Gilded Cage

Chapter Three

I was late to my Shakespeare class. Again.

I had spent the night before at a party organised by the Theatre department, where Selene didn't leave my side for one second. She found me as soon as I arrived, and talked my ears off, passing me drink after drink, until we ended up under a staircase, eating each other's face off. I remembered her lips tasting of whiskey, and her body soft under my hands. I didn't like her, but I needed to keep my mind occupied. My encounter with Alexi had troubled me; I couldn't stop thinking about him. I was intrigued. He was clearly educated and walked around with that kind of self-confidence only upper-class people had, but there was something else. I saw it in his eyes, a hunger I knew too well because I saw it every time I looked in the mirror. The want for something more.

There was also the deal with what he did in the forest with the others. I still hadn't had an answer for that. I wanted them to trust me, but I didn't know if I could trust them. I could accept his offer and join the Folklore class, to get closer to the group, but I wasn't very keen of enduring two hours of fairy-tales every week just to talk to them.

Selene's warm body gave me the perfect distraction from my dilemma. Somehow, we had found our way to her room, and after that, it had been a collection of moans, sweat and drunken orgasms. I fucked her sloppy and messy, she gave me the worst blowjob of my life and then we passed out in her bed. The next morning, I woke up with her arm around my torso. Ignoring the raging headache that was splitting my skull in two, I detangled myself and retrieved my clothes from the floor. I was thirsty and sticky, but I had only enough time to either get some breakfast or take a shower. Hunger won, and I made my way to the dining hall hoping I didn't smell too badly. I ate a pile of pancakes and a toast with blueberry marmalade and emptied the coffee pot.

The corridors were almost empty as I ran to class. I looked down at myself before going in; the trousers were a little crumpled, and the jumper did smell like alcohol. I tried to smooth my clothes and hair before opening the door, even if I knew I must have looked absolutely wild. I had a feeling of déjà vu as I entered the class and every eye turned to me. I expected the professor to say something, but she just stared at me as everybody else. When I arrived at my seat, I understood why. There was someone else sitting at my desk.

"This is my chair," I said, raising an eyebrow at Alexi. He was wearing a dark, blue turtleneck with maroon trousers, and black boots. He still had his long, black coat on, and his hair was tied in a low ponytail. Some curls escaped the tie, falling wildly over his forehead and temples, framing his perfect, symmetrical face.

Next to him, Selene gave me a puzzled look. She seemed fine, well rested, instead of the walking zombie I knew I was. I smiled at her, trying to reassure her it was okay that a random boy from another course was sitting in my spot. Alexi followed my gaze and his smirk dropped. He got up, facing me.

"I need to talk to you," he said.

My eyes widened. I looked around, as to say 'here?', but he kept staring at me, waiting for an answer.

"Can't you wait?"

Alexi looked at Professor Poppet, showing off his most charming smile, and asked, "Miss, can I steal Benjamin for just a moment?"

"Oh, of course dear. Of course. No problem." She sounded flustered. I realised that she was, indeed, blushing.

I didn't even have the time to reply, that a strong hand gripped my wrist and I was carried out of the class. Alexi didn't let me go until we were far enough from prying ears. We stopped in the hall in front of the statue of Joshua Lloyd, the patron of the university who built the establishment in the early '600s, and who was later sanctified as St. Joshua for his missionary work in Japan. Basically, the lad went there to spread the word of the Christian God to people who were perfectly content in their beliefs and social constructs, acted like he was their bloody saviour, and was rewarded for it.