XV
Tori
B y the time I’ve set the table for breakfast, I’ve already had two energy drinks. Syn only said I had to eat after they had, not that I couldn’t drink.
I’m not sure if it was the bed , the new collar around my neck, the look Royal had given me before he left me in the laundry room, or the fact that today is my first day as Dr. Wright’s TA, but I hardly got any sleep.
While I’m tired, I’m not sluggish. Although, that could also be the caffeine from the energy drinks. It feels like it’s taking more energy to stand still in my position at the back of the room, fighting the urge to bounce on the balls of my feet.
Penny arrives first, taking her place at a nearby table. We messaged a little last night before I had to start an assignment, and she agreed she won’t make herself late for any of her classes, but she refused to give up on the idea of staying in the dining hall while I was there.
Today, she has her iPad in front of her, her headphones on, and she seems to be watching something. But with the number of times I catch her eyes on me, I’m not sure she’s really watching whatever show she’s got playing.
The conversation happened before I went to do laundry, so she doesn’t even know about Royal yet.
Not that I plan on telling her about any sexual activities—even if he was good…
I managed to get a couple of hours of peace to study before Syn informed me, through the Elite’s app, that I was required to wash and iron my uniforms every night.
Thanks to Dr. Wright, most of my days are now filled with classes, which means the few free hours I had left would have to be used strategically. When Royal walked into the laundry room, I’d been trying to figure out the best way I could use my time to check out the house.
Asking anyone for help had never crossed my mind until Royal was standing in front of me.
But the way he’d reacted to Syn’s name on the collar around my neck had me impulsively blurting the words out.
The previous collar had the same tag, but either Royal hadn’t seen it properly when he’d been fucking me at the initiation ceremony, or he chose to ignore it. I was sure it was the latter, because I was also sure he was trying to avoid me.
Do I think he cares for me?
If he does, the feeling isn’t mutual.
But if acting like I do means he helps, I’ll do whatever I need to.
Syn walks into the dining hall just after eight, which means he’s seen Dr. Wright’s email—even though he’s not mentioned anything about it—and he’s going to make sure I have to rush to make it to class on time.
Seeing as though Royal muttered something about protein shakes for breakfast, I push him from my mind and focus on serving Syn. Today is not the day to make a mistake.
As expected, Syn leaves me twenty minutes. He’s mentioned nothing about Gemini, so I make an educated guess that he’s not coming to breakfast. I grab another energy drink, two muffins, and eat them on my way back to the house.
Today, I make it to Dr. Wright’s classroom with a few minutes to spare.
My heart is pounding, but it’s not because of the run. The room is already full with the senior class, and I linger outside.
Dr. Wright hasn’t told me exactly what he wants me to do, and waiting at the front of the room is only going to result in the whole class staring at me.
Normally, stares and jeers, I can handle, but I’ve already spotted Syn, Royal, and Gemini sitting three rows from the front in the center, and in a few minutes, I’m going to be trapped in a room with all of them and—
“I see you’re capable of making it to class on time,” Dr. Wright says, his dry tone making me jump.
Yesterday was the first time I’ve ever been late to his class.
He walks in, stepping to the side as though he’s holding the door open for me. He waits for me to follow before he closes the door behind me. “You will sit here,” he says as the class goes quiet.
There’s a new addition to the classroom. Beside the large desk at the front, which he goes behind to set his bag down, is a smaller table. This one is square and more like an exam table than a desk.
Feeling every eye on me, I go take my seat, trying to look graceful as I sit down in a skirt that’s slightly too short.
“This is my new T.A.,” Dr. Wright announces to the class. “While I appreciate it’s hard not to miss the garish hair, if you want to pass this class, you need to keep your attention on me and not her.”
I’m not sure what my purpose is. After telling the class to ignore me, the professor does the same. Almost everything is digital, and like my other classes, Dr. Wright doesn’t have any handouts for me to give out. There are no videos to watch, so I don’t even need to get up and turn the lights off. And not that I was expecting him to let me grade any work, but he doesn’t give me anything to do either.
For nearly an hour, I sit there, trying to not look bored as I’m sure he’d jump on me if I so much as yawned. I’m also trying not to stare at Syn, Royal, or Gemini. After a few minutes, everyone else has lost interest in me, and they’re either listening to Dr. Wright or typing notes.
Royal has been glaring at the professor like he’s hoping for laser beams to burst out of his eyes and eviscerate him. Gemini actually looks like he’s playing a game, but from beneath his hood, he keeps looking over and grinning manically. Syn has barely taken his eyes off me.
And then Dr. Wright dismisses the class.
While everyone is packing up their things, Dr. Wright walks over to my side, folds his arms, and stares at me.
I look up at him, and when he doesn’t say anything, I sigh. “Do you need me to do something?”
“While I’m impressed you’ve committed everyone’s name to memory, attendance still needs submitting.”
“That’s my job?” I ask.
Dr. Wright’s eyes narrow. “What do you think a T.A. does?”
Standing, I smooth my skirt out before I look at the professor. “I wouldn’t know. I didn’t receive a job description. So if there are things you wish for me to do for you, I suggest you show me when we meet later.”
Without bothering to push my chair under the table, I leave him there, joining the small crowd of students leaving the room.
Since I started JKU, I’ve bitten my tongue and stopped myself from saying things I really wanted to. The more I’m around Syn, the more I have to fight to appear submissive—weak. I know he can make my life miserable with the snap of his fingers, and worse, he can kick me out of Denali House before I ever have the chance to look around.
Although I’m sure Dr. Wright will have something to say later, right now, I don’t care. The worst he can do is fire me from a job I didn’t even apply for.
When I enrolled at JKU, my goal was to find out the truth about my brother. I figured, at worst, I’d be here for a year, which means I don’t even have a major. I just picked a bunch of classes which seemed like they’d have the lowest impact on my schedule.
Penny, by comparison, is determined to become a Supreme Court Justice, which means she’s pre-law. Aside from Wright’s Mass Comm’s class, the only other class we have together is Literature, which means we do have at least one class together every day. But even if we didn’t, I know I can rely on her being in the dining hall.
I’ve had to run back to the house to change, before running to the dining hall to beat Syn there, and Penny is already at her table, waiting.
Syn arrives for lunch early. Considering he’s had me waiting until the last minute for all the other meals, I’m sure he’s gotten his hands on my schedule to know I’ve got a very small window to get here and have everything set up before he arrives.
Today, he’s not alone. Royal is with him. I take their order, serve their food, and they’re both gone within half an hour. Royal tells me that Gemini won’t be coming to eat lunch, but otherwise, everything is quick and painless.
After cleaning up, I go to grab one of the gourmet Reuben sandwiches—slices of steak instead of corned beef—and slide into the seat opposite Penny.
“Aside from that atrocious outfit…” Penny frowns and cocks her head, looking at the top half of my uniform. “Which your tits look great in, by the way, and giving you no clue as to when their lazy asses are going to be eating, this?” She gestures vaguely between me and in the general direction of Syn’s table. “Seems relatively painless.”
With my mouth full of sandwich, I just nod.
Penny folds her arms and narrows her eyes. “Don’t let your guard down. I don’t trust them one bit.”
Trying to quickly chew and swallow, I nod again. “Not for one minute.”
“How is it in the house?”
I’ve only been there a few days, and she’s texted me every morning and evening since with a variation of that same question. “Pretty much the same.”
“Do you have plans this evening?” she asks.
“A meeting with Dr. Wright about the T.A. job.”
Reaching over, Penny takes one of the air-fried vegetable chips from my plate and pops it in her mouth. “He was serious about that?”
I glance around the room. It’s early, so the place is filling up quickly, which means there’s a lot of noise and conversation around us. I still don’t trust anyone here except for Penny. “He needs a T.A., and I have that extra credit project I need to take.”
“What about dinner duty?”
“Oh, that’s still happening. Dr. Wright emailed Syn and informed him that I was required to be in his office by 7 pm, and if he needed me, he had until then. Which, I’m sure means he’s going to arrive for dinner at 6:30.”
“You want to come to my room after?” Penny steals another chip. “We’ve still got assignments, and I’ve got hot chocolate. Plus, it’s quieter in my room.”
And away from prying ears.
“I’ll need to go back to the house first, because I’m sure if Syn does have plans for me, he’s not going to tell me until right before, but hell yes.”
If Syn is in the house tonight, I won’t be able to look around thoroughly, and after more than three hours with Dr. Wright today, the idea of curling up on Penny’s bed with a hot chocolate and being able to chat feels like a little spark of light in a very dark room.
Besides, after our Mass Comm class this afternoon, I don’t have any more classes, which means I have a few hours to clean Denali House—and of course, start looking around.
For the first time, I’m able to enjoy my lunch before Penny walks back across campus with me so I can get changed. We get to Dr. Wright’s class early, and I pull out my laptop to start taking people’s names as they come in. Even if I know it’s not the correct system for logging them, I’ve still not been told how to do this, and I can at least make sure I can transfer an accurate list over later.
After this morning, I’m determined not to give the asshole another reason to yell at me.