Page 130 of A Dead Man's B-Side
August replied, “She did. Alright, so that leaves the sponsorship kid, the scholarship kid, and the lucky kid.”
I quirked a brow and said, “Why’s Goldie the lucky kid?”
Marigold turned red as she pulled on her sleeves. “Oh, my… dad was the previous Dean before he passed away, and the board let me finish my studies as I was when he was alive.”
She didn’t look particularly mournful of her father’s death, but to be fair, neither was I when my father died, so I wasn’t in any place to judge.
“Sorry for your loss,” I said, nonetheless.
She shrugged and smiled, a pursed set of lips and an uncomfortable crinkle of her eyes. “T-thanks.”
I turned back to the group and caught the tail end of Rain’s eye roll, subtly nudging my head in question, but she only shook me off. “I think… that Queen may have nominated either Alexandr or August.”
August recoiled and took the words forming in my mind out from the tip of my tongue, “Why would you say that?”
“Well, because if he wanted to teach his son a lesson, what better way than appointing the boy his son picks on or picking someone, albeit worthy, off the street.”
Huh. It made complete sense, and I smothered the feeling of belonging inside of me at Rain, of all people, with the highest of expectations, calling meworthy.
But I had my confirmations about Thaddeus, and despite Callum’s curiosity, he’d known and picked on August longer. It made complete sense.
“Why did you suspect Thaddeus to be the one who appointed you?” Rain asked.
I looked at the people around me. Knowing that, unless I decided to leave it all behind, they were the only ones compelled by duty to keep a secret. I sighed and revealed what I knew, “I followed Thaddeus one night after our meeting and I… overheard him talking about me. I don’t suspect, I know Thaddeus was the one to appoint me.”
Wolf leaned back, remaining silent.
I loosened the tie hanging like a noose around my neck and sat back on the carpet. “He said he had been the one to assign the essay I’d written, the one that won me a place here, and that he liked my answer.”
Ajax hummed loudly in realization. “The essay you told us about during your tour.”
I nodded. “The very one.”
Rain’s eyes didn’t leave mine, something passing over them that I couldn't decipher. Her eyes widened the tiniest bit before she looked back down at the photo. “So, Thaddeus appointed you. Matthew Queen appointed August. That leaves Cassius Vale to appoint Marigold. Do you know any Vale?”
Rain turned to Marigold who froze under the attention of the student body president before shaking her head quickly. “No.”
Wolf interjected, “But Cassius doesn’t sit on the board. His older brother does. Soren Vale.”
Rain nodded and tapped the young man’s grinning face in the photo with her perfectly manicured nails. “I was going to say.”
She stared at Cassius Vale’s face for a moment too long before shaking her head and massaging her temples. “That doesn’t matter. Callum, unless absolutely crazy, won’t go up against Thaddeus, let alone the board. For now, we focus on tomorrow.”
Right.
Tomorrow was the Fenlon Society’s party. Rain gave the okay when the vice president, Ajax, asked for after-hours approval for the student body invited.
He straightened. “None of you are on the list, no offense but we can’t have anything trace back, so you’ll enter from the window I’ll leave open–”
“I’m assuming it’s floor level?” Wolf questioned.
Ajax rolled his eyes and retorted sarcastically, “No, I was just going to ask one of you to bring a ladder. Anyways, Scott will be too lucid to know what hit him… What with his current state and all.”
He seemed to trail off, and Rain spoke up too quickly for me to wrap my head around the look he had in his eyes. “Are you feeling guilty? Ajax, so help me God…”
Ajax puffed out his chest and jumped to refute, “I am not! I just… When it was mine and August’s turn to snoop around his room, there was a family picture–”
Rain looked like a dog with a massive piece of steak in front of her. “And?”
