Chapter Eight
Getting up the next morning for classes, I'm still struggling to shake off the thick blanket of depression that always accompanies getting lost in memories of what was and could have been. Drake accompanies me to my first couple classes, and it goes on with them trading me off throughout the day.
To my surprise, especially after the last few days, the classes aren't terrible. I really thought they would be hell. Riggs ends up in my final class where the instructor speaks with a fervor during his lecture and has a bit of a maniacal gleam in his eyes as he continuously glances up at me during class. It's one of the weird random electives I have to take: Arcane Arts and Theories. It's not at all what I thought it was going to be. I figured it would be some kind of history of events like the Salem Witch Trials or the Spanish Inquisition and the impetus behind them. Instead, it's about the application of magical practices and the modern cults that have utilized them in their daily lives, if the professor is to be believed, anyway. He used the word ‘communes’ and ‘religion’ instead of cult, but let's call a spade a spade. Men using the excuse of magic and religion to oppress women isn't a new concept-- insert eyeroll here.
After sitting through that hot mess, I finally escape the last class of the day and head back to my dorm room to get started on the massive amount of homework that I have to complete before my next class rotation. We're on an A and B schedule, so every other day I have one set of classes, and the others on the opposite until the semester switches.
When it comes time for dinner, Jaeger accompanies me to the cafeteria, and I stiffly keep my distance from him as much as possible. Even the students that seem to have magically appeared overnight give him a wide berth, though that doesn't stop them from staring curiously at me while the whispers fly. Some of the guys have that same creep-o look the Arcane Arts professor had earlier, and I have to steel myself from moving closer to Jaeger for comfort. Looking around at the crowd, I find that apparently everybody, including the teachers and custodians, all get their meals at the same time. Someone, I suspect Jaeger, had left a banana and yogurt in the kitchenette for me this morning, and I'd made a quick peanut butter sandwich with an apple for lunch, so this is the first time I'm here during mealtime.
I'm standing with my tray in my hands, waiting to fill it, when Jaeger gets waylaid by one of the administrators I haven't yet encountered. While he's busy, the same girl that had been on his lap yesterday stalks up to me and lets loose when she's well within my personal space.
"You'll find out what your place here really is soon enough, you stupid bitch, and then you won't be thinking you're so far above the rest of us. You've only been brought here to be used, remember that." Hair flipping over her shoulder, the girl spins, intent on leaving after her rude warning, only to find the administrator much closer than he had been and glaring at her. Jaeger is uncharacteristically pale, and I'm confused as I'm not sure what he should be so concerned about at the moment. I'm the one that was insulted, not him.
I start to get an inkling some major faux pas has been made when the administrator’s hand comes down sharply on Jaeger's shoulder, the fingers gripping, claw-like, indenting the fabric of his uniform blazer. Glancing at the girl, she looks absolutely petrified.
"Miss Bream, you'll be attending and assisting at the next meeting. Master Jaeger here will instruct you on where and when it will be held." The man's flinty eyes bore into hers even as his grip remains on Jag.
Lip trembling, the girl tries to apologize, but the administrator only continues to glare stonily at her until she nods and scurries away with her tray gripped in her trembling hands.
Jag stiffly introduces me to the intimidating man. "Cora, this is Professor Clendon. He's on the Blackbriar University Board of Directors. Professor, Cora."
So this is one of the illustrious board members that had a hand in crafting my contract and one of the senior professors for Mythological Studies as well as Advanced Arcane Practices. I don't know what is up with these people and their obsession with the occult, but I dip my head in acknowledgement and hold up my empty tray with a small forced smile, using it as an excuse to get away from the guy.
Jaeger excuses himself as well, letting the professor know that he's my escort this evening and has to stay close. The whole exchange is odd, and Jaeger's stilted behavior continues while we fill our trays and escape back to the dorm room with them to eat. I swear I could feel the man's gaze on me the entire time, but I'd been too afraid to look.
With unasked questions swirling in my head, I take my tray to my room, closing the door behind me. Then I begin making plans to find out what this meeting is about and why it seems ominous for the girl to be attending.
***
My sneakiness pays off later when the guys start discussing it. I'd managed to leave my phone under the edge of the couch on the floor when I’d crept through the empty living room to put my tray in the kitchenette. It's on and attached to the Bluetooth in my room where the guys’ conversation is streamed directly to my earbuds.
"Olivia insulted her directly in front of Professor Clendon. There wasn't anything I could do to prevent it. She came up while I was talking to him, and he overheard it. She's been designated as the vessel for tonight's meeting." Jaeger explains what happened in the cafeteria, but I don't know what vessel he's talking about.
Drake fills the silence. "Can't we get her out of it? And do we really have to do this tonight? I don't know if I can handle this every week. It seems like they're continuously ramping up the schedule." He sounds stressed out, and again. What kind of meetings do they need to have on a weekly basis with the board members?
I hear Riggs answer him with, "Don't be a fucking pussy, Drake. This is what we're being groomed for after all. Or do you want to be next on the list of vessels? Don't forget where they'll start if they run out of the lower tiers. As it stands, we lucked out by getting Cora."
Ash cuts in next. "Shut your mouth, Riggs, we're not discussing any more here. The meeting's at ten tonight at the old gatehouse on the unused side of campus. Everything is being held there until further notice. We're to keep our new roommate close and unaware until further orders." I can nearly picture the sneer on Ash's face from the amount of scorn in his tone, and I'm floored at the difference in him when I'm not present. He's been pretty decent to me, but now I’m starting to think it's a ruse. To what end, I'm not sure, but I'll be finding out tonight.
When it's clear the guys have switched the subject onto mundane topics, I pull the earbuds out, letting them dangle around my neck as my head reels with all the information. I make sure to ignore Blaise when I go out and ask about which one will be escorting me to my physical therapy tomorrow. Ash volunteers, giving a sharp look to Drake when he tries to protest that he can take me. The silent rebuke, for no apparent reason in my opinion, only solidifies that it might be a bad idea to trust him— or any of them, if they can't even speak freely on a subject as simple as an escort. Not to mention the conversation I just eavesdropped on.
Debating if I should ask for one of the others after all, I weigh my options. Frankly, I'm way more comfortable with Ash doing it than having to make small talk with Drake on the drive. Before I make my way back to my room, I go to the kitchen to get a glass of juice and purposely drop my earbuds in front of the couch. Surreptitiously, I slip my phone out from under it and into my hoodie pocket, quickly telling the guys goodnight as I shut myself away from their too-focused gazes.