Chatoyant College Book 2: Initiates

Chapter 30: Speculation

Corrie took her time in the shower, enjoying the hot water, and when she got back to her room, Edie was already awake and dressed. "Good morning," her roommate said without looking up from her computer.

"Morning," Corrie replied. She peered out the window--it was still dark from the rain. There was another flash of lightning while she was looking out. "Okay, galoshes, I think. Where did I put those?"

"Oh, I wish I had rain boots," said Edie enviously as Corrie looked through her closet. "My sneakers are going to get wet. At least I have a pretty nice raincoat and an umbrella."

"Well, I guess we're both in equally poor shape," Corrie sighed, dressing in a long-sleeved shirt and jeans that fit well enough that they wouldn't drag on the ground to get wet, then pulling on her boots. "I don't have a raincoat, just a windbreaker."

Edie closed her computer and they both picked up their umbrellas and bags and set off. They were silent as they walked to the dining hall; the wind was fairly strong and gusty, and both of them had to concentrate on keeping hold of their umbrellas. They rushed into the dining hall behind another small group, all of them shaking off their umbrellas in the entryway. "Did you go running in that?" Edie asked with a horrified look on her face as they waited in line briefly.

"It wasn't quite so bad when I was running," Corrie admitted, swiping her card. "It was raining pretty hard, but that actually turned out well."

"How can it possibly have turned out well?" Edie demanded. Another crack of thunder seemed to shake the building slightly. "If I didn't want to be in class, I would never be persuaded to come outside in this!"

"I didn't want to either, but running is too important. Let's sit here." They put their dishes down at the end of a table and sat. Corrie grinned. "The excellent consequence is that I slipped and Byron caught me."

Edie stared for a moment, then a grin spread across her face, too. "Okay, I can see how that is pretty excellent. Are you sure it's worth the rain?"

Corrie took a sip of her juice and shrugged. "Well, he did hug me pretty close. And he said he'd see me again."

"Hi, Edie! Hi, Corrie. Mind if I sit here?"

Momentarily disoriented--she'd been talking about Byron, but that wasn't his voice--she thought she saw Edie grimace, but in the next second it was gone, and she was smiling kindly up at the person standing somewhat awkwardly at the end of the table. "Hi, Marlin. Sure, go ahead."

"Thanks!" Predictably, he moved to sit beside Edie. "So how are you girls this fine morning?"

"Don't tell me you're enjoying the weather," said Corrie.

He shook his head. "Sarcasm." It was weird sarcasm, though, Corrie thought--his tone of voice didn't change and neither did his bland, cheerful expression. "I think my legs are wet from accidentally bumping into so many people's umbrellas. You're handling the weather okay, right, Edie?"

"Yeah," she said, "I have a raincoat and an umbrella, they protect me pretty well. You?"

"The same," he said with an odd, airy gesture. Corrie watched the two of them quietly, eating her breakfast; there was definitely something odd about Marlin. He was still flirting with Edie, which seemed particularly idiotic, seeing as she'd gone from being completely oblivious to actively rebuffing his flirtation. But some of his mannerisms seemed unusually feminine. Was he gay? She watched him as he laughed excessively at something Edie had said. That might explain it: he was gay but didn't want to admit it, and had latched onto Edie as a safe object of affection, since she wasn't going to be attracted to him. She felt a surge of pity for him. Maybe she could get both of them to join the Rainbow Alliance.

Edie jumped to her feet as soon as she had finished her food. "Okay, it was nice seeing you, Marlin, but Corrie and I have to get to class."

Corrie glanced up at the clock; they still had fifteen minutes, but Edie gave her a pleading look, so she shoveled the rest of her cereal into her mouth as quickly as she could. "Right. Bye, Marlin."

They were, of course, early to class again--so early, in fact, that they had to wait for the previous class to vacate the room. Corrie didn't mind standing in the hallway and letting her umbrella drip. "He hasn't changed," Edie said with a sigh, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes.

"Not much," Corrie agreed. "I think he might be flirting with you just because you're safe--you're never going to like him back."

"That's a stupid reason to flirt with someone," Edie said, not opening her eyes. "I wish someone I might actually like would flirt with me. When is that club sign-up event?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll hear about it when it gets closer." Corrie watched Edie quietly for a few minutes, then came to a decision: she was going to try as hard as she could to set her friend up with a girl--an attractive and kind girl--no matter how she had to do it.

Edie straightened up and opened her eyes when the classroom door opened and a mass of noise and humanity moved out. When the room had emptied, they went in and took their seats.