Mortal Danger (The Immortal Game) (7 page)

On the way to the room, Vi bounced with excitement. “This is the most unleashed I’ve ever been. My parents…” She shook her head, words failing her in relation to their strictness. “This will be the best summer ever.”

“I hope so.”

I unlocked our door and found a simple, Z-shaped space, which gave privacy to each bed. In the middle, there was a double desk, and opposite, we had a dual dresser with drawers on each side. Across from my bunk, I had a closet, and behind the door, we had a sink for washing up. Otherwise, that was it. The walls were cement block and had been painted light blue; the floor was industrial tile, white-speckled with a few interesting stains. I dropped my backpack on the single bed, drawing Vi’s attention.

“Is that
all
you brought?” she asked.

Nodding, I dug out the Visa gift card from the front compartment. “My parents thought it’d be fun for me to get stuff here, kind of a belated birthday present.”

“Oh my God, that’s the coolest thing ever. Your parents are nothing like mine.”

I bet they’re
just
like yours.
But it was such a white lie; what could it hurt? Easier than explaining a hot guy who saved my life had given me $500 to spend on whatever I wanted. I pulled out my laptop and plugged it into the university Internet. A few minutes later, I had directions to the nearest mall.

“You wanna come?”

“Shopping?” She glanced at her baggy jeans and wrinkled her nose. “That’s not really my thing.”

“We can find a bookstore and a Best Buy too.”

I
knew
this girl. I’d been her this morning. The old Edie never went clothes shopping voluntarily. She let her mother buy things and stick them in her room. She wore whatever she found and tried not to think about how she looked. She avoided mirrors and kept her hair so long, it fell into her face. When she walked down the street, she watched her feet, so she didn’t see scorn flicker in other people’s faces as their eyes slid away. That Edie died on the bridge. I had the freedom to be someone else now, anyone I wanted. The sensation was brilliant but terrifying. If I got it wrong, I had nobody to blame but myself.

“When you put it
that
way,” Vi said, grinning.

“Cool. There’s a mixer tonight at eight. We’ll be back before then.”

Her smile faded. “I don’t know if I’m gonna go. I’m not here to socialize.”

“That’s your parents talking. We’re here to learn, but we can have fun too. That’s why I came.” That played better than the real explanation, which no sane person would believe.

Vi shot me a knowing look. “But not the reason you gave at home, I bet.”

“Hell, no. You have to know how to manage the parental units. As long as you can work up a rationale consistent with their internal motivations, you’re good to go.”

“I’m gonna learn
so much
from you.”

“Maybe.” With a half shrug, I headed for the door.

The mall I’d found was located downtown, kind of a revitalized ultra-chic place with small boutiques, lots of flowers, and Spanish-style courtyards. There were staple department stores, of course, like Macy’s and Nordstrom, but I wouldn’t be shopping there. Instead I’d hit smaller, lower-priced places. It shouldn’t cost too much for jeans and T-shirts. At this point, I wasn’t sure enough of my fashion sense to go much beyond those parameters. Deep down, I wished Kian hadn’t refused to come with me. He had great taste, cool and elegant, and I’d bet he could dress me perfectly. Maybe that was why he didn’t want to do it, though. He’d already made me beautiful. Anything more might make him feel proprietary, give him a disquieting sense of ownership. I probably shouldn’t have asked him to kiss me.

I wasn’t sorry I had.

Vi made a noncommittal shopping buddy. She had no opinions on anything I tried on, but I caught a wistful light in her eyes, once or twice. I wanted to tell her how well I understood, but nobody wanted a new acquaintance prying into their personal business. I wouldn’t make it better by saying I’d been a “before” picture, too. So I kept a light commentary running on what I intended to buy.

By the end of the spree, I spent four hundred bucks on clothes and cosmetics, forty on a small suitcase to hold it all. I also had the cash my dad had given me, which left me just under a hundred for the rest of the summer. That should be good for random entertainments. From the curriculum, I saw we’d be busy doing telescopic observation of various constellations anyway, so it wasn’t like I’d be out on the town every night.

Vi and I ate a quick meal at the food court, and then I kept my promise to locate the nearest bookstore. In the stacks, I browsed for an hour, but I only bought one book:
The Intelligent Negotiator: What to Say, What to Do, How to Get What You Want—Every Time.
The purchase set the seal on my intentions. This summer would be my proving ground.

My new roommate bought a handful of science fiction and fantasy titles. I’d read all of them but one. I touched the second book in her stack. “That one’s the best.”

“I’ll read it first.”

Since it was after seven by then, we headed back to campus. Vi fell quiet as we approached the dorm; I could tell she’d rather avoid the mixer altogether. It was a wonder she’d gotten up the nerve to speak to me earlier. But then, I totally understood how one new person felt less intimidating than a roomful of strangers. My stomach churned over the prospect too, but I’d master my fear like a differential equation.

In our room, I didn’t change clothes. I brushed my hair and teeth, put on some makeup like the girl in the store had explained. Not a lot. I wasn’t confident enough to try advanced tricks, and fortunately, the face Kian had given me didn’t require it.
Your face,
a small voice reminded me.

“Ready?” I asked.

She put down her book with a soft sigh. “Not really. But I guess I should go for a while. If it’s awful, I can come back up and read.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun.”

On the third floor, the gathering was already in full swing. Some kids looked geeky; others seemed normal. A few were hot. I skimmed the crowd and saw how it had broken down. Techies were comparing toys. Stargazers stood by the windows. A few math types scribbled on napkins. Music played in the background, soft and inoffensive, and the organizers had laid out various canned drinks and cookies. Not much of a spread, but the point was for enrollees to make first contact.

Before I could make up my mind where to enter the mix, a Japanese boy with a shock of black, blond-tipped spiky hair came up to me. He pointed at my shirt. “Are you really?”

I cocked a brow, waiting, trying to look mysterious, because I had no idea what my tee said. I’d just liked the look of it. And how it fit me.

He asked outright, “‘Looking for a Japanese boyfriend’?”

Crap. Is that what it says?

I gave him a half smile, praying I didn’t blush, because I felt like such a dumbass.
Did Kian get this as a practical joke?

“Why, are you applying?”

“Maybe.” He flashed a smile that said he was a little more self-assured than most of the guys here. “I’m Ryuuto. But Ryu is fine.”

“I’m Edie. This is Vi.” I stepped sideways so he could see her since she was hiding behind me. She elbowed me to show she didn’t appreciate the attention.

She squeaked out, “Nice to meet you.”

Come on, Vi. You can do better than that.

But Ryu wasn’t paying attention to either of us. He curled his fingers, calling someone else over, a boy with dark blond hair. With his gold, wire-framed glasses, he looked smart … and cute. “This is my roommate, Seth. Seth, Edie and Vi.”

“Trust Ryu to find the girls right off.” Seth had an easy manner, belied by the flicker of his eyes. That was the only cue he gave that he wasn’t totally calm.

“We’re not the only girls here,” I pointed out.

The blond kid grinned. “The ones who’ll talk to us?”

“Point,” Ryu admitted. “But I figured the shirt was a sign.”

I studied Seth. “Programming?”

He nodded. “What gave me away? I’m interested in pretty much all the hard sciences, though. I haven’t made up my mind on a major yet.”

“Why rush?”

Ryu nudged his roomie. “Let’s get them some drinks?”

As they moved off, Vi drew in a deep breath, covered by the music. “I can’t believe this is happening. Boys just wander over to you?”

They never did before.

“It’s the shirt. Great icebreaker.”

And maybe that’s why Kian bought it.

She shook her head. “It’s because you’re gorgeous. I can’t do this!”

“Relax,” I whispered. “Here they come.”

This was all new to me too, but I could learn. I had to. Ryu returned with the drinks and Seth brought cookies. The four of us found some chairs in the corner where we could chill. Vi hadn’t spoken a word to the boys, and I could tell by her face that she dug Seth. Maybe we could make that happen by the end of the session.

Ryu was saying, “You ordered your shirt from ThinkGeek, right?”

I nodded, mostly because I had no idea where Kian had gotten it. Fortunately, I was familiar with the store. I’d bought things there before.

“I love ThinkGeek,” Seth put in. “I want some of their spy stuff.”

“To make stalking easier?” Ryu grinned.

“Shut up!”

Man, I had to get Vi into this conversation. I leaned toward her. “What about you? Ever ordered from TG?”

She shot me a look, but answered, “Yeah, a portable solar charger.”

Immediately, both guys turned to her with interest in the specs, whether it was strong enough for a laptop or just an iPod. She fielded their questions with obvious relief; this was something she could discuss. Oddly, her nerves made mine go away because I could see I had nothing to fear.

Vi was right; this was going to be the best summer ever.

INVINCIBLE SUMMER

As it turned out, those were prophetic words. The weeks went quickly, combining work and fun in the best possible ways. The four of us became an inseparable unit, and Ryu did, in fact, become my Japanese boyfriend. My first, though I doubted he’d believe it. Since he was going back to Tokyo at the end of the session, we both understood it was a temporary summer thing.

During the day, we took astronomy, physics, calculus, and programming courses. At night, we teamed up and took telescopic images of a nearby asteroid, then Seth wrote software to determine its orbit around the sun. Twice a week, we had guest lecturers; my favorite was a physics professor with a great sense of humor, and I really enjoyed the Q&A afterward. The instructors worked us hard, but there was time to socialize as well. At first Vi wasn’t on board, but I kept dragging her along, and eventually, she relaxed enough to joke around with the guys.

Day by day, it got easier to recognize the face in the mirror as my own, though I still wasn’t used to my new body, even the second week in. I kept expecting my legs to be bigger or my pants not to fit when I slid into them. But I paid attention to what I ate, and I got in the habit of running in the morning with Seth. He didn’t look like an athlete, another sign that I shouldn’t judge by appearances. Maybe if my parents had been sportier, less academic, I would’ve valued physical activities as much as intellectual ones.

“Good run,” Seth said, working slowly through his cooldown. He was teaching me about fitness without realizing it.

“Longest I’ve ever gone.”

“Yeah? We should get cleaned up. They’re taking us to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab today.”

I didn’t need a second invitation to jog up to my room, where Vi was reading. “Tell me Seth looked super hot.”

“I’ll do better than tell you.” Grinning, I showed her the sneaky photo I’d taken with my crappy phone camera.

“God, I love it here. The weather’s gorgeous all the time, it’s so pretty, and—”

“Seth,” I finished, grabbing my basket of toiletries.

Vi threw a pillow at me, which hit the door as I darted out. My shower was quick, and I still needed to grab some lunch before the field trip. A glance at my phone told me I had thirty minutes to get ready and find food. Fortunately Vi had a sandwich waiting on the desk when I got back to the room.

“You have no idea how much I appreciate this,” I said.

“It’s just the opposite. You had no reason to be so nice at registration. I’m trying to repay you and prove I know how to be a good friend.”

“You’re the best.” I hugged her with one arm as I ate.

“Hey, you’ll get crumbs in my hair!”

“Whatev, Seth will groom you like a bonobo monkey,” I teased.

Vi pretended to pout, but she couldn’t hide her smile. I’d noticed the way his eyes followed her and the way he brightened when she entered the room. The boy straight up loved how she could hold her own when the tech talk commenced, getting down and dirty with all of the latest robotic trends. Some things were sexier than great hair and skinny jeans.

My old life, along with my problems at Blackbriar, seemed like a dream, a nightmare, really. Though I remembered the misery and desperation, I was happy. Maybe it was too soon to recover and I’d feel crappy as soon as I saw the Teflon crew’s faces, but for now, the change of scenery and my first real friends were doing the trick. Even if life was imperfect, it was worth living, every minute, every second, and I’d fight to keep this new tenacity, once I went home. I learned that I had a weird sense of humor, but people liked me anyway—or maybe because of it. I’d spent my life cracking jokes in my head, wondering if anyone but me would laugh.

They did.

As for Ryu, I liked being part of something. I didn’t fall wildly in love with him, but he was a great guy: kind, smart, funny, and handsome. It was cool to sit next to him, looking up at the stars, while Vi and Seth whispered beside us. The first time he worked up the nerve to put his arm around her, I smothered a grin and turned to see Ryu watching me with a goofy smile on his face.

“You act like you’ve never seen people fall for each other before.”

“Not from so close up,” I said.

No.
I doubted he’d believe me if I said I was operating from what I’d read in books as opposed to personal experience. That truth didn’t fit my new look, even if I was more used to it. So Ryu would never truly know me, and that made me a little sad.