Chapter 19
We stayed in for the rest of the break. I mean, we had lots of forays into the woods and up the mountain, but we stayed completely out of public view.
Solstice break was only three weeks long, so it went by fast. Especially as Agent Jensen was there, having me coach her on Greenacres culture and blending in.
“So never Golf Alpha, always Greenacres,” I said. “I’m a Greenie like you’re an American.”
“No, I’m a Greenie too,” she said.
“Yeah, good to think that way. Okay, let’s review some slang. Cut scale. Means get to the point. Refers to axeheads cutting the scaly legs of thunder turkeys, which are turks, by the way.”
“What are axeheads then? If turkeys are turks.”
“You can always refer to them as axeholes. Otherwise, butcher birds, chop chicks, murder birds, or any clever alliterative combination. Greenies are always looking for more ways to talk about axeheads. Now more common phrases like grav. Refers to gravity obviously, and you use it as a negative. That inspector is a real grav. Or he’s kind of gravy. Pronounced grav-ee not grave-ee.”
“Got it,” Caeco said.
“What’s a hot girl?” Vesta asked. No way was she going to sit out of this discussion. In fact, the whole pack was sitting in, as was Levi.
“A cutter or a slicer. Any attractive female is a cutter, but a standout is a slicer.”
“This whole murder bird thing has had a real impact on the culture, huh?” Holly asked.
“Forty percent of death on the planet is attributable to axeheads,” I said. “And the females are larger and more aggressive.”
“What would a girl call an attractive guy?” Vesta asked.
“A block. He’s a block. Nah, he’s a block and a half,” I said.
“Referring to muscle mass maybe?” Caeco asked.
“Tip of the edge, Greenie,” I said. “Like right on point, or spot-on, or on the nose. Now the good news is we’ve only had twenty years, so there’s no discernable accent.
Still blending in new arrivals and such.
Also, our slang is not really that inventive, so with a bit of thought, you can decipher most phrases.
What you don’t want to do is make up your own. ”
“Other than names for axeholes,” Caeco pointed out.
“Exactly. Also, if you’re unsure of using a bit of slang, don’t. Just use standard English phrases. More important to understand the slang than to speak it. Now if you ask me if I want to eat at a specific restaurant and I say Lava is that a yes or a no?”
Caeco just looked at me with her head tilted. “That’s a no.”
“Correct. Why?”
“Because lava could refer to lava tubes,” she said.
“And no one goes into lava tubes willingly,” Alex added.
“Except dull-witted blocks like you,” Vesta said to me with a sweet smile.
“Correction: Turk-head block like me,” I said. “Turkeys are pretty dumb.”
“It’s very simplistic at this early point, isn’t it?” Levi asked.
“Hannah won’t use slang because she says it’s too dumb,” I said. “Again, you don’t have to use it, but you do need to understand it. At its root, it all has to do with the realities of the planet. Mostly negatives like gravity or predators.”
“Anything positive?” Vesta asked.
“Day shine and night shine,” I said. “One is sunshine and the other is moonshine. The heavy gravity causes a higher concentration of gases in the atmosphere, which makes for some spectacular colors when the sun comes up or goes down or as the two moons reflect sunlight. Also the two phrases are interchangeable but rapidly moving to just shine.”
There were discussions of Greenacres economics because in the end, everything comes back to money on this planet or the next.
The days flew by and suddenly it was time to head back to Arcane.
“Well, if it isn’t the celebrity beloved, fresh from a tour of upstate New York,” Cole said as I entered our room. He was lying on his bed, feet crossed at the ankle, nano molded to his ears for music play. Buster jumped from my shoulder to his desk, and I was amused to see him flinch.
“Well, you clearly know how my Solstice went. How was yours?” I asked.
“Quiet, then busy. I was really popular after your interview. Roommate and all that,” he said with a self-satisfied grin. “Hey, how did you get past the paparazzi outside?”
“We portaled onto the roof. Let me guess: You got party invites and girls’ attention.”
“Understatement, roomie. Even did a few interviews of my own.”
“That’s not worrying or anything,” I muttered as I began to unpack my stuff.
“Oh, by the way, before I forget, about a hundred different people I know said to tell you thank you for punching Corrigan Fife in the gut. What an absolute douche canoe,” Cole said.
“Yeah, thanks. He is a piece of shit, isn’t he?”
“That dad dude gets some pretty big props too.”
“His name is Tony and yeah, pretty brave guy.”
“Okay, well, glad you’re back. I’m going to nap, so wake me for lunchtime, will you?”
“Sure,” I said slowly.
Sometime, somehow, over the course of the first semester, Cole and I had become friends. How about that?
When lunch rolled around, I kicked his bed to wake him, and we jumbled down the stairs to the cafeteria.
Earth weres don’t, I had found, take the stairs the normal way.
Instead, they tend to leap down entire flights.
Once I had learned to conquer my well-founded fear of sharp drop-offs, I started to pick up the same habit.
We jumped the first set of steps together. “Oh, by the way,” he said, “did you hear about the new arrivals?”
“No,” I said as we jumped the next flight.
“A werewolf from Whiskey Tango and a witch from Ireland.”
“Why now?” I asked, as we jumped the third set.
“Duh? You and Vesta, dummy. Heard there was all kinds of applications but only Ilissa’s spot and werewolf dropout were available.”
I thought about that for a moment. “Okay, Vesta’s a big deal. But why come here because the Steward’s daughter is revealed?”
“Well, the Irish girl is supposed to be related to someone Vesta’s dad knew when he was here. And if she can make contact and build a rapport, it would bring power to her circle.”
“Okay but why the off-planet wolf. Is it a girl or boy?”
“Boy. A year older than you two. He came in yesterday, a day early.”
“Why?”
“The jury’s out on that. I saw him. He’s a douche. Total player. Sucking up to the director and Toni. Worse than me.”
“So why?”
“Alice thinks he wants Vesta.”
“A were who wants to seduce another were who has a beloved?” I asked, alarmed at the thought.
“To my knowledge, it has never happened. But this kid has an ego, and his dad is the richest man on Whiskey Tango.”
A strong feeling hit me. I turned and looked back up behind us. Three girls I knew and one I didn’t came down the stairs at a regular pace.
“Hah, caught you jumping for fun,” Vesta accused with a smile.
“Cole made me do it,” I protested. “Nothing fun about flying through the air with no consequence on landing… at all.”
“Sure,” she said with a knowing smirk. Her roommate Freia was with her, along with a girl I only knew slightly, Leila Tibbets, who had been Ilissa’s roommate, and a new girl with brown hair and light hazel eyes.
“This is Reagan, Leila’s new roommate,” Vesta said.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Craig,” I said.
“Oh, I know who ye be. I have a telly, now don’t I,” the new girl, Reagan, said.
“Right,” I said with a nod and then considered just shutting up.
“She doesn’t seem to suffer fools,” Vesta said with a delighted grin.
“Wow, a shot from you and a glancing blow from her,” I lamented, shaking my head. Didn’t seem like shutting up was in my future.
“Glancing, is it?” Reagan asked in a challenging voice.
“How was your trip from Ireland? Awful, right?” I asked.
“Nah. Nothing to it,” she said, tilting her head at me like I was a puzzle.
“Oh. So this is you well rested and happy, then?” I asked with a disappointed frown.
“Oh, yer an arsey one, ain’t ye?”
“It’s been pointed out a time or two. This is my roommate Cole. Oh, and hi, Leila and Freia. How were your breaks?”
“Quiet and free of interstellar nonsense,” Freia said. Leila didn’t say anything, just glanced at me and then looked straight forward.
“Great. I’m having déjà vu about the start of the semester,” I said.
“No. It’s entirely different,” Vesta said, grabbing my arm. “You’ve got me… and I’ve got you.”