Hero

Chapter Eleven

"Britta's Resident Advisor called the house yesterday."  I winced.  Now they knew where I'd been staying since they kicked me out.  "She says that while she's fine with you moving in with Britta, you'll have to pay for room and board next semester."  My mother's brow wrinkled further.  "And we know that there is no legal way that you could possibly have the money necessary."

"Right now," I said, rolling my eyes.  "I don't have the money right now, but I will."

"Wilhelmina, you don't want to take out unnecessary loans from the bank," said my mother.  "You'll be paying it off for the rest of your life to...what?  Prove a point?  It's time for you to come home."  I snorted and rolled my eyes once more.

"Yeah, that'll happen in a million years.  You kicked me out; I'm not allowed to live in your house anymore."

My mother attempted to smile with her lips tight and pursed, but instead her face was pinched and constipated.  "Oh, you know we were just...upset and very into the moment.  I'm sure that as long as you promise to follow all our rules this time, everything will go perfectly smooth."

"But I didn't break the rules last time," I insisted, taking a bite of my sandwich.  "I told you that I didn't steal that money and I was truthful about where I was.  I was out on a date."

Now she rolled her eyes in response to my insistence upon the truth.  "And we already came to the conclusion that that was a lie.  If you really did go on the date, tell me what happened afterwards?  Did he die?  Did you magically break up the next day?  Please, enlighten me.  Where is he?"

I looked around the dining hall.  She was right, where was Ezra?  He should be back by now.  I saw him standing at the door, a little confused, and grinned.  I understood; he'd been looking for the table by searching for a boy with blue hair like Simon.  He was a common distinguisher.  "Ezra!" I shouted, waving him over.  He grinned and walked over quickly, although he slowed and his face became serious as I gestured for him to sit down next to me.

"You know, I can go if you're busy," he said as he sat down.  I quickly grabbed his hand under the table and dug my fingernails in.

"Oh, no.  You'll want to stay for this," I said, dragging him into a sitting position.  He winced and sighed.  I knew that my nails weren't actually hurting him as much as he was pretending they were; his own nails were nearly as sharp as my own synthetic ones, although I had no clue why.  When I asked, he just shrugged and said they'd always been like that.  As he sat, I took another bite of my sandwich, chewing slowly.

"Mina?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.  He could tell that I was stalling.  I swallowed quickly and put my sandwich back down on the wax paper it had come in.

"Well, I guess that now is as good a time for introductions as any other."  I placed my arm around Ezra's waist, grabbing his shirt again as more lightning crackled; he chuckled, slinging his arm over my shoulder and hugging me closer.  "Mom, Sam, Molly, I'd like you to meet Ezra Payne, my boyfriend."

"Mina!" he complained, pulling his arm away and fake pouting...at least, I hoped it was fake.  "I'm pretty sure I called dibs on being the first to introduce you to my family.  That was our first date!  I should have known you'd try and take that away from me."  He tried, and failed, to keep a straight face as I giggled and kissed his cheek.

"Deal with it, sweetie.  Ezra, you've spoken to my mother before, but this is her in person.  Cassandra Vincent.  My stepfather, Samuel Vincent, and my stepsister, Molly."

"He's real?" said my mother, shocked.  I grinned at her reaction.  For once, I'd managed to get the better of her and it felt amazing.  "But...but that's impossible.  The person I spoke to...that was Simon, wasn't it?"