Strains

Chapter 27

I use the little time I have before dinner to scrub the ink off my face. Unlike Matthew, I keep my cleanser, and practically everything else I own, on my counter so it's easy to find. My storage-less bathroom doesn't allow me to hide a drug habit.

I shake my face against a towel.

I shouldn't be making assumptions. Maybe he has a condition or something. Three knocks echo into the room.

Think of the devil.

"I'm taking you to dinner, come out when you're ready."

I toss my towel onto the vanity and leave the restroom. Matthew is standing at my door. He's always barging in here.

"I did knock."

I scoff and slip on my shoes.

"Well, I'm ready. Let's just go."

Matthew hasn't walked me to dinner in a while. It isn't like our other walks. Before dinner is when campus is at its busiest and with so many people around; the staff especially, we have to keep up appearances. For me, that means walking a few steps behind Matthew with my head down. Why he chose to subject me to this today, I have no idea.

Up ahead is the dining hall, crowded with students clamoring to get inside.

My legs turn to stone.

Even from this distance, in the dim glow of twilight, I can make out the yellow lapels of the Sparks.

"Let's wait for it to thin out," Matthew says.

"Yeah. Okay." I whisper.

Once everyone is inside, Matthew turns to me and jerks his head towards the entrance. We hit the steps just outside the door when Matthew suddenly stops.

"I'll go in first. Count to 200 and come inside."

It's a weird request, but I nod anyway. He turns and straightens himself as he walks into the building. Two hundred seconds gives Matthew enough time to get settled at the table and his fan club to quit mooning over him.

With the seconds now passed, I climb the stairs and cross the threshold into the hall. I don't know what to do. Where am I supposed to look? My focus goes to Matthew, who glances my way. Our eyes meet and the room seems to freeze. Suspended in time, he offers me the slightest nod. It's more reassuring than I ever thought possible as if he were telling me to stand straight and keep my head up.

Even in my head, he makes the most impossible requests.

The moment ends, and the cacophony of the dining hall floods my ears again. With my shoulders rolled back, I head to the staff table, my gaze focused on Matthew, even as his seems to wander around the room.

I round the table and take my seat next to Hercules as Matthew puts his water glass to his lips and gives me a small smile. Does that mean I did good? I almost hate myself for wanting his approval. All he cares about is image and that I don't tarnish his. The thought makes me want to rebel by taking a giant swig from Hercules's overfilled glass, but my terrible reputation hasn't done me any favors lately. I don't need to do anything to spite Matthew, not at my own expense. And even though he drew on my face earlier, he doesn't deserve it.

"So why weren't you in class today, Squirt?" Hercules asks, punctuating his question with a belch.

Oh crap.

"Well...I..."

Hercules, as well as the others at the table, leans in for my excuse. I glance over to Matthew, who doesn't look at all ready to jump to my defense. I look back to Hercules, trying to muster any courage I left on the floor below the stage.