Page 9 of Distortion
I get in and immediately strap myself in, glad I have as we peel out of the open gate at what I would consider break-neck speeds. I white-knuckle the handle on the door and grit my teeth, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing that he’s making me afraid.
The blanks, mostly the night ones, loved it when we were scared. They pretended differently, but those of us who wereseasoned patients all knew never to show the power-hungry cunts our fear if we could possibly help it.
I glance over at Jack. He’s driving at a more normal speed now and no longer throwing the car around every corner. Maybe he’s calmed down. I return my hands to my lap and sit up straighter.
‘How many live in your fraternity house?’ I ask him.
He lets out a long breath. ‘About thirty.’
‘So about seven in each year?’
He glances at me. ‘Yeah. Sort of. There are ten spaces for the pledges this year. Then, nine sophomores, nine juniors, and three seniors.’
Thirty-one. I frown, wondering if the numbers being so skewed is weird. ‘Only three seniors?’
He’s silent for a moment. ‘Yeah. Some ... stuff happened and they ... got expelled last year when we were all juniors. It worked out. Since there are so few of us, we just decided to take the whole top floor for ourselves this year.’
I open my mouth to ask why all the other seniors in the frat got ejected from the school when he frowns and gives me a quick look that I can’t discern.
‘You didn’t used to talk so much.’
I let out a breath as I look out the window. ‘No, I guess not.’
‘What changed?’
My mind flits around what my life has been like these past few years, the countless hours of practice, the sessions designed to give me all the skills that I lacked, and I look out of the window instead of at Jack. I’d rather not delve too deeply into all that stuff. It’s in the past now and I want it to stay that way.
‘Grew up, I guess,’ I murmur noncommittally.
I don’t want to talk anymore, so I let the silence stretch on. Instead, I watch the trees go by and put on the shadesagain when the sunlight begins to grate on me. It’s normal to wear sunglasses, so no one will think anything of it, but the truth is I’ve always preferred cloudy days.
After a few minutes of forest and backroads, we get to the town of Richmond, which has a town center with some stores around a square and a statue of some guy on a horse in the middle of the green beside a bandstand. Looks like there’s a café too, and I wonder if I’ll be allowed to roam around. Regardless, I pay close attention to the journey a bit more now, so I can find my way back if I get the chance later.
We turn off the main road and go through a neighborhood, and I make a mental note of the street names before we get to a street called Richmond Way. This must be where the university buildings begin.
‘When do classes start?’ I ask, seeing banners about what appears to be mandatory fun for the new students this week.
I don’t even know what day it is, I realize, thinking back to the day before. Stoke was in his office, so it must have been a weekday, and I struggle to remember what I had for lunch. Ah, yes. I frown as I recall the egg and cress sandwich onbrownbread.
Yuk.
It must have been Tuesday yesterday.
‘Tomorrow,’ he replies.
We pass some houses with various Greek letters on them and turn down another road, a long driveway that’s lined with high oak trees.
‘Your house isn’t with the others?’ I murmur.
‘Kappa Iota Pi is a breed apart,’ he smirks.
I resist the urge to wrinkle my nose at how much the arrogant remark makes him sound like John.
We pull up to a large stone house with a well-tended lawn and white shutters beside all the windows. It’s massive. Beautiful in a cold, New England, old-money sort of way. ThoughI suppose The Heath didn’t look much different, at least from the outside.
I shiver as I look up at it, hearing Jack open the back and take my bag out. I think he’s going to take it in for me, but instead, he chucks it at my feet.
‘I’m not your servant,Daisy. Carry your own shit.’
