The lights in the bathroom flicker once, twice, and my blood instantly chills, knocking me out of the downward spiral.
No.
Fuck this.
This isnothappening.
I dart out of the bathroom, letting the door crash behind me. I don’t even look where I’m going. All I know is I need to getout. Out of this fucking building, out of this fucking shirt, out of this fucking life.
Before I know it, I’m halfway across campus, rounding the rear of the Planetarium when I stop short. The girl holding a lit cigarette in one hand and scrolling on her phone with the other is just as startled as I am when my arrival disturbs the tobacco and weed-laced smoke.
After an awkward moment of silence, she finally asks, “What are you doing here?”
With a heavy sigh, I drop my backpack and lean against the wall opposite her. “Hiding.”
“From?” she asks, crooking an eyebrow.
“Everyone.”
She laughs, looking me up and down and assessing me before taking another hit of her spliff. “Want a drag?”
“Oh my God, yes.” I sag, eagerly taking the cigarette she offers. The smoke burns as it fills my lungs, and I can’t help but cough, relishing the sweet relief that warms my chest soon after.
“Rough day?”
“Rough month,” I answer, handing the spliff back to her.
“What’s your name?”
“Nyx. You?”
“Brynne.
“Thanks. For that,” I nod towards the cigarette she’s taking a hit from.
“You’re the new girl, right? The dud?” I still at her question, instantly dreading where this line of questioning is heading, but decide if she’s going to fuck me over, then at least I’ll die with a smile on my face.
“Guilty as charged,” I mutter, and she hands the cigarette back to me.
“Got all those Legacies’ panties in a fucking twist. It’s hilarious.”
I scoff. “For everyone else, maybe.”
“Feels like something David Attenborough should be narrating,” she muses, and her random comment makes me choke in surprise.
“What?”
“You know, how they’re all peacocking.” I look at her, still confused, before she begins a truly dismal impression of the famous narrator. “As the new female enters the campus, the males interests are piqued—they circle her, testing her for compatibility. Meanwhile the reigning females prance around them with renewed vigor, flaunting their plumage to recapture the males attention while harassing the newcomer, determined to drive her out before the males select the new female for mating.”
I blink at her, trying to process the absolutely ludicrous image of the Legacies surrounding the Heirs, plucking at their feet like colorful, angry chickens. Laughter bubbles up unbidden, and then we’re both doubled over and breathless.
“See? Peacocking.” She nods, both of us wiping our eyes.
“I really fucking needed that,” I gasp out, but the vibration from my phone’s alarm brings me back down to earth.
“I gotta go. Thanks again,” I say, hefting my backpack over my shoulder.
“See you around, Nyx.” She says with a cheeky smile before inhaling deeply.
