Page 13

Sol

“Oh, I thought Odin would take me,” she blurted then blushed so becomingly, I wanted to place my palm on that rosy skin and warm it there, slide it into the soft hair at her temples, and draw her in close. “Not that you aren’t just fine. I mean…”

“It’s all right,” I hastened to say, shaking my head to free it of thoughts that would do nobody any good. “Everyone wants Odin. But I’m here working off demerits, so if you won’t let me take you, I won’t be able to get credit for that.”

“I wouldn’t want to do that.” She shifted her bag higher on her shoulder. “Do you have time to walk me past the dining room so I can get some coffee? My mind doesn’t really switch on without caffeine, and I have a feeling I’ll need all the brain power I can get in my classes.”

“You haven’t had anything yet?” I tsked. “What kind of brain power will you have on an empty stomach? Let’s grab you that coffee and maybe a breakfast burrito or a scone for the road.”

“You have scones?” Her eyes lit up, and I wanted to find lots more ways to make that happen. “I love them. It was the only good thing my aunt ever made.” The light dulled. “She just usually didn’t share them with me.”

“So you had to watch others enjoy your favorite thing?” Outraged, I began plotting ways to make her aunt pay for that and what I suspected were many other crimes against this female.

“No big deal. I snuck them when she was sleeping. After the first day, she thought they were stale anyway.”

I reached for her bag. “Let me get this from you. It looks heavy.”

“It kind of is. At Urban Academy, most of our books were on tablet, but if what I was issued offers any indication, that’s not the case here.”

“No, we’re very low-tech.” I guided her out into the hallway and toward the dining room. “What kind of scones do you like?”

“She only made orange cranberry. But at Urban Academy, we had chocolate chip a few times. They were delicious.”

“Let’s go see what we can find.” We didn’t have scones every day, but I’d spotted some when I grabbed my sausage and egg muffin on my way to the office. “They’re really popular, so I hope they aren’t all gone.”

“Me too!” Roxy picked up the speed of her steps. “I wonder what kind they will be.”

Please let there be some.

It wasn’t as if I could just dash out and buy her some or even order them overnight online. As we proceeded toward the dining room, I surreptitiously crossed my fingers. “Here we are.”

No line remained, although a few students lingered at the tables. Classes would begin shortly, and showing up late was a guaranteed demerit nobody needed. When a student received orientation, they were warned to avoid them by following the rules. Simple enough, we all thought until we learned that there were so many rules, some of which changed without notice, that no one could remain demerit free.

I always had enough to be just on the good side of danger, so I took on various jobs around the school to keep from crossing that line. Nothing I did was terrible, at least nothing I got caught for…but the threat of what might come if we were booted from this prison was never clear enough for me to be willing to take the chance. Not yet, anyway.

“Look, chocolate chip scones.” Roxy piled three on her tray then stopped. “I’m being greedy. How many are we allowed?”

I shrugged. “If it was earlier, I’d say keep it to a couple until everyone has a chance, but that ship has sailed, so take all you want.”

“Really?” Her smile brought that light back to her eyes and melted my hard heart. “I think three is enough. Maybe I can wrap them in napkins for later?”

“There are actually some waxed bags at the end of the line you can use.” I glanced at my watch. “But you’d better get your coffee so we can move. Class starts soon, and according to your schedule, it’s not one of the close rooms.”

“I can skip the coffee.” She chewed on her lip. “I don’t mind.”

“We have time for that.” I took her arm and guided her to the large coffee urns. “We don’t have fancy coffee here, but it’s not terrible.”

She held one of the carboard to-go cups under the spout and pushed down on the handle, letting the rich brew pour free. “It smells very good.”

“I actually like it better than a lot of the ones at coffeehouses—at least to my memory.”

“Urban Academy has coffee carts that also sell pastry for a quick snack on the go.” She twisted her lips in a grimace. “I didn’t appreciate it while I was there.”

“You’re not the only person from Urban Academy, but there aren’t many. Usually, people don’t end up in battle unless their individual pack is attacked or something similar. Even then, families keep them in school if they can.”

“My parents are dead, and my aunt doesn’t give a f—darn about anyone but herself. I am surprised she even remembered me long enough to send me to war. She said I was recruited.”

“Doesn’t usually work that way.” But families were unpredictable, and mine wasn’t much better. I hadn’t thought that until the battle that sent me here, though. “Anyway, we’ll have other opportunities to talk. Your classroom is right up ahead. I’ll walk you in and introduce you to the instructor.”

“No need for that.” The girl she’d been chatting with at dinner, Desi, poked her head out of the door and grabbed Roxy’s free hand. “I’ll take care of it. You can get to your class before you get any more demerits. You have about a minute and a half.”

Which was not enough time to argue. I probably could have said I was completing an assignment for admin, but it was easier just to hand Roxy her bag, tell her I’d see her later, and sprint off into the sunset.