Chapter 8

Outskirts of Boston. Massachusetts.

"What will you wear on your first day at the university?" my mother asked. There was no hint of resentment or alarm in her voice after the last incident. She was either good at hiding her feelings or decided not to worry me before my first day at Harvard.

She called five minutes ago and immediately found a problem that I faced an hour ago. Last night I did not think of preparing an appropriate outfit for the first day at the university, and I should have! Then I would not have had such a panic this morning. I spent an hour changing looks in righteous anger at my wardrobe, which begged to been updated since high school. I had no idea how students dressed at Harvard but I knew for sure that they did not have any particular uniform, or rather, we did not. Everything I've tried on did not fit, and I was desperate.

There would be no second chance to make a first impression. I did not want to be an outcast. I wanted to join the sorority from the first day and turn the next few years of my life into an unforgettable adventure. And what was the most important thing at the first meeting with peers? It was certainly my appearance. That's how others defined whether they wanted to communicate with this or that person or would prefer to stay away. I did not want to fall into the second category but it was impossible to get into the first one with what was stored in my closet. These thoughts overshadowed such a beautiful day! I've been waiting for it for so long that didn't bother to take care of the most important thing – decent clothes.

Poor Jackson was tired of waiting for me and listening to self-criticism, which he did not support.

The last outfit I tried was black tight pants with a white translucent blouse. Everything would be fine if I had had a matching pair of shoes. I doubted that sneakers would fit my quite conservative look but pumps would make me look like a professor.

"Take my advice, babe! Don't try to stand out too much. It will seem vulgar, and you will be considered arrogant. Put on a jacket and those flat shoes, and you'll be irresistible!" I looked at the pile of my clothes. What of these would make me stand out? The clothing was moderate and bought on sales.

"Mom! What are you talking about? I'll look like an office manager!" my mediocre look won't make me get any friends on the first day.

"Then why don't you call and ask your friends for advice? They must have been preparing for this day..." my mother was not mocking but recommending.

"I called them first, but neither Rosy nor Mickey picked up the phone."

They would have told me exactly what to do, but I had to rely on myself. My mother's guidance was invaluable but not regarding the clothes. She preferred comfort to beauty and went to work in jeans and T-shirt. Fortunately, the catering company did not have a strict dress code. Otherwise, she would certainly have to quit unwilling to suffer all day long in narrow tube skirts.

We said goodbye to each other, and I went back to look through my clothes for the third time hoping to find something that I had not seen before, promising myself that I would spend half of the first salary on new clothes.

"Put on the dress," Jackson advised.

His conservative views were somewhat weakened by my dislike of skirts and dresses, which I inherited from my mother. He often insisted that I wear something more feminine but surrendered under my piercing gaze. It's not that I had never worn clothes like this, I just thought there were occasions for them – parties, holidays, interviews, and the job itself, after all. The rest of the time I was happy to wear jeans, pants, shorts and even overalls, leggings at most, which, thank goodness, perfectly sat on my slender legs and accentuated the compelling butt. I was well aware that this was the only advantage of my body. I refused to wear dresses with a deep neckline, saying that I just had nothing to show in it. Thus, there were only three dresses in my wardrobe – a little black dress for any occasion, including work and interviews, a cheerful green polka-dot dress for promenades in the summertime, and a short blue dress with a bare back, decorated with sequins. None of them fit the student style.

"Any other bright ideas?" I looked at Jackson pleadingly.

"Babe, I think you look gorgeous in any clothes, even in your old pajamas with ducks. Wear what you want. Also, I think that this problem will resolve itself if you don't hurry. I'll go to work without you, and there will be a new quest – to get to Harvard on your own."

"Jackson, you're a sweetheart! You know how to cheer me up!" I said with irony.

But he was right – we needed to hurry. Otherwise, I risked being late for the first class.

In the end, I decided to follow his advice and wear something feminine. I chose black leather flared skirt just above the knee and a simple white T-shirt with a black pocket on the left side. I put on flat shoes, thinking that my party shoes would not fit the look. I had only to figure out the hairstyle. This messy almond-colored shock of hair, reaching my waist, was difficult to style, especially in the morning, when it's been full of static cling after so many try-ons. I decided to tie it in a high ponytail. For makeup, I put a bit of mascara and lip-gloss.

"Well, I'm ready!" I solemnly declared.

The expression of boundless happiness and relief on Jackson's face was hard to describe. His face fell into a comical grimace, and I laughed.

"You're beautiful!" Jackson encouraged me. And despite my own low self-esteem, I really felt beautiful in these moments, with no need to look into the mirror.

I knew what I would see there: cartoonish big blue eyes with lush black eyelashes, messy hair, neat little nose, pink-pointing lips, and something I was proud of – healthy skin that I got from my mother. It was all just a pretty face. My body shape was far from the ultimate dream: with a height of a bit over 5 feet, I looked like a teenager since my body has not shaped up completely by the age of 19, as evidenced the complete absence of breast. I had barely noticeable "hills" there, which is why it was hard to pick up some underwear. However, my body shape also had advantages – flat stomach, which remained this way thanks to healthy food, and seductive butt. Overall, all my virtues were overshadowed by flaws. Personally, I liked to call myself a "cute little dwarf".

Many said that I was beautiful but I could hardly trust those people. Some said that I was cute, which was close to the truth, and others said that I was lovely or funny, which I gladly believed. I felt comfortable in my body almost all my life because I was loved for who I was, though by a few people. But now I was not happy with my looks since I wanted to become popular, make a lot of contacts and several friends, who would like to get along with a "little dwarf"? As a rule, people preferred tall sexy blonds or fatal brunettes, when choosing friends and lovers. I was far from any of those. Smart and kind ones always became outcasts.

"What are you thinking of so enthusiastically?" Jackson brought me back to reality.

Thinking of my minor issues, I did not notice that we were halfway to the university. After all, I should not have worried about it because I had Rosy and Mickey, and everyone would want to be friends with them, thus with me as well. And I was not in a mood to think of being an Ugly Duckling among my stunning friends.

"About the first day. There's nothing else to think of."

"You're so worried that your forehead is tucked into folds like Shar-Pei skin," Jackson tried to joke. But it turned out very bad.

"What?" I was horrified and started looking in a small mirror, searching for signs of wrinkles. "Jackson! Stop it! I'm already nervous."

"Why? The most important thing is that you got to one of the coolest universities in the country. You should be proud of that. And fitting in should not even bother you. You're already one of them. You've been chosen out of hundreds of rich kids!" I smiled. Jackson was absolutely right. He knew how to calm me down. Almost all the time.

By the time we arrived at Harvard, I could hardly wait for classes to start, having forgotten all my fears.

Quickly saying goodbye to my boyfriend, I rushed to find the right building. Last week I received a detailed schedule of lectures with the itinerary. I would have to run around the territory in search of the right classroom because of choosing three additional subjects not related to law.

I looked into the schedule:

Class 1 – Administrative Law

Professor – Jody Freeman

Classroom 103 (Main campus of the Harvard Law School)

I rushed to my campus, knowing its exact location and noticing how crowded the territory of Harvard was. Students hurried up to their classrooms in panic. Most of them got frozen without a single clue of their whereabouts. And that's normal! I would have looked exactly the same if I did not explore the area a few days ago.

The lecture would start in a few minutes, and there was quite a distance for me to run. If only I could use my new power of speed, I would have been able to get to the right place. There's no way of knowing if anyone even notices me because I’d be so fast that would rather be considered as a fuzzy spot or remain invisible due to their nervousness. Hardly had I made any decision when I ran into the group of students standing in my way. We safely landed on the gravel. I heard someone screaming and even cursing, but I had no time. I quickly apologized, shook off, glimpsed at three girls and kept running.

There was my campus. Today it looked even more impressive surrounded by crowds of freshmen and those, who knew its every corner. I stopped and sighed with delight. I had been dreaming of studying here since I was 9 years old, and I persistently followed my dream all this time. I even joined the team of cheerleaders only for the sake of extra points required for admission to Harvard. I almost never missed a lesson, carefully boned up on all the information, and perfectly passed school tests and finals. And now my dream came true! All efforts were not in vain. I wanted to jump, laugh and scream with joy but, instead, I smiled with restraint, throwing back my head.

Suddenly, someone pushed me, and I flew towards the sharp steps.

"Ouch!" the blow was quite painful.

And then I heard someone laughing. My head began to pound, and my body began to shake. I knew exactly what that meant – the Force was trying to get out. I took a deep breath and barely suppressed the desire to take advantage of abilities and burn the laughing bitches to the ground. It might look like an attempt to hold back tears. It would be better if it were true. Instead, I was trying to focus on something positive to calm down.

I raised my head and met the eyes of the same three girls I encountered just a few minutes ago.

"Now you'll know how to knock us down," was I the only one considering this less than smart? It was not surprising because she was a vivid example of those I had been thinking in the morning – a silly blonde. Judging by her appearance, she was very rich. She definitely got into the Harvard Law School due to her father's or mother's money.

"Steer clear of us," another half-educated wit said.

"I apologized," I suddenly said.

"My, my! The baby girl's hurt! Don't cry because everybody's looking at you. Hurry to apply Chinese ointment to your wound!" and I heard laughter again. But this time everyone who witnessed this scene was laughing.

That's how I made my first impression. I wished to disappear into the earth, straight to Tartarus, but sitting on the steps after such humiliation. However, I decided to have the last word in the argument.

"Good Lord! With such knowledge in medicine, you should have applied to the Medical Faculty instead! The world is losing such a professional!"

And the crowd laughed again. Today we entertained the students well. Fortunately, knowing the young people, I understood that tomorrow this incident would be replaced by more exciting events. Or not...

I reached the classroom in a minute and gladly took the first-row seat to hear and see everything better than others. Those girls came in the last and teased me about my diligent student decision. But I decided not to react, and soon Professor Jody Freeman came in.

She was wearing a simple black suit and thin square glasses. The barrette barely held back her red curly hair. An approving buzz spread around the classroom – guys finally noticed the new professor.

However, despite her spectacular appearance and modest expectations from such a young professor, she was able to surprise us. She was about 32 years old and already had the title of Professor in Legal Science. She was a junior partner of one of the law firms in New York. She drove her expensive car to Boston twice a week to give lectures to Harvard freshmen. If anyone could doubt that Harvard was unfairly called the best educational institution for future lawyers, then after listening to a couple of minutes of Jody Freeman's lecture, they definitely changed their opinion.

Five minutes later, I plunged into a fascinating lecture on administrative law. But I couldn't enjoy the lecture. Fifteen minutes later, someone started throwing pieces of paper at me. It was childish and looked like high school behavior. But given the fact that girls were less than smart, it was predictable.

Before moving to another city, I had been a victim of such bullying by classmates and knew well what of my reactions would cause. The best thing in my case was just to ignore them, and they would calm down. What's the point of teasing a dead dog?

However, the girls kept bugging me. I was getting angrier and angrier regardless of how I tried to distract myself. Somehow, I knew exactly where they were sitting, though I never looked back. Closing my eyes and whispering, "Phew!" I let some steam out.

I heard a shocked "Ah" behind me! The books of both girls immediately turned into ash that was flying around the classroom for quite some time. But after that, the girls remained silent till the end of the class, everyone was listening to Professor Freeman and, most importantly, did not bother me.

Perhaps, these three would be erased because of my little prank. I thought that the loss of such "brilliant minds" would hurt nobody.

After the class, I rushed into the corridor and got a message from Rosy:

"Meet me in the alley after the second class!"

I quickly answered: "Ok!"

I looked at the schedule. I had a break after the second class before the next class. The academic load for the first month was minimal, thus school graduates had a chance to adapt to the university. Adaptation and individual approach to learning made Harvard different from most educational institutions.

On the way to the next classroom, I was looking for the toilet but almost all of them were full. I turned around the corner and found the empty one. Thank God, I could catch my breath. It was an amusing morning.

I switched on the water and rinsed my face, completely forgetting about the mascara. Fortunately, it was water resistant. I raised my eyes to look at myself in the mirror and screamed. There was a man behind me. When I looked closely I realized it was a demon or something else but not a student who had gotten the wrong door.

He came at me but I managed to jump aside in time, and he crashed into the sink. He rushed at me with a dull roar. It was hard to move around in a small toilet. I was scared to use my powers because of the danger to set the whole building on fire, but the hardest thing was not knowing who my opponent was and how to defeat it.

I tried to confuse him with my quick movements and gain time. Eugene must have felt the danger and would get down here unless he was fighting a legion of opponents.

I noticed that this creature was too fast as for a demon and too slow as for a vampire. He didn't pay much attention to gravity, easily following after me even to the ceiling but, unlike me, did not use the ceiling for support. He was floating in the air. I could use some flying ability. While I was thinking, the demon drove me into the corner. He opened his wings and rested them against the walls, blocking me the way out. In a blink of an eye he got covered with armor, and it reflected my black matter like a shield.

"It's useless!" I heard his deep voice.

I chuckled, went up to the ceiling, jumped over the winged creature and instantly got behind it.

"Let's see what you can do without wings!" I said and pulled them out, putting my knee against its roots.

It would not be possible if I had no demonic powers.

I heard distinctive sound of ripping flesh and crunching bones. While I was tearing off the wings, demon's armor gradually was disappeared. He was trying to break free, but my grip was tight. Soon I had two wings of wonderful brown color in my arms.

"Are you immortal?" I asked the dying creature.

"No..." he croaked and crumbled into small pebbles.

Did I kill an angel? His wings melted in my hands, and a moment later his ability penetrated my chest, made my heart beat faster. I was still not used to the process. It was neither painful nor pleasant. This could be feared and expected at the same time. Initially, a foreign substance inside paralyzed me but then I felt euphoria and a surge of power.

Having looked around, it turned out that our fight took less than five minutes and left no traces.

I checked the schedule again:

Class 2 – History of American Law

Professor – Bruce Mann

Classroom 232

My watch showed that I had five minutes left until the next class. I rushed to the second floor. Our group was hesitantly trampling near the classroom.

"Ew! Are you smoking or something?" I heard the same nasty voice of the blonde. She seemed to be the leader of their brainless team.

I guess some trace of the fight was left.

"Only weed. You got me, I entered the Law Faculty only to legalize this stuff 'coz I'm tired of hiding in the toilets for smoke," I blurted spontaneously. It looked like my tongue lived a separate life from my brain. I hoped the girls were smart enough to take this as a joke. The class would start in four minutes.

"Hey, I see you don't get who you're talking to!" the brunette started.

"I don't really care. Apparently, we won't be friends, so I'd rather not waste my time talking to you," I shrugged, looking impatiently at the classroom door.

The brunette wanted to object and even opened her mouth, but the blonde elbowed her and said,

"Look! What a hottie! Is that our professor? If he is then I'm ready to beg him for good marks any way he wants. What an interesting hair color!"

I swallowed in disgust. They were giggling and trying to look at someone over the heads of other students, having completely forgotten about my existence. That's nice!

"Is that tattoo? It must have been painful to get it on the face..."

"Damn!" I cursed too loudly. It was Eugene. He must have felt the danger but showed up late.

"Do you know him?" the girls talked to me again.

"Unfortunately, yes!" I muttered and tried to seem invisible hoping he wouldn't notice me.

Soon everyone in the hallway noticed the eye-catching Guardian. He rushed from one girl to another, grabbing each of them by the top of their heads and turning them to see their faces. Finding that that wasn't me, he made a grimace of disgust and turned them back the same way. It was hard to imagine a ruder creature.

I decided to stop it and approached him.

"Eugene! What are you doing here?" it seemed to me that he looked happy. Or was he relieved that the search was over?

"I sensed danger and ran as fast as I could! Are you okay?" he started turning me clockwise, looking for injuries.

"Hey, take it easy! Don't draw attention. I'm fine. It took you forever to get here. Next time you risk to find a corpse. Who was this time?" we were talking pretty quietly standing close to each other, but all the attention was drawn to us because everyone wanted to overhear our conversation.

"It was Falcon. Demigod. You shouldn't leave him alive as he will attack again."

"I killed him..."

Eugene's eyes widened.

"Thank you for your concern but you should go now! You'd better start walking 'coz you provoke too much excitement. I've had enough bullying for today."

"What do you mean?"

"It's my first day, and I've already become the target for those three girls behind me. If you don't leave right now it's going to get even uglier."

He raised his head and looked over at my course mates. I looked around and saw them waving at him. It was so typical of rich girls... I rolled my eyes.

Eugene looked at me again and grinned.

"What are you up to?" I did not like his expression. I was not a fan of those three but did not want something happened to them.

"Do you want to make them jealous?"

Not bothering with my answer, he touched my face with his fingertips. Damn it! I did not expect that but, instead of being outraged, I stood still while he was caressing my cheek. I wanted to cry. I wanted to cry so much for the first time in my life. There was neither lightning strike nor trembling in my limbs but I was overwhelmed and had no idea whether it was good or bad. I just wanted to cry and that's all.

His palm rested on my cheekbone, and it was very warm... My mind was spare of thoughts, sounds, and everything else. It felt weird. I was afraid to look him in the eyes, and the reason for this was not clear.

"As far as I know people, they are always drawn to those who have something they want," Eugene whispered.

My heart was beating so loud that I felt pain. I forced myself to look at him.

"Why did you do this?" I asked him quietly.

"I wanted to help..." he smiled. His eyes lit up red but not like before the attack. It resembled the welcoming fire of the hearth, where were cozy to warm up.

Instead of the only important question, I asked him a different one,

"Do you want to strangle me now?"

"No. What made you think so?" he frowned.

"Your eyes... They lit up..."

Eugene snapped his hand away from my face and turned away. He sighed twice and turned back to me. His face had no trace of the former expression and became an impenetrable mask as if nothing had happened.

"I'll see you tonight, as usual," he told me and left.

"Damn that Guardian," I muttered.

"Is he your boyfriend?" the blonde asked when I walked past her on my way to the classroom.

"It's none of your business," I said.

The second lecture was surprisingly boring but soon was over. I was overwhelmed by conflicting feelings and, instead of thinking them through and making my own opinion about what was happening, I just tried to ignore them. My cheek was on fire as if from a burn, and I still wanted to cry, remembering Eugene's touch.

Professor announced the end of the class. I took off and rushed to the alley to meet my friends. I had no doubt they would surprise me with their first impressions and everything else would be forgotten.

Mickey and Rosy entered the Faculty of Medicine. Their choice was a shock even for their parents. But they were adamant and insisted without even explaining their decision. Everyone thought it would pass and the girls would come to their senses, but they happily reported a positive response from Harvard a year later. Only I was happy about this, probably, because now I would have a company here.

"Hey!" someone was trying to call me. "Wait!"

I stopped and quietly sighed – three girls were rushing toward me.

"We wanted to apologize..." the brunette started in hesitation. "...for pushing you."

"Apology accepted!" I calmly answered.

"My name's Carla," she extended her hand. We shook hands, and I introduced myself.

The blonde was Samantha, and the quiet one was Christina. They explained their behavior by being accustomed to school habits. Probably, they were the mean girls at school and everybody simply "adored" them. I was extremely surprised by such teenage relations: you had to be trash to be admired, meaning that people hated you but wanted to be in your spotlight. Popularity was akin to a disease. Everyone got annoyed when it was necessary to nurse sick person but if refused you would seem heartless. The same thing was at school: nobody liked popular girls, like these ones, but people kowtowed to them for the sake of their own popularity and soon became mean as well.

On the way to the alley, we chatted, getting acquainted, and then the girls went to the canteen. I stayed waiting for my friends.

Rosy and Mickey brought coffee.

"Your favorite caramel latte!" Rosy solemnly declared and gave me my coffee with an expression of a cartoon cat.

I knew those two too well and understood that it was a bribe.

"Spill it out!" I sighed fatefully and took a sip. "What's on your mind?"

I was surprised that the local coffee was great – fragrant, moderately sweet, with ideal temperature and the ratio of coffee and milk. I purred with pleasure and my friends looked at each other with satisfaction, considering it a sign of victory.

"We're all invited to the freshmen party this Saturday!" Mickey threw up her hands happily.

"Please tell me you're joking!" I begged.

"This is the most exciting event of the year!" Rosy exclaimed.

I bet it is. The freshmen party had a bad reputation. It was the drunkest, most ruthless and depraved party of the year. It was arranged by seniors who invited a limited number of "recruits". The selection criteria remained unknown but, according to people, each fraternity member had to bring two freshmen. As a rule, the venue was kept secret and was revealed an hour prior to the party or even later. It was unclear how these two managed to find out about this a week earlier. What if they also had some superpowers?

Those who happened to be at the party did not talk much about what was happening there, most likely due to requirements of senior students. But some said the party was held for the initiation ceremony. And nobody knew the exact details of this rite. Rumor had it that there were challenges or even orgies. However, nobody could distinguish the truth from fiction. The victims among the participants who often ended in a hospital with injuries and fractures after partying hard supported all these stories. It did not bother me but I was not willing to go.

"I guess you've made someone give me the invitation, right?"

The girls nodded vigorously, pleased with themselves. I could only roll my eyes. Mickey and Rosy were true adventurers. However, I was the one to deal with the hardships of those adventures...

"How could we go without you?"

"Let's meet after classes and go to our place. We'll get you something for the party, and we'll lend you some good clothes for every day," tact was not Rosy's strong suit.

Girls blew me a kiss and went skipping to their campus.

This morning Jackson said he would not pick me up because he had classes at the university after work. The third-year students of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had practice almost all the time. They had free time to work and only occasionally showed up at the university to present their projects. And those lucky ones hired by such companies as Boston Dynamics were treated like celebrities. Like school athletes, they got privileges, unfair rating and were permitted to skip classes.

But Jackson did not need all that. He somehow managed to find time for everything and be A-student of the Technological Development and Engineering Faculty.

Since Jackson could not pick me up, I did not really protest against Rosy and Mickey giving me a ride after a short stop at Rosy's house.

At the last class, which was the same boring as the second one, I started having problems with my ability. Nobody had told me what abilities Falcon had, so when my eyesight started playing a cruel joke on me I got a bit confused. The sight either disappeared at all or improved to the extent that I felt pain and closed my eyes. I got the feeling that someone had poured salt and sand in my eyes. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm down and hide my condition from the professor, who had moved to the opposite end of the classroom.

"Eugene!" I was calling mentally. Some inner feeling helped me understood what to do for him to respond.

"Breathe, Darsy!" I heard in my head. "Look into the window, find the farthest point and look as long as possible to distinguish the smallest details."

The voice subsided, and I dared to open my eyes, remembering the pain I felt the last half an hour.

I turned my head toward the window and slowly opened my eyes. Bright light hurt my eyes but I tried not to pay attention to it and find the farthest point. At first, the object was blurred but car outlines began to appear a few minutes later. It was neon blue BMW X6. Then, I could see a teddy bear hanging on the back mirror and even what's written on its little heart: Kiss you! This car was at least a quarter mile away from me and outside the gates of Harvard territory.

"Cool!" I whispered and I seemed to feel Eugene's smile. So weird...

"Are you sure you won't need all this?" I asked Rosy.

She packed me a huge bag of clothes: several fashionable and terribly expensive pairs of jeans, a dozen tops, pullovers and T-shirts, two dresses, three cardigans and a tube skirt. We wore almost the same size in clothes, except that her legs were much longer, and I constantly had to cut my pants for an inch or two.

Not to mention that I felt embarrassed and ashamed every time Mickey or Rosy gave away some great pieces from their hearts! It was easy for them to give away half of their wardrobe as each of them rarely wore the same thing more than twice. But for me, it was uncomfortable to feel homeless or orphan, whom they certainly wanted to feed and give a few things not to look so pathetic.

"Dear, have you seen all that junk in my closet?" Rosy pursed her lips and pointed to her "closet," which was essentially a medium-sized dressing room. All the shelves were clogged with various clothes. Rosy could easily change her outfit three times a day, and half of what she had would still remain untouched. "You'd do me a huge favor if you took anything. Oh, try this again!" Rosy handed me a mini evening dress. Apparently, she wanted me to wear this piece of art to her Saturday night party.

Two minutes later, I went out to my friends and I could not understand their reaction. Mickey frowned and Rosy took a pause, which was very unusual for her.

"This dress better goes with slicked-back hair!" Mickey started actively styling my hair. "Darsy?"

"Yes?"

"Did you get a tattoo?"

"What?

She ran her finger behind my ear. Damn! I forgot about that curl.

"Okay, look what I've done," Mickey pushed me to the mirror.

I looked immediately at the mark behind my ear.

"What the hell?" I had to come up very close to make sure I was not crazy and it was not my imagination.

A small curl turned into a small drawing of a size of fifty-cent. I had my hair down and did not notice, but now the pattern was so clear that there was no doubt that it was not a random doodle.

I started outlining the pattern with my finger. They reminded me of Eugene's tattoos!

"This can't be true!"

"What happened?" the girls asked together.

"I think I'm in serious trouble," I muttered. "Rosy, can you take me home now?"

"Sure!" she started fussing.

After saying goodbye to Mickey, we went to my house. I tried to distract myself with Rosy's chatter but my thoughts were elsewhere. How could this happen? I knew for sure I did not kill the Guardian. So where did the tattoo come from? I read that no one but Guardians had that attribute. On the other hand, Eugene said that even Tol did not know all the creatures, so this distinctive feature was not only of Guardian's. In any case, there must be some explanation.

It was only 6 p.m. I had at least another 3 hours to wait until sunset, which I spent in the throes of ignorance. I hated being kept in suspense the most.

"Are you okay?" Rosy got me out of reverie.

"Yes, everything is going to be alright. I guess. In any case, I'll handle it as always!"

"Darsy, you're the strongest of us all, but if you face some problems you know you can always rely on us. Okay? You don't have to deal with everything on your own."

"Sure, darling! You and Mickey will be the first to know about my problems."

We hugged. I ran to the entrance and then up the stairs. I did not notice how I used the force to get upstairs faster. I needed to calm down somehow but I did not know how.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw my room filled with the light of several dozen candles, and there was a new table set for dinner in the center. There was a small vase with three roses between two high candles, and Jackson stood behind the table. He greeted me with a warm smile reminding me of candlelight.

I instantly realized he had no classes today. He used that excuse to prepare a surprise for me. It was touching, though a little unfair of him.

I wanted to smile and cry at the same time. I dropped the bag of clothes on the floor and went to meet Jackson. He held me in his warmest, most comfortable embrace in the world, and I calmed down. We forgot about everything at once. Peace was spreading through my veins. This was exactly what I needed all day – my safe island in a crazy world.

I raised my head, stood on tiptoes and kissed Jackson on the lips. I was overwhelmed with pleasure and excitement. Nothing had changed, I still loved him and this thought made me smile at him.

"Hi!" he whispered.

"Hi! Is that why you couldn't meet me?"

"Yeah, I wanted to surprise you, celebrate your first day, our move in, and add a little romance to our crazy few days in the new city."

"What's on the menu?"

"Trout fillet with blueberry sauce and vegetables," he kissed me on the neck. My legs buckled, and I had to cling to his biceps to keep from falling. It sounded completely unfamiliar but I was sure it was going to be delicious.

"And what's for dessert?" I gasped, as Jackson bit the tender skin of the lips with his teeth.

"Mmmm?"

He picked me up in his arms and carried to the mattress. I started to take off his shirt along the way. I guess we would start with dessert.

At this point, I did not care for the outside world and even fish in sauce getting cold. The only thing that mattered was the pleasure when he touched me with his hands and lips. My top was already somewhere in the corner of the room. Jackson reached under my skirt and pulled my panties down.

I distantly heard some kind of a chirping sound. Cell phone? Jackson froze. I sighed heavily, kissed him fast, and took my cell phone. The caller was unknown.

"Hello?" I was worried.

"Miss Black, this is Tori Preston, secretary of Mrs. Shaw from INC. I would like to tell you the good news. Mrs. Shaw has chosen You among the top ten candidates for the position of her Assistant Secretary. Tell me; are you still interested in the position?"

"Yes, of course!" I break out into a sweat with delight, and I barely restrained myself not to squeak.

"Then we will be glad to see you in our office next Monday at 12 a.m. Mrs. Shaw is on a business trip, and she asked you to be in the office prior to her return."

"I'll certainly be in the office next Monday at 12 a.m. I’d like to thank you and Mrs. Shaw, for the good news and the incredible opportunity."

"Miss Black, You will have the opportunity to thank her in person in a week. I will e-mail you a one-year contract, which You should read. You will be able to ask all your questions on Monday. Have a good day! See you!"

"Thank you! See you!" she hung up. "HURRAY!!!" I screamed and hugged Jackson.

"Darsy..." he groaned. "You'll strangle me..."

"Oh, sorry!"

I jumped to my feet and began to jump, dance and run around the apartment, squeaking with joy.

"Jackson, I got the job! I didn't even hope for this position!"

He just smiled, and I danced around the apartment almost without clothes. Finally, I calmed down and asked Jackson,

"Will you be offended if I take a shower first?"

"Absolutely not!" he stroked my cheek and kissed me on the lips.

"I love you!" I whispered.

"I love you too, Darsy!"

A bit later in the evening, I checked my mail and found a contract, which seemed standard at first sight; it could mean stability and some material independence.

I was to work 25 hours per week and was offered a decent amount of remuneration, health insurance, which would have hardly covered anything if it really were necessary for me, and the opportunity to extend my career after a year of internship.

All the requirements fit in several lines:

• Meet the guests;

• Register incoming correspondence;

• Prepare documents (copy, scan, stitch, and the like);

• Answer incoming phone calls;

• Conference service (including serving coffee and lunches, making presentations, and so on);

• Small-scale tasks from the employer.

I could easily deal with all that. The only clause that could alert or rather warn the freshman was "Termination Terms".

This clause stated that only the company could unilaterally terminate the contract without costs if it considered that I was unfit, abusing, untrustworthy or unethical. If I wanted to quit INC ahead of schedule, I would have to pay $5,000. That's much they estimate the period of a new employee search, preparation, and adaptation.

Personally, I was not one of those people who might be afraid of difficulties and want to terminate the contract for one reason or another, so I was sure that I would not need to know the nuances of this clause.

In a week, I would finally plunge into the adult world and take the path that I had dreamed of for so many years. That was the first step of my legal career. And who would have thought it would be one of the best law firms in Boston?