Academy for the Strange

Chapter 14: Girl Talk

        “And that is the most important type of love, the love of your fellow beings, the willingness to save another even at expense to yourself,” Mme. Fontaine said, her accented voice carrying through the classroom.

            Fiona listened with only half an ear. While she was glad they were finishing up book two, and that she wasn’t reading another enormous description on what the cathedral looked like, she still wasn’t as interested in the story as she’d thought she would be. She hoped it got better. Especially Gringoire. He was kind of a wiener.

            The bells rang, cutting off the rest of what their teacher had to say. As everyone began to hurriedly pack their stuff up, no one wanting to waste so much as a second of their weekend, Mme. Fontaine called, “Be safe.”

            Fiona snorted slightly, wondering what it was that their teacher thought they were going to get up to on the weekend. It wasn’t like any of them could get off the island. Well, maybe Meredith or Tyna could. Oh and she supposed some of the others could fly off… Maybe she did have a point.

            Joining the rest of the sea of people streaming towards their dorms, Fiona and Meredith didn’t bother trying to talk over the loud buzz of chatter happening all around them. Only when they reached the courtyard could they hear each other without having to shout. Fiona felt a bit of pride as she realized she could get back without her roommate’s help and hoped she was finally fitting in properly. She thought she was indistinguishable from the Phasms, but it wasn’t like anyone would be checking.

            That thought brought her to what had been going around and around her mind since the night before with Chay. She’d thought about it on her own but was really getting nowhere. She needed more information. Fiona waited until they were on the path to their dorm before she asked, “What do you know about Chay?”

            Meredith didn’t quite grimace, but her expression was pretty close. “Why do you want to know?”

            Fiona had a good idea of why her roommate was so unenthusiastic about her question and wished the selkie liked him better, not that she didn’t have every reason to not be a fan of his. She did her best to organize her thoughts to explain in a way that she hoped Meredith could understand.

            “I like him. I really do. And, well, I’m more than a little attracted to him and I think he might feel the same, at least a little bit. Then again I might be crazy. But I’m also worried since, well since you said he doesn’t like…well, people like me. What if he finds out and then hates me? If that’s what’s going to happen, then I might as well stop this before it starts. I don’t need that.”

            Meredith sighed heavily as they walked up to their dorm. She didn’t say anything until they were safely in their room. Then she looked at Fiona, her brown eyes steady. “I don’t think this is a good idea,” she said. “Chay’s never struck me as a…flexible person. But I don’t know him that well, so I could be wrong. I can only give you the rumours I know about him and I don’t know how true any of them are.”

            Fiona nodded, settling herself onto the foot of her roommate’s bed while Meredith leaned against her nest of blankets and pillows. “Chay’s one of the Thunder clan. They’re a pretty powerful family, even today. They were some of the Phasms already here and well established when others began immigrating, mostly from Europe. They opened some of their lands to outsiders, made deals with others, and all in all helped lots of people get settled here. They’re one of the really old families. That’s not a rumour, that’ s a fact.”

            “Huh. I didn’t know that.”

            “Did you know that Chay’s a Thunderbird?”