Page 9 of Misfit Monsters
She sashays back the way we came.
All right. It’s the new kid’s first day! Let’s make it a good one.
With my lips stretched into a sunny smile, I reach to open the door.
In the wider hall on the other side, several doors line both walls. A line of sofas and armchairs stretches down the middle of the space with an occasional side table in between.
All sorts of beings lounge on and around the furnishings. Many of them look over to see who the new arrival is.
A flurry of understated emotions tickles me from across the distance—intrigue and irritation and anticipation swirled together in a jumbled stew.
My attention stalls on a group of students off to one side of the hall. Several beings have gathered around a tall, slim man who’s propped against the wall in a cavalier pose.
I’d imagine many people’s eyes would be drawn to him. He’s handsome in a particularly striking way, with blond hair so light it’s almost silver, sharp features that could have been carved out of ivory, and startlingly dark blue eyes gleaming amid all that paleness. Even leaning nonchalantly, he gives off an impression of cool authority.
Not only that, he has some interesting magic going on. Despite his dispassionate expression, a figurine that looks like a towering pine is forming over his hand with an icy gleam.He’s conjuring it out of the air while the beings around him exclaim with much more enthusiasm than he’s showing.
That’s what catches my attention more than his looks or his chilly power: the undercurrent of emotion drifting off him. For all his apparent nonchalance, frustration bubbles beneath his surface like a bitter curry.
One of his companions cuts off my view, stepping toward me with a graceful but haughty air. She’s nearly as tall and equally gorgeous, her snow-white skin contrasting with her waterfall of black hair.
“We have a new rogue,” she says in a smooth, crystalline voice that fits her looks perfectly. Her gaze flicks to my badge. “And a threat to humankind as well. What did you do to get tossed in here?”
I resist the urge to dive under the nearest sofa. It’s time to spread some friendliness around, since it seems to be in somewhat short supply. “It was just an accident. I’m looking forward to learning with all of you!”
I catch a few muffled giggles and snorts, cotton candy fluffs of amusement. But everyone who’s here made the choice to stay, didn’t they? They must have thought it was a good idea.
Another shadowkind woman, shorter but similarly svelte, sidles up beside the haughty one. She sneers at me. “Sure you are.”
The first woman taps her friend with her elbow. “We can be welcoming.”
She holds out her hand to me. “My name is Gloss. I sometimes drop in on the reform division for the… invigorating company.”
She tosses a grin over her shoulder toward the icily handsome man, and I notice her badge, pinned to the bodice of her sleek burgundy dress. It has a circle etched on it beneath the number 4, not a triangle like mine.
Does that mean she’s a student who came voluntarily?
I give her hand a tentative shake and smile wider to make up for my hesitation. “I’m Periwinkle. But you can call me Peri. It’s nice to meet you.”
Another woman steps around Gloss to peer at me. “She doesn’t seem like she could warrant a six-pointed star, huh?”
“Not at all. So sweet. We’ll have to find out what she’s made of.” The look Gloss gives me seems a bit pointed, but she gives off so little emotion it’s hard for me to tell. “What room did they give you?”
“Five!” I announce, relieved to find that piece of information stuck in my head.
“Hmm.” Gloss taps a finger to her lips. “I think there might have been some informal shuffling. Tansy, why don’t you check whether room five is actually free and which one has an opening if not?”
The shorter, sneering woman darts off down the hall to make her inquiries. The other shadowkind following our conversation watch Gloss avidly but with a prickle of anxiety.
I think they want to make sure they don’t disappoint her.
She obviously has some authority, considering she’s the one who greeted me and this isn’t even her dorm.
“Where’s your room?” I ask out of honest curiosity.
Gloss flicks her fingers vaguely toward the wall. “Oh, the voluntary students stay in the Citrine building. Reforms aren’t allowed into other dorms until they’re at least level four. Some of my friends areverybad at playing nice.”
She tsks her tongue playfully and glances at the other women and the icy man. But for all her effortless confidence, a trickle of doubt seeps off her—a tart splash of insecurity only I can taste.
