Dead Ravens Society

Chapter 16 - Thour art Wise

"Thou art wise as thou art beautiful" 

- A Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare

Adam

Adam arrived at the little blue house at 300 Fox Way soaked from the rain. His jumper was practically dripping as he stepped into the hallway of the house, being met with Blue sitting cross-legged on the floor, eating a yoghurt cup.

"Don't you own an umbrella?" She asked him as she looked down at the bits of fruit at the bottom of her cup with distaste.

"I might have forgotten it in my hurry here."

"Clearly." Blue jumped to her feet and disappeared into the kitchen. Adam followed and watched her throw the half-empty yoghurt cup into the trash in one swift motion. She rinsed her spoon in the sink and then turned towards him with crossed arms. "What?"

"What do you have against fruits?" He asked, feeling unease at the sight of perfectly fine food being thrown away.

At the Parrish household, food was hard to come by. Whenever his father, who was in charge of the finances, was sober enough to leave the house and go to the store, he often returned with more 'refreshments'. Whenever he did remember that his son and wife needed food to stay alive, Robert Parrish would grab frozen meals. With their microwave having been broken since the time Adam's father pushed him into it by 'accident' when he was thirteen, these meals were left to unfreeze by themselves.

Even as he hated eating food where the middle was still a big lump of ice, it beat having no food at all. The mere idea of throwing away any of it, no matter how unsalted and slimy it was, was beyond him. Of course, Blue couldn't know that, as he had managed to keep his private life a secret from her, and he intended to keep it that way.

She gave him a tired look as if he had just asked a question she had already given him the answer to. "They're too mushy."

"Then why not just get a cup without fruit bites?"

"The ones without them taste like plastic."

"But isn't it a bit wasteful? I mean-"

Blue crossed her arms. "If you feel so strongly about this topic, I'll let you finish the cup for me next time. That sounds good?"

"Sure," Adam said, his face growing red although he wasn't quite sure why.

"Great." Blue sat on the edge of the kitchen table, gesturing for Adam to take a seat next to her.

Adam did as he was told, careful not to let his wet shirt touch the backrest.

"So, what was so important that you couldn't just call to say it?" Blue asked.

"Well, technically I could've called. But I wanted an excuse to see you."

"Is that so?" Blue asked, fluttering her eyelashes at him and although he suspected she meant for it to be ironic, Adam felt his stomach flip at the sight.

"Anyhow," he said, hiding his face in his hand. "I just wanted to know what your opinion of helicopters is."

"Ethically or-?"

"As a mode of transportation."

"Faster than camels but less sustainable."

"And if I told you there might be a helicopter in your future, what would you say then?"

Blue looked over her shoulder as someone walked down the stairs behind them, but when she realised it was just a fat ginger cat, she said, "That depends on what that helicopter is for."

Adam suddenly found himself nervous. Although he'd gotten Gansey's blessing - against Ronan's protests - and his roommate had seemed beyond excited to get the daughter of a physic on their quest, he wasn't sure how to feel about officially introducing her to his friends. It made whatever they had going between them seem more serious than just a crush.

Which he suspected was what it had been for quite some time now. Blue Sargent was the smartest person he knew, even though she didn't excel in school. She knew how the world worked, she knew what she wanted from life. She knew how to behave around people and could make clothes out of curtains and wear them with pride. She didn't care what others thought of her, while Adam still found himself trying to hide that loose thread on his Aglionby jumper.

But he realised then, that he didn't care if he didn't look like he belonged to Aglionby when he sat here in the kitchen with her at 300 Fox Way. All that mattered to him was that she was talking to him.

He wanted her to be a part of society and wanted his friends to see what an intelligent girl she was. He wanted them to like her. That way all the people he cared about would get along and he could spend time with them all simultaneously, instead of having to choose one over the other.

And so Adam explained everything he could about the Dead Raven Society, about Glendower, about Gansey and Ronan and Blue listened with interest.

When he was done, she tapped her chin.

"So what is this?" She finally asked. "I mean, am I going as your friend or-"

Adam looked into her dark eyes. "I honestly have no idea."