“Oh.”Ooh.“Okay, what do I do?”
“Can ya move?” Jerry suddenly barks from behind, as he carries in a cardboard box. She jumps out of the way, and he sets it down next to the others.
Eduardo trails in after him, holding a utility knife. “Good morning, Taylor,” he says.
“Good morning. And good morning, Jerry,” she adds pointedly. He gives somewhat of a grunt in return. He takes the knife from Eduardo and begins slicing open the remaining sealed boxes.
“You can start unpacking some of these boxes,” Liam says to her. “They’re items for the initiation. Just put them into piles and then we’ll sort them out.”
Taylor starts on one of the boxes, pulling out black phoenix masks that are individually sealed in bags and separated by copious layers of tissue paper. It feels veryEyes Wide Shut, making her wonder what the initiation will consist of. She can tell that the masks are expensive; when she unzips one to feel inside, the feathers, so soft and thick, are clearly real. China pads over to sniff the feathers, and Taylor shoos her away. She’s quiet as she works, thinking.
How strange it is that she was a registered nurse in a hospital, not so long ago. Mass General Hospital and the Knox feel like two totally different worlds, like they don’t even exist on the same plane—each giving shape to an alternate version of her.
“Are you okay, Taylor?” Eduardo asks, at one point.
“Yeah.”
He nods. “It’s a lot here. It’s not for everyone, but you’re doing a good job. And I like what you’ve done with your skirt, adding that flower. It looks good.”
“Thanks and thanks.”
Eduardo squints at it. “It almost looks like a poppy flower.”
“Fitting,” Liam says, with a chuckle.
“Why is that fitting?”
“You know, poppy? Opium?” Liam says.
She blinks, not understanding.
“Opium comes from poppy?” Liam tries.
“Okay…but how is that relevant?”
“Oh, New Girl, there’s so much you don’t understand.” There’s something akin to pity in Liam’s voice, and it irritates her.
“Well, if no one tells me, then how am I supposed to know?”
“Touché.” Liam shakes out one of the black silks—it’s a robe. “Professor, do you want to tell her, or should I?”
Eduardo glances around—is he looking for Rose?—and then says, “The three nights of preparation begin tomorrow night.”
“The three nights of what?”
“It’s the three nights leading up to the initiation night. The Knox members—the current ones—they gather in the evenings each night, a little before midnight. Certain ceremonies are performed.”
“Like what?”
“We don’t really know,” Liam cuts in. “There’s some elaborate meal…” His voice trails off as Eduardo shakes his head. “Yeah, we don’t really know,” he says again.
“How come no one told me that this was scheduled for this week? The ‘three nights’ thing, and the initiation?” she asks.
“We didn’t know,” Jerry says.
“They use geomancy divination readings to determine the best timing, and this was what was decided,” Eduardo explains.
There’s that geo thing again.
