For a moment, Adrian wondered if by some chance Carmen also didn’t want to be an alpha like her dad. Did she also have her own dreams and aspirations, or did she just want to follow the destiny that was laid out for her?
Was he the only ungrateful one?
His thoughts immediately came to a stop as they weaved through the crowd to find Mira. Several familiar faces mingled with new ones, and from what he could tell, things were going well so far. No one seemed to be showing any signs of hostility, and instead it was like meeting a new relative for the first time. Awkward and tentative, but in a good way.
“Mira!” Carmen yelled. “Mira!”
The girl named Mira turned around from the food table and greeted them with a smile and a friendly wave.
As they approached, Adrian noticed the clashes of smells and scents around them. It was different from the usual, as things were normally a cacophony of cheap perfume and too much deodorant. For some reason, this smell felt different.
“Mira, this is Adrian of the Lunaris Pack. Adrian, this is Mira my cousin,” Carmen quickly introduced them both with practiced ease. “I figued you could tell him all about the ins and outs of Rosewood.”
Mira then extended her hand towards Adrian.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” he said politely as he shook her hand, still rather confused on what exactly was going on.
“So what classes are you thinking of taking?” Mira asked while she took something from the refreshment table.
“I didn’t exactly register yet, so I’m not sure.”
Mira’s face scrunched for a second, but then it returned to neutral.
“You should probably do that soon, before all the classes you want are full.”
“You’re right.” Adrian added it to his mental list of things to do.
“So, what subjects do you like?”
Adrian thought about that for a moment. It was his last year in high school, and it might be his last chance to do something for himself.
“I really like the culinary arts.”
“Cooking? Really?” Mira asked.
“Is there something wrong with that?” Adrian tried to not get offended.
“No, no, not at all.” Carmen was quick to diffuse the situation. “It’s just, Mira can’t boil water without burning something.”
“Hey!” Mira defended herself. “I’m not that bad.”
“You burnt ramen. I don’t know how you can even burn ramen,” Carmen pointed out. “You even burnt canned soup. How does one even burn soup from a can?”
“I . . . forgot about it.” She shrugged sheepishly.
“It’s okay, my sister’s probably worse. She thought that the potatoes were onions, and she burnt them while she was trying to sauté them,” he added to the conversation.
“How do you mix up potatoes and onions?” Carmen’s face was painted with confusion.
“I don’t even know.”
“So, culinary?” Mira asked. “I think we have a few electives for that, but I’m not sure. I’m not much of a master chef—”
“Far from it really,” Carmen interrupted.
“But, I have a friend who took a few classes. I can ask her if you want to know about them.”
“Yeah, sure, that sounds great,” Adrian agreed. “So, what else is the school known for?”
Mira hummed for a moment, “A lot of things really, but we’re really big into sports. You?”
“They’re okay, I don’t mind it, but I don’t think I’d play competitively.”
“Really?” Carmen sounded genuinely curious.
“Yeah, they’re more up Nick’s alley.”
“I heard my name,” Nick said as he seemingly magically popped up from nowhere.
“Hi, my name’s Nick. It’s nice to meet you,” he greeted Mira and Carmen.
“Mira,” she replied.
“I’m Carmen,” Carmen introduced herself a little more formally than Mira. “How are you?”
“I’m good. Thanks for asking,” Nick replied as informally as ever.
“So, I hear you’re good at sports?” Mira asked.
“I’m okay—”
“Don’t let him fool you. He’s not just good, he’s an athlete,” Adrian interrupted.
“Really?” Mira seemed impressed.
“I just got really lucky,” Nick said as he tried to downplay what Adrian said.
“Sure you did,” Adrian said before he added, “He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t have to try to get into a team.”
“Awesome! What do you play?” Mira asked with great interest.
“Football and baseball. I tried soccer, but it wasn’t my thing.”
Mira’s smile widened. “Great! Maybe we’ll finally have a good year! Usually our school always ends up at Nationals, but ever since we got a new coach things changed.”
As the two continued to converse about sports, Carmen had to excuse herself to attend to other guests.
As Adrian watched the dynamic duo, he tried to figure out what was up with Mira. Way back when Nick tried to explain to him what it was like finding his soul mate, one of the things he told him was that there a distinct draw to the other person. However, what Adrian was feeling right now wasn’t exactly an “Oh-my-God-you’re-the-one” sort of deal.
That wasn’t to say that Mira wasn’t a nice girl or anything, but Adrian didn’t have an alarmingly strong pull towards her.
Suddenly, the topics switched from football to high school drama, and then to mates. He wasn’t sure how one related to the other, but he figured it was time to pay attention. After all, he didn’t want to seem like he was just there to be there.
“Yeah, her name is Leila and she’s gonna study at UNR,” Nick explained.
“What’s she studying?” Mira asked.
“I think she wants to be an expert on South African History.”
