Keeper of the Lost Secrets

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Lord Hunkyhair Establishes Himself as Lord of Nicknames

I leaped into school with an air of confidence I carefully crafted and successfully emulated each day. I learnt the trade from my father, who's job seemed to be built on putting on niceties even when he was angry. I sported Foxfire's uniform with an embarrassment you wouldn't know if you weren't feeling what I was feeling. Only Keefe could tell, and believe me, he never let me live down what I was feeling, which destroyed the cool guy manner I put on.

Biana was my father. She carried herself in the same way, brought everyone's eyes to her when she walked in the room. She commanded attention with a frown or a glare. The only difference my father and her had been that while my father could be polite, even in the face of abhorrent disrespect, Biana held her stance and drove it into the ground.

It was a sunny morning, but it usually was in Foxfire. We entered the pyramidical school. I entered with a pleasant smile and Biana entered with a grace that I couldn't dream of having.

Many, I've heard, lament their spot as the popular person of their school, raving about how daunting it can be to uphold expectations. I could not relate. I was used to upholding expectations, from day one. School seemed like preschool when I was smashing my way through college. School was the most relaxed my social life could be.

"Fitzy, how's your day going?" a familiar voice boomed from behind me. I rolled my eyes, turned around, and flashing a grin that reflected against the boy's eyes.

"It's going alright Keefe," I said, tearing my hand through my hair. Keefe would never do that. From what I hear (and he so vehemently denies), he spends an hour each morning working on his hair. From five in the morning to when the sun dared to peek through the glass windows at his house. But I also understood that rumours passed in Foxfire just as quickly as the fires in Sandiego.

"Well, I've been hearing some stuff about a new student." Keefe wiggled his eyebrows. It was as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. I had half the suspicion that he had a myriad of different abilities, one of them being telepathy.

"Oh? A new student?" I said with a veil of curiosity and lack of knowledge about the topic.

"Yeah, this girl called Sophie. From the Ruewens too! That's some Slumberberry tea, right there."

"It sure is, Keefe." I spoke. A moment after I spoke, he grabbed my arm with haste, catching me by surprise. I instinctively pushed my knuckle to his jaw, pushing him back. He didn't fall or cry, but he winced.

"Ow! Fitzy, you've got some crazy skills I tell you. But don't test those fists on me!" He laughed off the pain as I blabbered a multitude of apologies, spilling one after the other. "But where did you learn that? They definitely don't teach that here?"

"Skills, I suppose." I lied. Lesson fifty-nine on the Forbidden Cities: You never know who to trust, so prepare to trust nobody. Walking alone on the streets at night prompted some angry people to confront me for no good reasons.

"Yeah, Fitz, skills," Biana stalked up to us when her gang of friends, wearing the same face Biana did. She had her hair loose today, the light reflecting off the million elixirs she put to make it look the way it did, similar to a waxed statue, perfect but in an unearthly way.

"Yes, Biana," I said, glaring at her not so subtly. My eyes were daggers, if daggers were polite people. Keefe picked up on this but didn't care to comment. Biana shrugged and walked away, chattering and giggling with her friends. She always managed to do that. Say something wrong and walk away with confidence because she had the final word.

"I don't know what's up with that new girl," Keefe mused. "But I can't wait to find out."

I licked my locker. Today it was Elwin's selection, clearly, as it tasted of vomit mixed with wine, which I certainly have no idea what tastes like, of course.

"Oh, ew," I cringed and bit my tongue. I quickly pushed my bag inside and checked my timetable. "I've got Universe studies."

"You love Universe," Keefe rolled his eyes, which were a very specific shade of blue, something like an ocean. The colour was colder, though, but he only held warmth in them.

"And you don't like any lesson." I grinned at him. He shook his head in dramatic defiance.

"Objection!" He called. "I like lunch, when I don't have detention."

"How very Keefe of you."

"I appreciate the compliment."

An annoyingly dignified noise cut through the hum of chatter in the halls. Everyone's voices ceased but their attitude remained. Surprisingly enough, human school evoked the same attitude as Elvin schools. People trudged to class with books in their hands, they complained and gossiped about each other the same way elves did, though, humans did have a far more distinct popular clique than elves did. The jock, the nerd, the anime obsessed kid, and the one girl everyone's thirsting after. And obviously, the relatable main character who's not like other girls even when she's exactly like them. Many movies had taught me this.

"Dude, Dame Alina is torturing the new student." Keefe nudged my arm as a spotlight shone on Sophie, who had this face like she wanted to run away. I sent her a caring glance, but I doubted she saw it as all eyes in the room fell on her, and then fell back to their friends.

"I really need to meet this girl," Keefe murmured. "I even have a nickname for her."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" I grinned. If Keefe wasn't Lord Hunkyhair, he was Lord of Nicknames.

"I'm thinking, 'The Mysterious Ms. F'." He grinned ear to ear. "And now, I really need to meet her."