Page 60 of The Mentor
“It means to exchange something. In your case, you can offer information and guidance about girls and earn their friendship in return.” She gave him a reassuring smile and made a discreet nod in my direction. “It sounds like you might have your first customer to barter with right here.”
Nieall’s mouth opened and a small sound of understanding escaped him. “Maybe I could tell the boys some of the girls’ secrets?” he pondered out loud.
“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Shelly said. “That will only infuriate the girls, and trust me, they will find out.”
“Then what do you mean by bartering?”
Shelly gave him a sly smile. “The trick is to position yourself so that both sides will use you to get information. Let’s say one of the girls likes one of the boys, and she really wants to know if he likes her back or vice versa. Since you don’t have any problem addressing either group, you can make yourself useful and create a position of power.”
“But why can’t they just talk to each other without my help?”
Geez, if only it was that simple,I thought to myself.
“All humans fear rejection at some level,” Shelly explained to him. “It’s really no mystery when you think about how vulnerable humans used to be in the old days. If a person living in the Stone Age was rejected by the group, their chances of survival were slim. We modern people are still programmed to long for inclusion and safety in numbers. It’s irrational of course, because rejection is no longer a life-and-death matter. Yet most of us still get sick to our stomachs when we face potential rejection.”
“Ahh…” Nieall nodded his head in understanding. “Got it.”
“Happy to help,” Shelly said and turned to Kya. “So, did you want me to get started with lunch?”
“Yes, that would be lovely,” Kya answered and the two of them walked away.
“Run along,” I told Nieall and found myself a bit shaken that a pimply teenager could give better advice than me. Her idea was brilliant, and I only wished I had a grown-up version of Nieall that I could use to get information about how Kya felt about me.
CHAPTER 15
Second Protector
Kya
Finn became my second protector.
I really didn’t feel I needed one, and I was afraid I would have to start all over to negotiate the freedom that I had worked so hard to get with Magni. When I first arrived in the Northlands, he had been my shadow night and day, it seemed. But by the end, Magni had loosened up and allowed me to walk freely around the school and the surrounding area. He had even allowed Archer and me to be alone more frequently, but I suspected it was because he knew we didn’t like each other very much.
Luckily, Finn was a much more relaxed person by nature and he was funny.
“How do you even have time to be here?” I asked him the night he arrived. The kids were all sleeping while we adults sat outside enjoying one of the last summer nights before the fall would set in. “Don’t you have patients?”
Finn sat next to me and held out his hands to feel the heat from the small fire pit in the middle. “I do, but see, this may surprise you…” With a charming smile, he leaned back and rested his shoulder against mine. “…the Northlands have more than one doctor.”
“I knew that,” I scoffed.
“But did you know that I’ve been a protector before?”
“Yes, Christina told me.”
I thought I saw a crack in his happy mood, but it was short and he quickly smiled again. “Five days. That’s how long I spent with the witch.” He shook his head. “Did Christina tell you that Athena cursed me?”
Not taking him seriously, I asked: “You didn’t like Athena much, did you?”
“No. And it’s not because I don’t like women in general, because just for the record I fuckinglovewomen.” His face split in two when he laughed. “And Ilovefucking women.” Nudging his elbow in my ribs he wiggled his eyebrows. “See what I did there with my words – twisting them around?”
“Yeah, it was very impressive. You should be a poet,” I said. “But I didn’t think you had access to women here.”
“Nahh.” He shrugged. “But a true poet can’t let a small detail like the truth disrupt his creative flow.”
I didn’t fight him when he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. “How about that fantasy of yours? Did you have any luck with Magni or Archer?” he whispered.
Marco and Archer were talking quietly among themselves on the other side of the fire pit, but Archer looked over when he heard his name.
