“I barely know him,” I protest, despite the betrayal of my rapidly trilling heart. “That’s not what’s happening here.”
“Fine. Maybe.” She gathers the tray of trash. “But he is my number one topic of interest if nothing else pans out.”
Before I can protest further, she walks across the dining hall. I cross my arms on the table and bury my head. This is not good. Analiese’s sleuthing capabilities are sharp and often scarily accurate. I have no doubt she can uncover where the real Enzo is and why someone claiming to be him is walking around Ivernia.
So it’s settled. I either have to find a way to come clean about this unfathomable mess we’ve found ourselves in, or I have to do everything in my power to keep William’s real identity a secret.
14
Now that William is fullyimmersing himself in Enzo’s classes, it’s becoming increasingly clear the transition is not a smooth one.
Somehow, the rest of the day is ten times worse than this morning. Two periods later, there’s a rumor the new guy made Ana Rosenfield take notes for him in physics lab, and after lunch I overhear William’s called Inessa “assertive” (derogatory) and Kinsley “boisterous and ungovernable.” By dinner, there are whisperings about an obnoxious new guy with a hot accent and superiority complex, and William is sporting a brand-new fat lip.
“What,” I say as I slam the door of the Forgotten Lounge behind me, “are youdoing?”
Lionel’s head snaps up, his metal grin wide.
“Sorry, not you, Lionel,” I say, my focus unwavering on William. Lionel pulls his headphones back on.
William scowls. He’s holding a frozen bag of peas against his bottom lip. “Exactly what you told me to do,” he insists.
“Did we not say tolie low?” I begin to pace. “You going around causing conflict is the opposite of that.”
He removes the bag to reveal the swollen lump.“Clearly.”
“Please don’t tell me that’s from Sumner.”
“No,” he says stiffly. “One of the rowing gentlemen.”
I don’t bother asking what he did to provoke them, since any scenario I could conjure up in my brain is probably correct. There’s a zero-tolerance policy at Ivernia, and if the entire rowing team was around as witnesses, they’ll likely agree to a cover story protecting whoever threw the punch. They don’t owe loyalty to the new guy, especially an instigator.
I sigh. “I get that things have changed—”
“Quite the understatement.”
“—but you can’t go around acting like anyone who isn’t a dude exists to serve you, or take your notes or whatever, and oh my god youcannotcall anyone ungovernable.” I fold my palms together, hold them over my forehead, and take a deep inhale before lowering them. “Please rise above the entitled male arrogance. That’s how you draw unwanted attention to yourself. You’re on your own here, okay? So you need to remove yourself from your aristocratic high horse and—while we’re at it? Everyone is your equal. No matter what they look like. All right?”
“Who do you suppose should do my cleaning? Or wash my soiled garments?”
“You,” I emphasize. “Do it yourself. Like the rest of us.”
He straightens. “And when one acts like a bloody bastard, you merely suggest I withhold from proclaiming it aloud?”
“Well,” I say as patiently as my inner turmoil allows, “is that what landed you a fat lip?”
His mouth tightens. That’s enough of an answer.
“Yes.” I throw my hands above my head. “Thought that would’ve been obvious.”
“What’s painfully obvious is the fact that I don’t belong.”
His agitation is palpable. It makes me feel sorry for him. Arrogance and insults aside, he’s had to embrace an exorbitant amount of change in only five days. That’s not an excuse to treat others like seeping hot garbage, but we severely underestimated how much help he’d need.
“Go find Sumner and ask him to give you a rundown on fitting in,” I say, overwhelmed. “I need a minute to parse through…everything else.”
William tilts his head, a gesture that reminds me of a golden retriever who’s heard his favorite word. “I’m not to bother him when he’s on his small telecommunication device.”
“Tell him I got a B minus on my calc quiz,” I insist. “It’ll put him in a better mood.”
