Page 78 of Lesson Learned

When I ventureinto the cafeteria for dinner, my heart bounces with relief to see Marnie on her own at the buffet line. I rush over, inserting myself behind her with an effusive apology to the boy behind her who shrugs, not caring.

“Are you back on the calories yet?” I ask her, teasing. “Or still pretending that lettuce and grated carrots are food.”

“You forgot the sultanas,” she says with an eye roll, showing me the topping to her salad. “And I believe there’s a soggy crouton hidden somewhere at the bottom. Carb alert.”

It’s such a relief to fall into our old patterns that I’m giddy, talking rubbish at a mile a minute. I serve far too much onto my plate, then feel bad comparing it to hers and try to return some, much to the indignation of the servers on the line.

My bubble bursts when a solid hand claps on my shoulder. “Hey, ladies. Mind if I squeeze in here?”

I jerk back at James’ touch, nearly spilling my tray. Marnie stares at me in confusion and I spin around, searching for a brightly marked exit or a hole in the floor I can quickly step into.

Harrison waves at me from the far side of the room, Brooke falling against him with laughter. A group of his friends are mid-story, clamouring for attention.

The entire table is alight with joy at getting through the worst day of the week. There are a couple of spare seats at the end and, as I watch, Brooke puts her bag on one to save it for me.

“Hey,” I say in a quiet voice, touching Marnie’s forearm. “Do you want to eat with Brooke? You haven’t caught up with her in a while.”

“There aren’t enough seats,” James says, not even glancing at the table. His eyes stare at me, penetrating.

“For me and her, there are.”

Marnie’s face stiffens and I hate myself for what I’m about to do but I can’t. I justcan’tgo through a meal with the gaze of the boy who assaulted me crawling over my face and body, totting up differences, taking note of changes, getting off on how uncomfortable he makes me feel.

“I like our table,” she says. “I enjoy eating with James.”

And I try to keep a smile in place to hide my disappointment, aware she’s doing the same for me.

“I just need a change, today,” I tell her. “Harrison got halfway through a story the other night, and he owes me the next instalment. I’ll sit with you tomorrow, yeah?”

I turn, getting away before Marnie can answer, just needing to put distance between me and James, feeling like I’ve left her to deal with a rabid monster alone.

Possibly because I have.

When I settle down next to Brooke, hearing welcomes from everyone else at the table, a tight knot in my stomach relaxes. This is what mealtimes used to be before James invited himself along to ruin them. Fun. Easy. Filled with nonsensical chatter and jokes and anecdotes that take such rambling turns that they never ever reach a point.

I glance over once. James has his arm around Marnie, smiling that wintry smile of his, frost in his eyes. She looks happy but there are strain lines around her mouth. Her posture is far too rigid.

“She made her choice,” Brooke whispers, reading me like a book. “You’re allowed to choose, too.”

Once we’re finished, I head back to my room to freshen up, then meander along the corridor to the common room. Halfway there, I stop at the student services office, seeing a staff member working late. “Excuse me?”

He glances up with an expression of forbearance; someone who has to be polite but really just wants to get whatever’s kept him at work finished so he can bugger off back to his real life. “Yes? We’re closed.”

“How can I get a key replaced?”

“There’s a form online.” He shoves a card at me with details that I quickly scan.

“Not another copy of the same key. I guess I want to change the whole lock.”

“There’s a locksmith we use. The cost is one hundred plus his hours plus the fee to get the new spares cut. It’ll add up to around three hundred.”

I wince at the figure but to stop James inviting himself into my room again? Priceless.

“And how do I arrange that?”

The poor man gives a weary sigh, another portion of his evening being sucked away, but he nods. “I’ll load in the request for you tonight. They’ll probably be in touch tomorrow. Wednesday at the latest.” He tilts his head to the side. “Keys fall into the wrong hands, did they?”

“Yep.”

---