My first official day at Derleth Academy was off to a winning start.
Loretta was already out of bed, throwing on her Derleth Academy uniform – the knee-length red-and-black tartan skirt, a starched white shirt, a black tailored blazer edged with red piping and sporting the school’s emblem – the crest containing a crooked five-pointed star and a weird eye thing – and a black-and-red striped tie. “We usually walk to breakfast together,” she said, indicating the guys across the hall with a nod of her head. “It’s safer that way.”
“Noted.” I swung myself out of bed and pulled on my own uniform. The itchy wool skirt raised prickles on my skin. As I shoved my foot into the stockings, my toenail tore a hole in the foot.Hooray.
I finished changing, wrapped my dreadlocks in a black bandana on Loretta’s insistence, and shoved the stack of textbooks off the desk into my bookbag. A couple of stapled pages fluttered to the floor.
Loretta bent down and grabbed the paper. She handed it to me. “Don’t lose your schedule.”
“Thanks.” I folded the paper and shoved it into my blazer pocket. Loretta pushed open the door.
Greg and Andre already waited in the hallway. Greg ran his fingers through his white-blond hair and beamed at me. Andre hung back in the shadows, his jaw set in a firm line. He nodded at me by way of greeting.
“Hey, honey,” Greg greeted me. “Love the headscarf. Very Islam-chic.”
“Thanks. That was the look I was aiming for.” I touched the fabric. “The headmistress said I couldn’t show my hair until I got my dreads combed out. I’m not keen on doing it myself, so this is my solution.”
Greg opened his arms and wrapped me in a tight hug. The gesture knocked me off-guard. I’d had far too much physical touching since arriving at Derleth, none of it pleasant. Unless I counted Trey’s arm brushing mine, his hand on my shoulder, his soft lips just scraping my earlobe while fire raced down my spine…
But I didn’t count that, not at all.
It felt good to be hugged, even if it was by a stranger. Greg had one of those smiles that put people instantly at ease. He was flashing it at me now, all white teeth and earnestness. “Today is a new day, and we’re gonna get you through it.”
Behind him, Andre shrugged, sweeping me with wary eyes. I didn’t blame him for being on guard. I guessed all the scholarship students had to be at this school, especially one who couldn’t cry for help. Still, with his enormous frame, he didn’t look like the kind of guy monarchs would want to mess with.
Greg held out his hand. “Schedule. I want to see if we have any classes together.”
I dug out the crumpled paper and handed it to him.
“We’ve got homeroom together, as well as history, geography, and physics. You’ve got gym with Andre, which is good because that class is a special kind of torture. Loretta’s taking English lit with you, as well as Andre… hmmm, according to this, you haven’t chosen your elective yet.”
“Elective?” I craned my head to see the blank space on Thursday afternoon.
“Derleth offers all kinds of interesting courses ‘designed to foster individual interests and well-rounded scholars,’” Greg used air quotes as he recited from the brochure. “All the teachers have their own academic subjects. There are all sorts of different classes you can take. I’m taking textile arts, aka sewing. It’s going to be useful for when I’m a world famous fashion designer. Andre is in anthropology.”
“I take feminist studies,” Loretta said.
Feminist studies? This school is a whole other world.“What are my other options?” I asked.
Greg flipped to the second page in my schedule where several electives were listed. I scanned the classes.Ancient Greek, Political Economy, Folklore, Alchemy…
I snorted. “Some of these are fucking weird. Why do the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution need to learnalchemy?”
Greg shrugged. We filed one after the other up the narrow staircase, emerging into the dormitory corridor, where the other students gave us a wide berth as we all made our way across the quad to the dining hall. “Honey, one thing you’re gonna learn is that rich peoplearefucking weird. Wasn’t it Courtney’s dad who demanded the alchemy class?”
Andre nodded as he grabbed plates from the stack and handed them around to us. We joined the end of the line for the breakfast line. Breakfast was buffet style, with a table of silver chafing dishes holding Spanish omelettes, roasted vegetables, grilled tomatoes, and stacks of bacon. My mouth watered just waiting for it.
“Really?” I glanced across the dining hall, where Courtney held court at her table, surrounded by her friends, including Trey, Ayaz, and Quinn.
“I’ve heard he’s a bonafide flat-earther. He believes the moon landing was faked and the twin towers were a conspiracy – that kind of dude,” Greg said in a rush. We moved up a couple of places in the line. “Apparently, he made his fortune with silicon chips before they were cool and now he practically owns the valley. He’s new money, but Courtney is desperate to be in the same league as the other monarchs. That’s why she puts up with Quinn’s manwhoring – she needs him for legitimacy.”
“This school is nuts.” The line moved up and at last, at last, I was let loose on Mount Bacon.
“Agreed, but at least the food is decent.” Greg was making his own dent in the mountain.
“Amen to that.” I piled my plate with food, and we made our way over to our table in the corner. Greg and Andre chatted about an upcoming chemistry test (Well, Greg chatted and used to basic sign language Andre had taught him. Andre wrote notes). I listened with half an ear, my mind whirring through potential revenge plots, most of which I pulled directly from teen movies and then promptly dismissed.
“I’ve been thinking about our audition song for Thursday,” Greg said. “What about ‘Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer’?”
