The fact that I got my ass kicked every time I went down seemed like a small price to pay. Even Nadia’s ever-increasing disappointment barely registered, which was saying something.
“Anyway, Evie will be here soon enough. Girl hates to be late… not that she’d ever have to be, if she would just use her power. I vote we wait. A day like today is meant to be enjoyed, not wasted talking about school.” Silt sighed happily. “Shit. A day like today is almost enough to make me reconsider heading inland for summer break.”
“I’m sure Phoenix is nice…” Even I could hear the doubt in Kayleigh’s voice. Vibe was one of several first-years who had grown up in Los Angeles, and to her, every other town in the Free States was a shithole by comparison.
Which might have been true; I only had Bakersfield to go by, and God knew that city was a dumpster fire.
“Phoenix sucks,” countered Sofia, “but I’ve got a cousin there. It’ll be nice to get away from the usual Academy bullshit, even if it’s only for a few weeks.” She lay down length-wise on the bench, short, thick legs cropping through the ghosts seated next to her. “You’re welcome to come along if you want, Skeletor. Might do you some good to get away.”
“I already offered,” said Vibe. “Two weeks by the beach… amazing home-cooked meals, courtesy of my family’s chef… maybe even our first shared glimpse of a real night life.” Seated next to me as she was, I couldn’t see her expression, but I could feel the frown. “He said no.”
As far as I knew, Stonewall and his team had held firm to their promise not to share what they’d discovered about my past, but some pieces had made it out into the wild anyway. Like the fact that I didn’t have any family, if not the why and the how of it. Silt’s offer was actually the third I’d fielded, behind Vibe and—of all people—Jeremiah himself.
If I hadn’t been so distracted by the ghost-ridden mess that my life had become, I might have been annoyed by my classmates’ blatant pity.
“What I said was that I couldn’t.” I looked at both women, as new ghosts continued to file into the clearing. “I’m not allowed to leave campus.”
“Like… ever?”
“Until graduation, maybe. Bard wants me here, under supervision.”
“Well that’s bullshit.”
“According to some, it’s bullshit that I’m even allowed to be here.”
“So what are you going to do for two weeks?”
“See if I can grow a beard. Sleep in every morning. Watch vids in the common room in my underwear…”
“I really didn’t need to hear that last part,” said Vibe.
“That actually sounds better than Phoenix. Maybe I should—”
“Stick around and be bored out of your mind?” I shook my head. “Go get drunk in Arizona. Don’t worry about me.”
“Me? Worry? About some skinny-ass, broken-nosed Crow?” Silt’s smile took the sting out of her words. “Perish the thought. But if you’re sure…”
“I am.”
Any other year, and I would’ve probably liked the company. I’d gotten kind of used to it over the past few months. But I had plans for my summer vacation, and those plans didn’t have space for an Earthshaker, no matter how foul-mouthed and entertaining she was.
Don’t worry; we’ll get to those plans eventually. What they were and how they fell apart. How I took that first unknowing step down the road to forever.
That shit’s coming.
•—•—•
It was another ten minutes before Wormhole arrived, pushing through a wall of ghosts that she couldn’t even see. The sheen of sweat on her forehead told us that she’d once again decided to walk instead of teleport. Evelyn and I still weren’t what I’d describe as friendly, but I’d picked up from Sofia that the Teleporter rarely, if ever, chose to use her power.
Just goes to show how screwed up this world is. If I’d been able to teleport, I’d have done that shit constantly. I mean… fuck walking, am I right?
“There you are, roomie. I was starting to wonder if you—”
“Can we skip the small talk and get started? Please?” Vibe colored under the other women’s scrutiny. “I don’t mean to be rude, but we’re running out of practice time.”
“It’s just a history project, Kayleigh. What gives?” Silt made room for Evelyn to sit on the bench, which now held four ghosts and two live women in a nightmarish mishmash of bodies and limbs.
“I’m an Empath, Sofia. Public speaking is…” Vibe shivered. “Let’s just say it’s not my favorite thing ever.”
“I thought you were doing better with that stuff?”
Vibe risked a quick glance in my direction. “I am… sort of… but control takes concentration, and that’s going to be hard to manage if I’m improvising my way through the presentation!”
“You can always grab a handful of Skeletor if it comes to that,” said Silt.
“It won’t. Come to that, I mean.” Wormhole didn’t register as attractive on my stupid, eighteen-year-old scale, but her smile lit up the whole clearing. “That’s why I was late. I ran into Amos on campus.”
“What did the old fart have to say?”
“That we’ve been excused from next week’s presentation, on account of…” Here, her smile dimmed. “You know, Shane being in our group and everything.”
“Seriously?” Vibe frowned. “Why didn’t he just tell us so in class yesterday?”
“I don’t know.”
“Knowing Amos, he waited until the last minute to tell us so we wouldn’t spend all this time slacking off,” said Silt.
“Because God knows, free time is such a horrible thing.” I felt more than saw Wormhole gesture at me. “Is he spacing out again?”
“Says he’s tired,” replied Silt.
“He’ll be fine.” Once again, I could hear the doubt that shaded Kayleigh’s
