Page 20 of Distortion
The secretary in the small office looks up at me.
‘Are you new?’ she asks.
I nod, and she beckons me. ‘You need an ID card. Name?’
‘Marguerite Evans.’
‘Smile for the camera.’
A sudden flash has me blinking away black dots, and she taps away on her computer for a moment. She puts a blank card into a small machine next to her. It drops outthe bottom a few seconds later with my picture and name on it.
‘There,’ she murmurs. ‘Now you won’t have to wait in line at the Quad.’
‘Thanks,’ I say.
She nods and points at the clock. I see that it’s after six. She probably wants to lock up and go home.
I make sure my envelope is closed up and leave the dilapidated English building, but when I get outside, I see that my fears have been realized. It’s pouring. Then I hear the door behind me lock and I turn to see the secretary walking away through the glass window. Her altruism didn’t extend to letting me wait out the storm inside, I guess.
I stand on the stoop for a moment under the overhang, but there’s not much point. It leaks and I’m already drenched. Sighing, I fold my envelope and put it under my shirt to try to keep it at least semi-dry while I run.
I sprint like I’ve done something wrong and the blanks are trying to get close enough tocorrectme. I pretend they’re on my heels, and I run faster. Just a little game I liked to play when I went jogging in the grounds at The Heath to see how much I could increase my speed. Luckily, the compulsory fun from earlier has been postponed or moved indoors, so instead of the crowds, there’s just some empty tables and sodden papers in the grass. I run down the path and go past the science building.
Everywhere is gloomy and deserted. I turn up the long driveway to the house and run up it to the front door, but when I try it, it’s locked.
Of course, Shade used a keycard. I dig mine out and pass it over the pad like I saw him do earlier. It doesn’t open. I try a few more times and then sigh. Looks like my card doesn’t work here.
I ring the bell and wait a moment before I hear someone talking through the speaker on the doorbell.
‘Party isn’t ’til Saturday, freshman. Come back then.’
I’m not a freshman. I frown. Perhaps not everyone knows who I am yet.
‘I’m Shade’s sister,’ I say. ‘Please open the door.’
‘No can do. No girls allowed except at parties.’
I hear sniggering in the background and purse my lips at the camera.
Ah, they’re playing with me, much like the blanks sometimes would when it was a slow day.
I suppress a shiver. Now that I’m not running, I can feel the bite of the season in the air. It doesn’t help that I’m soaking wet either.
‘Go away, or we’re calling the cops.’
I roll my eyes at the peals of laughter I can hear through the door.
‘You’re acting like children,’ I mutter at the doorbell.
But they aren’t going to open the door and I have no idea how to contact Shade ... even if I was sure he’d treat me any better, which I’m not at all.
I pretend to leave and then sneak around the back of the house, hoping for a way in.
I find a high window ajar near the back door that leads into an enclosed patio and jump up, opening it wide with my fingertips. Then I use the nearby drainpipe to lever myself up as I lunge for it. Catching the window frame, I haul myself through, but my wet hands slip off the plastic. I clench my teeth and fall silently, landing a little haphazardly on a couch with a small ‘oomph’.
Sitting up, I’m thankful that I still have the envelope. I smirk, proud of myself for not being thwarted by the silly boys, and for not getting hurt. I stand up and go into the house, finding myself in a games room. There’s a TV on onewall with some gaming consoles hooked up to it in front of a couch, a foosball table, and a darts corner. The room is all dark carpet and walls with spotlights coming down from the ceiling. Even the drapes covering the tall windows are dark and thick.
I stop short as I see three guys playing pool at the table in my periphery. I start to back up, but it’s already too late. They’ve noticed me.
