Dean Carter looked up from his ginormous oak desk, his perfectly groomed brown hair, along with his perfectly tailored gray suit, looked even more pristine this year. With a wave of his hand, he called air and closed the door behind me. I turned when it slammed, and groaned at who the door had been hiding.
Jess stood there with her arms crossed, her hip jutted out, nothing but resting bitch face holding her expression still. She had on the school uniform, complete with a giant yellow bow holding up a bouncy blonde ponytail. At least it wasn’t pink.
But seeing my charming roomie wasn’t what had me ready to teleport out. The pretty shiny coin known as Brenda the extractionist beeatch stood next to her. Seeing them standing next to each other, I don’t know why I never made the connection before. They both looked like Barbies. Brenda’s hair was a bit shorter, a bit more blonde, her eyes a bit more blue than Jess’s. But still…full-on Barbies.
“Hello, Katy.” She flashed a fake smile. I clenched my teeth in response. Every time I had the pleasure of this woman’s company, I wanted to put my fist through something—mainly her. “It’s such a delight to see you.”
Yeah, right. I didn’t bother hiding my irritation over being called to the headmaster’s office under false pretenses. Lulu didn’t bring me in to present me to the UK heartthrob. I regarded Dean Carter. “Why are they here?”
“I understand you and Ms. Bailey aren’t happy with your room assignments.”
Understatement of the fucking year.
“No, not really.” And something I planned to have a word with Professor Layden about. She’d had a hand in my room assignment. Did she seriously think putting Jess and me together would make us BFFs?
The headmaster stood and straightened his suit before adjusting his perfectly tied tie. “You weren’t happy with last year’s assignment either. If I recall, Ms. Graves came to me with the same request Ms. Bailey has—to remove you from the room.”
I shook my head, not liking the direction of this conversation. How was I the common factor here? “What can I say? I’m not much of a people person.”
“My niece has gone through a very traumatic experience,” Brenda started in as she charged forward. “Having Katy in the same room is a constant reminder of what she went through.”
“What she went through? Gee, I’m sorry if my presence reminds her of the fact I saved her life.”
She thinned her bright red lips. “Did you also lose a sister to the dark side? Did you also have your very best friend betray you?”
I wasn’t about to get into this, not with Brenda, not with Jess, and definitely not in front of Dean Carter. “Look, this isn’t a competition. What we went through last year sucked donkey balls for us all.”
“Oh, really? And do you have a constant reminder of what you went through?”
“Every time I look in the mirror.”
My answer gave her pause. She relaxed her expression enough that it didn’t look like her face was about to crack under the pressure. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to place the two of you in the same house, let alone the same room.”
“It isn’t up to you.” Dean Carter stepped around the desk. “Vanessa and Katy made it work last year. I’m sure Jessica and Katy will do the same.”
Made it work? That was a reach. We managed not to kill each other, and I still felt I should have been awarded bonus points for my restraint, especially after all the bullshit she pulled. Vanessa Graves was known as the Ice Queen of Clearwater for a reason, and it had nothing to do with her being a water elemental. It’d been torture rooming with that twat waffle.
Judging by the icy glare Jess now shot my way, I was in for an even better year. I might start calling her Douche Duchess or something equally as charming. Barbie Bitch had a nice ring to it.
“You aren’t going to do anything about this, are you?” Brenda thrust out her pointy chin and crossed her arms, mimicking her niece’s stance.
“What I’m going to do,” he countered, “is not meddle in their affairs. They are adults. Let them fight their own battles.”
She huffed and threw her arms down at her sides. I was surprised she didn’t add a foot stomp in her tantrum. With a resounding and clipped “Huh,” she spun on her spiked heel, storming off and grabbing Jess on her way out.
Only after the other two left did Dean Carter speak again. “I’m sorry to put you through that, Ms. Reed.”
“I’ve been through worse,” I said with a shrug, immediately forgiving him. Now that Aunt Barbie Bitch and her clone were gone, I was in a forgiving mood. “You didn’t need me here to tell them no. So why did you really call me in?”
“I have a job for you.”
I brought up my hands. “If this is about me TA’ing for Professor Layden, I already know.”
“No, nothing like that. We paired you with Jessica Bailey for a reason. She’s lost without her sister. Julie was the influencer of the two. My fear is Jessica will do anything to be with her twin.”
“You think she’ll go dark?” I couldn’t imagine someone as bubbly as Jess going dark. Then again, I totally missed the signs that Julie had already gone to the dark side.
“It’s your job to see she doesn’t.”
“Whoa.” My hands came up again. “You’re putting this on me? How am I supposed to stop her?”
“You’ll find a way. The Council has faith in your ability.”
“Oh, sure they do. That’s why they imported a partner for me.”
“Speaking of Spencer Dalton, he’ll be living in Ventus.”
Great. I’d get to spend even more time with him. “Is air his primary?”
“Like you, he’s chosen to remain undeclared.”
“Then why put him in Ventus? It’s already the biggest
