I observed the glasses in awe and slipped them on. When I put the letter in front of my face, it read the words out loud to me in a robotic voice.
These were wonderful! They’d really help Charlie. I was so grateful to Maverick. I intended to get started on a plethora of prison stories right away for him—embellished, so he’d think they were even cooler.
I slipped the glasses into my bag before Chancey asked, “Have you seen Ives?”
“We were just in class. He got called down to visit his dad,” I said.
Chancey’s face became hollow.
“Oh, fuck. That wastoday?” Chancey’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “He wasn’t supposed to show his scummy ass up until tomorrow.”
“Um…” I didn’t know much about Ivy’s dad. I knew he hadn’t particularly wanted Ivy, and that he was the leader of some vampire gang in Chicago, but Ivy had avoided giving any other details. Apparently, he wasn’t Chancey’s favorite guy.
An announcement came over the intercom. “All students are to report to the Hall of Mirrors for an assembly immediately,by order of the Warden.”
That was it. Both of us looked around nervously for our significant others, but didn’t see them.
“We should go,” I said as a crowd began forming in the direction of the Hall of Mirrors. “Can you push me that way?”
“Yeah.” Chancey put his hands on the back of my chair. “Maybe Ives will already be there.”
We didn’t find Ivy, but Charlie, Marcus and Kallie were at the front of the Hall. Oberi flew above them in circles, while Rishi batted at the feathers she dropped.
“Thanks for getting her here,” Charlie said, clasping Chancey’s hand and slapping him on the back.
“No problem.” Chancey turned in a circle. “What’s this meeting supposed to be about, anyway?”
Nobody had an answer, and apparently, the Warden wasn’t in a big hurry to get on with the show. We waited for over an hour for everyone on campus to show up, and the crowd was getting restless, shoving each other and trying to pick fights.
“Where the hell is Ivy?” I asked, looking around. “The visit with his dad shouldn’t have taken this long.”
“Dunno.” Chancey seemed worried. “He’ll get an infraction if any of the guards realize he’s missing. We gotta come up with a cover story for him.”
I opened my mouth to start making suggestions, when the sound of the Warden clearing his throat echoed through the room. The area went dead silent. Two figures stood on the balcony wrapping around the edge of the room. One was the Warden, the other, a spindly-looking girl I’d never seen before. She had to be at least seventeen, but couldn’t be older than that. It was almost like she was too young to come here.
“Welcome, students. I’d like everyone to get to know my niece, Miss Esther Taurus,” the Warden said as he made a sweeping gesture toward the girl. “She’s new here at the Institute, and will be a valuable asset to our school, as no doubt you all are.”
Esther gave a huge, white-toothed smile. “I’m absolutely thrilled to be accepted into the Institute! I’msoexcited to meet you all, and can’t wait to attend the academically-challenging courses I’ve heard so much about!”
Murmurs went up around the room, like everyone thought she was kidding. Nobody waseverexcited to come to the Institute. People had to be dragged here against their will. As for academically challenging, it was hardly fucking Harvard. This girl was faker than press-on nails.
“What’s her charges?” Jeffrey Johnson shouted out from the crowd. It was meant to be a joke. A few people laughed, but the laughter instantly died when the Warden turned his beady eyes on them. He fixed his gaze on Jeffrey, who paled under the Warden’s cold stare.
“My niece is the first student in the history of Darke Institute to attendwillingly,” the Warden hissed. “She has chosen to do so in order to raise the prestige of this school, and as a full-honors student, we are lucky to have her.”
Jeffrey gulped, and I felt bad for him. The Warden was going to make him pay for his comment eventually. The kid had a ticket to Cellblock 9 now.
Esther cleared her throat and gave a littletee-heenoise, before she tapped her shoes and said, “Darke Institute is a wonderful place to be. When I first heard about this incredible school, I knew it was my calling to attend this establishment and serve the poor, unfortunate souls who’ve found themselves within its doors. I truly believe that anyone can be redeemed, and that any sin can be cleansed. It is my mission to minister to the students here and bring them into the holy light, so that my lord’s will be done, and not my own.”
She was talking about doingher lord’swork, and by the proud look on the Warden’s face, I was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the god of the Celestial Church. Esther threw her arms out wide, posing like some virtuous saint, and a couple inmates nervously clapped.
If anyone looked out of place at the Institute, it was Esther. With her blonde ringlet curls and dimpled cheeks, she appeared more like an ornament you’d put on top of a Christmas tree than a juvenile offender.
Then I looked again. Her eyes didn’t have anything in them. They were as dead as anything, void of any emotion except the desire to cause pain. I didn’t know this girl, but I immediately sensed that we must’ve despised each other in a past life, because something about her rubbed me entirely the wrong way.
She looked down at me, and the sides of her lips curled upward in delight. The gloating smile was eerily similar to the Warden’s. I got the firm sense she enjoyed seeing others in pain.
Oh, yeah. Make no mistake about it. Shedefinitelybelonged here.
