There
was a girl with them. I avoided her gaze, but I could feel it appraising me
like I was back in the market at the Forum or something.
“What
were you doing in there?” said Gabe suspiciously. I decided to brazen it out.
They couldn’t exactly report me for standing in an empty classroom.
“Just
looking around. Wouldn’t you, if you were me? Tomorrow, everyone will be
staring at me because I’m the new guy. I’d rather not be lost as well.”
Devin’s
expression was sympathetic, but Gabe wrinkled his nose, pulling his lips into a
sneer. “Whatever,” he said. “If you want to waste the last day of summer break
snooping around the school, that’s up to you. Dev, Mina, let’s go.”
“Hold on
a second,” said the girl. “He’s the one, isn’t he? The one you were arguing
about before.”
She took
a step closer. Her self-confidence was so potent it was almost like she had a
force field around her. I glanced at her quickly. She was wearing a lot of face
paint and those surely weren’t her own eyelashes, but she was still very
pretty.
I
recognized her from when I’d been standing on the corner, watching everyone
arrive. She hadn’t been short of company, but I’d been more interested in the
reactions her little group had provoked in others. Although some students had
stared, as if they wanted to belong, others had been wary. This girl might be
admired, but she wasn’t universally liked.
“What’s
your name?” she asked. “Come on, don’t be shy.”
I smiled
faintly. She was so sure I would answer, so certain of her place in the social
hierarchy of this school. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself by making
connections all over the place, but perhaps I should use her. It could help me
to be friends with someone like Mina.
“Come
with me to registration and you’ll be the first to find out,” I said with a
shrug.
Her
expression flickered while she considered this. I deliberately made eye contact
and held it for a couple of seconds. “Volo te mecum venire,” I
whispered.
“Well,
I’m leaving, even if you’re not,” said Gabe. “Mina, I can’t believe you’re
giving airtime to this. It’s pathetic.”
She
glared at him. “Did you just call me pathetic?”
He
swallowed. “No. Him, I said. He’s pathetic.”
“I’ll go
with you,” she said, brushing my arm with her fingertips. Thank the gods for
sleeves. Her nails were intricately decorated. Everything about this girl
was so contrived, but I found it oddly familiar. She was no different from a
Roman socialite.
“Me
too,” said Devin. He grinned. “It’d better be worth it, though. If your name’s
John or James or something, after all this…”
“He
doesn’t look like a James,” said Mina. “Too straight.”
“Straight?”
Devin sounded… disappointed?
“No,”
said Mina. “The name. Not him.” She considered. “He’s hard to read. He could
be… anything.”
Gabe
stared at me with open dislike. Things seemed to be getting very complicated
all of a sudden. There were undercurrents of emotion swirling between the three
of them like colored ribbons. Surprisingly, Devin’s were the darkest, not what
I’d expected from his easy-going demeanor.
My
training kicked in, like an involuntary reaction to the challenge, and I had to
walk away before I did something stupid like grab one of the ribbons to
untangle it.
I could
guess what my name was going to be. I was pretty sure it would be the name I’d
used when I’d last had this face. Perhaps it hadn’t been his choice
after all. The nature of my crossing was rather unorthodox. This might be like
a default spell or something.
When we
arrived at the cafeteria, Gabe reluctantly following a few paces behind us, it
was almost deserted. There was just one man sitting at the bank of desks,
trying to sip from a mug and scroll through his phone at the same time. He was
scruffy and earnest looking.
The man
lifted his head and set down the mug, spilling some dark-brown liquid onto the
desk. He looked straight at me.
“A-ha!”
he exclaimed. “You must be our mysterious new student. I was about to pack up
for the day. No one in the team will admit to entering your unusual name into
the system, and we were starting to think you were a glitch.”
“Go on
then, Mr. Mason,” said Devin, folding his arms expectantly. “What is his
name?”
“Avitus Sequani,”
I said.
There was
a short silence. “Avi is fine, though,” I added.
“Well,”
said Mr. Mason, “Avi. Welcome to Sherbourne High School.” He bent over the
keyboard in front of him and typed something quickly. “We don’t have a photo in
your file. Is it OK if I take one now so I can print your ID card?”
“Er…
sure,” I replied. I glanced at the others. Mina and Gabe were whispering to
each other, but Devin was watching me, his arms still folded and a puzzled look
on his face.
“I hope
you don’t mind that I described your
name as unusual,” said Mr. Mason, directing me to stand against the cream-colored
wall. “I meant no offense.”
“None
taken,” I told him. He held up a camera that was connected to his computer by a
black cable. Was I supposed to smile?
“It’s
just that I studied the classics in college and the Sequani were part of Gaul
in the first century BC. Until Julius Caes—”
“I
know,” I interrupted. I didn’t need to be reminded of the history, passed down
by those who had emerged victorious from the long years of Gallic-Roman
conflict. You have no idea. You weren’t there.
“Oh?” he
said, not looking at me as he fiddled with the camera settings. “I suppose I’m
not the first person to have mentioned it—fascinating example of just how
brilliant Roman strategy could be. Do you know any Latin? Do you…?” His voice and
enthusiasm faded to nothing as he looked into the lens and saw my face.
I was
furious, and, judging by his expression, failing to hide it. The cords in his
neck tightened as he swallowed. “Er… that’s it. Keep still.” He pressed a
button on the camera and immediately went back to the computer.
Do I
know any Latin? Yeah. I grew up learning the language of the people who
slaughtered my ancestors. I grew up learning the language of my owners. How
about you, Mr. Mason? You probably studied it for fun, right?
Shit. What was wrong with me? I shouldn’t be
getting so emotional over ancient history, even if it was my own.
Mr.
Mason’s taps on the keyboard had become slightly agitated, in that way the
earthbound have of hoping their technology will somehow perform differently if
they press harder. “I’m sorry, er… Avi,” he said. “There seems to be a problem
with the photo. I might need to take another one.” His expression showed that
this was the last thing he wanted to do.
I walked
around to look, followed by the others.
“I can
help, Mr. Mason. I did a photography project in Art when I was a junior,”
offered Mina. “I… What the hell is that?”
We all
stared at the screen. Damnit. I did not look remotely earthbound in that
photo. “Dispareo,” I whispered, and the image on the screen faded to
black.
“Looks
like you’ll have to take another one,” I said. “Maybe you used a special effects
setting or something.”
“I’ll
take it,” said Mina, grabbing the camera from the table. I returned to my
former position in front of the wall while she double-checked the settings.
“OK,
Avi, give me your best pose,” she said, raising her perfectly drawn eyebrows.
At least while the camera lens was between us, I wouldn’t be making direct eye
contact with her. It was far too soon to do it again. “Cotidianus,” I
muttered as she pressed the button.
The
whole eye contact thing was becoming more of a problem than I’d anticipated. I’d
forgotten how face-to-face communication depended on it. Although I had a
physical covering, my eyes were like a pathway to the light and the magic inside
of me. Even if they weren’t permitted to remember what that light was, the
earthbound were still inexorably drawn to it.
The card
was duly printed and I put it in the back pocket of my jeans. I frowned when I
realized there was a phone in the pocket as well, taking it out to have a
closer look.
Why
do I have a phone?
It
immediately chimed with a text. The first few words flashed up on the screen
inside a gray box. I fumbled to touch it before it disappeared, my fingers a
little clumsy in their new earthbound covering.
“First restriction: now you’ve entered the
school, you can’t leave it. I am only able to keep their attention turned away
from you if you don’t stray far. Welcome to your new home. Have fun, won’t you,
Luca?”
Him. That’s
why I have a phone. I
tightened my grip and the phone dug into my palm. I was growing more used to
the physical sensations. My connection with this body was obviously increasing.
Briefly, I wondered if that were a good thing or a bad thing.
“Guys, I
need to pack up now. Unless you’re going to stay and help, you should get
going,” said Mr. Mason.
“Oh, I’d
love to help, it’s just that I’m expected somewhere else,” replied Mina
sweetly. “Sorry, Mr. Mason.”
“Yeah,
me too,” said Gabe. He nudged Devin with his elbow, but Devin remained silent.
The puzzled look from earlier hadn’t quite disappeared from his face.
“I’ll
stay. I’m not expected anywhere,” I added. Well, I’m not expected anywhere
in this dimension. Besides, I was stuck in the school, and access to
its student records was exactly what I needed.
Mr. Mason
fiddled with the cuff of his shirt. “I was, er… kidding, er… Avi,” he said.
“The janitor will be back later. You go on now.”
“I could
stay a while,” said Devin. “My mom’s not expecting me until this afternoon.”
It was
faint, but I didn’t miss Mr. Mason’s sigh of relief. I scared him. I should
fix that.
“What?”
said Gabe.
Mina
pulled on his arm. “Come on, Gabe, let’s go join the others in the park. You
owe me ice cream, remember?”
She walked
up to Devin to say goodbye and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She put her mouth
to his ear and looked straight at me as she spoke her whispered words.
“Don’t
do anything I wouldn’t do.”
He gave
an embarrassed cough. “Mina,” he said in a low voice.
“You
can’t stay here. He’s dangerous,” said Gabe, taking a step forward. I could
sense Mr. Mason’s horror as, for a few seconds, he thought Gabe might be
talking about him.
“Ga-a-be,”
said Mina slowly. “It’s the school cafeteria in the middle of the day, and the
most boring teacher in the school is in charge. Nothing’s going to happen.”
She
turned and held her hand to her mouth in pretend remorse. “Oh, I’m so
sorry, Mr. Mason. I meant the most responsible teacher in the school is
in charge.”
He pressed
his lips together. I got the impression this wasn’t the first time she’d been
openly rude to him. “Thank you, Mina. Are you leaving now, or did you just say
that to get my hopes up?”
“We’re
leaving.” She dragged Gabe after her. I felt sorry for him. He was only
protecting his friend, and what he’d seen had been unpleasant. I would have
made him forget it, but the opportunity to take him to one side had simply not
presented itself.
And,
there was still the niggling problem of his name. It was probably a
coincidence, but… Gabe. Gabriel. One of the original seven. The skin on my neck
prickled.
No. I
won’t spend time worrying about something I can’t control.
Mr.
Mason soon had us sweeping the floor, arranging the tables stacked at the side
of the room into rows, and putting out the chairs, six to a table. On Monday, they’d be occupied by chattering students eating their lunches, and I
might even have found the person I was here for.
It
looked like I was going to have to be patient if I wanted the chance to use the
computer on my own. My mouth twisted. Patient, I can do. I’ve had a lot of
practice.
I
glanced up from placing the last chair to see Devin looking at me. “What is
it?” I asked. I put my hands on my hips and lowered my chin, pretending to be out
of breath so I wouldn’t have to look into his eyes. I wasn’t out of breath.
Lifting a few pieces of man-made furniture hardly compared to gladiatorial
training.
“This is
going to sound crazy, but your name is really familiar,” he said.
“No, it
isn’t,” I replied automatically.
“I
wasn’t asking you,” he said.
I
frowned. “Why would a two-thousand-year-old Latin name be familiar to you?”
“I
didn’t say it made sense,” he responded. “I just… I just…” He grimaced before
continuing. “This is going to sound even worse, but in my head I can see you
wearing, like, a tunic or something…”
Appearing horrified at his own words, he put
his hands over his face. “Oh, shit, just forget I spoke,” he added, his
voice slightly muffled.
I gaped at him. This is the fastest connection I've ever made. How can he see so much already?
