"So what brings you to Rinzen?" Axel asked, popping a barbecue chip into his mouth. "Your family move? You do something stupid?" he pondered, as he chewed his food, not bothering to close his mouth. "Nah, doesn't look like you cause trouble."
Miren sighed, bringing her bottled water from her mouth. "I don't. Uh...my family moved."
Axel raised an eyebrow before laughing. "You don't seem to be too sure about that." Miren tried not to look affected. She should have thought of a better backstory, but the whole disguise aspect had been taking up most of her thoughts.
Miren shrugged. "The whole thing is complicated. I didn't have the best experience at my old school. And...uh...my parents...are probably divorcing, hence the transfer. I 've just been sort of going through the motions I guess."
"That's too bad," Cliff said. "A lot of the students who go here are loaded, but many of us have been through some tough times. Rinzen actually used to be an upscale juvenile detention center. Did you know that?"
Miren's face fell. "No." And it just keeps getting better...
Cliff nodded. "Everyone's cool here, though. If you don't ask for trouble, you don't get it."
She exhaled, feeling a little better. That's all she was asking for. Maybe her hair too, but now that she thought about it, her hair was associated with girlishness. Girlishness was associated with St. Rosemunde and the hopelessness she felt there. Now she was at Rinzen. Life would only be awful if she made it that way. And all it took was sitting around a table of delinquents to realize this.
Another member, a shorter male with his blonde hair, smiled. "Tell 'em your story, Axel," he taunted.
"Whatever," Axel sighed, turning to Miren. "Listen up, 'cause I'm not going to tell it again," he warned the table, but his eyes focused on her. "I've had some spats with some girls. Specifically with girls from my last school." He stopped, looking at Miren like she knew what he was talking about. Didn't she lie about going there?
"Oh...right?" she said, blinking. "Uh, I heard they're easy." It came out like a question. She puckered her lips, wondering if she had screwed up. Apparently she didn't, because Axel just nodded, continuing.
"So a couple of them made a burn book and tried to report half the guys in the school for sexual harassment," he told the group. "I mean, that's ridiculous, right? Were they trying to do a reverse Mean Girls?" he said, practically crushing the life out of his burrito. His buddies chuckled.
Miren didn't laugh at first; her body shivered with both nerves and disgust. But then she did. She was a boy after all. She was apparently supposed to laugh at this.
"Of course they couldn't prove anything," he then said, which eased the tension on Miren's forced smile, "But my reputation was slashed. I even had to change my Facebook name. But I was only a freshman and my dad's an alumni here, so I decided to transfer." A frown appeared on his face and the table fell into a bout of silence. Against her better judgment, Miren decided to break it.
"So...How's your relationship with girls now?" She had to know. This guy was going to know where her dorm room was. She would sleep better at night knowing that his girl issues were resolved. You know, if she could sleep here at all.
Axel's frown disappeared almost as fast as it came. "That's the beauty of it. St. Rosemunde girls put out way more." And then the boys were snickering again.
Miren's eyes widened, although she wasn't quite sure why she was surprised. They were boys. They were sexual beings. So were girls. She just...wasn't expecting the males here to be so unhinged. First the principal. Now even his students were following in his lax demeanor. Now that she thought about it, maybe this was where Wallaceâalthough undoubtedly intelligentâgot that smug, diverted look in his eye. She was almost worried about Chara, until she realized she was just as twisted as him.
"Just this weekend, totally banged Lola Lafayette. Her boobs are so..." At that point she began to drown Axel out. The whole table out.
It's not that she cared about her former roommate, but she was beginning to get a sense of the disparity between guys and girls. Females could be nasty for you for no reason, while males were just nasty.
RING.
RING.
Miren breathed a sigh of relief, basking in the familiar sound. Lunch was over, and although there was no class today, she knew they would have to leave soon. After Axel discarded the remains of his lunch, he turned to her.
"Ready to move in?"
She nodded, trying to block out the disgust-fest from earlier.
"Please."
**
"The Woodley Hall is up ahead," Axel said, pulling Miren's suitcase because she was apparently too slow. In a moments notice, they were in front of a chocolate brick, New England styled building. It was large, and had several windows lined along the three floors. There were vines and other vegetation growing along the edges of the building, and there was forest-like scenery behind it was contained by the black gates she had seen at the front of the school. The view was incredibly scenic, breathtakingly serene and woodsy beneath the dull blue sky. She assumed that's how the place received its name.
"Slide your access card," he said. She did so, and the black door opened. There was a small reception office to the immediate right of the entrance, and as her feet skimmed across the dark wood floor, and passed the peridot green walls, she was reminded that boys lived her.
She was going to live here.
And it was fine. So far she had no reason to complain. They entered and elevator that had similar coloring as the hallway, until they approached the third floor. Axel marched on ahead, clearly knowing where her room was, which was at the end of the hallway. She jogged lightly to catch up with him.
There was a window to the left of her door, and through it she could see that the forest like area was pretty shallow; behind it was a stretch of grassland that belonged to the school. Beyond that was the gate, and across the road, in the deep horizon were various establishments.
"Key," Axel said, though it came out more like a command. Miren fought the urge to roll her eyes and opened the door instead, bracing herself for this roommate Axel was so eager to see.
But she didn't have to. The room was empty. She sighed. She was becoming anxious, and an empty room did nothing to quench her burning anxiety. But it would allow her to unpack in peace. And now that she thought about it, she did have some essential things she couldn't unpack in front of a male audience.
"Thanks for everything. You can go now." She restrained her brown eyes from looking too eager for him to leave. Instead the male shrugged, plopping down on a desk chair that faced the window. "I'll wait. Wanna freak him out."
She sighed. So that's why he was here. Maybe they were settling a score or something. She looked around the room, taking in the arrangement. Her roommate looked like a simple person. In the medium sized, square-like room, his stuff was pressed against the wall that had the only window, with his desk and some books in front of it. On his bed, there were a few clothes scattered along his comforter.
Her side was against another wall. The room was bland, the walls were a navy blue, and her absolute white mattress was the only thing that popped out of the space. The only exciting thing she noticed was that the room had a bathroom.
At least I can be spared from the communal bathroom craze. In St. Rosemunde, suite-styled rooms were reserved for seniors and juniors. Even though she was a junior, she had optioned to live another year in the underclassman level. There was no Penelope that way.
She smiled. "I'll be right back," she said, walking toward the white bathroom door. Finally, a true perk of coming here. She gazed around the clean, modern space. She smiled again. He wasn't a slob.
Then the doorknob on the outside turned. He was here.
A black-haired boy walked in. And then his eyes focused on a very uncomfortable sight.
Axel.
Luggage.
"AXEL," he called out, walking up to the delinquent boy sitting in his chair. In his room. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Axel smiled, his hazel eyes flickering with delectation as he shifted to his feet. "Unpacking. You have a new roommate, Jeno." Axel teased, his tall body almost leveled with the other boy.
Jeno's eyebrows furrowed, his teeth clenching to restrain his disgust. "And why am I just now hearing about this?" he demanded, his amber eyes sharp against Axel's. "I'm not sharing a room with you. Now get the fuck out."
Axel grinned a fool's grin, immune to Jeno's hostility. "Calm down, Jen," he taunted. Jeno's eyes were daggers.
"I told you to never call me that." There was venom in his voice.
As if to diffuse the tension in the air, a flush was heard from the bathroom. Jeno's eyes darted toward the direction as MirenâMilesâstepped out into the hostile environment.
She blinked at an over-amused Axel, before turning to a furious Jeno. "Hi?" she said, hoping that the male wouldn't jump at her.
"What?" Jeno said, turning to a calm, but rather confused looking Miren. He heaved a sigh, combing a hand through his straight hair. "I'm going to assume that you're my roommate."
The corners of Miren's mouth shifted into a slight smile. "Guilty."
Jeno's gaze softened before he turned to Axel.
"Get out," he said. Axel raised his hands in defense, a slightly bemused look settling on his face.
"Try to help to new guy out and this is what I get? No tip?" he said, slowly began to walk out, his hands still perked above his shoulders in false shock.
"Here's one," Jeno humored the male, his voice dark. "Stop being a dick." With that, he slammed the door.
"To think I only wanted some peace..." Jeno mumbled under his breath. His eyes then fell on Miren. "Uh, hi."
Miren's smile then disappeared. "Look, I'm sorry if I'm intruding. You had the last available room." She brought out a hand to shake; there was no better acknowledgment than a good handshake, right? "Miles Ellison."
He shook it. "Jeno Rutherford," he said firmly, though somewhat dully. She wondered if it was because of his deep, but smooth voice. Or maybe his lack of interest in her - him.
She couldn't help but examine his eyes that seemed to be the most passionate thing about his demeanor. He had everything going for him. He was noticeably taller than Miren, who was on the tall side herself, which told her that he was over six feet. He had a similar structure to Parker, though he seemed more refined where the other boy was more charming. He looked stronger in the sense that he could kick your ass by turning his opponent's strength against them. He was handsome, naturally. With a straight nose and eyes that, with the fire in them now fading, appeared to be a russet brown.
But although he appeared warm, she couldn't help but feel coldness.
She stared at him for an amount of time that was probably socially unacceptable before her own eyes widened. His narrowed in suspicion.
"Jeno?" Miren said, repeating his name.
"Anything?" he asked, now starting for the door. She bit her lip, then un-bit it. She wanted to tell him that she knew him. He was the other boy, the non-jock that had been nominated for the Rising Scholar Award. But she didn't see what good would come from telling him this. Besides, there was something else familiar about him...
Miren's mild shock softened as she shook her head. "Nothing. I like your name. Nice meeting you."
He nodded, though he didn't turn back. "I'm heading out." He set his backpack down.
"Want me to come?" Miren asked. She fought the urge to slap her head with her hand. Why did I ask that? Just because the delinquents were being all friendly, didn't mean he would. She just enjoyed their company more than she anticipated.
"No," he said sternly, shutting the door behind him. Miren's face fell. Four words and she already had an enemy. She shook her head, moving toward her suitcase. Maybe she was being too extreme. But Jeno could've been nicer.
She sat on her bare bed, looking at the window. She could see trees and a few students on campus. Collapsing on her back, she let her body soak into her mattress, her eyes moving to the revolving ceiling fan that she hadn't noticed before. Maybe that's where the chill came from...
Life was revolving. Even though she felt like everything was new here, she knew that she couldn't entirely escape her past.
Not when she was living with a ghost.