Page 35 of Among the Screaming Trees

“Hey, Pen. Want to help pack orders?”

“Tali, fine to help you. But I’d like to understand why the professor was in my room? The same professor who lost her shit at me in her office.”

Amber’s face morph’s from shock to guilt before settling on ridicule. “We ran out of tape for the boxes. There might be some in here?” She jerks a thumb over her shoulder, toward my bed and personal things.

“You figured it would be a good idea to go hunting for tape in a bedroom, with the door closed?”

Tali’s brow pinches. “There are two entire rolls of tape plus the one already in the dispenser.”

Amber doesn’t budge. “Was there? Silly me. I must’ve buried them under the witch hazel toners.”

If this bitch hopes I’m done, she’s mistaken. “Why would you go into my room while Tali was in the bathroom? Did she give you permission to wander about like you owned the place? Would you mind if I rifled through your office while you weren’t there, door closed, of course, with that hideous fucking bronze bonsai behind it? Would you?”

“Aspen, you are being rude. I told you I was looking for tape. Tali was in the bathroom and I didn’t want to hold up her packaging.”

“The only rude one here is you! Don’t go into my room, don’t go through my shit. If you want to know anything, you ask me! Don’t take it upon yourself to snoop because you believe you have the right, because you’re a professor. If you can’t supply a simple rubric when asked, you can get the fuck out.”

Tali looks apoplectic. Her skin has reddened to a hue rosier than her hair, while her body shakes. I can’t wait to see which way this goes. “Aspen!”

“She was in my room!”

“Searching for tape. She’s already apologized.”

“No, Tali, she never even attempted to apologize. And looking for tape is the saddest fucking excuse I’ve ever heard.”

“Tali, honey. I’m going to take off. I said I’d help you with your products tonight, but when Ms. Aldereyne is around, my blood pressure spikes to unhealthy levels. I apologize to you, Tali, for not completing the task.”

You fucking sour bitch. She’s unstable; she has to be. Who does shit like this? She must be in her forties. Did she not mature ever?

“Amber, I’m so sorry about this.”

Why is everyone apologizing to everyone else? My privacy was invaded, and both of them are just there holding each other’s tit like besties. Tali thinks AmDon is the bomb. I think she’s a fucking conniving cunt. Either way, I want her out. Now. I storm past the professor and slam my door. I can hear muffled conversation on the other side of the door, but I tune it out. The pinched faces and eye rolls are probably doing the hard lifting, anyway. When a knock sounds almost an hour later, I ignore it. And the two that follow. I ignore the text messages and my growling stomach. I bemoaned the lack of female friends or any my age. If this is what it feels like, it can all get fucked, too.

When I left the next morning, any evidence of the night before had dissolved as efficiently as the professor slithered away like an asp into a den in the dunes. The fucking nerve, and Tali’s support. Wonderful. Thankfully, the dozens of jars and bottles are gone. Along with the flat stacks of cardboard cartons. What remains on the countertop, glinting like one of those gold cats that waves, is a tape dispenser and two brand new rolls, just like Tali said there were. It mocks me like loyalty leaching away, no matter how much I want to claw back our friendship.

My socked feet slid into last night’s discarded sneakers. I pull the door open to discover a carry tray on the ground in between our door and Merda and Kristi’s. Whoever delivered didn’t bother announcing their arrival or requesting a tip, so I step over it, assuming Poppi might have dropped it off for Merda. Tali might have gone in early, or decided to pack her wares on Amber’s fucking desk, and no one else would deliver me coffee and pastries. It’s not from a cafe I recognize, and the logo isn’t the college one, either. I’m so beyond hungry, it’s not funny. I’m also tempted to sneak one or the other. Would Poppi or Kristi, if in fact it’s meant for her, miss both pastries? I peer into the bag. The smell of almonds among the sugary goodness hits me, and I close it again. I can’t stand marzipan; it reminds me of my aunt’s festive cakes, and that memory bellows the loneliness of being an orphan. I slide the tray closer to our neighbors and continue to school. Whatever joy awaits me there will need to be faced on a full stomach, so I detour toward the dining hall and the call of comforting carbohydrates. I want decent, bottomless coffee and something dripping in enough syrupy sweetness to throw my pancreas into a diabetic meltdown.

Once I’ve consumed a month’s worth of sugar, I head to my Poisons and Tox class, apprehension coursing through me like the syrup I just devoured. Instead of Amber Donnelyn’s sour pout, Dr. Bonner greets the class with head dips and murmured greetings. His acknowledgment of me doesn’t differ from other students, thankfully, and I take an empty seat, wondering where Tali will decide to settle once she arrives. I don’t have to wait long; she takes the row ahead of me, a few seats over. Okay then, tell me you’re super pissed off with me without telling me you’re super pissed off. Thanks for the support, babe. If I had a professor over, and they wanted to go rifle through your shit, you can bet your ass I would close that down, bathroom break or not.

“Good morning, everyone. I’m filling in for Professor Donnelyn, who was called to Anchorage late last night with no return date as yet. I trust those of you who are familiar with me will appreciate the effort I put into filling in for other classes. To those of you who have no idea who I am, then prepare for your disappointment now.”

Bonner’s icebreaker has the room chuckling, and me wondering what the actual fuck. What time was she called away? Before or after she was sifting through my stuff? Did she find something of interest in there? Or perhaps a more personal matter. In case she’s unwell and facing testing at a larger hospital or something equally sinister, I hold back with the bitchy judgment for as long as I can.

“Is she sick?”

“I do not know, McGredie.”

“Would you tell us if you knew?”

“Probably not.”

“Did Dean Grundy and Wyldan fire her ass after she screamed at Aspen? Was she summoned to the Anchorage campus to be terminated officially?”

The syrup threatens a sweet reprisal. No, if they were going to fire her, they would have done it after the incident. And while she was unpleasant, a warning would have sufficed. I’m surprised she didn’t get my ass reprimanded after her little moment. Tali looks anxious. Her head is bowed, shoulders tense and rounded to protect her from any negative news. She’s not offering an explanation either, and was one of the last people to converse with Amber before she left. I hope she doesn’t think the professor left for Anchorage because I had it out with her in our hallway. Jesus Christ, she’d be the sort of person to spin this into her being the victim and not the instigator.

“Poisons and Tox questions, anyone? I’m sure Professor Donnelyn will be back to hold your delicate hands soon enough. In the meantime, let’s continue through the course notes. I see we are up to nightshades, is that correct, Tali?”

Tali looks up after a long moment and blinks. When she doesn’t answer, another voice does from the rear of the room. “Yes, Doc.”