Hold Me Down

chapter 7

I scribble the last lines furiously onto my test packet. I dot my last sentence with a flourish and put my pen down. Finished. I am all done with finals. I'm officially done with school, forever. I could jump with excitement. I glance at the clock and see there's only a couple minutes left.

Clary stops writing and puts her pen down. She glances across at me, and I catch her smile too.

We head back to our apartment together in her car. We are chatting excitedly about being done with our academic careers. Clary is discussing what she's going to wear to the bar this evening. I have reluctantly agreed to go out to a bar with Clary and Jem, even though I don't drink.

Clary parks her car and we enter the building. I am looking for my keys when Clary's voice sounds.

"Tessa, there's a package for you." She holds up a small brown box. I look at it, perplexed. I haven't ordered anything online recently.

She gives me the package and takes my keys to open the front door. There's nothing on the box that gives me any clues as to who it's from. The label is addressed to Miss Theresa Gray.

"It's probably from my aunt," I say.

"Open it!" Clary says excitedly and heads into the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of vodka.

I use a knife to tear open the tape on the box. Inside, I find a smaller white box. I take it out and open it on the table. There's a cloth covered book inside. There are no words on the cover. I open the inside and read the inscription:

'London: Charles Dickens, McIlvaine and Co., 1891.'

It's a first edition copy of A Tale of Two Cities. It must be worth a fortune, and I know immediately who's sent it. Clary is at my shoulder gazing at the books. She picks up the leather bound book.

"It's a first edition," I whisper.

"No." Clary eyes are wide. "Will?"

"I can't think of anyone else." I flip through the novel, inspecting it, and find that the pages are in mint condition.

"What does he mean?"

"I have no idea." I frown, thinking back to the time I ran into Will at work. He said he despised this book.

"I know you don't want to talk about him, Tessa, but he's seriously into you."

I have given up on correcting Clary every time she insists that Will likes me. I have not let myself dwell on Will Herondale for the past week. Why has he sent me this when he so clearly thought so little of me?

"There's one first edition of A Tale of Two Cities for sale in Paris at $13,000. But yours is in much better condition. It must have costed more." Clary is on her laptop, consulting Google.

"What is he trying to say?" She turns and looks up at me from her screen.

"I don't know, and I don't care. I can't accept this from him." I repack the book in its box and leave it on the dining table. Clary hands me a glass of apple juice, while she pours herself a shot of vodka.

"To the end of exams," she grins.

"To the end of exams and excellent results," I add and we clink glasses and drink.

.

The bar is loud and booming with music, full of students from my year celebrating the end of finals week. I don't drink alcohol, but Clary has convinced me that it'll help me loosen up and have fun. As I tilt my head back and swallow my fifth shot, I know this is not a good idea.