The Fairest Stars

Chapter Ten: 'Some special good'

‘Sorry, he groaned. ‘I won’t be doing it again, I assure you.’

Isis peered into the drama studio, her hand reaching out to try the door. It made him want to smile; she wasn’t meeting his eyes, clearly more than a little uncomfortable at the recollection of what he had done whilst inebriated. ‘Locked,’ she said. ‘We’re early.‘ Turning to look at Kael, she tilted her head to one side. ‘Lucas said you went up to the English Department to ask about the script?’

Kael nodded. ‘Well, yes. It was, er, interesting.’

‘They’re not a very enthusiastic bunch, I’m afraid,’ Isis told him, leaning back against the wall next to him. Her small height made him feel taller and somehow protective of her.

‘I gathered,’ he commented. ‘They might as well have been wearing signs saying piss off on them.’

Isis laughed. ‘They’re a grumpy lot, actually. That’s why I decided not to do English, I couldn’t cope with how down they all were.’

‘I don’t blame you!’ Kael turned slightly to look at her. ‘What A Levels are you doing?’ For once, he actually cared about the answer. He found himself in the unenviable position of wanting to know absolutely everything about the girl leaning against the wall next to him, and it was a little bit alarming.

‘Classics, History and Drama,’ she told him.

‘Classics, huh?’ Kael remarked. ‘Isn’t that exceptionally dull?’

Isis grinned. ‘Well, it’s alright. I know a lot about it, thanks to my mum.’ For a moment, her eyes grew dull at the mention of her mother. ‘She did a degree in Classics: she loves the ancient worlds and all their gods and goddesses.’

‘Hence your name?’ Kael asked.

Her head snapped up to look at him. ‘You know who Isis is?’

Feeling rather uncomfortable, Kael nodded. ‘Er, yes. Egyptian goddess, right? Of the sun and other things?’

Isis nodded, looking impressed. ‘No one ever knows that.’

‘Private schools teach you weird things,’ Kael said enigmatically. ‘Do you have any brothers and sisters named after gods and goddesses too?’

Isis flushed. ‘Yes, actually. My mum always likes a themed set of names.’

Kael chuckled. ‘What are their names?’

‘I have a younger sister, Freya-’

‘Oh- Norse goddess? Something Viking?’

Isis nodded. ‘That sort of thing.’ She paused. ‘And I have an older brother, Seb.’