Zachary Rawlins - The Academy

“I’m not saying you have to throw yourself at him, but if he thinks you're never going to put out, some bitch is going to steal him from you. I’m not trying to be hard on you,” Sarah said firmly. “That's how it is, hon. You do know that, right?”

“Yes,” Emily said, fighting off a looming wave of self-pity.

“There are a bunch of other Hegemony girls who are waiting for you to fail so they can take your place. And there is nothing that Anastasia will not do to get what she wants,” Sarah said urgently, putting one hand on Emily’s shoulder. “She will have no trouble whatsoever finding someone who will do whatever it takes to get Alex to join the Black Sun, if Anastasia decides that’s the way she wants to handle it.”

“Why do you think Anastasia hasn’t done that?” Margot asked, only somewhat intelligible through the toothpaste.

It was always weird to watch Margot brush her teeth, because it was the only time Emily could actually see her oversized, pointed canines. Not that she was scared of Margot or vampires in general; well, not very afraid. But her teeth were the starkest reminder of how very different Margot was.

“No idea,” Sarah admitted. “You’d know better than I would — you still work for her sometimes, right, Margot? I don’t try and out-think cousin Ana, I’m just glad my branch of the family stayed with the Hegemony. She probably has some other plan for Alex. But that doesn’t change what I’m saying. Even if Anastasia doesn’t interfere, somebody else will. You know how many power-hungry bitches there are here at the Academy? You do your usual good-girl routine, Emily, and you’re going to get lost in the shuffle.”

“I know. I know you’re right,” Emily said, doing her best not to sound miserable and failing. “But, I already screwed up my chance. I don’t know when I can get the house to myself again, and I don’t know if he’d even come over again…”

Sarah looked stricken, and patted her on the shoulder sympathetically. For a moment, she said nothing, and then she suddenly cried out excitedly.

“Of course!” She grabbed hold of Emily’s shoulders as if she was going to shake her. “I’ve got it. A perfect opportunity!”

“What?”

“Hey, Margot, when does Alex start that class with Mitsuru? You know, the bad one?” Sarah asked, nodding excitedly as she spoke. “Combat-whatever-it’s-called?”

Margot’s response was made unintelligible by toothpaste, and they had to wait until she had a chance to rinse out her mouth before they could hear the answer.

“You mean the Program,” she said curtly, looking, to Emily’s eyes, unhappy about something. “And he starts this week.”

“Perfect!” Sarah enthused. “So what you do is, on his first day, you get the proctor to let you into his room while he’s in class, right? So you are waiting for him when he gets out. Say you were worried about him, Alex will like that. His proctor is Li, so it won’t be any big deal getting him to let you in. Anyway, I hear that class is pretty fucked up, especially at first. Don’t you think he might want some company after, Margot?”

“Yes,” Margot admitted, speaking a little too loudly, her flat voice echoing throughout the tiled bathroom. “It would be a good idea for someone to be there for him. It is difficult for many people at first, emotionally.”

“But if it’s in the dorms,” Emily said slowly, “and we…”

“Right!” Sarah crowed. “So you can’t, so you don’t have to, but you don’t come off like a prude either. He’ll know about the dorm rules, so he won’t expect you to do anything. It’s perfect, right?”

“I guess so,” Emily said, thinking it through, and wondering if Sarah might be right. “I mean, it’s not like I’d get in trouble just for kissing him or something, right? And even Margot said he shouldn’t be left alone…”

“No, he shouldn’t,” Margot said, again speaking more loudly than was necessary, gathering her things and heading for the door. Emily was too occupied with Sarah’s scheme to wonder much why she didn’t shower, even though it seemed like she’d planned on it. “Someone should definitely be there.”

It was cold in the bathroom, and Eerie had started trembling long before Sarah and Emily finished chatting and gossiping and finally left. She’d been standing in one of the shower enclosures, naked except for the bath towel she was partially wrapped in, shivering in silence since Emily arrived, somehow unable to face the girl that Alex had gone home with. Eerie stayed completely motionless until they left, except for her chattering teeth. She didn’t even dare reach for her bathrobe, afraid that they would hear her open the shower door to reach for it. Eerie waited until she was certain that they were gone, and then she turned on the water as hot as she could stand. She was grateful for the warmth pouring down her back, but it was a while longer before she stopped trembling.

“I’m not trying to force you into making up your mind. I understand that this is a difficult decision.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I don’t want you to feel like we are talking you into anything.”

“You aren’t.”

“Good.” The kid composed himself and looked as if he was about to continue on, then the other kid, the quiet one nudged him. “Ah, right. Then, if it is alright with you, can I move on to the substance of our visit?”

Alex wanted to laugh, but he couldn’t. Alex toyed with idea of throwing a punch at the kid, what’s-his-name, Nathan something. But, he knew that even if he didn’t hurt him, that Michael would never let him get away with it.

“You mean you didn’t come down here to hold the bag for me?” Alex asked, gesturing with one gloved hand at the water-filled punching bag that Nathan was holding cautiously, almost fearfully.

“Err, no. Well, not wholly,” Nathan said seriously. Alex had thus far seen no evidence that Nathan had even a shred of a sense of humor. “I am here as a representative of the Drava Cartel, and Frederick is here as a representative of the Gehrig-Moore Cartel. Our cartels are members of an alliance known as the…”

Alex threw a left-right-left combination at the bag, making as much noise as possible when his gloves smacked the leather bag, startling Nathan and rocking him backward a bit as he struggled to hold it in place.

“The Hegemony, I know. That’s a stupid name, by the way.” Alex shuffled his feet, trying to change stances the way he’d seen Michael do it yesterday. It didn’t work. “I thought the cartels were forbidden to conduct business at the Academy?”

“We are here in an unofficial capacity, of course!” Frederick shrieked, his brow shining with perspiration. Alex was guessing, but he didn’t think the moderately rotund German saw the inside of a gym too often. Not that Alex had ever made a habit of it before he’d come to the Academy, himself. But Michael and the machines in his blood had conspired to make some serious changes in him over the last several weeks.

“Right, and?” Alex said, trying a couple more straight right hands, more for the way the noise made them jump than anything.

“Well, we wish to discuss,” Nathan said, and then frowned, and leaned close to whisper conspiratorially. “We wish to discuss your plans for your future.”

Alex laughed, and Nathan paused, looking indignant.

“I’m sorry,” Alex said cheerfully. “But, I have to know — what exactly is it you want me to do? I mean, which cartel do you want me to join? Yours,” he said, pointing at Nathan with his gloved hand, “or his?”

He nodded amiably in the direction of Frederick, who continued to watch in open-mouthed dismay.

“Well, that is to say that I — ”