Page 18 of Kings & Chaos

Which was why Thanksgiving was going to suck ass.

Chapter6

Willa

Ifinished morning classes and headed across campus to the cafeteria. The day had turned cloudy, and I ducked my chin into my jacket to stay warm and promised myself I wouldn’t be stupid enough to wear so few clothes to school again until May.

My skin heated at the thought of Oscar getting me off in the hallway outside of Psych, the feel of his fingers working my cunt, the whisper of his breath against my neck as he goaded me to come.

He was pushing my limits, turning me into someone I didn’t recognize.

They all were.

I was stealing, lying, making out with my stepbrother even though I hated him, contemplating sleeping with two of my roommates at the same time, and letting one of them get me off in public.

Anyone who’d known me before Aventine would say I was changing, but I knew there was another possibility, and it was one that made me more than a little uneasy.

Maybe I wasn’t changing. Maybe deep down this was who I’d always been.

I shoved the thought aside as I entered the admin building and headed for the cafeteria. I needed to figure out what had happened to Emma. I didn’t have time for an existential identity crisis.

Because if I wasn’t Willa the good girl, Willa the rule follower, who the fuck was I?

The admin building was packed as usual. Campus was far enough from town that most of the students didn’t bother leaving for lunch if they had afternoon classes. It didn’t hurt that the food was prepared fresh every day and served in the fancy dining room they called the cafeteria.

I was halfway down the hall leading to the wood-paneled room where I ate lunch with Claire, Erin, and Quinn when I reached a bottleneck, the crowd thickening and slowing. I rose on my toes to try and see over the taller students in front of me, but it wasn’t enlightening, and I finally settled for shuffling along with everyone else. It wasn’t until I reached the cafeteria doors that I realized the holdup was a middle-aged woman standing next to the cafeteria doors, smiling and saying something to some of the students as they passed.

She was pretty, in a natural middle-aged-woman kind of way, minus the fillers and Botox that had distorted my mom’s face into something that resembled a boiled egg. The woman’s dark hair was pulled back into a bun, her makeup light but on point. She was tall and slender under her skirt suit, and she carried herself with the confidence of a woman who stood solidly and unafraid in the world.

Iwaited my turn, trying to work out who the woman could be, then slowed down as I reached her.

She turned to look at me, pinning me with sharp brown eyes. “Willa Russo, so nice to meet you.”

“I… uh, who are you?” I was too surprised by the fact that the woman knew my name to sound coherent.

Her smile softened her face. “I’m Ms. Garcia, interim dean.”

“Oh…” Now this was making sense. Dean Giordana’s body had been identified the week before in what had been described as an “accidental fire” at the old hunting cabin. Up until now, his position had remained empty, probably because he’d just been considered missing. “It’s nice to meet you.”

I hoped I didn’t sound as suspicious as I felt. After being almost murdered by the last dean, I didn’t trust anyone in charge at Aventine.

Also, weird that she knew my name. Was she one of those freaks who researched everyone before their first day at a new job so they could seem super on top of things only to end up seeming super creepy?

“You too,” she said. “I hope you’ll let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you while I’m here.”

Someone shoved into me as they passed, and I stumbled a little. “How long will that be?”

“Hard to say,” she said. “They’re fielding new candidates now.”

I nodded. “Well, good luck.”

She surprised me by laughing a little. “Am I going to need it?”

I shrugged. “You tell me.”

“Touché,” she said. Her eyes were sharp, her posture alert, like she was prepared for anything. I’d have to keep my eye on Ms. Garcia.

I moved past her and stepped into the cacophony of the cafeteria. It was almost a relief after what had felt like a weirdly personal encounter with the new dean. Suspicion hummed in my body like a live wire as I got in line and loaded my tray with sushi and a side of what I’d discovered was shockingly good mac and cheese.

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