Page 46 of A Dead Man's B-Side
Wolf must have asked Marigold something else because only when she was beginning to answer did Ajax interrupt her, “Hey Wolf, you three didn’t work on those clues together, did you? I didn’t think we’d be allowed teams.”
The boy in question paused and turned to meet Ajax’s gaze with a slow sweep of his eyes. “She was speaking.”
Ajax shrugged. “And now, I am. Why don’t you answer my question?”
Marigold seemed to push further into herself.
Nobody minded too much; she was entirely dull.
I narrowed my eyes at the edge underlying Ajax’s words.
I’d taken the impression that Wolf and Ajax were at least slightly less hostile towards each other than with the rest of our peers at Castle Hill.
It was silent for a beat, and it wasn’t until Paris’ elbow nudged into my ribs, entertained by the show, that Wolf replied, “There wasn’t a rule book, was there?”
It was a rhetorical question, but the bigger boy didn’t seem to care. “I think the point of this whole thing was to test our individual capabili–”
Wolf interrupted him, maybe a coincidence, but it had the desired effect on a now offended Ajax. Though, he hid it well. “When you show me the written or verbally stated bylaws of this little exercise, I’ll consider your argument.”
August let out a high-pitched squeak that I could tell was ahorribly concealed laugh.
Paris didn’t have the same reservations as she let out a chuckle, showcasing her perfectly white teeth with a shake of her head. “Ah, poor Ajax.”
The boy in question only grinned, all sharp. “Of course you’d find such mundane conversations funny. Remind me, Paris, who was caught with a kilo of crack cocaine in her bag last year? Drugs do have a long-lasting effect on the brain, it seems.”
His words wiped the smile off her face like melted butter, and her quick reply was spoken through gritted teeth. “It wasn’t a kilo, or is memory loss a symptom of your birth defects?”
If I remembered correctly, wasn’t it Paris who spoke of the social suicide one undergoes when caught breaking academy rules?
He curled his lips. “I don’t have birth defects, addict.”
Rain began to massage her temples at least a minute ago, and the arguing pair seemed to be getting more vicious with every passing second. “Your dad died at ninety-two… ten years ago.”
I felt my lips curl in disgust on their own at the information, Wolf sharing my sentiment. I wondered how someone so old could still… I didn’t want to think about it.
It seems I was naively misled when I assumed I was the only outlier.
Upon further thought, August seemed to be the only honest one.
Ajax was getting riled up now. “At least my father is cold in his grave, the very one I could visit. Tell me, is your mother dead to you, or are you to her? Things like divorce confuse me?”
His voice was condescending, and so was the sarcastic, confused look he sent her. That seemed to hit a nerve, and perhaps that's why she hadn’t noticed her clenched fist creating what I was sure were marks on my thigh.
The sting was easy to ignore when the show in front of me kept me well occupied and distracted.
The thread holding Rain Atlas Jett together snapped as her voice cut through the noise like a sharp sword, “This is getting inappropriate. The Founder’s Society should not hold such hostility among its members. It’s unbecoming.”
She spoke with authority, perhaps ingraining into the minds of the student body she governed that her word was law, because not a noise was made afterwards. Well, except for mine. “How would you know? Is there something you should be sharing?”
Her gaze jumped to meet mine, but she didn’t dare speak–straightening her posture further, if that were even possible.
“Tell us what you know, Jett.” Wolf’s hard voice came from my side, a shift in the calm tone I was used to.
Despite the space between us, I was sure she tensed, tension radiating off of her in waves. Her interlinked hands tightened further, the edges of her fingers turning white.
But she didn’t get the chance to answer when the sound of a key clicking into place rang throughout the room.
Quiet, yet well heard.
