Dawn of Fog and Glass

Chapter Eighteen: Dawn of Fog and Glass

I've gotten used to the rhythm of things. The ebb and flow of the schedule and the painful hours of ADE are nearly second nature. I can list my classes from memory. Even the morning bed ejections feel normal.

It's the sporadic things that are bothersome.

For example, in English class, my seat is beside the window on the far right. Nobody takes the spot next to me. Never.

Today, someone does.

Barrett.

He throws his backpack down, his chair scraping on the marble floor. His body is stiff, and he looks at me with beady, loathing eyes.

"What the hell did you do to Dom?"

"What?"

Please don't tell me Dom told Barrett.

"This morning, he bumped into half a dozen people and crashed into an open door because he was distracted. The guards had to stop him from tripping down the stairs. That was all on the way here."

I refrain from rolling my eyes.

I scoff and hope he doesn't notice my cheeks burning. "I don't know how this relates to me."

He runs his tongue along his teeth, leaning back in his chair. "I asked him what was wrong. He said 'Arden'."

"Huh." I freeze, my fingers curling up on the desk. "That's...unusual." I can't look up, or I'll give myself away. I feel as though he sees right through me. I take out my pencil and notebook and pray it looks natural.

"He's an English geek, Arden. He's the person to bottle up his emotions so he can write shitty poetry about it later. Dom is...sensitive." He leans in and whispers the last word as if it's a curse.

"Oh, okay. So, you consider a healthy masculinity 'sensitive', is that right?"

"That's not what I mean."

"Yes, it is."

He glares, eyes shadowing. Then there's a creak of the door, and Barrett sits up in his chair. "Shut up. He's coming."

I glance over in a way I hope is discreet. He pauses at Barrett's empty desk, and freezes when he sees us sitting next to each other. Dominic's eyes widen, and I know he's wondering whether Barrett suspects what happened. Which he does.

Barrett tips up his chin and calls over to him. "I'll be there in a sec."

"What are you doing?" Dominic tilts his head to the side. Maybe he thinks looking from another angle will make this more normal. I hope he realizes that nothing about this is normal.

I grip my hands together, my voice cold. "Barrett was just leaving."

Dom's fingers tighten around his backpack straps. He looks between us uneasily. "Okay." He finds his chair and loops his backpack around the back.

Hawk-lady enters the room in her usual snappy mood and orders one of the officers to dim the lights. Dominic pulls out his writing supplies as Hawk-lady switches on the projector. He taps a pencil to his lips, staring blankly at the board.

Barrett faces me again. "See?"

I shrug. "He looks fine to me."

Barrett gives me a sarcastic smile. "Dom?"

He ignores Barrett, eyes glued to the board.

Barrett tries again, but louder. "Hey, Khamisi!"

"What?" Dominic startles out of his reverie, eyes plagued with shadows underneath. Embarrassed, he runs a hand through his short hair and smooths his uniform collar. He catches my eyes and blushes, then looks back down at his hands newly clasped on his desk.