CHAPTER 9
Since last night was very confusing, I drifted to sleep as soon as Rodrigo left el dormitorio, so I haven't had how to find what my next stage would be.
However, the day starts pretty normally. Lynne and I go to the educational field institution like always, but this time in a different location, considering the accident that happened the last day. We have to go to the great lecture room, in which only the foreign language lessons and meetings and other festive activities were held.
I am walking around the overcrowded halls of our educational field institution, with its white and shiny floors that are trembling because of the multitude of febrile bodies that flood them incessantly. I can barely see the small yellowish metal cabinet in which we, the apprentices, keep our course pads other learning stuff. We take with us only what we need to do our home to-do tasks, if there are any. Finally getting to the spot where I knew my cabinet was, barely noticing it from the groups that were ceaselessly coming in waves, I open it, and as soon as I do so, somebody pushed it back closed. Bam! I looked up in annoyance to find Ryzen making out with some girl I couldn't recognize, the girl dressed in a white shirt, or perhaps it was a creamy blazer because she was pressed up against my cabinet. Why do this right in front of my cabinet out of them all?
They aren't kissing. They are just making love, but not that kind of nasty thing, but that pure and perfect act, as if they are really in love with each other.
Maybe she's his half.
I can see how their lips are firmly pressed on one another's. I can see that their lips are not only dancing in their mouths but meeting each other, touching each other, pressing each other… I assume that both of them have their eyes closed. He is holding her small face in his big and glimmer palms. I believe that his hands are also cold, since that they are as pale as ashes, but the girl doesn't seem to care, as she continues to discover his mouth with her tongue.
All I do is just looking at them with my jaw dropped. I've never seen in my life two people loving each other as much, kissing so passionately, as they do. I just sit there with my eyes as big and round as two onions, with my mouth-watering. For no reason, I want to be loved as Ryzen loves this girl, I want to be kissed the way he is kissing her.
Of course, by nobody else than my boyfriend, Rodrigo.
Where the heck is he?
I thought we were meeting as always, before the lessons, in the hall, at my cabinet.
Only when I heard the sudden buzz of the lesson alarm going off, I wake up from my stupid daydreaming, as if I were electrocuted. Only then do I realize I am going to be late for the literature lessons, held by señor Muerte.
No kidding, but his surname is just like this, though it suits him perfectly, since he is so old, just like the time. I don't only say this because of his bare, peachy, and shiny pate, or of his snowy tufts from his head sides, but he has some very old and classic tastes. He even once lectured us about the dressing code, repeating more and more about the "two crowns fashion", when he saw how Lynne was dressed one day. She was dressed just like any other girl of her age, though a bit exaggerated, with that low-cut creamy-white molded t-shirt and her pinkish frippery dress. For my sister, dressing up has always meant something.
Realizing that if I got late again to señor Muerte lessons, he will "throw his verbal lace onto my back" as he called the scolding and, I clear my throat to get their attention, but they continue to ignore my presence.
They keep on kissing aggressively, and the girl moans audibly.
What the hell?
Now that I've heard her, all the fluffiness of their love has faded out.
Ew, I am going to barf.
My patience is all stretched up already, just like an elastic band elongated at maximum, threatening to tear apart.
I am this little away from snapping.
They sucking each other's faces right in front of my locker is not helping.
I've finally found the courage to tap on Ryzen's shoulder, but I am completely ignored. I tap two times with more force, but with no success.
That's it. I want no longer to see him glued to her.
Therefore, I wrap my hand around his shoulder and pry him off the girl. As I am doing this, he gives me an irritated look, but his eyes quickly glittered with amusement at my actions. The girl leaning on my locker, now breathless, gave me an annoyed glare.
I recognize her right this instant: Anja.
I was a hundred percent sure it was her, since all the educational field institution talks every day about the drama that goes between her and Ryzen. Here they break up, there they get together again.
"Go find a room, but please let it as far away from my cabinet as possible," I scowl at them.
I may hate Ryzen, but at the moment I hate her more.
Ryzen looks at me even more annoyed as if it could have been possible, but all his attention is turned to me, the rain's kid.
"Why don't you join me in that room, squirrel?" he sneers.
I scowl at him and, in an attempt to ignore him, I focus on collecting my course pad from my cabinet. From the corner of my eyes, I see Anja tugging at Ryzen's dark-colored scarf, probably asking him for a follow to their make-out session. He waves a hand dismissively at her and turns to me. "But, babe, I am more important than this little brat, you know!" she cries.
"Just lemme lecture her," he explains to his lover and continues to me: "Move to another educational field institution, or you will regret it," he hisses in my ear, then walks to my back and, before Anja telling me something rude, he smirks: "Maybe your sister can join me in that room you suggested, not that I would be the first to ask her to." He smiles slyly at me before turning his back to me.
"What?" I think aloud.
They both laugh as he saunters off, together with Anja.
What the hell was that about?
"I would not be the first."
What did he mean by that? Was Lynne hiding something from me?
It seems that the little mole knows the perfect way to get to my head! Maybe he is lying because he knows it would get me all worked up.
Well, it's working, and I fucking hate it!
I pull at my hair in frustration as I slam the door of the great lecture room shut. It is like half of a royal amphitheater. It's so big that two or even three series could fit in there. However, there was only my series, so it isn't that overcrowded, or at least not as the hallways are. In the horde of apprentices waiting for the literature master, I could notice Lynne sitting somewhere in the back. As I am getting to her, climbing the beige wooden large stairs, somebody, I assume Anja, recognizing her white blazer with silvery starry glitter on her shoulders, as if it was some strange dandruff, dropped her trademark cardboard cup of coffee on me. "Look where you're going, ah, you, charity case!" she bares her teeth at me. "This was my favorite coffee! You have to buy me one, mocosa!"
Yeah, sure! In your dreams, bitch!
I roll my eyes, not caring that the earth-colored liquid was all over poured on my chest, on the top of my breast. It is so hot that I am almost screaming in pain, but I hold in, not to give her satisfaction. Suddenly, all the atmosphere surrounding me becomes so hot, that I can barely breathe.
"I hope you enjoyed the view of me and Ryzen together," she grins at me, seeing that I don't move out of her sight.
"Sorry, but tell your amante that I don't watch porn," I grin as well and move somewhere to the back of her, not forgetting to hit her shoulder when I'm passing. "Oh, and I simply love your coffee. It smells amazing. I might buy two," I turn to her, seeing her reddish face, just like a bit fat rotten tomato.
However, my face was burning too.
"Have a nice day, darling!" I say, with a bright, forced smile.
Only my eyes aren't smiling, but flowing hatred just like a deep and dark fiery river.
I like to mess with people just how they do to me. I learned all of this not only from Korag, who also taught me how to answer, knowing what I, a non-crystal-bearer, was going to go through in this world, but also from my sister, who was very social-active and from my deep observation.
Furthermore, I am always a good listener.
As I am approaching Lynne, she looks at me questioningly while she is taking her lessons pad out of the compartment provided by the desk she is standing at. I grunt and take the seat next to her.
"What are you going to do now?" she asks me in a squirmy voice, blinking a few times as if she was going to cry.
My sister is so a drama queen!
"I buy her no coffee. Or, maybe, I buy two and one I pour on her or her astro vessel."
"I didn't mean that, but I propose to let it be, sister. All I wanted to say was that you know señor Muerte is going to question you about those weeks' read, <
"Yeah, you're right, I forgot about that," I facepalm. "So, what should I do now?" I turn to her, widening my eyes.
As I am asking this in a low voice, all of my series mates stand up because the master has entered the room.
"Greetings, fellow chicken!" as he nicknames us. "Where were we?"
"You said that you are going to question Enigel about <
It seems Lynne wasn't the only one who remembered this, after all.
"Oh, great! Do you know how amazing you are, girl"? I think as I search in Lynne's purse for some wet wipes to clean the coffee stain from me.
I roll my eyes and pretend I didn't hear it. So does the master.
It seems he's on my side today.
"Good, good, it will come her time soon too, but who else?"
Seeing all the blinking eyes in front of him, the old man with clean reddish-face and big round belly continues:
"Don't you remember anymore? But what have we done, chickens?"
I hope from the bottom of my heart that he won't notice my big fat Mancha from my blouse or not ask for me first. I rub quicker on my wet white cotton t-shirt with a cleaning napkin I found. "Okay, let our Libro decide for us!" I hear from him, and I lift my eyes to the faraway master-desk to see him sitting down, open his briefcase and take his crystal pad, in which he had the list of us.
After he made the attendance, when I shyly raised my hand, not standing up to fully face him, and scrolled a few seconds to the list, he asked for some other mates, leaving me for the end. The coffee stain remained, and my blouse is still wet.
What should I do?
Even though my verbal essay isn't very good either, I could get rid of some mistake marks on my appearance.
But I feel like I've just come from the land from beyond.
And right when the person before me is about to get to the end of their speech, the girl behind me tucks my back and gives me a dark-gray light checkered scarf with tassels.
"Whose is this?" I turn, unconsciously taking it in my arms.
"I don't know," the small and thin blonde girl from behind lifts her shoulders. "It was passed to me, from one hand to another, to give it to you," she smiles friendly.
It looks like a man scarf, but one that can be also worn by women. At that moment it matters no more. I needed it so much!
Looks like there is someone there who cares about me, some gem-person.
I was the only non-crystallite in my series, after all.
"But how am I supposed to give it back to them?" I turn to that girl again, while I am putting the scarf on, trying to arrange it, so the stain can't be seen.
"Maybe they will approach you in the break," she whispers to me.
"Or maybe he wants you to keep it," my sister suggests in a low voice, with her eyes strangely glittering.
Does she know whose is this? If this were Rodrigo's, I would have known. He even isn't the type that wears scarves and, on top of that, it doesn't even smell like…
It smells like citrus, together with sand and star-dust. I felt this scent before, but I…
Rodrigo smelt like this the night before.
It is his. Mystery solved!
But I haven't seen him before wearing scarves! Maybe he changed his style.
As I finished arranging it near my neck and on my breast, señor Muerte invited me to take over. I had to make a speech about the portrait of Victorious, one of the main characters of the novel. She was a mother, who was searching for her long-lost husband, after being missing for almost ten years.
I continue putting my nose into the warm and soft fabric, getting drunk with the mesmerizing fragrance of my boyfriend, the one that was left on this scarf from his skin, as I am descending to the front of the room.
At the end of my speech, which comes to an end when the alarms announced the break time, señor tells me, getting up from his desk: "Ten percent! I can't be more indulgent. If only that was possible, what else could you possibly have done? ¡Eso es todo!"
At least I haven't got twenty or thirty!
¡Gracias, El Gran Creador!
And when he gets to the door, holding the dark-brown lather shiny briefcase under one of his hands, he waves to me with the other, wanting me to approach him. As I am proceeding, he holds his palm in the air, wanting me to take it and hold it, as in a shake of hands. That is one of his other gestures with which he greets his students.
But I was already deep in thought to meet Rodrigo, and lovingly thank him for the scarf.
Even though sometimes I hate him from the bottom of my heart, for his rude and strict behavior, I think of him as a father, or even as a grandfather.
"Yes, master? Have you called for me? How did I perform?" I say as I am taking his hand.
"I told you what I had to. But, I only wanted to add that, from all of your outfits, this is the one I like the most. And I also want to let you know that the scarf does all the magic. I haven't seen you with it before. Is it new?"
"Well, I got it from someone from the series…" I blush.
"Oh, now, I remember," he mumbles. "Maybe this is your soulmate's."
Even if he was a crystallite, and I wasn't, he has never made any distinction between me and any other of my mates.
"Do you believe this is Rodrigo's?" I whisper.
"¡No tiene sentido!" he makes a wry mouth. "How naughty you are!" he laughs. "See you next time! ¡Adiós!" he continues, letting me and exiting.
He often refers to naughty as courageous, brave, and smart children.