And the rage.
Who did she think she was, anyway? I supposed in her little world, there weren’t any consequences. And apparently no need to study, either. She must have been so fucking confident that she would pass. Not just pass, but thrive. She must know she had her exams in the bag.
Probably because she was cocky. But possibly for more nefarious, nepotism-related reasons.
A tiny voice in my brain suggestedYou know that’s ridiculous,and I stamped it out.
I wondered if Shrishti knew where Cessy was right now. I wondered if Cessy was just like Marigold. Or maybe dancers didn’t need to study; maybe their exams were entirely physical. So what did it matter to them if they ruined everybody else’s semester?
To hell with it. I didn’t see why Marigold should receive special treatment. She lived in the dorm like everybody else, even if she did have a private room.
I shoved myself back to my feet and headed out the door anddown the hall to the RA’s room and knocked. When Demarius opened the door, he looked exhausted, shirt wrinkled and jaw unshaven. In short, he looked about how most of usfeltthis week.
“Hey,” I said. “Sorry to bother you. I can come back tomorrow…?”
“No. Go ahead. I was awake anyway. What’s up?”
“I just wanted to make a noise complaint about the people in the room below mine. Room 262. They’re having a party or something, and it’s making it hard for me and my roommate to study.”
“Do you want me to talk to them?”
I hesitated for a second. If I said yes, that was definitely escalating things. But on the other hand, why was I even here if I didn’t want the RA to intervene?
So I said, “Yeah. That’d be great, thank you. Even if they just turn it down a little bit.”
Why did I feel bad even for asking? I shouldn’t. It was an extremely reasonable request, particularly since I had already asked them in person. Politely.
Still, I felt like I was skulking as I headed back to my room, like I had somehow done something shameful.
I didn’t truly understand the consequences of my actions until later, though. Around threea.m., there was a knock at my door.
I was still awake, trudging through the same music theory work. So was Ken, who gave me a look across the room, brows arched as if to sayWhat did you expect?
I braced myself and opened the door.
Marigold was on the other side, her face a flushed tempest of indignation. “Did you make a noise complaint on me?” she accused.
“Yeah,” I said. “I did. I asked you to turn it down, and you turned it up. So…obviously I took the next logical step.”
“Youasshole,” she snapped. “Hate me all you want, but somethings are beyond the pale. We have the next three years together as two of just eight piano students in our year. We aren’t going to be able to avoid each other. Like, ever. And you just torpedoed any chance of us being able to be somewhat normal around each other.”
That felt like an overreaction. I frowned. “Because I told the RA to tell you to turn it down? Be serious, Marigold. It’s not that big a deal.”
“Right,” she said. “Well, we had alcohol there, so when Demarius came by, he found that. And now we’re all getting written up, and I have to go to analcohol awareness classfor the rest of the year. This goes on my record. Did you know that? My permanent record. So. Thanks. You win, I guess.”
Oh, shit. I hadn’t thought it would go down like that. Marigold getting chastised a little by an overly tired RA who was already mentally checked out of this job? Fine. Seemed proportionate. Demarius wasn’t a jerk, and honestly, I didn’t think he had it in him to actually write somebody up.
Clearly I was wrong.
“Oh, no, if it isn’t the consequences of your own actions. Maybe next time you’ll think about all the people in the dorm who actually give a shit about our grades before you throw a rager at midnight,” I said, and shut the door in her face.
Fuck playing nice.
Whatever existed between us once, whatever might have been…it was over.
Present Day
Celia, of course, wastes no time bringing up my piano battle with Marigold.
