by Kelli Kimble
I watched Siggie collecting glasses and dismissed the twinge of jealousy I had over losing the position on the board. At least I’d lost it to Siggie, and she’d still invited me to room at the house. But what if the Alpha Nu members didn’t want me at all? Would they kick me out?
A new wave of nerves washed over me. Had I messed up my chance to belong? I looked around for Shirley. I found her in the reception area, eating the icing flowers off of a stale piece of cake.
“Shirley? Hey, do you have a minute for a question?”
She excavated a perfectly formed rose with her fork. “Time is all I’ve got.” She put the entire rose into her mouth.
“Did Patty happen to say if I’m still able to join Alpha Nu?”
She put down the cake and scowled. “I don’t know exactly what you did, and maybe I don’t want to know. But it would be extremely unusual for a candidate to be eliminated at this point, especially after all you did to make the party happen.”
“But if she was that angry . . .”
She cut me off with a slash of her fork. “Patty believes the best in people.”
What if I’m not a person?
The front door opened, and we turned to see who it was.
Jacob.
“I’m just going to check on Siggie,” Shirley said. She put her fork on her plate and went down the hall to the restroom, where Siggie was rinsing the glasses.
“Jacob,” I said, just as he said, “Iris.” We paused for a moment.
“No, you first,” we both said, resuming at the same time. In spite of the situation, I giggled.
He opened his mouth, but I put a finger over his lips. “Before you say anything, I have to apologize. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know that Shirley had put something in the punch, and I drank too much without eating anything at all, and I really, really hope that Omega Nu doesn’t hold what happened against you. Not that I can remember exactly what happened.”
“Iris,” he brushed my hand aside and captured it in his, pulling it to his chest.
I shut my eyes. “No, I want you to know I’m really sorry. And I don’t blame you if you don’t want to be together anymore.”
“Iris. Look at me.”
Reluctantly I looked into his eyes. I felt the pull between us, just as strong— maybe even stronger than it had been yesterday. A part of me that had been aching started to relax.
“I know you didn’t mean to show your wolf form. I know it was an accident. I’m sorry I got so angry and left you. I shouldn’t have left you alone when you were in such a state. I should have taken you to your dorm and tucked you in and maybe, I don’t know, held back your hair.”
I touched my hair self-consciously. It looked terrible, sure, but why did he need to hold it back?
He laughed at my confused expression. “I’d hold it back if you were vomiting.”
“Oh.”
“The hair isn’t important,” he said, shaking his head. “What’s important is that I realized that I was being a jerk. And I realized that just about everyone here was in the exact same state as you.”
“And I’m supposed to take comfort in that?”
“No. Don’t you see? How well do you remember last night?”
“I don’t remember much.”
“And neither will anybody else. We just have to convince them you had on a really good costume or something. We’ll say it was a joke, because of the wolf sightings. We can still keep everyone in the dark.”
The last of the tightness in my chest released. Then a kernel of doubt lodged in my head.
“But should we? Maybe it would be better for them to know. If they understood about finding their mate before they were too old, maybe they’d all reach their potential?”
Jacob frowned. “Do you want that kind of competition?”
“Competition? What are we competing for?”
He dropped my hands and went to look out the window. “What if we help them do this, and then it turns out that Anu gives them the rewards instead of us?”
“What about the book? He showed you your future. Our future. Didn’t he?”
“Maybe we should go see Mr. Anu. If we left now, we could go home and talk to him and still be back in time for dinner.”
Shirley and Siggie emerged from the ladies room, with Siggie carrying the box of glasses.
“We’re all done,” Siggie said. “Oh, except for that plate. I thought I had them all.” She grabbed Shirley’s plate and scraped it into the trash, then packed the plate and fork in another box. “Are all the decorations down? You swept up?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Great. Miss Helga said to just lock the door and go out the back. I think we’re done here.”
“Do you ladies need a ride somewhere?” Jacob asked.
“Why don’t we take them back to Alpha Nu house, and you and I can head home.”
Shirley raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. “That would be great,” Siggie said.
“I’ll get the boxes. The car is unlocked.”
The three of us got into the car while Jacob loaded the trunk with the boxes.
“Going home, huh?” Shirley asked. “Together?” I turned to look at Shirley in the backseat. She was waggling her eyebrows up and down in a suggestive way.
“It’s not like that,” I said. I hated how my voice sounded prim.
“Okay,” she said, in a way that made it very clear that she didn’t believe me.
“Cut her some slack,” Siggie said. “She’s had a rough night.”
“And you and that Buster fellow. What’s that all about, hmm?”
Siggie’s face flushed. “I don’t know. We danced a lot, but he didn’t ask if he could see me again.”
Shirley withdrew a pair of sleek black sunglasses from her pocketbook and put them on. “You two need to get out of the dark ages. Men won’t always hold all of the cards, and it’s up to you to know how to use the hand you have.”
Jacob got in and we fell silent. It was a short drive to the Alpha Nu house, and when we got there he got out and unloaded the boxes, taking them in the house.
“Remember what I said.” Shirley got out of the car.
“Do you think she’s right? Maybe I should be trying to contact him,” Siggie said. Her face was drawn into a worried frown.
“I’ll talk to Jacob, okay? Maybe he can arrange a double date or something.”
“Would you?” she squealed. She tried to hug me over the back of the seat, choking me. “Oh Iris, you’re the best. All is forgiven. This is going to be fantastic.” She got out of the car and slammed the door before I could point out that I’d only said I’d talk to Jacob about it.
“What’s up with her?” Jacob asked, sliding into the driver’s seat. “She just hugged me.”
“I told her we’d talk about going on a double date with her.”
“Oh yeah? Who’s the lucky gent?”
“Buster.”
He’d started driving up the street, but the car lurched to a stop when he pushed hard on the brake. “Buster? Omega Nu president Buster?”
“Apparently they hit it off,” I said. I tried to smile but it felt wobbly. “She says they danced together. A lot.”
He ran his hands through his hair, making it stand on end. “Wow, I don’t know if approaching him is the right thing to do. Not after what happened last night.”
“Right,” I said. “Maybe we better get home to see Mr. Anu, then.”
“Right.”
Anxiety twisted my stomach into a ball. I propped myself on the door arm and watched the landscape slide by as I tried to convince myself that everything was going to be okay. Mr. Anu would know what to do. If nothing else, he had the book, and it would tell us what to do. We passed a sign for Salvation and I sucked in a breath.
What if Mr. Anu said I had to come home from school? What if he said I wasn’t who he thought I was, after all, and that he wasn’t going to help me anymore? My parents were probably already overseas, it had b
een a week or more since their last letter. Where would I go if he turned me out?
I must have fallen asleep. Jacob was shaking me gently by the shoulder.
“Hey, Iris. We’re home.”
I opened my eyes and for a moment the sight of the barn, the house, the chickens and Anu’s truck swept over me like a cuddly blanket. But then I saw my still-a-mess appearance in the car’s side mirror.
He’s going to eat me alive for what I did.
We went inside. Tessa was at the kitchen table with papers spread out in front of her. She was holding her red wax grading pencil, and she had reading glasses perched on her nose. She didn’t look up when we came in. The sight of the papers stopped me cold. Was she working on the banking task that Mr. Anu had set her to? My stomach did a flip-flop. I hadn’t thought of that overheard conversation in some time, and it almost crowded out my fears of what Mr. Anu would say regarding my . . . inopportune exposure.
Almost.
“Sandwiches are in the fridge.” She gestured towards the fridge absently with her pencil.
“Good to know,” Jacob said.
Tessa looked up. “Jacob! What are you doing here? And Iris, too! What a surprise.” She rushed at us, hugging each of us in turn. Then she stood back to look at us. “Iris, are you all right?”
“Uh, yeah.” I glanced at Jacob. “I had kind of a rough night.”
“Huh. Why don’t you head up to your room and change into something more . . . that is to say, something less . . . oh, you know what I mean. You look like you slept in your clothes. Go change.”
I didn’t know what to say, but she was right. I had slept in my clothes. I left the kitchen. As I crossed the living room, she asked Jacob whether we were doing all right at school. Jacob’s reply was muffled but I’m sure she’d already drawn her own conclusions about me from my appearance.
I found a pair of trousers and a sweater in my room and slipped into them. I hung the dress up and went to the bathroom to do something with my hair. I still had a massive amount of eyeliner on, and a swoop of golden eyeshadow over only one eyelid. I used some of Tessa’s cold cream to remove it and washed my face. No wonder she seemed worried. When I was presentable, I returned to the kitchen.
They were seated together at the table. “What’s all this?” I pointed to the papers while trying to appear casual. I took a seat beside Jacob.
“Oh, I’m teaching a night class over in Shelby. These are my student’s papers.”
“You’re teaching again? That’s terrific,” Jacob said.
“Once everyone else was gone, I just got bored hanging around the house all day. I needed something to keep me busy.” Mr. Anu came in. He was dressed in his usual plaid shirt and denim overalls. When he spotted us at the table, his face brightened with a rare smile.
“Iris. Jacob. I saw the car outside, but I didn’t expect to have the pleasure of seeing both of you. I’m so glad you’re here.”
He removed his work boots and socks before coming over to the table.
“I hope everything at school is going well.” He scanned his eyes over us like he could see our thoughts or our souls. Heck, he probably could. He continued to smile.
“Actually,” Jacob said, “We have something we need to talk about.”
“I have something I need to talk to you about,” I said. I didn’t want Jacob taking any of the blame for this. I’d done it. Me.
He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, revealing the wide gold bracelets he wore on each wrist. I focused on the right one; I could see my reflection in it.
“Whatever it is, it can wait until I’ve gotten my lunch together. Have you had your lunch?”
Tessa moved to get up, but Mr. Anu held up a hand to still her. “I’ll see to it. I think it’s a peanut butter and jelly day, right, Iris?” He winked and went to the pantry.
Last year, when we first met, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was the first thing I taught Mr. Anu to make for himself so that he didn’t have to eat at the diner in town for every lunch and dinner. He was making it to give me comfort, or maybe to remind me that he’d learned something from me. It was hard to tell.
He hummed to himself as he made the sandwiches. He brought us each a plate along with a glass of milk. He set his own plate last, and he sat beside me at the table.
“So. What is this we need to talk about.”
Peanut butter stuck to the roof of my mouth. I washed it free with some milk.
“Something happened at school that I need to tell you about,” I said. My cheeks felt hot as shame crawled over my skin. Confessing that I’d messed up to Mr. Anu felt a lot like I imagined arriving at the gates of heaven for judgment would feel.
“I’m sure it’s not all that bad.” He touched my wrist, and calm flooded over me, pushing out the urge to run from the room.
“Jacob and I planned a party together. A sort of mixer to introduce his fraternity to my sorority.”
“Ah, yes. Professor Cane told me you’d joined Alpha Nu. He was quite pleased about that. He says they’re the best sorority on campus.” He turned to Jacob. “And what fraternity are you joining? I understand there’s more than one Anubian-friendly club at Lowry.”
“Omega Nu, sir.”
Mr. Anu nodded. “Impressive.” He turned back to me. “Continue.”
“The party was last night. I was trying to get elected to the board, and I worked really hard to get their attention. At the party, someone put liquor in the punch, and I drank more than I should have. By the end of the night, I was so intoxicated that I don’t remember what I did, exactly. But apparently, I got up on the stage and revealed my alternate form.”
Tessa gasped.
Anu put his hands in his lap, breaking the contact with my wrist. Anxiety slammed back into me, nearly taking my breath away.
“I see,” he said. “And this isn’t your first transgression, either.”
“Sir?” Jacob asked.
“I know the two of you went to some poor girl’s dorm room to torment her and her roommate. You were spotted by multiple people besides your victims, including Professor Cane.”
“Oh.” My lungs deflated. Breathing didn’t seem like a natural task at the moment.
“Now. While I can’t have you out there wielding your werewolf form like an instrument of punishment, I understand that the incident at the party was an accident.”
“You . . . you do?” I asked.
“Yes. I know that you have a family history with alcohol. And I know it has been the source of some embarrassment for you. I expect that if you had known the state of the punch, that you would have consumed no more than whatever the polite obligation would require. Is that true?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And while I can’t say that your behavior is ideal, I do find that this can be to our advantage.” He took the last bite of his sandwich and chewed with a thoughtful expression. “I need some time to think about this. Rest assured that the two of you are not in trouble. Though I expect that you won’t abuse your powers for personal gain again.”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
“That girl had it coming,” Jacob said. He stabbed the table with his pointer finger and glared at Mr. Anu. “She could have hurt somebody.”
Mr. Anu met his gaze. “Be that as it may, you aren’t to hand out punishment again.”
“Yes, sir,” Jacob said, lowering his eyes to the table.
“Now. You’ve had lunch and told me what you came to tell. I want to hear about school. What are your classes like?”
Chapter 14
“That didn’t go the way I thought it would,” Jacob said. We were in the car heading back to school.
“I thought he’d be angry.”
“Me, too. And what’s up with Professor Cane snooping around? Did he say anything to you?”
“No. But I think he might be afraid of me.” I giggled. Professor Cane was easily twenty years my senior and had had the benefit of more time with Mr. Anu. And yet, he alway
s seemed to be slightly on edge around me since the day I briefly changed in his office.
I sobered when I thought of Jacob returning to his fraternity. “What are you going to tell your friends?”
He shrugged. “I’m not going to say anything. Maybe I’ll get lucky and none of them will remember.”
“Oh.” Siggie remembered, and Shirley knew something had happened. I was going to have to give them some explanation. Thinking of Siggie reminded me that she was interested in Buster.
“About Buster. Do you think a date with him and Siggie is a possibility?”
He frowned. “Let me just see how it goes this week, okay?” He pulled the car up, outside my dorm. He didn’t shut off the engine. He leaned over and gave me a chaste peck on the cheek before leaning past me to shove open the door.
So, that’s how it was going to be.
“I’ll see you sometime this week? For dinner?” I asked. I wanted to cringe, hearing the whine in my voice. I sounded like such a pushover.
His expression softened. “Of course. Wednesday? Usual time?”
“Sounds good.” I slid out of the car. Just as I started to close the door, his arm shot out and held it open.
“If Buster is game, I’ll bring him. But I can’t make any promises. I don’t know if he’s upset about . . .” He gestured towards me.
“Right,” I said. “I’m really sorry about that, Jacob. I hope they don’t give you any grief about it.”
“Yeah. Thanks. See you Wednesday.”
He pulled the door shut and drove away, leaving me standing on the curb. I turned to go inside and caught sight of a cluster of girls on the sidewalk, maybe a hundred feet off.
“That’s her. The one that they say is a werewolf,” one of them whispered.
“She doesn’t look like a werewolf. Shouldn’t she be a little, I don’t know, rough-looking?”
They thought they were being discrete, but I could hear them. My face heated and I went into the dorm. Going up the stairs I passed a girl I’d seen around. I said hello. She squeaked and jumped aside, then scurried to the landing that she’d just come down from and through the door.