Page 54 of Midsummer Phoenixes
Another minor side benefit to talking to the annoying vampire was getting to hear about Ella though. She was actually doing well. Better than expected. I’d thought I’d hear about her lighting shit on fire or whatever, because if I were her, I’d have lit shit on fire, but not Ella. Ellawasa good student, and shedidwork hard.
She’d not been in school for almost a year before she’d come here, something I hadn’t known, but she’d made up for most of it. The principal told me her sibling, my vassal, had apparently gotten Ella to learn and study as sort of a distraction from everything else that had been going on. Ella had told the school counselor, because the principal with his fucking silk tie and confident smile had made Ella go and see the school counselor once a week.
As I left Freak High with all that information, I couldn’t help the ugly jealousy that crept into me. No one had helped me find a distraction. I had been alone. I had been safer alone, I knew that, but…maybe a distraction would have been nice.
Ella was going to be fine, and she was going to get there faster than I ever had. My steps felt light when I left the principal’s office. I’d totally forgotten to make a derisive comment about his tie to his face.
CHAPTER THREE
I left St. Auguste through the secret underground. I needed those bramboráky more than I had thought, and then maybe I needed to sit at my table in the Moonlight early so Rae could take the rest of the night off and make sure their sister wasn’t scared home alone.
Not that I was doing anything for Rae, who was my vassal and supposed to serve me, but coming to the Moonlight sooner would enable me to watch Amory for longer and indulge in some of those whipped cream and berry fantasies while I weighed the ethical concerns of guilting him into actually letting me lather him with cream.
The school entrance dropped me in a little cozy tunnel. The walls were artistically graffitied, by students presumably, and right here, it saidFreak Highin bold letters, screaming bold. A way to do Pride I really did appreciate, although of course I would have my rainbow brownie later at the Moonlight.
This area of the railwalk had all the little shops suitable for students. I stopped at a stationery store to look at paper, bound and loose. I bought some ink, moved on, roamed the second-hand bookstore where a weird little book called “The Adventures of Cherry and Daddy” had made it into the assorted non-fiction. I looked at the cute black baby kitten on the cover before putting the book back. Pets were a nuisance.
Eventually, I made it back to my most favorite food truck. There was a line once more, but given I had been chided for standing in it only the day before, I decided to skip it right away.
The kludde was back again, or some kludde at any rate. If it was the same, it was wearing the guise of a man today, their wings still out. The next person was permanently winged. The harpy was on his phone, his clawed feet tapping on the railwalk as he scrolled. He stopped when he saw me, but I walked right up to the front.
“Look who’s back again,” Grumpy said.
“What can I say? I missed your welcoming attitude.”
The more reasonable triglav approached his brother and clearly kicked him in the shin before glaring at him with one set of eyes. “Bramboráky again, right?”
I nodded. “Extra applesauce.”
I handed them some money and watched the grumpy triglav make the food.
“My brother wasn’t cussing at you yesterday, by the way. He was rude, yeah, but that’s really just his personality.”
“Fascinating.”
“You don’t have to lodge a complaint with Hawthorne or anything.”
I lifted my brow. “Please. Like I have the nerve to deal with all that paperwork. If I feel offended, I simply handle the situation myself. In this case, I just need him to make food and shut up.”
Grumpy triglav snorted and was promptly kicked again. “He can do that. We’re really glad you like the food here. We’re honored.”
“Sure, sure.”
I waited in awkward silence for my pancakes, but it was worth it. With my bramboráky finally in hand, I headed toward the bodega.
As I ate, I realized how much my day had not gone to plan. First of all, this Tate person. Then the principal had been accommodating and helpful. Then the friendly triglav had apologized.
“Fuck,” I said when I got to the bench Ella and her friends had occupied yesterday. I sat where she’d sat. “I am losing my edge. I’m sacrificing it for pancakes. Fuck.”
Really, the only upside of my day had been the fearful pawn at the cafeteria.
I grinned as I licked my lips. There was no reason why I shouldn’t go to the cafeteria again tomorrow to grab some dinner.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Moonlight’s bells jingled with their silvery voices. It was barely even ten. Amory wasn’t behind the counter to greet me.
“Welcome to the Moonlight Diner, Mr. Bennet,” Rae said in his stead.
