Rouge

by Isabella Modra

  “There you are,” she muttered to herself as she snatched her knee-length gray trench coat from the hanger in her wardrobe and caught her reflection in the mirror on the closet door. Her hair looked straggly, so she raked her fingers through it and strung it up in a messy ponytail. The bronze-colored necklace her mother had left for her glowed against her pale skin. It wasn’t very long, the chain fine and sparkling very close to her throat. The symbol was Chinese, and after a little research, Hunter had discovered it was the symbol of fire.

  “Ironic, isn’t it Mom?” Hunter said to her appearance in the mirror as she held on tightly to the necklace. “Presenting me with a necklace that would remind me every day of how you died.”

  Regardless of its meaning, Hunter still wore it out of respect for her mother. Over the years she had come to love it and rarely took it off. It was as though her mother had left a part of her on the earth to be with Hunter always.

  “Hunter!” came Joshua’s sharp voice from the kitchen and she snapped out of her daydream, releasing the necklace and hurrying back.

  The wind and winter snow howled outside as Hunter, led carefully by Joshua’s steady arm, skipped down the apartment building steps. Cold droplets of melted ice dripped down the back of her neck as she passed under the veranda and ducked into the taxi parked on the curb. The snow whirled around them, and Hunter brushed flakes out of her own hair and off Joshua’s suit in the backseat of the taxi. Her nails had already turned a pale purple.

  As they were taken deeper into traffic, Hunter found herself marveling at the sight of the city. Cloaked in white, it was a stark contrast to the bright city lights and looming black skyscrapers. Hunter loved New York, especially when the atmosphere was so buoyant after the hype of Christmas.

  “So are you nervous?” she asked, turning to Joshua who was resting his elbow on the window, his clenched fist under his chin.

  “A little. But I’m glad you’re coming. It’ll help to look into the crowd and see your face.”

  “Well you won’t miss me.” She twirled a lock of her red hair, grinning, and saw something that looked like pain flash in his eyes. It had been and gone before she could place it. “Are you alright?”

  “Yeah, I just... I want you to know that it means a lot to me that you’re coming tonight,” he said, color rushing to his cheeks. He wasn’t very good at giving compliments. “Really, I know you hate it, but God knows I need the support and... well you’re all I’ve got.”

  Lights flashing past the taxi as it sped through traffic glowed like silver in his pale blue eyes. She remembered having nightmares about a cackling man with eyes just like Joshua’s when she was a kid. His eyes were unnatural, almost alien-like. But they were his, and always would be.

  “Stop gushing Joshua,” she chuckled. “Besides, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  s ix

  “Keep the change.”

  Joshua urged Hunter out of the taxi after it pulled up outside the grand staircase of the Oaks Hotel, which towered over them in a magnificent display of sheer black glass and glimmering lights. He and Hunter rugged themselves up and jogged through the raging storm into the warm, rich plaza. Its low roof cascaded before them in a pristine-clean cream. Luxurious couches, glistening chandeliers and plants of all sorts were scattered among the lobby. There were many people in their formal gowns and neat tuxedos laughing and drinking champagne and making their way past the security checking guests off the list.

  Joshua guided her through the crowd and straight to the front of the line of waiting guests, most of which shot them snobby glares of annoyance.

  “My name is Joshua Harrison,” he announced to the bouncer. “I’m receiving an award tonight and was told to arrive early.”

  The security guard was a stocky, middle-aged man who looked as if he’d seen his fair share of bodybuilding supplements. After glancing down at the guest list typed up on his iPad, he nodded towards the elevator and Joshua smiled in thanks.

  “Well, aren’t you special?” Hunter grinned, ignoring the queasy feeling in her stomach as the elevator shot to the top.

  Joshua tried to keep his cool, but Hunter could tell he felt very special tonight. She often thought that he was largely unappreciated for his work at the university. He was the most intelligent person she’d ever known, and his passion wasn’t greatly received by the student body. Sure, rocks and their history weren’t the most fascinating of subjects, but Joshua knew them like the back of his hand. He was a science man down to his very core.

  Joshua nervously straightened his tie as the elevator rose higher. “I’ll probably have to leave you alone soon, so will you be okay to mingle on your own?”

  Hunter couldn’t think of anything worse, but she put on a brave face and nodded astutely. “I’ll be fine, just... enjoy your night okay? You deserve it.”

  “Thanks,” he muttered, looking as if he might embrace her, but Hunter knew better.

  The classical music hit them in the face, along with the loud laughter and chatter of the party. The golden doors slid open to reveal a huge, hexagonal banquet hall with a gigantic glass-domed ceiling. French doors surrounded them at every corner and the room was filled with conversing groups holding champagne and wearing elaborate gowns and suits. Waiters in formal uniforms carried silver trays of canapés and plants as tall as the elevator behind them stood in huge alabaster vases.

  From where she and Joshua stood, all they could see was the beginning of the crowd of mingling university lecturers and guests.

  “There are some people I want you to meet first,” Joshua said in her ear, but he still had to speak loudly over the din.

  Hunter nodded and let him drag her through the mass of people.

  As they zigzagged, Hunter focused on how completely glamorous her surroundings were. Women laughed and chatted regally, flashing their glittering jewelry around. The men in their suits and combed back hair were smart and poised. She felt underdressed in her black heels and fifty dollar dress from the Chic stall at the markets, but she shrunk into her gray trench coat and pretended she worse something ridiculously expensive underneath.

  They were coming to the other side of the hall, and Hunter was glad they were heading outside and away from all the older men and women staring at her as if she didn’t belong. They passed a small string quartet playing an energetic number with violins, flutes and a cello, then Joshua was pulling on one of the golden French door handles and they were outside where the night was cool and it wasn’t so loud.

  Hunter noticed Joshua’s body become stiff and tense the moment they were out in the cold. The snow had calmed down and almost completely stopped, the wind protected by the covers shielding the balcony. A group of men lighting cigars and a couple talking intimately as they leaned against the balcony railing were the only people outside.

  The three men turned as Hunter and Joshua approached. One of them looked very merry and quite content smoking his cigar, a clump of ashes caught in his beard and his kind brown eyes creased into a permanent smile. The one beside him didn’t look nearly as pleased to be at the party, let alone talking to the bearded man. He looked quite bored, but strangely powerful at the same time. The other man was much younger than the both of them, and his eyes were wide and attentive. Hunter guessed he was some sort of assistant or trainee, because he was promptly ignored by both men. Clearly, these were the most prestigious members of the university, or Joshua wouldn’t be so anxiously stiff.

  “Mr. Bradshaw,” he greeted, shaking hands with the bearded man. “Mr. Akerman,” he said, locking eyes with the other. Joshua didn’t even acknowledge the assistant, who was oddly comfortable with this. “I’d like you to meet my... daughter, Hunter. Hunter, this is Mr. Bradshaw, the university president, and Mr. Akerman.”

  Hunter was prepared to look good for Joshua’s sake and shake their hands firmly with a warm smile, but the introduction caught her completely off guard.

  She and Joshua had always been comfortable with the fact th
at he wasn’t her real father. When Joshua took her in he became her guardian, nothing more. It suited the both of them just fine. Joshua never embraced her or told her how beautiful she looked, because that wasn’t in his nature.

  Having Joshua introduce her to his boss - the boss - as his daughter was almost like a slap in the face. The effort it took for her to swallow the swarm of rage within her was so great, Hunter forgot to smile as she shook both their hands.

  “P-pleased to meet you.” She took her hand back quickly and shoved it inside her coat.

  “Miss Harrison, you must be very proud of your father!” said Mr. Bradshaw, his hands clasped around his fat belly. He was almost like a modern-day Santa Clause. “He’s done so much for the university. We very much appreciate his efforts.”

  “Thank you, Sir.” Joshua nodded modestly.

  “Oh I am proud,” she replied, shivering in the cold breeze. Her bare legs were littered with goosebumps. “Are there any other awards being given tonight, Mr. Bradshaw?”

  “Several,” snapped Mr. Akerman. He had hawk eyes and breathed loudly. He gave her the notion he was a hard-hearted man.

  Joshua’s glow faded slightly. “Well, uh, there are many in the university who deserve to be rewarded for their efforts.”

  “Too true, too true!” said Mr. Bradshaw. “In fact I believe we should be gathering inside for the introduction. I must find Andrea, she should have the others rounded up. Will you follow me, Mr. Harrison?”

  “Of course,” said Joshua, and as Akerman and Bradshaw - flanked by the assistant - parted through the French doors back into the rowdiness of the party, he turned to Hunter.

  For a moment, she forgot about her anger. If Joshua could see it had bothered her, it might distract him. She didn’t want that at all; tonight was about him.

  “Go on, I’ll be fine!” she assured him.

  Joshua’s smile gleamed. “Wish me luck!”

  She couldn’t resist pulling him towards her and wrapping her arms around his neck. His body was stiff and cold like a block of ice, but he relaxed in her embrace and gave her a tight squeeze.

  “You don’t need it, Professor,” she said with a smirk and watched him trot into the crowd after Mr. Akerman and Mr. Bradshaw, his cheeks pink from embarrassment and discomfort. It had been a long time since they embraced.

  This was the part of Joshua’s benefits that Hunter loathed; the part where he would have to leave her alone so he could meet with other colleagues or speak to his superiors. That was usually when she could no longer ignore the stares.

  As Hunter passed through the crowd towards the food and drinks table - as she usually did when she was alone at these kinds of gigs - she could feel eyes on her back. Not only was Hunter’s hair a stand out in posh crowds such as this, but often the way she presented herself around others almost asked for comment.

  It wasn’t as if Hunter dressed specifically so people could label her a tart. She dressed the way she liked and if people got the wrong impression, then so be it. She had learned not to pay attention to what people thought of her.

  As the crowd thinned and she came to the food and drinks table, she moved back against a tall potted plant and started shoveling food into her mouth. She busied herself with pretending that no one was watching her. The miniscule appetizers were so delicious that she reached for more, when a voice beside her froze her in her tracks.

  “They thump those pigs, you know.”

  Hunter turned to her right and her eyes fell upon a young man, roughly her age. He stood smartly in a neat black tuxedo, his blonde hair curled in a side part like a hipster James Dean and his square glasses glimmering in the many lights around the room. His expression was more serious than Mr. Akerman’s had been the moment he laid eyes on her.

  “Excuse me?” Hunter froze with the canapé in her hand.

  Immediately after he spoke, the boy’s eyes dropped down to his shiny dress shoes and tweaked his glasses. “Uh, w-what I mean is… that in your hand is a red onion marmalade and pork appetizer. The part of the pig you just swallowed belonged to a living, breathing animal who went through… immense pain before he was brutally picked up by his hind legs and thrown against the ground until he died.” He eyed the tray of food as though it were made by the devil himself. “Then they skin them, cut off their body parts and sell their meat.” He turned his gaze back to Hunter’s. She noticed he had strange green eyes speckled with brown behind his glasses. They reminded her of a tortoise shell. “You were about to eat a thumped pig.”

  Momentarily stunned, Hunter simply stared at the boy. He was beginning to look like he regretted ever opening his mouth.

  “Uh, I’m Eli by the way,” he added somewhat uncomfortably. The strength he’d portrayed in his words had vanished, almost as if a switch had been flicked.

  Intrigued, Hunter shook his hand. “I’m Hunter. Nice to meat you.”

  Eli caught onto the joke and gave her a sideways grin. He had well-kept teeth and a simple smile.

  “I’m sorry about what I just said, I don’t usually go around telling random girls that they shouldn’t eat meat. It’s just… sometimes I get a bit-”

  “Carried away?”

  “Passionate,” he corrected. “It’s kind of a weakness.”

  “Well it’s a very healthy weakness Eli,” she told him firmly. “Don’t ever give up on what you believe in.”

  Eli raised an eyebrow ever so slightly at her. “I... okay. So... are you here for business or pleasure?”

  She snorted a laugh. “Neither. I know someone who’s receiving an award. You?”

  “Well I’m too young to be involved in the university, and this party is far too dull to ever give me any pleasure.”

  “You’re not wrong about that,” Hunter said and took another canapé from the dinner table - one that looked vegetarian, for Eli’s sake. “So why are you here then?”

  “Oh, I-” Eli was interrupted by the loud smack of a microphone being tapped and the noise in the room died completely as someone stepped up to a podium on the far side of the room. Eli and Hunter drew their attention to Mr. Bradshaw as he beamed down at the audience, his eyes bright and his cheeks slightly red. A large screen above his head gave the people at the back a close-up view of their host.

  “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the annual benefit of Columbia University.” The audience applauded dutifully and Mr. Bradshaw raised his hand in modest appreciation. “Thank you all for coming this evening. For those who do not know me, I am President Andrew Bradshaw, and your host for this evening.”

  Hunter scanned the crowd closest to the platform to where Joshua might be standing, and caught the very top of his head as he stood waiting beside Mr. Akerman. On his other side was a stunning woman in a slimming red gown. Joshua was looking for her too, but before he caught her gaze, Mr. Bradshaw was calling him up.

  “In this university, there are certain gifted lecturers and professors who should be thanked for their generosity and exceptional talents which they display on a daily basis. Today we want to recognize several of those special people, the first being Mr. Joshua Harrison of the Geology department.”

  A round of applause erupted, and Joshua climbed onto the stage, stopping beside Mr. Bradshaw. Hunter gave a loud cheer from the back.

  “Mr. Harrison has given the Geology department quite a name this past month, having generously donated his findings to the museum for the sake of his students.”

  As Mr. Bradshaw spoke on about Joshua’s contributions to the university, Hunter watched his cheeks fill with a color as red as her hair. He stood tall and handsome for his age, his pale eyes like diamonds against the velvet navy backdrop behind the platform. Hunter hadn’t ever thought of Joshua as attractive - because he was ten times older than her and also the man who raised her - but she had to admit he looked a confident vision on the stage.

  “And so, as a personal thank you, Mr. Harrison, the university would like to present you with this plaque-” A
young woman in a short beige dress handed Mr. Bradshaw a translucent rectangular plaque, “-As a reminder of your efforts for our university. We hope you will continue to bless us, Mr. Harrison. Would you please show your appreciation.”

  The audience applauded loudly and there were several whoops from those Joshua knew personally. As he shook Mr. Bradshaw’s hand and smiled modestly at the audience, his eyes fell on Hunter’s.

  She clapped and grinned and became filled with pride. Joshua gave her the smallest of nods – his eyes glimmering like blue opals – before he stepped off the stage and joined the others.

  Mr. Bradshaw began his next speech in which the woman in the red dress was thanked for her contributions to the psychology department. Eli bumped her on the arm and she turned to see him holding two drinks.

  “Here,” he gave her a glass and she took it hesitantly. “It’s champagne. Or, as the French call it, champagne.” He lifted a pinkie off his glass and straightened his shoulders.

  Hunter chuckled. “Kind of illegal, don’t you think?”

  “I like to take advantage of the unsupervised liquor at these sorts of events,” he shrugged. “So are you a student of Mr. Harrison’s?”

  Hunter didn’t answer straight away, as another round of applause erupted. She was grateful for the pause so she could think of her answer carefully. Usually, when someone asked about her relation to Joshua, she answered with ‘he’s my guardian’. But the way Joshua introduced her to Mr. Bradshaw and Mr. Akerman earlier still made her blood boil furiously. He had no right to label her as his daughter. She wasn’t - and never would be - his daughter, and Joshua knew that. He was okay with it. It just irked her.

  “No,” she said. “He’s uh... he takes care of me. My parents died in a fire when I was only a few years old, and Joshua’s been my only family since.”