Rosine:
The girls left me alone for the rest of breakfast. They didn't need to feel bad, I wasn't upset at them, but realizing that there were a bunch of unrequited feelings for my best friend was taking a lot of thought. I didn't even entirely know what the feelings were, but it wasn't just friendship. If I couldn't break out of here soon, I might never get to tell him.
I think their offer to show me around after breakfast was really an effort to take my mind off of my worry and sudden realization. They didn't know I was thrown into an arranged marriage, but they knew I was sent here against my will, and I hadn't been able to warn any of my friends.
The first place they took me was a classroom for english- I had pretty much finished up that course on my own already, but it was good to know in case I needed a little help. The teacher was sitting at his desk and he merely gave us a look before returning to his work.
I couldn't help shivering as they took me down another hallway, the air conditioning was cranked way up, "So if my courses were online before all of this, how do they usually let students finish their work?"
"Here, everything turns into more of a correspondence course. The front office prints and relays all of your assignments to whatever institution you're studying from, that way they can monitor your progress. They don't really care how quickly it gets done, they just like to be able to promote the scores and everything," Nyoka rolled her eyes in obvious disregard for the system.
I didn't really like it either, but I could adapt, and I could probably use the process of turning things in with the office to stall for time. Phoenix was now leading us towards another wing of the building, and I was staring cryptically at the hand drawn map they had made me, trying to keep track of where we were headed. I thought she would take us to the rooms for history and liberal arts since that seemed to be what she loved, but the rooms we were suddenly passing were labs and science rooms.
"Phoenix, what do you study?"
"Science. Bio mostly now."
Her short answers didn't give me much to work with, so I tried to keep up a conversation. "Oh cool. Is history sort of a hobby, then?"
She shrugged, ducking her head down so that I couldn't see her expression. Daitan spoke up, "She's being modest. Phoenix already has a bachelor's degree in history, actually."
"Wait, how old are you?" I almost stopped walking, because I had thought that Phoenix was younger than I was.
"Just turned seventeen," She mumbled towards the floor.
So I was right. She was younger than I was, and she was already working on a second degree in an entirely different field.
"We weren't kidding about this nerd," Nyoka seemed to understand my shock and that Phoenix wasn't going to elaborate any more, and gave her a playful punch. "She's our resident genius. She finished high school a few years ago, got an associates in psychology, then her bachelors. We've been placing bets on how long it'll take for her to get her first doctorate."
I was still reeling as the quiet girl in front of me gestured with her arm to the hallway, "This is the science wing. Teachers aren't the nicest, but they don't mind leaving you alone while you work."
"If I have any science questions, I might just go to you," I laughed.
Her head was ducked back down again, but I swear I saw the edge of a smile on her face. Daitan showed us the next doorway that led towards a courtyard.
I did my best to bring my next topic up casually, "Are any of you technology whizes? I heard the wifi and cell reception here are awful, but I was hoping to contact my family."
Daitan gave me a sad pitying look, "Nyoka used to be great at that stuff but we don't have a lot of tech up here. I have a phone, but it hasn't worked in a long time. But we can find you a way to call home, I'm sure of it."
"That must be rough for all of you," I observed as I noticed their nonchalance. "How often do you get to talk to your families?"
Daitan shrugged, "I only ever call them if I'm down in town on one of our monitored field trips and I have cell service. Even then, it's only for a couple minutes. I like my mom well enough, but I had a deadbeat dad who left us as kids, and my mom's new boyfriend sucks. He didn't much like me either, and shipped me off to this place."
"Same boat here," Nyoka added. "Sort of. Parents and I never got along the best. They were rich foreign dignitaries, travelled all over the world representing their corporation. Didn't really want to drag me along with all of the luggage, so it was off to boarding school for me. I don't mind, though. Before we moved around so much that I never had the chance to really make friends, and now I have these two."
I nodded and fell silent, wondering if Phoenix would actually give me an explanation or just shrug again, but she did give me a short response. "Parents died. Got a scholarship. Figured what the hell."
"I'm so sorry," I offered, almost mentioning that I had lost my own mother. She didn't seem like the person that wanted sympathy, however, so I just left it at that, and she nodded and kept her face down.
Daitan had led us to the edge of the gates at that point, and pointed outwards. "That down there is the lake, you can barely see it from behind the hill. And over there....."
I felt bad tuning her out, so I tried to multi-task by nodding as she spoke and trying to gauge the level of security surrounding the campus. The most obvious concern was the security cameras- they sat up on the fence every few feet, constantly swiveling to track any motion around them. Even a bird perched on the fence a few feet away had a camera focused on him.
"..... but even if Phoenix doesn't love it, she'll usually come sit by the lake with her books while we do. How about it? Maybe we can get permission later this week?"
I was thankful that I could use context clues to jump back into the conversation. "Yeah, that sounds like fun. I love swimming."
It would be just my luck if the lake had tight security too, but I had to at least hope and try. Maybe that would be my best chance. So far I hadn't seen anything else that was more promising.
Nyoka finally interrupted her friend's ramblings about how she missed seeing the ocean, "Well we hit the highlights, and all of the places you might need to go for class. Is there anything else you have a question about?"
I thought for a moment, telling myself that even if I could manage to get away soon, it would be better if I could halfway enjoy what time I would have to spend here. "Any chance you've got a gym in this old castle?"
"It only looks old, thankfully," Daitan joked, waving me after her again. "There's a state of the art gym, you'll love it."
That was some small piece of comfort. Even if I couldn't go on runs around the property, I could probably find a treadmill. I made sure to mark the path from my room to the gym on the hand drawn map, so that I could find it again later alone.
It was unassuming from the outside, but I couldn't hold back my smile when I saw the inside, especially the punching bag towards the back of my room. The way my trio of friends looked around made me think they knew where the room was, but hadn't been in it before. They must not work out a lot, so if I wanted to spar, I supposed I would have to ask around.
My unspoken wish was granted as footsteps rounded the corner, from the side of the rooms I could see weight machines in. I hadn't been able to tell this morning when he was sitting across the breakfast hall, but it was obvious now how tall he was. I wasn't short by any means, but he made me feel like I had to crane my neck to look him equally in the eye.
He finally noticed us when he was a few feet away, his eyes going straight to mine. Nyoka gestured, "Forte, this is our newest student, Rosine. Rosine, this is Forte, he's on an extended stay here, finished his degree awhile ago but came back to assist a couple of teachers here."
For someone who supposedly finished his degree and came back, he didn't look that much older than I was, a couple of years at most. His eyes were just as intense as they seemed when we caught each other's glances this morning, and honestly, it was a little intimidating. Powerful men didn't scare me, mafia men didn't, but something about this one wasn't sitting quite right.
The young man named Forte held his hand out for me to shake, and I did so cautiously, asking curiously, "So what classes do you assist?"
"Mostly I started keeping up the gym when the teacher stopped putting in any effort, but I'll sub in for a couple of different ones from time to time." He shrugged, but then turned to the trio. "Have you warned her about the dangers of this place?"
"What, mystery meat Mondays?" Nyoka grinned mischievously, but Forte rolled his eyes slightly. I was pretty sure that none of them could see it, but I doubted that any of the meals served here were bad, based on the breakfast I had seen this morning.
I glanced back at Forte with my eyebrows raised, and he seemed to understand my unspoken question. "Well, Miss Rosine. You should know that some weird things happen around here."
"What, do you think this place is haunted or something? The building seems old enough."
"Just keep an eye out. Let's say that some students don't finish their degrees before they're gone."
The way Forte spoke threw me off slightly, his words were threatening but his tone wasn't.... It was a genuine warning, but what was there to be afraid of?
I didn't really have to process it or ask what he was talking about before he started again, "So you're just showing around the new student?"
Nyoka answered, "Sort of. We were just letting her know where her classes were, and she asked about the gym."
"An athlete?" Forte raised his eyebrows in surprise, glancing at me up and down. I was average size, but the muscle was there if you really looked for it. "Do you have a favorite?"
I shrugged, "Sort of. I just enjoy working out. I did some running and swimming, and a good bit of boxing. Stuff like that."
"Well, if you ever want a sparring partner, let me know. No one else around here really likes contact sports, so I never have anyone to practice with. I'm in here most of the day if you ever want to join me."
"It would be great to have a sparring partner," I nodded, not wanting to commit to anything permanent because I still wasn't sure how I felt about him yet.
He gave me a nod and hiked his bag over his shoulder, "Sounds good. I'll see you around."
As he left the room, another odd feeling settled into my stomach. I didn't know if I would even be there long enough to find time to spar with anyone, but something about the idea of sparring with anyone that wasn't Blaise felt a little bit like a betrayal. He had been my singular work out companion for years. I shook the thoughts from my head, not ready to deal with all of the current emotions and thoughts that came with the idea of Blaise. Like every worry and concern, I would just come back to it later.
The girls talked for a couple of minutes while I walked around and investigated the equipment in the room further, but I didn't want to keep them from whatever they were originally doing. I still couldn't navigate the halls completely on my own, so I followed them back towards the hall where our rooms were.
"What was Forte talking about, with students not finishing out their degrees?"
Nyoka hesitated, "There's this weird sort of urban legend thing. Apparently students have died here in freak accidents, but I think over the years some of them must have been exaggerated. Explosion in the kitchen from a messed up gas line, student died in the bathrooms, there's that athlete that had that freak accident during an after hours practice. Even those two students who snuck down for some time alone in the basement circuit room, but it had flooded and they were electrocuted."
"Are you serious?!" I stared at her, "'ve never been to school like this before, but I sure as hell know that's not normal."
"None of them are unheard of, but there's no way they're all true," Nyoka acknowledged. "That's why I think they're just urban legends. Students just adding on their own tall tales over the years."
"Some people say it's cursed and the ghosts of the other students haven't left, that they want to make their old classmates suffer, too. I agree, it's just a thing the younger kids spread to explain all the bad luck and weird stuff here." Daitan had a frown, "If it was true, it would be statistically odd for a school this size, I'll admit, but they'd have the money to cover any lawsuits and their own asses."
I stared at them, unsure of how seriously I should take the issue. It seemed as though Forte thought there were real issues at play there, but they seemed nonchalant about the whole thing. Either way, it was a little creepy.
They went back to Nyoka's room, which I was slowly understanding to be the designated place to hang out. I think their intent was to do homework and get work done, but Daitan and Nyoka ended up watching their show again and yelling at the screen while Phoenix sat in her chair in the corner.
The two of them were interesting and fun, but something about the girl with her books was very interesting to me. I ended up perching on Nyoka's footboard, trying to engage the girl in a conversation.
I gestured to her book, "Got a good one there?"
"Old favorite," She finally looked up after finishing her paragraph, "Dostoevsky."
I peered at the pages, then did a double take, "Is that in Russian?"
She nodded, saying nothing and glancing around like she was unsure of herself. I didn't mean to make her uncomfortable, "That's really neat. Have you been speaking it for a while?"
"Was my dad's native language. Your accent is French."
"Yeah, my dad's lost a bit of his accent over time but my mother was adamant that my sister and I learn the language before she died. Most people in our house still have some sort of accent, no matter how weak."
"Le langue est importante."
"You speak french?" I stared at her in shock. She gave me the smallest of nods and I was realizing that this girl would never stop surprising and impressing me. "Was that your mother's, or did you learn that one on your own?"
"I just like languages. Started french a couple years ago. Wanted something to do while they were in their soap opera stage."
"Well your pronunciation is amazing, especially for someone who didn't grow up around it. If you ever want to practice, let me know. I'm going to miss it without having my sister here."
Her lips were pressed together like she was considering something very serious, then she reached into her bag and pulled out a well loved copy of 'The Count of Monte Cristo' in french. Phoenix held it out to me tentatively, but I was surprised. I wasn't sure that she liked me at all, but I knew from my experiences with Belle that when a reader offered to let you borrow their favorite books, it was a sign of trust.
"Thank you," I gave her a smile, which she half returned, and settled back at the foot of Nyoka's bed so that I was closer to Phoenix than the two girls who had begun talking about which boy at the academy was the cutest. There was no way I was letting any damage come to this book, it was obviously important to her, but I hadn't realized how important it was to me to have my language when I felt so alone.
I could only imagine it was much the same for the orphan sitting next to me.
We both read for a couple of hours, the other two mostly watched their shows and briefly did a little bit of homework. They told me that whenever I wanted, they could take me to the front office for my homework and assignments, even a laptop. The last thing sparked hope of escape until they told me that the school laptops didn't get wifi, completed work had to be sent to the office who would use their ethernet to turn it in. Apparently it's how they ensured progress and knowing the general intelligence of their students. I wasn't in a rush to get through my work or classes, so I didn't say anything about hurrying to get the equipment. It was the only thing standing between me and an arranged marriage.
So engrossed in our stories, Phoenix and I had to be pulled away for dinner, but I honestly hadn't even realized that we had missed lunch. All of the sudden, it was getting dark and the lights were coming on in the hallways.
At least I was starting to get the layout of the building into my head, and I recognized where we were as we walked to the hall. And thankfully I was right about these private school meals, there were plenty of options and something for everyone, which was good for me. I had a bad habit of telling myself I would start with something healthy, but by the end of the night I was almost always reaching for ice cream or brownies.
My fork was pushing my potatoes back and forth with my carrots when I finally tuned back into the conversation at hand, Daitan grinning expectantly at our small table, "So, movie night again?"
Nyoka nodded, "I'm down."
"I'd love to," I hedged, "But I was actually going to say that I was going to go for a quick workout before curfew. Could I join you after I shower?"
"No question about it," Nyoka beamed. "We're roomies now and we don't have to worry about curfew since we share a bathroom. Come on over whenever you'd like."
"Speaking of that," Daitan muttered, looking over my shoulder. "There's your future sparring partner. Hello, Forte."
The young man had only been passing by our table, but he stopped at Daitan's salutation. He nodded to us as she pushed it further. "Rosine was just talking about heading to the gym after this. Any chance you'd be down for a match?"
His eyes flickered to mine but I was trying my best to not glare at Daitan. I know it was stupid, but I still wasn't sure how I felt about fighting someone who wasn't Blaise. Forte's eyes flickered to my almost finished plate, "How about half an hour? Time to change and finish your dinner?"
"Alright," I found myself agreeing, but internally I was kicking myself. It was such a trivial thing, commiting to a workout with someone, but I came from a very sheltered home where I didn't meet a lot of people. Sometimes it was a little difficult for me to read people quickly, and I still didn't know what to make of Forte.
As he walked away, the girls began to discuss which movie they wanted to watch, but I couldn't really pay attention. All I could think about was Blaise and my sister. They had to know I was missing by then, but did they know why? Had Blaise been able to figure out that my runaway bag was missing, but I hadn't left of my own free will? There was little chance of me finding a way to contact him from here, but maybe they could get to me?
I distractedly shoved the rest of my food down my throat, finishing my dinner before any of the others. Not wanting them to feel like I had just disappeared, I stood up, "I think I'm going to go change into clothes more suitable for a workout."
"Don't break your nose or anything," Nyoka grinned.
"I'll try my best," I laughed, but truth be told, I had no idea if Forte was a good fighter or not, but if he was better than me, hopefully he would go a little easier on me.
I managed to find my way back alone, but after I changed and pulled my hair back, I was glad I left dinner earlier than I needed to- I got turned around twice and by the time I finally found my way to the gym, it had been thirty minutes.
Forte was already sitting on one of the mats, "So do you have a preferred warm up?"
"I usually do a warm up lap and a little stretching and jump rope, but I'm fine with anything."
"Sounds good to me," He shrugged, jumping to his feet and clapping his hands together. "Not much of a runner, but I'll try to keep up."
Running was never my favorite activity either, but there was something about the monotony of it that was almost comforting, especially when I was in a foreign place. All my brain had to do was think 'left, right, left, right' until I was distracted from everything else. The room had a track around it, but since we weren't exactly trying for our personal bests, we only ran it a couple times.
After a little jump rope and a few minutes of conditioning, we were up in our own little ring, facing each other and ready to fight. There was a slight hesitancy to the situation, neither of us knew where the other sat as far as skill, and we didn't want to just start punching the shit out of the other.
Boxing was a different situation, you were allowed to hit your opponent, but he was probably hesitating instinctively because I was a woman. Plot twist, I didn't really care, but it was becoming evident that he wasn't going to start. So I threw the first punch.
He ducked it with a slightly surprised look on his face. It was a look that seemed to say 'wow, that wasn't actually terrible', so I shot him one back that tried to modestly say 'I know'. He threw a couple of his own punches at me which I easily ducked, but I had a feeling that he was still holding back and testing the waters.
It was interesting to watch the slow progression of him figuring out that I was more than just a competent fighter, and it made me feel a little better too. I trained with Blaise so much that I worried he was the only one I could really fight, because I could predict him so well. Sure I had trained with some of my father's men, but I sometimes wondered if they took it easy because they were scared of hurting their boss' daughter. Not that he would really care.
We both got a couple of good hits in, but he surprised me by throwing in his own flare, sweeping my legs out unexpectedly. I fell back , but used the momentum to keep rolling, sort of pushing myself into a handstand and flipping back onto my feet.
Forte took a break, letting his guard down momentarily. "Where'd you learn that?"
"Childhood sports."
"I'm assuming something that taught you a lot of flexibility?"
"Yeah, gymnastics and dance," I laughed. "It's all very stereotypical, isn't it?"
"You're talking to a boy raised in the south. If you want to talk about stereotypes, I had to go through years of hunting and football just because of my parents. I totally get it."
"Parental expectations. They suck," I mused.
He raised his eyebrows, following my cue and reaching for his water bottle to take a quick break, "They're hard on you?"
"Mom's gone, but dad was. But to be fair, he's an absolute asshole to everyone. You?"
"More absentee than asshole, but for a while when I was younger I had this really great nanny. She was more of a parent to me than they ever were."
"I have an uncle like that. He's the one that actually taught me this, he was basically a pro, we used to practice every day."
"Seems like you already miss him."
"Yeah, I guess so. I didn't really get to say goodbye, so that makes it a little worse."
"I get that. My parents just shipped me off without much warning, too. For them the breaking point was the smoking," He rolled his eyes. "Super conservative house..... It was just soooo shameful."
"For me, the breaking point was.... Not being my sister." I realized that in a way, that was the truth, "I talked back too much and stuff, wasn't exactly the one he wanted to keep around."
I couldn't believe how much I was telling him. I couldn't give anyone the real details, but I guess my brain was telling me that divulging secrets to one person was better than the three unavoidable friends I had waiting for me back in my room.
He set his water down and stood back on his feet, so I followed suit. He strapped his glove on again, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, this whole place is filled with people whose parents messed them up real good. You're in good company."
"Yeah, I've sort of started to figure that out."
It hasn't been two full weeks yet, but I had some extra time yesterday and managed to finish more than I thought I would, so here's an early update! I finally started to feel like I settled into my apartment and made myself a little writing space- and it's been a full week since my last cockroach, so I think pest control is finally starting to work. Anyways, let me know what you think. Vote, comment, give me some constructive criticism! I've always had the plot planned for this book, and based on my timeline, the next chapter should ramp up the stakes. As always, stay safe and healthy!
- Elizabeth