“Okay, no problem,” the driver said.
The woman stepped away from the car so he could drive off. Turning to me, she gave a tight smile. “I’m so glad you made it, River. I’m Diana Hawthorn, the assistant dean. This is Shannon Lockwood. He’s in the year ahead of you, so he will be your student mentor. He’ll take you to get your schedule and show you around.” Without waiting for a reply, she went up the steps, leaving me with this Shannon fellow.
He was a handsome fellow. No, if I’m fair, he was stunning. Dark curly hair and warm brown skin set off his astoundingly blue eyes. They weren’t just one shade of blue. They were a brilliant shade of marine blue, with lighter specks of aquamarine within. High cheekbones and a lush, full mouth completed his model-worthy looks. He was so gorgeous; he looked unreal, a veritable angel to the demon I was. I wanted him as soon as I saw him, lust rushing over me.
He raked his eyes up and down me, those lovely lips already frowning, his eyes cold. “I hope this isn’t a pattern of self-entitled behavior,” he said.” Everyone else arrived yesterday.”
“Some Family stuff came up, and I couldn’t fly out until this morning,” I defended myself.
He flicked a hand at me dismissively. “Whatever. Just don’t make a habit of being late for things or thinking that because you’re rich and your Family has graduated from here for generations, yadda yadda yadda, that you’re special. I might be a scholarship kid, but I won’t take any more shit than I already have to. Understood?”
I nodded. “I’m just here to learn, just like you.”
His gaze softened a bit. “Okay. Sorry to sound so harsh, but some of the kids here act like their shit don’t stink. They act like they’re royalty and try to rule the school like we’re in some dire nineties teen drama.”
Ugh. That sounded horrible. “I don’t have time for that. My Family would be disappointed if I acted like that.”
“Good. Here,” he said, handing me a paper folder. I already picked up your schedule. There’s a campus map in there as well and a list of the books you need to get. Some you can download if you prefer digital, but most of them you can’t.”
I took the paper folder and looked at the sheaf of papers inside. I blanched when I saw the course list. I was going to have to study my ass off. Biology I, Biochemistry I, Introduction to Psychology, Calculus I, Latin I, and American Literature filled my schedule. The math was going to be a considerable problem, nevermind the rest of it.
“I’m rusty in math,” I said as he opened the door to enter the main building.
“Then why did you sign up for calculus?”
“My parents picked my courses,” I said. “Just like they picked my schools.” It wasn’t that far off from the truth, after all.
“Oh,” he said, looking at me with sympathy now. “I’m good at math, majoring in architecture,” he said, beaming proudly. His smile lit up his entire face. I thought he looked like an angel before but now he was positively ethereal. I was so busy drinking him in, I almost missed what he said next. “I can tutor you if you want.”
“Yes, please. Things, ah, happened over the summer, and I can barely remember any algebra or anything.” I decided to go for broke. “I was in a bad car accident.”
Shannon stopped walking. “That’s horrible! Did you suffer a head injury?”
That would make a good cover for anything I should know, including any people, I decided. “Yes.”
“I’m sorry, if I’d known that you spent the summer recuperating from that, I’d not have said what I did.”
“It’s okay. It’s not like it’s something to go about broadcasting. I’m sure Ms. Hawthorn thought I’d like things to feel normal, so she didn’t mention it.”
He made a zipper motion over his lips, miming throwing away the key. “I won’t say a word.” His expression darkened. “Probably best to not let it get too much about. Certain assholes would twist it about to make fun of you.”
Right, legacies who acted like assholes. I’d have to watch for them lest they report back to the Family and get me pulled. That would not end well for me at all, that was for sure.
“Right, so this is the main building. Offices are over there,” he pointed as we walked past. “Study halls are down that way. You can book a room to use the computer there; it’s the only way to get to use the internet in this place unless you pay for your data plan and tether to your phone or something. Your internet log in will be listed in your welcome packet shit there.”
We exited out a rear door. Two looming buildings stood on either side of a path. They couldn’t look any more different from the main building if they tried. Long concrete balconies ran the length of the squat eight-story structures. They looked almost like parking garages, to be honest.
“That’s A Wing,” he said, pointing to the left. Then, jutting his thumb at the identical structure on the opposite side, “and that’s B wing. The dorms where we all stay during our delightful sojourn in this educational paradise.”
“She said I was in B Wing.”
“Yep, and I’ll take you there in just a moment. The building right next to B wing is the cafeteria. The bookstore is the one closest to A wing on that side.”
They were in yet a third structural style, one I mentally called sixties office block.
“Now, see that large brick building over there?” he pointed to a two-story brick structure with floor to ceiling windows flanking two sets of double glass doors. “That’s where you go for your math and science classes. And the concrete block building just past it is the Humanities building. You’ll take your Latin and Lit classes there. Oh, and your Psych class. Now that you know how to find your classes, let’s go find your room.”
That sounded like a great idea. So did carrying the map until I was used to finding my way around. While I could easily see the buildings he pointed out, I didn’t see the student hangouts the driver mentioned. A glance at my map showed they were along some footpath that meandered about from behind A Wing and ended at the Prep school’s dorm quad.
My room was another revelation. During my time with the Family thus far, I had not seen opulence like this, not even at Father’s. Then again, Father tried to blend in with what I thought of as average joes. These people came from money. I guess this was their Family’s way of blending in, playing the part of prince and princesses. Given what Father had said, I wondered if one of his brothers was here somewhere, on hand lest he be needed to make a legacy before his or her expected time. I guessed that if and when I needed to know, I’d be informed. They’d given me this fancy-ass phone after all.
I glanced about the space I was to live in while getting my degree, taking in the fact that despite the luxurious furnishings, there were two beds, two dressers, two mirrors, two desks, and two closets. I had a roommate. I didn’t see them, so after thanking Shannon, I closed the door and went to the side of the room where I saw my bags sat on the bed. I began opening the bags and putting them away. Raymond had thought of everything. I had socks, underwear, jeans, shirts, and even three different suits for more formal occasions. I was happy to see that the closet held a nice set of sturdy wooden hangers, though not all of them were empty. Three sets of full uniforms hung there, all of it in my size. Black trousers, medium blue button-downs, and a black blazer edged in the same shade of blue, with the name of the school embroidered under the school crest, which was an ouroboros encircling a piece of parchment and a book. That done, I went to go check out the bathroom.
“Oh, God, who have they stuck me with?” I heard someone say dramatically. I left the bathroom, deciding that it was a bit of a let down with its tiny shower and no tub after the luxury of the bedroom.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hi, yourself. Who are you?” the copper headed boy demanded.
“I’m…River,” I said, catching myself before I gave the wrong name.
“River?” he sneered. “Great, I have some fool whose parents couldn’t come up with a real name!”
; The blond-haired boy standing next to him snickered. I flushed.
“As I was saying,” I said, drawing myself up haughtily, “I’m River Montgomery.”
“And am I supposed to know who that is?”
“Rusty,” his friend whispered.
“Shut up, Henry, I’m trying to figure out why this fool thinks he’s somebody.”
“But Rusty-” Henry’s whisper sounded more urgent.
“Do you have a last name, Rusty?” I asked him.
“It’s Fitzgerald if you must know. Of the Linfield Fitzgeralds.”
Linfield was a chain of department stores dotted around the Midwest.
“I’m Henry Mansfield,” the blond said, casting a worried glance Rusty’s way. “Rusty, didn’t your dad tell you about what happened to the Montgomery kid?”
“What? Oh!” he swallowed. “The one who had the accident.”
“Yes, the one who had the accident,” I told him. I let my aura flare, the black of my eyes expanding.
“Shit, he’s already Made,” Henry said, his face blanching. Rusty didn’t look much better.
“I-I didn’t mean any offense,” Rusty stammered, chagrin evident from both his expression and tone.
I let my aura calm, “None taken. I’m feeling rather peckish, actually.”
The sets of eyes widened even further and the two young men took a cautious step back. I laughed at their reactions.
“I meant for something like pizza,” I elaborated. Relief quickly swamped their faces, their shoulders relaxing.
“There’s a pizza place here on campus,” Rusty said.
“Yeah, uh, we were just about to go grab a bite. You could come with?” Henry asked, glancing at Rusty.
“Fab idea!” Rusty nodded. “We can get one to go and eat it at the beach.”
I had a feeling that these two were used to being top dogs, but my being a Made had them angling for a secure place in the pecking order. Being under my protection, probably from others who were already Made, would give them that. Sensible, I thought, as we could easily snack on them. Not that I would, something told me that if I did, there’d be repercussions. I might be standing in for River, but my place in his world was far from secure. I was still too new in this new position and their families were more established in the hierarchy. Then again, it couldn’t hurt to be on good social terms with my roommate, could it? It would make my time here much easier to get through and help entrench me within their social circle.
I grinned. “Sure. Count me in.”
6
The pizza place turned out to be seriously retro. As in, wow, it looked like Pizza Inn circa 1970 something inspired both building design, decor, seating, staff uniforms, and menu. Only this place was called Pizza Plaza. I’m not complaining, mind. It made me feel nostalgic, even if it did have a takeaway collection window in the seating area by the hostess station.
Rusty, Henry, and I decided to go with a pepperoni pizza. Nothing else on it, just a nice classic cheese and pepperoni. Since they kept those going all evening for the buffet, the school staff, and students who chose to eat here, it didn’t take all that long at all for us to get our pizza and be on our merry way. The food venues and bookstore were built along an old fashioned boardwalk.
“Weekends, a guy with one of those ice cream carts attached to a bicycle comes through here,” Rusty said as we headed towards the beach itself.
“You mean, like a Good Humor man?” I asked, surprised.
“Yeah, exactly like that,” Rusty replied, nodding. “It’s a restored Good Humor cart and he has the matching uniform and everything.”
“And he sells Good Humor Ice Cream?”
“Well, yeah,” Rusty answered.
“I like the strawberry shortcake one,” Henry interjected.
“Nah, it’s gotta be chocolate for me,” Rusty said. “The chocolate eclair, now that’s one of the best.”
My mouth watered. I loved good ice cream. I could remember the bicycle carts and later the white ice cream vans the company used to run, right up until the mid ’70s, the same era I remembered the decor of Pizza Plaza harking from. I glanced over at Sal’s Diner, the burger place, unsurprised to see it had a Formica lunch counter and red leather booths that appeared to have mini-jukeboxes on them. `The bookshop across the road was another nostalgia trip, but from an even earlier era- a much earlier one. Wooden bookshelves, hardback books, including leather-bound tomes in the window, and more caught my eye.
“That place is a trip, huh?” Henry said, catching me looking.
“It’s like something out of the Victorian era,” Rusty said, wrinkling his nose. “You can’t get any of the more recent stuff you might want to read unless it is available in a deluxe hardback edition. They didn’t even get in Harry Potter for the junior high kids until the illustrated ones came out.”
“So, it’s a regular book shop along with being the campus bookstore for our textbooks and supplies?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Henry answered me. That stuff’s kept upstairs. You have to have Mr. Nelson go get it for you. You tell him what you want, and he fetches it.”
We’d reached the set of steps that led down to the sand. I hovered. It was still warm for this time of year, but the breeze off the ocean made it feel chilly.
“Should’ve worn a jacket,” I said, ruefully.
“Mmmm,” Rusty said, placing our pizza box down onto the sand several feet away from the steps and plopping down next to it. Henry and I followed suit, and soon we were happily munching on hot, pizza. Between the three of us, we soon polished it off and moved to leave as dusk was not only falling, but the tide had begun to come in.
“This was great, thanks,” I said, and I meant it. We’d nearly gotten off on the wrong foot, but these two were shaping up to be some alright guys. I squinted, spotting something beneath he boardwalk. “What’s that? Is that a boathouse?”
“It’s off-limits,” Rusty said sharply. “And no, it’s not. Boathouses are built out over the water.”
I held my hands up. “I was only asking.”
Rusty flushed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it to come so harshly. Just, sometimes, people break in, and they’ve gotten hurt.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Hurt? Oh, on the stuff that’s stored in there.”
Henry licked his lips. “Not exactly. Umm, when the tide comes in, it’s partly underwater, right?”
“Right,” I agreed.
“Well, sometimes, when the tide’s in, our um, sponsor decides to come for a visit. Normally he feeds off some idiot rando who decides to come sailing or to snorkel this way even though this area’s marked off-limits or waits for the tribute to be brought to him. He doesn’t take too well to finding trespassers in his house, though.”
Oh. Oh.
“He’s an Old One,” I breathed.
“Yeah,” Rusty said softly as we reached the steps. “Look, I’d rather not talk about him, if you don’t mind. Seriously creeps me out. “
Henry leaned towards me and whispered in my ear, “Rumor is he’s like Cthulu.” He waggled his arms and hands about suggestively as he spoke. “I know I’m staying away. I want to get Made, but not until it’s my natural time.”
Natural time. Ha! That was a rich way of referring to it. He meant natural, as in, once he was accomplished in life and married with a few kids, of course. There was nothing natural about the process, though. They chose when, and if, to make you. Nearly dead from accident or disease? Odds are if you were your Family’s heir, you’d be Made if they got to you in time. Otherwise, it was entirely at the choosing of the one who decided to Make you. Usually, that was your Family’s Sponsor, one of the First Made ones, like Father. They were Made by one of the Old Ones, beings of unknown origin. I’m sure someone must know where they came from, but the rank and file that I was part of had no need to know, so we didn’t.
But, yeah. Old Ones were not on my list of beings I wanted to meet. Father was scary enough as it was. I’d be staying well and
truly clear.
7
“Mr. Montgomery,” Professor Lambert said. “Please see me after class.”
This was not good. I’d known this was going to happen, though. Math really was not my forte, and despite having promised to help me with this class, Shannon hadn’t. I’d tried speaking to him after my first day of classes, but he turned on his heel and made off like a jackrabbit as soon as he saw me. I don’t know what I’ve done to upset him, but from the expression on his face that time and every time since, I’d certainly done something.
I sank into my seat, feeling the weight of my classmates’ stares, knowing they knew I was in some kind of trouble. I resolved then and there to buck myself up. If Shannon wouldn’t help me, I’d have to find someone else who would. I couldn’t go on like this. Flunking was most definitely not an option. Cold panic seized my heart at the idea of the school contacting my Family to inform them of my lack of performance. I felt the room begin to close in at the thought, my heart beginning to hammer. I forced myself to unclench my hands and concentrate on my breathing, recognizing the signs of an impending panic attack. I got it under control but missed most of the lesson. Great, now I was going to be even farther behind.
I waited until the classroom was empty save for Professor Lambert and me, then got up and stood next to his desk.
“You wanted to see me, sir?” I asked.
He looked at me, his expression kindly. “I do. I know this must be quite a shock. You’ve done low-level jobs for your Family, and now you’ve been thrust into this life unexpectedly,” he said. “I believe it’s also been a rather long time since you last attended school.”
“I got my GED in 1956,” I told him. “Father insisted. That was some time after I’d dropped outta school, though.” I slipped into my normal vernacular, the fake polish I put on my words as River now gone without a trace. “I left in the middle of sixth grade before that, ‘cuz my folks couldn’t afford to send me no more. I had ta find jobs to do to help with the bills.”
Urban Decay: Darkly Mine Season One Page 3