by Ryan, Matt
“Another retirement.”
The Blues cheered and the Reds gave a smattering of polite applause.
“What happened to Costas?” I asked Ira.
“He was sent back home.”
“And the stone?”
“It’s supposed to be a culmination of what he learned while he was here. On retirement day, you’re given two stones to create something new. We don’t know what the results are, because she never lets us see what drops from the boot.”
I didn’t get it, but I looked over at Verity, who had stepped down from the fountain and started walking toward the double doors. I sidestepped, pushing through the Blues, trying to make it to her. I heard Mark apologizing behind me, keeping pace as I rushed to her.
I reached the edge of the crowd of Blues just in time to watch her approach. When she was only ten feet from me, I noticed the slight creases at the corners of her eagle-like eyes.
She passed me and her hazel eyes met mine. I slowed down, thinking she was going to say something as her mouth opened, but she closed it and moved on. With a smile plastered across her face, she left, and soon all the teachers had gone into the hall behind the double doors.
Mark brushed against my arm, looking at the empty space left by the teachers. Ira had followed me as well, and was rocking side to side, looking at my shoes.
“What the hell was that about?” He pointed at the globe.
Ira opened her mouth, but Mark interrupted.
“I heard what you said before,” he said to Ira. “But what really goes on in there?”
Ira shook her head and looked at the floor. “I don’t know.”
Mark brushed his hair back and looked at the people walking around us. “I don’t think that’s the way home.” He raised an eyebrow at me and pointed at the globe.
Some of the Blues could be seen laughing and hollering at a few nearby Reds.
“Why are the Blues so happy?” I asked.
“Costas used to be a great stone maker. He won quite a few battles for us, back in the day.”
“What happened? He stopped making stones?”
“The elites push themselves hard and burn out quickly. It’s hard to hate forever. You become desensitized. Being numb is a big fear here.”
Ira looked past me and I turned to see Jackie walking against the traffic.
“Ira, I hope you aren’t spooking our new team members.” She kept her eyes on me.
“I just … no, Jackie.” Ira rushed away as Jackie watched her with a big smile.
Once Ira was far enough away, Jackie leaned in and said, “She’s sort of different, but we love her, as we do all the Reds.”
“Yeah, well, this whole place is sort of different. I mean, what the hell was that all about?” Mark asked, pointing to the statue.
Jackie took a deep breath, which made the smile she maintained seem strained. “We always have to make room for the new.” Again, she just looked at me.
“But—”
“Another loss for ya, Jackie. Pretty soon I’ll be winning in every room.” The bleach-blond guy said from his side of the hub. He was surrounded by other Blues.
“Please. Costas was as numb as your nuts,” Jackie said. She wrapped her arm over my shoulder and pulled me close. “This little lady, here, is worth ten of him.”
The guy rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I bet she’s a quick fuse and burns out by the end of the week. Then I’ll be right back to where I was, kicking your ass.”
“You’re going to eat those words every day.”
He chuckled. “We’ll see.” Lingering, he stared at Jackie for a moment before heading toward the Blue houses.
“What a dick,” Jackie said, watching him leave. She took a deep breath and turned to me. “Leader of the Blues, if you couldn’t already tell. The sad truth is, he’s been kicking our asses on the reg for some time now.” She smirked. “But now we have you.”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable being considered a replacement for Costas.”
“I’m not going to lie to you and say I won’t miss Costas, but that’s just part of the deal here. Besides, that globe is the only way a person leaves this place.” Jackie looked at me. “If you’re as special as I think you are, I’d like to get to know you better. Would you have dinner with me?” She glanced at Mark and then back to me.
My stomach rumbled at the mention of food, and I wanted nothing more than to sit down with someone and discuss this cuckoo-land academy.
“It’s always empty here after a retirement. People just want to go back to their houses,” Jackie said as she looked around. “That’s why I like it.”
Rows and rows of tables filled the large cafeteria. A woman in an apron was sitting on a stool behind a glass case of all sorts of meats and containers designated more by color than actual contents. I forked the mashed potatoes, smeared them over the Salisbury steak and broke off a piece. It had gotten cold from my spending most of my time answering all the endless questions Jackie threw at me.
What celebrity is dating who? What won best movie? How were the Super Bowl commercials? What are the hit songs right now and can I sing them?
My mouth hurt and my shoulders slumped. For everything I asked, she came back with quick, one-word answers and then went back to pop culture questions.
“So no Google, Facebook, cellphones or anything here?” I snuck in a question.
“Please. Like they want us communicating with the outside world. Besides, I doubt they have internet where this place is. I wasn’t much of a tech geek anyways.” She laughed. “But some of these kids come in here and go into freaking withdrawal over losing their digital tethers. We had to talk a girl down just a few months ago from the edge of her window. She kept screaming about getting a charger for her phone. Crazy bitch.”
I tapped the phone in my pocket. The battery was long dead and I’d never had a moment of cell coverage since arriving here. The idea of not being connected edged me a little, but the things around me filled my every thought, drowning out my need to update my status.
“One person here asked us about her dad. Do you have anyone back home you’re waiting to get back to?” Mark asked.
Jackie took a deep breath and stirred the whipped cream on her plate with a spoon. “No.”
The double doors to the cafeteria swung open and I whipped around to see a new face. I recognized her as the girl who had stared for a while at Mark. She was cute in a way, but she’d be much cuter if she didn’t have a resting bitch face. I didn’t think she was upset as much as she was in deep thought.
“Hey, Carly,” Jackie said with little enthusiasm.
“I was wondering where you hid them,” Carly said and sat down at the long table, right next to Mark. She pulled her small purse onto the table. “Hogging the newbies all to yourself?”
“We were just getting to know each other, sharing stories.”
“If we’re sharing, I say we make this interesting.” Carly tapped the bag on the table.
Jackie leaned back and blew out a long breath.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You know about truth or dare?”
“Yeah.” Not that I had ever played it.
“Well, this is like that, but when you touch this stone, you’ll have to tell the truth whether you want to or not.” Carly opened the bag, used a black cloth and placed a crystal stone with pink speckles on it on the table.
Jackie crossed her arms and looked away.
“Are you serious? You guys will have to answer anything I ask?” All the questions that had been in my head a moment ago had disappeared. I scrambled to think of more.
“Yes, but with each question it gets weaker, until it’s nothing but a pile of dust,” Carly said.
“I can’t believe you busted out the truth stone,” Jackie said. “You guys don’t have to play.”
“No, I want to,” I said and glanced at Mark.
“I don’t,” he said. “I think there are
some things we keep to ourselves for a reason.”
“Big surprise coming from you, Mark,” Jackie said. “I’m down.”
“Okay, good. I hate small talk, and this is the fastest way to learn about someone.” Carly smiled and clapped her hands. “So, each of us just place one finger on the stone.” She pushed the rock to the middle of the table, leaning against Mark as she did.
Jackie reached over the table and put a finger right next to the stone. “Don’t be a pussy, Allie, with the questions. It would be just like you to ask what my favorite color is.”
Now that she mentioned it, I was interested in that question and wanted one of them to ask me. I wasn’t really sure what my favorite color was, and with the stone, I’d have to answer truthfully. I leaned close to the stone and placed my finger next to it.
Carly cleared her throat. A smile kept creasing her face before she fought it back again. Jackie kept one eyebrow up and looked from me to Carly.
“Your rock, Carly. You answer the first question,” Jackie said.
Mark scooted down the bench for a better view, or maybe just to get some space from Carly.
“Okay.” Carly pressed her pointer finger on the stone. “Now I have to answer any question honestly.”
“Why you been acting weird lately?” Jackie asked.
“I thought you were acting weird, so I started acting weird,” Carly said. “Now you two have to touch it.”
I pressed my finger to the side of the stone at the same time as Jackie. The imperfections in the stone stood out, small fracture lines and ridges.
“Why have you been so weird?” Carly asked Jackie.
“I’ve been under pressure a lot lately to make the stones I used to be able to make. I think I’m losing some of my abilities.”
Carly took a deep breath and nodded.
“Have you slept with Mark?” Jackie asked.
“No, we haven’t done that kind of stuff.” I blurted out the words almost before I could even think of them. I covered my mouth with my free hand.
“You can ask us something now,” Carly said.
“Where are you two from?”
“Richmond, Virginia, for most of my life.” Jackie shook her head. “I knew you’d be a pussy.”
“I’m from Carson City, Nevada,” Carly said.
“Couple of state capital girls,” Mark said.
Jackie turned to him. “Unless you produce a touching finger, you aren’t allowed to say a word.”
“I have another question,” I said. “What happens in the globe during retirement?”
“I don’t know,” Carly said.
“One way or another, you leave,” Jackie said. “Better, Allie.”
My finger slid down the stone but stayed pressed to it. I searched for Jackie and opened my mouth to ask a follow up, but Carly spoke first.
“Allie, are you a dark alchemist, or have you ever worked with them?” Carly asked.
Jackie froze and stared at me, waiting for the answer.
“No.”
They glanced at each other.
“Why?” I asked.
“I—” Carly said.
“We….” Jackie added.
Carly finished, “We think there are dark alchemists looking for this place. And when we get someone like you, we’re suspicious of who you are and your intentions.”
“My intentions are noble,” I said.
“Good. Why don’t you ask another question?” Carly offered.
“Is there another way out of this place, besides the globe?”
“I’ve searched through many of the secret places, but I’ve never found a way out unless you use portal stones,” she answered.
“Boring. You think we’d be sitting here if we knew a way out?” Jackie huffed. “Carly, if you could have sex with one person in the Academy, who would it be?”
“Mark.”
Jackie laughed. “This is getting fun. Carly, have you ever used a stone improperly?”
“Yes.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Jackie brushed her hair back and stared at her. “What did you do?”
Carly’s jaw muscles flexed and her eyes twitched. “I’ve been holding onto a time stone for a few weeks now,” she blurted out, then took a deep breath. “I made it in the house lab. And when I saw Mark today, I knew I could do whatever I wanted to him and then just use the time stone to go back a few minutes. No one would be the wiser.”
“You sick bitch, what did you do?” Jackie asked.
My mouth hung open and I couldn’t blink or think. I only stared and waited for whatever putrid thing she’d done to spill all over me and Mark, soiling us possibly for life. Mark leaned way over, getting a better vantage point to see Carly’s face.
“First, I froze him and Miss Perfect here.” Her gazed darted to me. “Then I dragged his stiff body to the lobby and into my room. I proceeded to take off his clothes and found, to my surprise, that some things still work even when they’re frozen. That was when you came in, Jackie.”
“Me?” she said with a big grin and pointed at herself.
“Yes, you marched in with fire in your eyes, but something changed when you saw Mark naked on the floor. You joined in and we took turns on Mark like he was a twenty-five-cent grocery store ride. After we had ours, I used the time stone, and nobody ever knew what happened.”
Carly pulled her finger off the stone and held her hands over her mouth. She glanced back at Mark, and I’m sure I looked as shocked as he did. He glanced down at his lap.
I couldn’t speak. This couldn’t be real, but her finger had touched the stone, so I knew it was. My anger built up, my face twitched and my hand clenched up in a fist. I took my finger off the stone and found the spot on Carly’s sick face I’d gouge out.
Jackie put a hand up, stopping my assault. “I have to admit, I have used a stone in an improper way.” Jackie lifted the stone off the table and tossed it in one hand. “It was the time I asked Carly to come in here and pretend this stone made you tell the truth.”
Carly lowered her hands to reveal her big smile. “We got you.”
Jackie laughed, but I didn’t think any of it was funny. I smacked the table hard with my palm. The table rattled, and that sent Carly and Jackie into more laughter.
“You really thought we tag-teamed Mark?” Jackie laughed. “Oh my god, I can’t breathe.”
Carly grabbed at her stomach, laughing. “I’m sorry, but this is just too much. Have you two really never hooked up?”
“Her finger was on the truth stone, so it must be true,” Jackie said. “You newbies will believe these things can do anything.”
Mark stood. “Come on, Allie. We don’t have to put up with this.”
I sat and crossed my arms. “I don’t think what you two did was funny at all.”
Carly took some deep breaths. “I’m sorry, but we only get to do that joke every few months, and this was one of my favorites. Please, we like you, Allie, and Mark too.”
“Yeah, it was just a joke, guys. Mark, sit back down.” Jackie got up from the table. “I’ll go grab some ice cream shakes from Beatrice. Hey, Beatrice.” The woman behind the counter moved. “Four chocolate shakes, please.”
I tried to control my breathing, but Carly had put a picture in my mind I couldn’t get rid of, even if I knew it was all a fabrication. It still felt real.
Jackie returned with a tray of four shakes in tall glasses.
I grabbed a glass and pulled it close, inspecting the contents. I put my mouth on the straw and kept my gaze on Carly. She watched me as I dropped the straw from my lips and stared at the brown contents of the glass. “This isn’t a shit shake, is it?”
Jackie spit her shake out onto the table and laughed. “No. What the hell?”
“Well, I don’t know how far this pranking is going to go,” I said.
Mark walked around the table and sat next to me. He eyed the shake and licked his lips.
“You want some?” I pushed his
over closer to him.
“No.” He shook his head.
“So, what’s the real deal with you two?” Carly said.
I looked to Mark and watched his gaze move to each of us. “We’re a couple.” Mark glanced at me for confirmation.
“Yeah, a couple.” It felt incredibly weird to have a label put on us. I liked being around Mark, and I think he liked being around me, but more than that seemed presumptuous.
“Are you two, like, high school sweethearts?” Jackie asked.
“I bet they’re the it couple.” Carly rolled her eyes.
“No,” I said. “We’re not the it couple. We just met a few days ago.”
Jackie leaned forward with narrowing eyes. “A few days?”
“Yeah. What’s with the inquisition here?” I asked.
Jackie laughed. “We get so bored with our old, worn-out news, when someone comes in here, we thrive on their news, their rumors, and with two of you….” She waved her hand forward. “We can’t control ourselves.”
“Well, it’s creepy,” I said and took another drink of the shake. “You two have anyone in here you’re seeing?”
Carly grimaced. “No.”
Jackie leaned back and looked to the door.
“What about you, Jackie? All the time you’ve been here and not one guy?” I asked, happy to be asking the questions for once.
“No,” she said, but she kept looking away.
“She lies. I see her sneaking around sometimes at night,” Carly said.
“Shut up.”
“I do. You sneak around.”
“Just exploring this place.”
“I bet you’re exploring something.”
Jackie leaned back and crossed her arms.
Carly opened her mouth, but the sheer will of Jackie’s glare forced it closed. The temptation to push it farther swelled in me, but I fought it down.
“I think I’m going to go to bed,” Jackie said as she stood.
“Yeah. We should do this again tomorrow. I like you guys,” Carly said.
I raised an eyebrow. “No more shenanigans?”
“Maybe just a little.” She winked.
Mark stood as well, and I shimmied my way off the bench seat. “Later, Jackie,” I called out to her back.