Page 9 of The Fall Before the Heat

“Thanks, but you have to be tired of buying all the food,” I said, looking down at the worn toes of my sneakers as we trekked through the first snow of the year.

“For the most part, I’m not buying all the food. The Academy is by feeding us in the caf. Plus, I get a living stipend from my scholarship. So, the Moonscale Foundation is buying most of the groceries. Why wouldn’t I share the wealth?”

“Would you be in trouble if they found out?” I asked, my heart sinking into my stomach.

“No,” he shook his head as we crossed the street. “The only thing I signed was not to spend it on illegal activities or alcohol. None of the papers said anything about feeding my roommates.”

“And you really don’t mind?” I asked.

This was something I wanted to bring up last week. Rex was always feeding me. I’d come to the academy ready to skip dinners most nights and to scrounge on the weekends if Icouldn’t find a rabbit or something small to hunt. I was safe. My parents sacrificed to ensure I was safe. I could miss a few meals without complaining.

“No, I don’t mind,” Rex sighed.

“Then why are you sighing?” I asked him.

“Sorry, Del,” he said as he pushed the door to the lab open for me.

I slid my hand from his arm and walked inside.

“I gotta get to the lab. Doctor Knight-Hemlock’s office is right there,” he pointed to a propped open door where a red headed man frowned at all the envelopes on his desk.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” I asked, but Rex was already gone.

I took a deep breath and walked to Doctor Knight-Hemlock’s office.

“Come on in, Del,” he said, waving to a chair on the opposite side of the desk from himself.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, taking off my coat, scarf, and a pair of Rex’s giant mittens that he insisted I wear.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. It feels like we’ve already met,” he looked up smiling. “Feel free to use the coatrack.” He pointed to the mahogany tree in the corner.

“Does Rex talk about me a lot?” I asked, suddenly wondering if I really was just a charity case to him.

“All good, I assure you,” he grinned and pointed to the chair after I hung up my winter gear. “Oh, wait. Are you thirsty? Coffee, tea, and hot chocolate in the kitchen. It’s all the way at the end of the hall. Just keep going down until you see the double doors that say kitchen.”

“Do you want anything?” I said, stepping back toward the door.

“I’m fine,” he nodded to his mug. “And you can relax. Outside of the labs we’re a homey place to be. It’s mail not raregenetic material or anything explosive. Call me, Lee. Maybe if you do, I can finally get Rex to.”

“Should I take him something?” I asked, hoping to talk to him and find out if all my questions had pissed him off or if it was something else I’d done.

“I’m sure he’d love something, but no food or drinks in the lab. If he wants a snack he’ll have to venture out and make do for himself,” Lee grinned. “But you help yourself. Then we’ll sort these into real mail and fan mail.”

“Fan mail?” I arched a brow.

“That’s a long story,” Lee laughed. “Some of it is morbid. The mail and the story.”

***

Five minutes later, I was sitting on the other side of Lee’s desk opening a giant stack of envelopes while sipping the richest hot chocolate to ever grace my tongue. He instructed me to open the envelopes while he began to sort their contents. If I caught up, I’d help him sort. We worked in ruffly-paper silence for the first quarter hour, before I finally had to ask him what was on my mind.

“When Rex brings me up, what does he say?” I asked, mostly wanting to think about anything that wasn’t the house on the corner of Perch and Birch.

“Rex isn’t a bad distraction either. Romping, flirting, all of it feels good. It’d make me feel better anyway,”my wolf chimed into my thoughts.

“Are you trying to figure out if he’s sweet on you?” Lee asked without looking up from the handwritten letter he was reading.

“No, I just--- Something weird happened this morning.”

---