Page 54 of A Dead Man's B-Side
When he had begun his lesson on the Canadian political system, a girl named Ayana raised her hand and asked for confirmation on whether the confidence-and-supply agreement was separate from a coalition government.
I’d never heard of such an agreement, let alone knew what a coalition government was, but from her hand came another, and another. Before I knew it, the page of my notebook had been filled with points on what I needed to study. I turned the page for more space and continued at a speed I hadn’t known I was capable of where school was concerned.
I wasn’t entirely stupid, but Castle Hill was on a level I hadn’t been prepared for. My teachers back in the United States wouldn’t have cared enough to answer each question so enthusiastically and with such eagerness, but then again, I bet the paychecks here were considerably more attractive.
After class, when I was too relaxed in packing up mybelongings, the girl, Ayana, skittered over with a boy by her side. I noticed him sitting next to her, but I hadn’t thought they were friends.
“Hi, I’m Ayana Savané,” she said, holding her books to her chest and gesturing to the boy next to her, who nodded in greeting. “And this is Cole. Cole Coldwell.”
The first thing I’d noticed was that Ayana had an accent I couldn’t pinpoint. The second was that she had a wide smile, her eyes bright. She had deep ebony skin that glowed, even under the gloomy lights of the classroom. Her hair was styled in a mix of braids and curls that she moved over her shoulder with a delighted shrug.
Cole, on the other hand, looked… to put it simply, too plain standing next to her. His skin was too pale, his hair a generic brown, and his smile clearly forced.
I paused while grabbing my bag and watched the pair blocking my exit from the back row. “Hi… I’m Alexandr.”
She waved my words away with her hand before lifting her knee to stop her books from toppling over her arms. “Oh, I’ve heard. News travels fast around here.”
I finished shoving my notebook into my bag with a scoffed laugh. “I’ve noticed.”
She giggled at the words I’d muttered. “Yeah, well, I just wanted to introduce myself–and Cole. We were wondering if you were looking for any extracurriculars, though it’s kind of hard to tell.”
Throwing my bag over my shoulder, I sent her a questioninglook, having lost me atextracurriculars. “I’m sorry–what?”
She noted the wrinkles forming between my brows and nodded quickly. “It’s kind of hard, you know, you don’t really seem interested in anything.”
I didn’t understand what she was getting at, and I wasn’t willing to chance that this wasn’t a recruitment pitch, so I eyed the door behind them, hoping they’d get the hint.
They didn’t.
It wasn’t that Ayana was a threat of any sort, she seemed good-natured.
But I wasn’t looking for anything more from my studies. The Founder’s Society was already taking up too much space, more than it deserved, in my mind, and I didn’t need any other distractions or strange clubs to stumble upon.
Speaking of the Founder’s Society, I hadn’t spoken to Wolf since I last saw him at the meeting. He returned too late for me to notice, and this class, being the first of the day, hadn’t given me the proper opportunity.
I caught August, however, on his walk to Remington Tower, the building facing Thirteenth Chamber where my class was now.
He was, as he proudly stated, in the advanced placement program and wouldn’t be joining me for History. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that if he were, I would most likely pretend I didn’t know him.
On the walk, he raved and rambled about the Founder’s Society, promising to share the research he’d done during lunch. Heclaimed he hadn’t slept all night, wasn’t able to, and I could tell from the dark circles under his eyes, but I wasn’t going to be the one raining on his parade.
Cole brought me back to the present with his words, “Ayana wanted to know if you were interested in theatre.”
I blinked and tuned back to the pair standing in front of me.
Had they gotten closer?
“Uhm… like to watch?”
Ayana laughed again, but this time, softly. “Yes? If you would like to. It’s up to you. But come down to Queen’s Corridor–the theatre there. We have great stuff.”
I didn’t answer back, too busy trying to form the letters that would come out a ‘no’, but I was too slow. They were already walking away. Or Cole was. Ayana smiled one last time before retreating backwards with a playful finger raised, though it proved hard from how tightly she was clutching her books, and a teasing tone, “I'd better see you there.”
I nodded slowly, still trying to make sense of what just happened. I didn’t ponder on it too long, though, already following them out, though waiting a few moments to decrease the chances of running into them on the way out of Thirteenth Chamber.
By the time lunch had rolled around, I had two essays and an exam to prepare for by next week. I wondered how many hours I’d have to spend sitting at the desk in the corner of my room to feel I was fully prepared. I didn’t understand how these students were able to have so much time for extracurriculars when I only feltmyself falling deeper into academic anxiety.
I sat with my tray at the farthest table, away from prying eyes, already starving since having missed breakfast. I thought growing up hungry meant I wasn’t affected by such things, but I was proven wrong. The food here was something I'd grown to realize I wouldn’t be able to live without, and if I had to, I’d remember the taste on the tip of my tongue for the rest of my life.
