Page 26 of The Initiation

Syn proceeds to eat his meal as though he’s completely oblivious to his audience, and then he washes everything down with his orange juice. After dabbing the side of his mouth with the napkin and then discarding it on top of the plate, he simply stands and walks out of the room.

Almost at once, Penny is in front of me. “Are you okay? Did he do anything?”

Frowning, I shake my head. Aside from taking his time moving his paper so I could set the warm plate down in front of him, there was nothing…

Had I done something wrong? Was he going to punish me back at the house?

Making sure I was embarrassed in front of everyone here seemed more of his scene…

“Do you need to do anything else?” Penny asks when I don’t move.

I look at her, processing her question, and then point at the table. “Clear this.”

“I’ll help.”

“It’s better if you don’t,” I tell her. “It won’t take but a minute.”

“Then I’ll get breakfast before they stop serving.”

There’s still ten minutes of service left, and even though there’s an uneasy feeling settling into me, especially in my stomach, which is churning, I want to eat while I can. On Wednesdays and Fridays, my first classes start at nine, so I’m going to end up being late to them if Syn decides to eat at this time every day. Even if I run to Denali House and then straight to class, I won’t make it in ten minutes. Syn refused to give me my uniform to change into at the same time as this outfit, so I won’t be able to bring the uniform with me.

Which was certainly his intent.

I race to put things away so I can join Penny. We both eat scrambled eggs on toast quickly, then leave the cafeteria.

“How did it go?” she asks when we’re finally out of earshot. “And I can’t believe you’re wearing that.”

“It’s no different than what any of the other girls wore,” I point out.

Penny nods. “Exactly. I was expecting rags.” She frowns. “No, I was expecting less. Less fabric… Actually, I was expecting Syn to throw the food on the floor.”

“You’re not the only one,” I mutter.

“Then again.” Still frowning, Penny looks me up and down. “Do you not get a coat? Aren’t you cold?”

There is a distinct chill to the autumn air, but it’s warmer than it had been earlier when I’d been to the dining hall. Before I can tell Penny no, I stop myself. Instead, as I look at her, I realize that she’s still walking with me—in the opposite direction of her dorm. “Where are you going?”

“Walking with my bestie. You’re being your usual evasive self, so I’m sticking with you until I’m sure you’re okay.”

I come to a stop.

She does the same, half a step in front of me, as she turns to look at me, and I meet her gaze.

“Don’t you have any faith in me?” I ask.

“When it comes to your utter determination to do whatever you think you need to, absolutely,” she says. Then she tilts her head. “But at whether you’re going to tell me if something is wrong? There’s a much greater chance that Bubbe will convert to Catholicism, become a priest, and preside over my wedding to Jake and Nicole.”

She’s not wrong.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” I tell her.

“Syn, Elite, NDA, blah, blah, blah.” Penny waves her hand like there’s a mosquito buzzing around. “Hence me sticking by your side.”

I look up. Just past her shoulder, just a little further along the path, is Denali House. “You know I can’t let you in, right?”

Penny turns to see what I’m looking at. She shrugs as she turns back. “Tori, I’ve got your back, and I’m willing to fight, but I don’t camp. I don’t even glamp. The last thing I’m going to do is set up a tent in front of that house when I have a perfectly good dorm room. But that doesn’t mean I’m not capable of waiting five minutes on the porch while you get changed.” She pulls her phone out of her pocket and then turns it to face me. “Which is literally all you’re going to have if you want to make it to Dr. Wright’s class on time.”

“Fuck,” I mutter.

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