I’m about to comment on her grouchy attitude, but I stop myself. I mean, if I was trapped in an academy and could never have sweets, I’d be grumpy, too. The thought makes me feel a little sad for my shadow friends, and I pause when I pick up my fork.“Hey, how did you guys get stuck in the academy again?”
“We told you. We were trapped when the academy was built,”Elgen replies haughtily.
“Yeah, but how? And why? Is it because your house was on this land or something?”
There’s a beat of silence, and I don’t think they’re going to answer me, when Tarlaz croaks,“We don’t know, child.”
“Wait. What do you mean you don’t know?”I press, surprised by his admission.
“It means, we can’t tell you any more than that,”Elgen snaps.“Now, are you going to taste the pie or not?”
Yikes.Getting the hint that my questioning is going to lead nowhere, I’m about to stab my fork into the pillowy top of my pie, when someone slams into my shoulder. My fork goes flying, clattering onto the table, and I jerk my head to see Satine giving me a saccharine sweet smile. Stepping to the side, she removes her elbow, and in the second it takes me to realize what’s happened, her expression changes. She pouts as she rubs her arm dramatically, like I’m the one who just ran into her.
Before I can say anything, Ian is there. “Watch it, Token,” he spits at me as he takes Satine’s arm, directing her away.
I gape after them.“I swear, everyone is losing their minds around here.”
“It always gets like this before the graduation games,”Elgen comments.
“That girl should just be thankful the pie is unharmed,”Tarlaz comments dryly.
My lips twitch.“Or what? It’s not like you could do anything.”
Elgen scoffs indignantly.“You underestimate us.”
That piques my curiosity, because I still hardly know anything about the shadows. I start wondering whether they have secret magic abilities, when Tarlaz says,“She wouldn’t be using the washroom again by herself in the foreseeable future.”
It takes me a moment to understand what he’s talking about. I open my mouth and then close it again.“The washroom?”
“Yes. Every time she pulled her pants down, I would be there,”Tarlaz replies seriously.
I press my lips together and fight to hold in my laughter.“Okay, that sounds entirely creepy and on a whole new level of petty. Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
Tarlaz grunts in my mind, and I shake my head in disbelief.
“Oh my god, Shade,” Kenzie blurts, forgetting about her bowl of noodles. “You okay?”
“Never better,” I mumble back, still stifling my smile from Tarlaz’s threat toward Satine. I can’t help imagining the look on Satine’s face if Tarlaz popped up out of nowhere every time she went to pee. It’d be like always having to use a haunted toilet. I shudder.
Realizing I’m fine, Kenzie glares at Ian and Satine as they find their seats across the room. “I hate when they call you that.”
“Call me what? Token?” I shrug. I graduated from ‘new girl’ to ‘Token,’ days ago. It’s the equivalent of being called ‘weakling’ around here, but it doesn’t really bother me. I mean, he’s not wrong. Honestly, I’m more concerned about the fact that Ian is staring at me like he’s imagining sticking his fork in my eye.What is his problem?
“Yes, he shouldn’t be calling you that,” Kenzie answers, replying to my response from earlier. “You’d think that everyone would try to get along so we can survive the games, but it’s like the students have turned into animals.”
“Well, that’s insulting,” I say, retrieving my fork. “To the animals, I mean.”
She gives me a look. “You know what I mean.” Leaning closer, she lowers her voice. “I don’t get why you don’t just askthemto help you out.”
I don’t have to ask to know who she’s talking about. “Because, somehow, I don’t think letting the students know about my connection tothemwill help me,” I whisper back.
“Yes, it would. Then everyone would be too scared to touch you,” she counters.
“Maybe in class. Behind closed doors it would probably be worse.”
Kenzie doesn’t look too sure about my comment, but she leaves it alone. Ignoring Ian, I finally scoop off a piece of pie and stuff it into my mouth. Immediately, I moan, sagging in my chair. It’s sweet and tangy, and absolutely incredible.
“That good, huh?” Jensen grins as he takes the seat opposite me. He has an orange mohawk today, and he winks, slouching in his chair. In no time at all, he conjures up a sandwich that has so many layers I have no idea how it’s not falling over.
