines so Sophie could get a better look at it. “You have such beautiful, pale skin, Soph, and this, along with those eyes …” She sighed. “You’re going to be a knockout, seriously. You already are, obviously. You know what I mean.”
Sophie chuckled at Jane tripping over her words. “I understand what you’re saying, don’t worry,” she said, taking the dress. “And thank you. I don’t think I’ve ever been called a knockout before.”
“Well, trust me,” Jane said. “That’s what they’ll be calling you after they see you in that. You should totally go try it on.”
“Jane,” Elle called from across the closet. “It’s ten till eight.”
“Ooh, right.” Jane looked back at Sophie. “I’m going to go down and grab Brie and sign her in. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.” She offered another smile to the red head before disappearing out the door.
Once the door to their room shut, Sophie noticed Elle toss a look over her shoulder. “Jane is never late to anything,” she said with a grin. “Always early.”
Sophie smiled. “I’m the total opposite,” she said. “I’m always late no matter how much time I give myself.”
“Luckily you don’t have Depogare,” Elle said once again. “He’s about as strict about punctuality as Jane is. She says he hands out detentions if you’re even a minute late.” She furrowed her brow. “Who’s training you again?”
“Will,” she replied.
“Interesting,” Elle said. She appeared to have a teasing grin on her face as she turned back to her dress selection. “Well, if anyone can train a physical, it would be Will. He has the biggest arms I’ve ever seen. But he’s cool. He definitely has a temper though.”
Sophie snorted. “Understatement of the year,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’m going to try this on. I’ll be right back.”
She left the closet and crossed the room to the bathroom. After closing the door behind her, she turned and looked at herself in her mirror.
Her mirror, which hung over her sink.
When she woke up this morning, she had absolutely no clue that in just over twelve hours, she had a guaranteed home for an indefinite amount of time, all the food and drinks she could want, new clothes, and a room with a bed and a closet and a bathroom. More than that, she had friends. Two friends that didn’t hesitate in extending an olive branch to her. And they didn’t even know her! Will hadn’t told them to be nice to her, they just were.
Sophie couldn’t comprehend that. If she lent some stranger her clothes, she’d be worried they would rip them, dirty them up, and forget to return them. Jane hadn’t even hesitated. It was like all this niceness was just natural for her, and it probably was.
She had to take a moment. Before she knew it, tears filled her eyes. She had been given a home and friends, a place where she could finally belong. There was no way she could ever repay these people. She didn’t have any money, and she got the sense that even if she did, they wouldn’t accept it. Which meant that she would work her ass off to ensure that she deserved their generosity.
Wiping away her tears, she muttered to herself, “Get a grip, Sophie. There’s nothing less attractive than a red head with red eyes.”
Once she settled down, Sophie slid off her clothes so she was standing in just her underwear. Then, after a deep breath, she stepped in the dress Jane lent her. She kept her eyes closed, almost as though she were afraid to see what she looked like.
When was the last time she wore a dress?
When was the last time she had been this clean?
“All right, let’s get this over with …”
Releasing a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding, Sophie opened her eyes to look at herself in the mirror only to find that her breath hitched.
When was the last time she looked this beautiful?
When was the last time she even considered herself beautiful?
The dress itself was simple in design with thick straps, a scoop cut in front and back, and the hemline reaching a few inches above her knees. It clung to her curves quite furiously—Sophie was certain that on Jane, the dress was slightly looser except in the chest area—and Jane was right; the deep burgundy color really flattered her skin tone. As vain as it sounded, Sophie could not take her eyes off of her reflection. She couldn’t even imagine what she would look like once she had suitable shoes on and her hair and makeup done, but she was definitely excited to find out.
6
When Jane reached the entrance to Ignis Hall, she was glad to see Brielle already there, a bag in her hand—probably makeup—wearing a chic trench coat. Even so, Jane could still see the hem of the dress Brielle wore peek out underneath the hem of the coat.
Hmm.
Not that Jane would ever tell someone they didn’t look good in whatever they were wearing—especially Brielle, who was stunning in that 1950s classic way, and looked good in anything, even those old-fashioned glasses she normally wore—but Ultra had a pretty strict clothing policy. Elle managed to push that policy to its limits by wearing her typical sundresses and gladiator sandals. Somehow, she had never gotten thrown out due to her questionable fashion choices, but Jane liked to think of her as the exception. Since Brielle was a new face, she’d have to make a good impression and that meant wearing something decidedly shorter, especially since she was wearing her signature bottle-cap glasses.
“Hey,” Jane greeted with a smile. “I’m so glad you came. Are you ready to head up?”
Brielle smiled shyly and nodded.
Jane led Brielle into the Hall and signed her in as Mark, one of Ignis’s security guards, scanned Brielle’s student id card. If Mark was surprised at an Ignis signing in an Aqua, he kept it to himself. After the two got the okay, they headed down the hall to Jane’s room.
“Oh my God,” Jane said, taking in the sight of Sophie wearing the dress she picked out for her.
“Doesn’t she look great?” Elle asked, materializing in the room from the closet. She was wearing a rust colored dress that reached the middle of her thighs. The top was square-shaped, the sleeves loose, much like a t-shirt, and a black-knit belt wrapped around her waist, revealing just how narrow it was. On her feet was her favorite pair of black gladiator sandals.
“So do you, hot stuff,” Jane said with a wink. She looked back at Brielle. “Sophie, this is Brie. Brie, Sophie.”
“It’s really nice to meet you,” Brielle said as she and Sophie shook hands.
“Likewise,” Sophie replied.
“Okay, Brie, take off your jacket so we can see what you have on underneath it,” Jane instructed as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Stranger Series Box Set Page 5
