Page 40 of Self Studies

Beryl kissed the side of my head. “Let’s find Roisin.”

He tightened his grip on my waist. I leaned into his confidence, tentatively smiling as we moved forward. A few heads turned our direction. Phones came out to take pictures People talked while eyeing us, but no one approached. I relaxed a little.

We found Roisin at a table hidden off to one side. She and the three other young women with her turned at my approach. My roommate gave me a cool nod and motioned to an empty seat.

Beryl pulled out the chair, and I sat. “Later, Dot.”

I focused on his broad backside as he crossed the room. He bumped knuckles with a shorter man with long, artfully braided black hair. The two laughed, and a smile pulled at my cheeks.

“So, you and Beryl?” Sandy said, pulling my attention to the table.

I nodded, trying not to grin. Sandy held out her hand palm out and waited for me to do something.

I furrowed my eyebrows and raised my hand, mimicking her posture.

Sandy shook her head. “It’s a high five.” She slapped my palm with hers and grinned.

“Ah, right,” I said, dropping my hand to rub it with my other, though it didn’t really hurt.

Roisin cleared her throat. She introduced the thin brunette twins seated on my right. I couldn’t stop myself from staring at their dull rimless eyes.

“Students can be Natural Mages?” I asked.

“Not many,” one of the twins admitted. “But black magic is black magic.”

“Everyone here has a sob story,” Sandy said offhandedly. “A lot of us announce them on Mêler to get ahead of the rumor mill.”

All four leaned in, waiting for me to say something. But Mêler remained a mystery. The four curious unsmiling faces staring at me didn’t inspire my confidence.

When I didn’t say anything, Sandy leaned back. “Right, well, um, yeah. What I care about is the here and now. Are you joining Beryl’s harem?”

I jumped when a plate with a warm, melty sandwich on it thumped in front of me – a chocolate chip cookie teetered on the edge.

The gangly tween who brought it looked at me nervously. “It’s a turkey Reuben. You dip it in the brown broth.”

The kid scampered off into the sea of tables before I could thank him.

I scanned the crowd and found Saffron’s unreadable gaze watching me. Behind him, Mercedes scowled at Saffron’s back before glaring at me.

Ducking, I moved my attention back to my table.

“Have you already joined his harem?” Sandy changed her question.

I moved my gaze to the Reuben and shook my head.

Saffron’s attention filled me with confusion. This morning, he’d judged me for overeating. Whatever this hot and cold thing he had going on was messing with me.

Roisin raised an eyebrow. “You walked in with Beryl, but Saffron’s your liaison. Do you even know who bought you dinner?”

“Multiple harem invites,” Sandy added with a dramatic sigh. “It’s my dream come true.”

I blinked at my sandwich, still trying to process their quick conversation. When my meat-filled bread didn’t magically solve the puzzle, I picked it up and dipped it in the broth. The bite was delicious, ooey and gooey.

As I refocused on my roommate’s voices, I realized their conversation gave me more questions than answers.

“You know Saffron got us together to try and help you, right?” One of the twins spoke up for the first time. “My sister and I owed him a favor. Once we leave this table, we’re,” she gestured around the table, “not going to be on speaking terms. So, if you have questions, ask them.”

My shoulders fell as the group lapsed into an awkward silence. I chewed slowly. So many questions bounced around in my head—including why Saffron called in favors for me. I closed my eyes, thinking about the groups of friends I’d seen happily existing together. When I opened them, the awkward unfriendly air still filled our table. Before I could dwell, I asked the first question that popped into my mind. “What’s a harem?”

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