by Karin Biggs
After returning to my room, Little Bernie the cat paid me a visit, and I calmed as he purred in my lap. He only stayed a few minutes until he heard Agnes call him. I headed to the bathroom to wash my hands when the girls from the Village trip entered the hallway. “Have a good time?” I asked as they were about to pass by.
Layla led the pack with an arm full of shopping bags. “Yeah, it was great,” she said with a smile. “Especially the part when Ari punched Felix Adaire in the face and broke up with his girlfriend.”
My limbs went rigid, and I considered the chance that Layla was lying until Heather bounded forward and followed us into our room. “You should have seen it, Paris! We were all coming out of this coffee shop when Ari passed his girlfriend, who was hand in hand with Felix Adaire—remember him from like our first day here?”
I nodded and sat on my bed as I anxiously awaited more details from the girl who had been avoiding me since the solo auditions.
Heather spoke with an animated face. “So, it turns out Tasha didn’t go to Grape Stomp with Ari because she spent that whole weekend with Felix! Ari said they were officially done, and we started to walk away when Felix said something insulting to Ari and the next thing you know, Ari punches Felix in the face! Felix was about to hit him back when a wall of smoke forms and Ari disappears!”
Knowing Ari’s best friend and his affinity for smoke bombs in emergency situations, I assumed Darden whisked him away into an auto-taxi back to the Mansion.
“Have you seen him since the fight? Is he okay?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, but now Ari is officially single. And since you guys are friends, I was wondering if you could tell me what he might like for Christmas? I was thinking about buying him some new shirts since all he wears is flannel.”
I stood up. “You know what Heather, I have a headache, so maybe we can just talk about it later.”
“Oh, okay. Night!” she bounced out of the room and I felt Layla’s eyes upon me.
“What?”
“Better call dibs.”
“Call what?”
“Dibs. It’s what you gotta do in situations like this. Remember what I said about girl code? That way you and Heather don’t become enemies.”
“I’m not doing that,” I said as I plopped onto my bed and pulled out a book I borrowed from Layla—The Passion of Drake and Daniella—the first book in the series. Whatever word the book shop owner in Badger River had used to describe it was accurate. It was eye opening, with adjectives I had never imagined being matched with body parts and human intimacy. And yet, I couldn’t bring myself to stop reading it.
“Suit yourself. I’m heading to the rehearsal studios to work with Reese on our duet for the New Year’s Eve Ball. Hopefully he’ll make it back to his dorm at the end of the night with all his boy-parts intact,” she said with a devilish grin.
I nodded and waved goodbye. I tried to read my book, but no matter how hard I tried to concentrate on Drake’s exquisite palms against Daniella’s porcelain skin, I couldn’t keep my mind off Ari.
Was he okay?
What did Felix say to him?
And why did I have to be right?
I normally felt triumphant whenever I bested my sister, which was rare. But with Ari, I just felt sick—like I had manifested the fight for him.
I eventually put my book down and closed my eyes, listening to the sound of soft rain against my window. It was open just enough for a gentle stream of cool air to blow in the smell of the cold mountain air. I felt myself dozing off into a light sleep when knocking at the door disturbed my relaxed state. “Come in!”
But the handle didn’t move. Three more even taps sounded against the door.
I got off the bed, ready to scold Layla for forgetting her key when I opened the door to see a shirtless Ari, wearing only red flannel pajama pants and a lazy smile.
“Miss Paris Marigold!” he said, holding out the last syllable of my name a little too long.
“Ari, what are you doing here? Are you crazy?” I asked in a frenzy of motions—checking behind him to make sure nobody had seen him in the hallway, to pulling him inside and locking the door.
“Yes, I’m probably crazy. But aren’t we all? I mean, we take direction from a man who very closely resembles Satan. Haven’t you seen his horns?” Ari placed his index fingers next to his temples, displaying a bandaged hand as he laughed hysterically. His body swayed toward me and the scent of alcohol filled my tiny room.
I instinctively held my palm out to prevent his body from falling onto me, causing my fingertips to touch his firm abdomen. I pulled my hand back and shoved it in my jeans pocket. I blushed when Ari caught me looking at his rows of muscles. Again. “Where’s your shirt?”
Ari looked down at his bare chest. “Oh yeah. I couldn’t figure out how to get my shirt on with one hand. The clinic didn’t give me anything for the pain so Sanjay told me to take a shot with him. Or was it two? I can’t remember. But the good thing is I don’t feel pain anymore. See?” Ari lightly punched me in the shoulder with his damaged hand. The act resulted in him cursing and doubling over.
I directed him to sit on my bed and helped prop him up against my pillows. I then moved to the foot of my bed. “Ari, why are you here?”
He smiled and spoke with a booming voice. “To serve His Majesty, King Orson—”
“Shh!”
“Sorry. Shh…” Ari attempted to put his index finger to his lips but only touched the corner of his mouth.
I stifled a laugh. “Why are you in my room, Ari?”
He looked at me through lowered eyelids. “Paris Marigold, I am here because I needed to tell you that you were right. I should have ended it with Tasha a long time ago. And now look.” Ari held up his hand, as if showing me the bandage for the first time. “She’s been with that jerk Felix since pretty much the day Maestro kicked him out.” He shrugged. “You were right. The beautiful Paris Marigold was right.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks. I opened my mouth to speak, but Ari cut me off and continued his slurred speech. “And I asked Layla about your solo. She told me the truth. It’s pretty obvious that Heather…well, she’s a nice girl, but…anyway, Paris Marigold of Green Heights, I’m sorry. I’m in your room because I wanted to say sorry and tell you that you’re right. You’re beautiful and you’re right.”
“Ari, you’re intoxicated,” I said, trying to ignore my fiery cheeks.
“How do you know I’m drunk?” he asked with a playful smile.
“Well for one thing, you’re slurring your words and you also reek of alcohol.” I failed to mention that he called me beautiful—twice. “You have to leave before anyone sees you here and you get us both kicked out.”
“But I want to talk to you. I miss talking to you,” he said with round, pleading eyes.
I felt myself getting lost in swirls of chocolate and gold for a moment until a loud belch from his mouth brought me back to reality. “We can talk later, when you’re sober. You need to leave!”
But Ari only yawned and didn’t move an inch. “You didn’t come to my birthday party. I was hoping you would, but you didn’t.”
“Oh yeah…I’m sorry about that.” I chewed on my thumbnail and stared at my feet. “I guess I didn’t think—Ari, don’t you dare fall asleep!” Ari’s eyes closed, so I stood to tug on his uninjured arm.
“Would sleep be such a bad thing? Your bed feels nice. And I would keep you warm.” He pulled me onto the bed with the arm I had been tugging. My skin tingled under his tense muscles and I felt intimidated by his strength—drummer’s arms.
His fingertips lightly touched my hip bone under my shirt, making the hairs on my back slowly prickle up to my neck. The dim lighting, the smell of the mountain air pushing through under my window and Ari’s warm touch made me want to melt into him. To tell him that yes, I would be fine if he slept in my bed and kept me warm. His breathing slowed and his hand slid lower down my thigh. His other arm raised above his head, showing off eve
ry row of muscle under his firm chest.
I turned my body to get a better hold on his shoulders and prop him up, but my eyes fell to his lips. My awkward kiss with Reese didn’t sell me on the hype of kissing that the Mondarian girls couldn’t stop talking about. But like the Mondarian snowflakes I longed to see, maybe every kiss was different in its own intricate design with each couple. Maybe with Ari…
I shook the thought out of my head. Ari needed to return to his room, so neither of us would be dismissed from the court. I tightened my grip on his shoulders to pull him forward when the door swung open.
“Paris, what the hell?” Layla asked, shutting the door behind her.
I pushed Ari’s torso off me and struggled to stand on my own two feet when I hadn’t ingested an ounce of alcohol. “It’s Ari.” I felt absurd stating the obvious. “He’s intoxicated, and he’s fallen asleep on my bed.”
Layla smiled. “That’s one way to get him to date you.”
I lifted a finger to my lips. “Shh!”
Ari softly snored, but I didn’t want the risk of having him overhear something that wasn’t true.
Layla stared at Ari for a moment as she chewed on the tip of her straw from the cup in her hand. “I didn’t see anybody’s door open on the way in. Just wake him up and take him out.”
Waking Ari up was no easy task. I tried shouting his name and shaking him. Layla opened her cup and dumped ice over his chest.
“Darden, what the—” he sat straight up. “Wait, where am I?” Then he met my eyes, followed by Layla’s. “Oh, crap on the king.” His forehead fell into his palms.
“Time to leave, drummer-boy,” Layla said. She threw her empty cup away and turned her back to us.
“Are you okay to head back on your own?” I asked Ari, my heart racing from almost following through with my kiss research.
Ari slowly moved himself to the edge of my bed and examined his bandaged hand. “Yeah, I’m good. I can get myself back to my room.”
I picked the ice cubes off my bed, then offered my hand. “I should make sure you don’t pass out in the Lounge on your way there.”
He took my outstretched palm to help himself up and let me loop my arm through his as I escorted him down the hallway and into the stairwell.
“These stairwells have great acoustics. Echo, echo,” Ari said, tilting his head back.
I covered his mouth with my hand, feeling the roughness of light stubble on top of his lip and chin, then opened the door to an empty Lounge. “Okay, hopefully you can get yourself upstairs to your room. Goodnight, Ari.”
I turned to head back upstairs but his strong hand gripped mine.
A mix of grey-blue moonlight and dark shadows danced across Ari’s face. “I know who you really are, Paris Marigold. You were right about me and I think I might be right about you.”
I blinked in disbelief, entranced by the illuminated specs of gold in Ari’s eyes and the feel of his hand enveloped around mine. Was he the one who slipped me the note at the Harvest Ball like I had hoped?
He licked his lips. “You’ve been homeschooled your whole life and now you’re on your own but you’re afraid to let go. What’s holding you back, Paris? Just let go…” His eyes bounced from my eyes to my lips, sending my heart into a fierce cadence against my chest.
“I…I have to go to bed,” I said, breaking his hold on me. “And you do too.”
He smiled and performed a sloppy court bow. “Good night, Miss Marigold.” He turned, and I waited until the door to the Men’s Dorms closed behind him. Still under Ari’s trance, I slowly made my way up the stairs. When I opened the door to our room, Heather sat on my bed and leapt up when she saw me.
“Paris! I had another idea for Ari—”
Without thinking, I let Layla’s suggested words fall out of my mouth. “Heather, I have dibs on Ari.”
“Oh,” she said, rapidly blinking her eyes. “I thought you liked Reese?”
“You heard the court lady, Heather. She’s got dibs.” Layla ushered her out the door, then turned and crossed her arms. “So, you’re admitting it then?”
“Admitting what?”
“That you have a thing for Ari.”
“No, I just know that Ari isn’t interested in Heather, so…I’m protecting her from getting her feelings hurt.”
“And his abs have nothing to do with it?”
I tossed a pillow at Layla and after laughing together, settled into my bed and fell asleep with the comfort of Ari’s scent surrounding me.
I woke gasping for breath.
During my phase of rapid eye movement sleep, my brain thought it was vital for me to experience a nightmare of my mother calling to me from the Polaris Auditorium stage. When I ran down the length of the aisle to meet her, she transformed into Ari who proceeded to strangle the life out of me.
I looked over to the other side of the room to see no Layla, and glowing clock digits indicating that I had slept into the late morning. I pressed my palms to my head as imagery from the night before replayed behind my eyelids—playing the piano, being surprised by a half-naked Ari and telling Heather I had ‘dibs.’
What was I thinking?
I had no right to claim Ari for myself. I allowed myself to get lost in his eyes and be mesmerized by his lips—things that had no purpose in a productive Capalon way of life.
Whoever gave me the note at the Harvest Ball wanted me to leave before the king discovered me, but the truth was, I needed to leave before something far more dangerous happened—like developing romantic feelings for a Mondarian drummer.
After I dressed, Heather happened to open her door at the same time. She fidgeted with something on her sweater in an attempt to avoid eye contact but I caught up to her and tapped her arm. “Hey, Heather. I just wanted to say sorry about the whole ‘dibs’ thing. Layla told me to say that to you and I didn’t know what it meant.”
She opened the door to the stairwell. “So, you don’t like Ari?”
I shook my head. “We’re just friends.”
She perked up with a smile, then her face twisted. “Why do you hang out with Layla so much? You should hang out with me and Gen more.” Then she looked at my messy hair and pajama pants. “You know we have sectionals today, right?”
“Yeah, I’m going to eat and run. See you in sectionals.”
I left Heather in the Lounge and headed to the dining hall. When I approached the food line, I saw that I wasn’t the only one who slept in.
Ari signaled for me to sit by him after I filled my plate with the leftover bits of food from the pans on the buffet line. His hair stuck straight up on the crown of his head and dark circles framed his eyes.
But he managed to get a shirt on.
He leaned forward and whispered. “Did I really go to your room last night?”
I nodded and touched my neck at the reminder of his fake grip on me from my nightmare.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, massaging his temples. “I shouldn’t have let Sanjay convince me to take those shots with him.”
“I’m just glad neither of us got caught.”
He took a sip of his hot chocolate. “Did I say…or do anything I shouldn’t have?”
You called me beautiful. Twice.
“No.”
He looked as though he didn’t believe me and then Sanjay came up behind him. “Hey Novak, still on for your solo tonight or do you need a sub?”
He nodded. “I’ll be fine. Play through the pain, right?”
Sanjay slapped him on the shoulder, then exited the dining hall.
“Solo?” I asked Ari.
“Yeah, Maestro wasn’t happy with Simon Zacher on the solo, so he opened auditions again and…I got it.”
I smiled. “That’s great, Ari. But can you play with your injured hand?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” His eyes lingered on his bandaged hand, so I bent my head down to eat my cold eggs. “Hey, I’m sorry that I’ve been kind of distant the past few weeks.”
A
fluttery feeling tickled my insides. I continued to stare at my eggs and poke them with my fork.
Ari’s fingers tapped the side of his cup. “Tasha and I were fighting after Grape Stomp. I tried to work things out, but we weren’t getting anywhere. I was dumb to think it didn’t have anything to do with Felix.”
I lifted my head to meet his eyes. “Were you in love?”
Ari’s eyes widened slightly as if my question may have been inappropriate. But his answer remained calm. “I don’t know, honestly. I know that’s a weird answer but we’ve known each other for so long, I’m not sure if it was love or just…knowing each other.” Ari shook his head. “But it doesn’t matter what it was because it’s over.”
Agnes walked up to our table. “Paris, you know we have sectionals today, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I waited till Agnes walked away to let out a groan. “Sorry Ari, I’ve gotta go get ready for…” I put my fingers to my temples, mimicking Ari from the night before.
He smiled. “Right. Talk to you later.”
I said goodbye and lifted my tray from the table.
“Wait, Paris? I know people say they’ll ‘talk later’ all the time but things have a tendency to get in the way around here, so…what if we made a pact to see each other at least once a day to catch up?”
The fluttery feeling in my stomach intensified. “Okay. When?”
“Well, I can barely keep my eyes open at the end of the day so how about in the morning—before everyone else wakes up. I’ll set a fire in the Lounge and we’ll just catch up before the day takes over.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
“Okay, it’s a deal.”
I walked my tray to the conveyor belt with a smile on my face. I would start everyday talking with Ari—my friend. There was no harm in friends talking. Sure, he had called me beautiful, but he was also intoxicated. He probably would have acted the same way around Heather if he had chosen her door to knock on instead of mine. And whatever effect his eyes and smile had on me, it was just something I had to learn to suppress.