[fic] beauty as we make it - chapter one
Title: beauty as we make it
Chapter: one
Rating: PG14
Word Count: 7,844
Summary: no good story summery yet D:
Authors Notes/Disclaimer: no editing done. also, no formatting.
beauty as we make it by tally (the average ladle)
Everyone was asking the same question: “Who is that girl?” By the time word got around to MacIntyre's ears she was already halfway across the main building's roof. It appeared she was heading towards the science building, where MacIntyre's room was.
Since she was a student in MacIntyre's homeroom class, Headmaster Juha had ordered him to get her down by any means possible. At the order MacIntyre felt like he was sent his death sentence: did he really have to run across the roof just to fetch this girl? He thought it was ridiculous; why couldn't Headmaster Juha send a class perfect or academy security in his stead?
“To maintain discipline. This will be an example to the other teachers and students to guarantee no more roof-walkers do as they please,” he had replied and rejected any furthering of the conversation. MacIntyre grumbled his way to the roof stairs and carefully climbed his way up to the ceramic tile roof.
As soon as he was balanced and looked at his surroundings, he could clearly see a girl no taller than five feet more than halfway down the main building's slim roof.
New Vance Private Academy's original architects had intended this building to be completely European styled, but with the new age of Asian influence the design was altered halfway through construction, resulting in the ceramic tiled roof with a curved slope and white brick outer walls with dark wooden interior walls and floors. The interior walls were made up of thin pikes of wood used as a frame and then two sheets of thick plywood as the actual wall. Another sheet of dark wood was glued over top of the plywood to give it the appearance of the average sturdy wall, even though anyone could be easily thrown through it.
Now focusing back onto MacIntyre, who was uneasily speeding across the roof toward the targeted girl, cheers and woots screaming from the many students below. Could there be a worse way to spend one's lunch hour?
She seemed to have stopped before the science building; there was a huge gap of 1.5 meters between it and the main building. There was no way she was going to jump it, was there?
It seemed she was coming back, but when she turned back around and her pace quickened so did MacIntyre's. She was going to jump.
«break»
Holding her tightly by the upper arm, MacIntyre dragged her into Headmaster Juha's office.
“Please close the door and take a seat,” Headmaster Juha had ordered and both the girl and MacIntyre complied. Headmaster Juha paced around the office, his front mostly faced out the window behind his desk and away from the girl and MacIntyre. The tight military uniform he wore wrinkled and tightened at the most uncomfortable spots as he paced.
Millions of thoughts were running through MacIntyre's mind: What if he's fired? What if the girl is expelled right away? Wait, wouldn't that be a good thing? She wouldn't climb onto the roof again, or cause him anymore trouble! Oh, but what if she was kicked out of her last school because of this, too? What if this was her last option and he had delivered her right to her undesirable fate by complying to Headmaster Juha's orders and...
Headmaster Juha cleared his throat and took a sip of the heavy smelling black coffee on his desk, just the tiniest slit in his face mask enough to take said sip. “Thank you, MacIntyre, for taking Coriander down,” he said as he walked around from behind his desk to stand in front of the other two. “Control your students better,” he continued and nodded his head before turning his attention to Coriander. “You,” he said.
“Yes? What about me?” There was a twinkle to her voice, like the sweet singing of the flute, but there was a harshness to her words like nails on a chalkboard. Something about her words made you both want to hear more but also stab your ears to bits. While MacIntyre was taken aback by this lucid fact, Headmaster Juha seemed unaware of it.
“Do you understand the effects of what you did today?” he asked and she shrugged her shoulders. “You could have fallen, first of all, and it would have been our fault. While you are on our property we are your guardians, we are responsible for your safety. Do you know the weight of what we hold?”
Coriander shrugged her shoulders again. MacIntyre was impressed by the girl's resilience, her nonchalant attitude to Headmaster Juha's daunting atmosphere. Headmaster Juha looked like he was starting to get pissed off, but who could tell what he was feeling behind that black mask of his?
“We actually trust our students with the fire escape, unlike most institutes. You abusing the privilege is like saying 'Fuck you, Headmaster Juha. Fuck you, Homeroom teacher MacIntyre.' Do you get it? Or are you too thick in the skull to understand so simple as to not use the fire escape unless in a fire?” Headmaster Juha sighed, took off his military cap, patted the top of his head (which was also covered in the black leather mask), and then put it back on. “Listen, this will be your first strike. Do you hear me? We call your parents next time, and on your third you're expelled.”
“You're a coward, Headmaster Juha, are you not?”
Headmaster Juha's eyes widened and for a second you couldn't see his eyelids. “What was that? Must I call your parents right now?” Just then, the lunch bell rang signaling the beginning of afternoon classes. Coriander continued:
“No, thank you, Headmaster Juha.” Despite the gentle chill in her words her facial expression was light and gleeful, as if there were a fire in her which could not be exhausted.
Headmaster Juha's sharp eyes turned to MacIntyre, who understood the silent words. MacIntyre stood up and said, “I should get to my classroom. Teachers have to lead by example, which means we can't be late for class.” After his tiny, meaningless words were propelled into the air he bowed slightly, turned and left.
He took a small glance back at her and what he saw both surprised and frightened him: she winked with a sly smile and then pressed her index finger against her lips like a hush. What did she mean by that? He looked up at Headmaster Juha and thanked the angels he wasn't looking. He hurried out before she had anymore chances to act strange.
It was a short walk to the science building. There was a thin covered walkway between the science and main buildings on the main and second floors but not on the third. The event at lunch time kept repeating itself in MacIntyre's mind, let alone the silence. Why did she do that? Why did she climb the roof? Wasn't today her first day?
On top of that, her file told him it was her birthday today. She was turning seventeen. Was it some sort of rebellious stunt challenging the onlookers to be true to themselves, no matter their ages?
MacIntyre shook his head as he climbed the only staircase in the science building to his astronomy classroom on the third floor. When he opened his classroom door he saw all his seats filled with perky students ready for class. Not one of them seemed to want to rebel against him and he couldn't decide whether he was grateful for it or not.
«break»
After school had ended and MacIntyre had already signed himself out at the office, on his way out he spotted five teenagers by the sportgrounds gates. One of them was Coriander Kale, the very mischievous teenager from earlier that day. From his spot near the front gates he could tell it was a bullying scene. Two boys and two girls picking on Coriander Kale; a boy and girl brunettes and a boy and a girl blonds. It was clear to MacIntyre who they were just by the formation they took around their target.
“What were you thinking?” asked the dark haired male. “All you want is the fucking attention,” he continued.
“Not only that, though. You think you're some fucking flying squirrel? A jumping lop rabbit? You're crazy if you were thinking about jumping that gap. Oh, yeah, you're going to be a real superstar after jumping, or will you be dead?” said the blond female. They were Avery Desch and Chelsea Miller, respectively. Them, as a couple, combined with the radical and strict efforts of Chase Miller and Rebecca Herr, result in what is called the Cruel Theory. The four of them have earned both the respect and rebellion of the student body. They are either loved or hated by all students and staff. There haven't been many in history to have felt nonchalant about them, but it's not impossible. Usually by the politically apathetic.
“I'll be watching you, Coriander Kale. The first moment you stray from the student's right path, I'm onto you,” said Chase, who was one of the class perfects and most certainly did have suspension rights.
“I don't know what you guys're talking about,” Coriander replied with an innocent look on her face, voice still like a flute.
Should he intervene? It was the staff's job to inhibit all student-student bullying; but this wasn't violence as the code had declared, it was simple mistreatment and verbal harassment. He felt Chase was abusing his privilege a little bit. But it was a threat, not a guarantee.
Before MacIntyre could reach a decision he spotted two teenagers heading into the fray from the science building. A boy and a girl who he recognized as Norah Wallace and Jones Tallow, two grade elven students just like Coriander Kale.
“Hey!” Norah shouted as she and Jones stepped into the scene, their mental fists ready for a hit or two. The Cruel Theory turned slightly to allow the two intruders between them and Coriander, who's face was like that of a five year old. “You shouldn't be picking on a new student,” Norah argued. “What will Headmaster Juha say if we tell him even the class perfect has sunk to petty verbal abuse?”
Chase clenched his teeth and tightened his fists but he suddenly regained his former cool composure. “You wouldn't dare,” he said and a slow grin grew across his face. “If you tell Headmaster Juha about my verbal abuse, I'll tell him about the time I saw you drinking on school grounds.”
“It wasn't alcohol, and we weren't drinking it. It was seawater from the summer. Why would someone purposely drink seawater?” Jones corrected.
“Ah, but it was still in that liquor bottle. Under that premise, I'm pretty sure the rest of the story should go in my favor, especially when I'm the perfect and you two are just some silly dreamers,” Chase continued, insisting everything will always go his way.
“How about some decency? Why don't you just save yourselves and leave right at this moment. You're making this into a scene when it doesn't need to be,” Rebecca said with a sour note. Her arms were crossed and her lips were slightly puckered.
MacIntyre felt sorry for Norah and Jones, who were now being bullied because of their interference with Coriander's bullying. Should he step in now?
Before he could come to a reasonable conclusion, yet again, he was interrupted, but this time not by more students, but by his own impulsion. His feet took steps on their own and he began walking toward the pitiful scene.
The first to notice him was the blonde female, Chelsea Miller, the other Miller's older sister who's eagle eyes, once seeing of the astronomy teacher, went wide. She rested a hand on her brother's shoulder and whispered into his ear, “MacIntyre's here.”
Chase took a giant step back from the Cruel Theory and bowed to MacIntyre at the waist. “Hello, Mr MacIntyre. What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice calm and gentle. It was like he wasn't in the least caught off guard.
MacIntyre smiled a bright smile despite the aloofness of his mentality. “Good afternoon, Chase Miller. What I'm doing here is not your business, but what is mine is what you're doing here.” He took a step sideways and opened up the scene to include the spot near the main gates where MacIntyre once stood. “I was on my way to the teacher's dorm when I spotted the Cruel Theory and my student in what looked to be bullying positions.” MacIntyre's completely peaceful tone of voice and gentle face and deadly knowledge of the scene was projected from like the very energy he was.
The rest of the Cruel Theory gave slight nods of their heads to MacIntyre who took this as a sign of recognition. But there was no fear in their eyes, despite the fact of what they were doing to be an extent of verbal abuse and threatening. Coolly, Chase bowed his head and said, “It's a long story, Mr MacIntyre. I'm sure you wouldn't--”
“I do intend to listen for as long as it takes. When my students are included in some trouble, I'm the one to sweep it up. Headmaster Juha's rules and regulations. Why do you think I went to get Coriander Kale today?” he asked with a wide grin on his pale face.
“Well...” Now cornered and having no where to run, Chase's head wasn't just lowered it hung.
“I'll let all your crimes slide this time. I'm not on perfect terms with Headmaster Juha, either, after this afternoon's incident. Go, scram. Head off to wherever you were heading off to, but remember nine o' clock curfew,” MacIntyre continued and the Cruel Theory stepped away with sighs of relief. Norah and Jones hovered over to the teacher, wonder and appreciation in their eyes. MacIntyre's gleeful-yet-malevolent personality faded into his real one, the one who's actually pretty chill and kind.
“Why'd you let them go?” asked Norah. MacIntyre scratched the side of his nose with his index as he thought.
“I really didn't want to file a report,” he answered and his students sighed happily, then laughed.
“That's our Will,” Jones said and faked a punch at MacIntyre's arm, who laughed along with the teenagers.
A small cough came from behind the relaxing scene and sudden attention was drawn to the naturally wide-eyed Coriander Kale. “Hello!” she chimed with music in her voice. “Good afternoon, isn't it?” Norah laughed. She enjoyed the cool and calm attitude of the Coriander Kale. Perhaps even a little more than our MacIntyre.
With an eyebrow raised, Jones asked, “Do you know who you were just attacked by?”
“Our malicious Cruel Theory. I advise you to try to never cross paths with them again. And you two,” MacIntyre turned to Norah and Jones, “should know way better than to go headfirst into battle with the leverage on their side.”
“Like you probably heard, Will, it wasn't liquor. It was seawater from the summer, and we weren't even drinking out of it! The damn bastard just saw the Fireball bottle and immediately assumed it was Fireball. Shows what he knows! Fireball isn't even clear, it's brown!”
“More like brownish,” MacIntyre corrected. “It's a brown clear. Like my favorite, Captain Morgans, except Fireball really burns on its way down.” Norah and Jones laughed while Coriander watched in silence with wide puppy-dog eyes, as if begging for attention. An awkwardness started to set in as eyes shifted between Coriander and anything or anyone else.
Once more, Coriander decided to wink at MacIntyre, both Norah and Jones seeing and noting it. The three normal people exchange glances before Coriander pipes up with, “MacIntyre, am I unique?”
Norah holds in her laughter but Jones bursts out, earning him a prompted slap to the stomach from Norah. “Shh,” she hissed to him and they both looked up at MacIntyre.
He looked away from the scene up to the twin dorm buildings outside the gates, next to the sportgrounds. After a few seconds he looks back down at her, her eyes still lit up at him, and says, “Where are you heading, Kale?”
“You call all your other students by their first names. Call me Cori, too.” There was a pause where she used her hands to motion sounds coming from her mouth.
“Cori?”
“Yes!” she responded with the diligence of a loyal dog.
“Where are you heading?”
“Pomme Dorm Building, RM333,” she replied and then laughed, seemingly for no reason. But she justified it with, “It's three-three-three! Hee hee! It's half evil! Hee hee!” Norah laughed wildly while Jones rolled his eyes at the lamity of her joke.
Just then Norah shot up from her bent over laughter, a straight face on and a hand on her hips. “I know that room!” she shouted. These words were like a magic spell cast upon Coriander, for she started jumping up and down with joy. “It's the room across from me, RM332! I'll take you there, all right?”
“All right! Awesome! I'm ready! Headmaster Juha said my luggage is already there, and he also gave me the key.” Coriander dramatically dove into her bag and soon triumphantly pulled out a small key with the numbers 333 engraved into it.
Norah nodded to her and then turned to MacIntyre. “Where're you headed, Will?”
MacIntyre shrugged and scratched the side of his nose. “I don't know. I was thinking about heading back to my apartment and then head out into town.”
“Hoping to find something out there?” Jones asked, raising an eyebrow.
MacIntyre shrugged. “I don't know. I've been bored lately and, well, I guess I'm hoping I'll find something to do. Something entertaining for me.” He laughed dejectedly. “When you're my age, things you love start to bore you, and then you get to a point where you're just depressed because all the things you once loved are now things you have no reason to love anymore.”
Out of some fascination for the depressingly morbid line Coriander laughed a light giggle. “Totally. I understand what that feels like. The best way to get out of that is to keep doing the unexpected, and keep trying to scare people with your weirdosity.” This earned her the sideways glances from her surroundings. Was she really this strange? Only seventeen and already getting bored of life?
“Anyway,” Norah started with a hint of hesitancy, “how about I take you to that room now, Cori?”
«break»
Slim corridors of the Pomme Dorm Building squeaked and glowed as Norah led Coriander down them. They were on the third floor, the farthest down the hall from the stairs. In front of the pair was RM333 and with the key in Coriander's hand she tapped it and then unlocked it.
From inside came the chime of a crystal clear and innocent voice, who's owner had shot up off her bed and formally bowed to the two entering the room.
“This is it! Hope you two get acquainted! See ya!” Norah sang and then exited the room, closing the door behind her. Coriander had the biggest grin on her face and she danced in the room, not really paying any attention to the other female in the room besides bothering to not run into her.
After a gentle cough, she said, in nothing higher than a murmur, “Hello... You must be Coriander Kale?” To which Coriander jumped as high as the ceiling, did a small jig on the carpet, and then spun around and around until she came to a complete stop in front of Vivienne Archus. She screamed:
“Yes! That's me! Hello! It's so nice to meet you! You already know my name, what's yours?” Vivienne's eyes bulged and her mouth made an almost perfect O.
“Uh... Uh... Vivi... enne Archus.”
“Wonderful! Good afternoon, Vivi! Would you like to show me around the room? Or is that not a part of your customs, here?” Coriander's eyes were wide with a foreign excitement. Had she not been in England before? Where had she transferred from? She spoke English very well, so either she was a very good learner or she was from North America, another place where English was the main language.
“Uh... no, uh... Well, what I mean to say is... Uh...”
“Spit it out, woman! Tell me! What is it you would like to say?” Coriander's words jolted Vivienne into disarray.
“Oh! Yes! Well, um, I relinquish all authority of this room to you! It's... well, too much space for me. All I want to take care of are my own things, and that's it. Everything else in this room you can be the boss of!”
“Wonderful! That's wonderful. So now there's a lot of this room which belongs to me. Let me unpack everywhere, and then we can spend some time together.”
«break»
After all of Coriander Kale's items were unpacked, put away, and placed in their respectable places around the room, a soft hand rasped at the door. Coriander looked up from her laptop with excitement gleaming in her eyes. “Who is it?” she called.
“Norah. Could you open the door for a sec?” she asked. With haste, Coriander got up and opened the door. Norah peered into the tidy room, scoping for and spotting the shy Vivienne, before looking at Coriander. “Would you and your roomie like to head out for the night? I promise on my triple A's you'll be back before sunrise. Maybe we'll even see the sunrise on the dorm roof,” Norah said and then winked. Coriander jumped with joy.
“Fantastic!” she shouted. “I'd love to.” She turned to Vivienne. “How about you? Doesn't it sound like fun to you? Or do you really want to just hole yourself up in this durow room?” Norah raised an eyebrow at Coriander.
“Durow?” she repeated.
“Yep. It means dusty room of wood,” Coriander explained with a puff of her cheeks.
“No, thank you.” Coriander and Norah both looked at Vivienne as she huddled in her black leather computer chair. “I really don't mind being inside for a night. It's nice, and quiet.”
“Suit yourself, Vivi,” Coriander said to her and then turned to Norah. “I'll get ready right now.”
“Great. I'll meet you at the bus stop up the main road. Not very many students know about it since its sign is covered up with ivy vines. But, if you look ve-ry closely, you'll see this city's famous blue and red bus sign,” Norah explained and closed the door herself before she ran across the hall to her own room.
With great haste, Coriander took off the simple white dress and scrambled over to the trunk at the foot of her bed. She slipped on circle-patterned gray-black tights, a plain cream dress and a red ¾ sleeve cardigan, buttoning only the button at the top. For her hair, she ran into the bathroom, quickly watered it down, and then rolled it into copper ringlets. She sprayed them lightly with hair product.
On her way out, she slipped on some navy flats, a long beige scarf, and a dark brown beaded bracelet.
«break»
Clear skies posed their stars as Coriander Kale snapped their image inside her infamous camera, white crystals pasted against a navy velvet backdrop, looking so smooth Coriander felt like she could reach out and touch it all. If she were to cover one eye and stretch her hand skyward, she'd swear she was able to grasp the velvet in her hands.
“Cori!” she heard against the roar of the oncoming bus. “Get on, hurry!” The bus sped past Norah and stopped right in front of Coriander. A firm line was on her lips and when she peered around Norah she noticed she was being chased by someone.
“One moment,” she said to the bus driver and then ran to Norah, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled with all her strength onto the bus. They both toppled on top of each other on the floor of the bus. “Hurry!” Coriander said and the bus driver closed the door and sped away.
“Are you two all right?” the bus driver asked. Coriander nodded her head as she helped Norah get up. The two of them showed their school cards, which served as bus passes, and took some seats at the back of the bus.
They both laughed. “That was a blast!” Norah said and Coriander nodded.
“That was fantastic! I want to do it again! Can we? Tomorrow night?”
“Hahaha! No way!”
“Who was that behind you?” Coriander asked suddenly, interrupting the gleeful scene with a serious question. Norah was slightly surprised with the sudden tone, and also with the fact Coriander had a serious tone at all.
“Hm? Oh, it was just the caretaker. Before I left I set mousetraps all over his office, glued pornography to his office walls, and then hid dozens of rotten eggs under his pillow. I don't think he knows about the eggs, but-haha!-he will soon enough.” The two girls cheered with the success of the rude tricks Norah had cast upon the careless caretaker. “By the way, I didn't make you wait long, did I?”
Shaking her head, Coriander replied, “Not at all. I wasted my time with taking pictures.” At that moment she held up her camera, but only for a second, for Nosy Norah swatted at it and glued it to her own palms, turning the electronic on and flipping through the pictures. “Pretty sky,” she said at the most recent night sky picture.
Coriander didn't mind, of course, but as Norah neared the pictures of Coriander's previous life she became more anxious. When a picture of a dark alleyway with the dead body of a single rotten kitten in it came up she snatched it back. “Sorry,” she said, “that's a little private. I'm not very good.”
“How can you say it's private? How can you say you're not good? From the photo of the night sky to the photo of a leafless tree in spring to the one I just saw... Haha. No matter how I say it, you're a good photographer.” Norah winked and, with a mildly reluctant smile, Coriander giggled.
Norah decided to go further: “With the photo of the night sky you captured its glory, with the photo of the single empty milk jar on the side of the road you captured its loneliness, and with that photo of the rotten cat in a dark alley... you captured its determination to survive.” There was this hu-ge smile on Norah's face as she said this, and despite the dark feeling her words envisioned, their sense and appeal made Coriander feel like she'd finished some great task. It left her with a hunger for more recognition.
“So,” Coriander said, raising her heels to the seat and pulling her knees into her chest, “where are we headed to? Where are we now?” Norah looked out the window and her eyes bulged.
“We're here!” she shouted and pulled on the bus' emergency stop. They'd missed the bus stop and were dead center in the intersection. Norah grabbed onto Coriander's wrist and pulled her to the back door, shoving Coriander to it. The bus' back door was one of those pressure ones, where all you need to do is to press on it, so when Coriander fell on it she fell through it. “Sorry!” she called to the bus driver as she jumped out and ran with Coriander in tow to the nearest corner.
“Wait... where are we?” she said and gawked at the tall skyscrapers and bright lights. The streets were filled with action and the sidewalks were full of people walking. There were cars and trucks and taxis everywhere. With the glint in Coriander's eyes, Norah thought she'd never seen a working city before.
“We're in - - - -, in case you couldn't guess. I mean, where else? The next town over is - - - -. Anyway, follow me. You wouldn't want to get lost around here,” Norah said and grabbed Coriander's wrist again. She dragged the shameless gawker down the block to the alleyway and then in it. They walked a little bit and then came to the back of a café. “Watch this,” Norah said and winked. She let go of Coriander's wrist and knocked an intricate code all along the back door. Within seconds there were three return knocks and the red metal door swung open, revealing a fast-paced kitchen.
“This is Fireside Café,” Norah explained as she guided Coriander through the bustling kitchen, ducking and dodging chefs and cooks as if she had memorized their fearless pace. “Although we're underage, we have special connections with the owner here.”
“We?” Coriander repeated.
“Of course, 'we'. The New Vance Private Academy's Astronomy Club!” Norah shouted as she opened the kitchen doors and entered the café area. She and Coriander meandered through the setup of round chairs and square tables until they reached the lounge area, where a bunch of teens sat. “Good evening, guys,” Norah greeted. “This is Coriander Kale. I'm sure you've all heard of her by now.”
There were only three people sitting down, laying around on the sofas and recliner chairs and loveseats, one of them being Jones Tallow. Now that Norah and Coriander were here they were able to, surprisingly, take up most of the lounge area.
“Cori, you've met Jones Tallow,” Norah started, showing the new female the young man with shaggy light brown hair wearing green and white clothes.
“Hey, Cori. I wasn't aware you were going to be showing up tonight. If I'd known beforehand,” Jones eyed Norah, who looked away, “I would have dressed a little more formally. This is, after all, your first meeting.”
“Yes, well, anyway, this is Elaine Corne,” Norah continued, taking a seat next to Jones on the biggest loveseat Coriander had ever seen. It did indeed borderline loveseat and sofa. Norah gestured with the swat of her hand at a tall female with blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore plum and navy colors with black tights. Her blonde hair was pulled tight at the back of her head in a high ponytail and her lips were pursed together.
“Yeah, I know her. She's the kook who climbed to the school roof, isn't she?” Elaine said and crossed her arms. She was sitting in one of the big red sofa chairs and was across the coffee table from Norah and Jones.
Norah was about to start how Coriander wasn't a kook, but Coriander started first: “Yep! That's me. I'm the one who went up onto the roof, just to clarify it with... uh... you, sir?” The final Astronomy Club member introduced himself:
“I am Corey Thomas. It's nice to make the acquaintance, Coriander Kale,” he said in a calm tone of voice and in a very gentlemanly manner, with his head slightly bowed and his hand out before his face. He wore rather unusual clothes, like those from the middle to late nineteenth century, in dark colors matching his dark brown hair and chestnut eyes. He sat in the only other recliner chair but preferred to not recline in it unless sleeping.
“Of course, you know me,” Norah started, “my full name is Norah Winnie Wallace-but you can clearly forget about the 'Winnie'.” She bent down as she whispered the last part, her lanky blonde hair falling down her shoulders and surrounding her plain face.
“Take a seat, Cori,” Jones said and motioned to the empty sofa. With a gleaming smile, she nodded her head and took her seat at one end, her face all smiles. Norah frowned all of a sudden and said:
“Where's Will? It's almost six already.” Everyone's eyes went to Corey, since he was usually the one to contact Will, so he piped up with:
“I tried calling him on my mobile before you and Coriander arrived, but to no avail.”
“So that's what took you so long!” Elaine said, slightly rejoiced for some odd reason. Her voice was overruled by Norah's:
“Is it off?”
“I don't think so, it's more than that. It rang a couple times and then went to the machine. The next time I called it went straight there. I think he's ignoring us,” Corey explained with a small frown.
“I'm not ignoring any of you. I just came from an meeting. Can't believe I forgot to turn off my cell,” he said. Everyone looked up at their teacher, William MacIntyre. It was Coriander's surprise; she was expecting another student. At Coriander's somehow enlightened face, Norah laughed.
“Didn't think Will was Mr MacIntyre? Haha! He's the head of Astronomy at New Vance, so of course he's the one sponsoring the club. Without staff involvement, we'd never be able to get out of that shiteasy curfew,” she explained. MacIntyre climbed around the lounging furniture and made his way to sit on the sofa, opposite of Coriander.
MacIntyre looked over at her as he leaned back and relaxed. “Hey, Cori. You're here? Well, I formally welcome you into the New Vance Private Academy's Astronomy Club. Or, otherwise known by us club-goers as the NVPA Late Night Club. Sure, we do some astronomy, but we mostly fool around and stuff until late. This is our second meeting this year and we haven't done anything spectacular yet, so just wait until things start rolling.”
Coriander laughed, a twinkle in her eye like she had some underlying self. “Really, now? That's fantastic! I can't wait until then. Is the joining process really this easy?”
“Not in reality,” Jones replied. “To join this specific club you have to be brought here by one of the members, such as Norah. What has just happened to you is one of the hardest things to do at New Vance. There are about two other clubs with this rule, but, by far, we're the one everyone wants to get into.”
“You're one lucky dog, Cori,” said MacIntyre as he gently bowed his head to her as a sort of recognition. “Norah must have really seen something in you.” Said female swatted her hand, almost hitting Jones in the process.
“Na-ah. Not really. At first, I felt sorry for her, but I started to see this familiar gleam. It was like I'd met you before or something.” Jones stared at her, and she stared back. “What?”
“You invited her on that sort of basis? Do you even know what kind of person she is? For all you know, she could be some druggie hooked on cocaine and heroin and wouldn't even know.”
“Oh, shut it. Jones, would you suspect this innocent little thing to be addicted to drugs?”
Elaine sat up and smiled. “Cori, do you drink?” With a broad smile and a little squeak, she nodded her head quite vigorously.
“Well, then!” MacIntyre boomed. “A round of drinks for everyone. Order whatever you like. Then what do you all say to going to Jubilées for some sandwiches, a hike up Mt Krohma to do some stargazing, and then stopping by Twenty-Four's for some ruckus-making?”
“More ruckus? It feels so good to do it, but I feel really bad for the Twenty-Four's manager, having to deal with us all the time,” Jones said, laughing at the end of it. MacIntyre's dark green eyes flashed to Coriander for just a second and then went to Elaine as she started to speak:
“I can relate. When I used to work at Maris Convenience there were these little hooligans who'd come by every once in a while and make a mess of everything. I swear, if I see them ever again I'm popping their heads off one by one, very joyously.”
“Hey, Will, could we stop by Matris before that hike?” Norah asked. MacIntyre eyed her cautiously. Was she up to something? But Norah only pressed her index finger to her lips as if saying 'shhh'.
“If you're paying, I don't mind.”
Coriander was looking around from person to person looking for the right explanation. Corey laughed at her. “Don't worry about it. We'll help you get a job, show you around the city, and make sure you remember what's what, and if no one wants to do it as a group I promise to do so myself, in our own time.” His smile was soft and kindhearted, like he really meant the best for her. She smiled and thanked him in return but a deathglare from Elaine to Coriander was hard for Norah to miss.
«break»
Atop the short building, the front of which read MATRIS in big red Arial font letters, was the image of a clear glass jug with a red liquid inside, most likely painted to look like red wine. The only six individuals involved with the Astronomy Club dragged their tired feet as they walked to the lonely and dark building. It was 24/7 but the lights were dim and there was no one inside, but as they entered the small liquor store a bell above the door rang and a beautiful young woman came out from the back.
“Good evening! How can I help you?” she asked. The young store clerk was tall with long wavy blond hair which framed her thin face. She had high cheekbones and long thick curly eyelashes. Her eyes were a pale gray and adorably large. She had the appeal of a woman and the cuteness of a child.
MacIntyre scrunched his eyebrows at the woman's smile. “Are you new here?” he asked and glanced over at Norah before looking back a the clerk.
The woman smiled like the sun and her eyes brightened like diamonds, eager to please him. “Yes, I am. Is that a problem?” MacIntyre shrugged.
“Not really. You just wouldn't know Norah's regular order. She'll have a Smirnoff 55. I'm ordering, so it's legal, but she's paying,” he said. Norah stepped closer to the counter, taking out a wallet from her purse.
With a twinkle in her eye the clerk said, “All right. One moment,” and stepped into the back of the store to fetch the drink. Within seconds she was back with the Smirnoff Black in her slim fingers. “This it?” she asked.
“Yes, thank you,” Norah replied as she handed over the bills. As the clerk gave Norah the Smirnoff in a brown paper bag she shyly eyed MacIntyre's figure and smiled. Coriander noticed and, with the exact same smile, grabbed onto MacIntyre's arm.
“Norah has her alcohol, Will. Let's all go for that hike. Have some fun! Write some lyrics, do some dancing, sing and laugh and be everything we can be! It'll be fantastic,” she said, eager and mouthy. Sideways glances from everyone was obvious-even MacIntyre understood what she was doing-but no one seemed to care. There was a glare of shock from the clerk, but she brushed Coriander's advance on MacIntyre off like a speck of dirt.
“Hm? Oh, yeah, sure. Let's go, guys.” MacIntyre's eyes were half-lidded and hazy, as if he wasn't seeing what was plainly in front of him. If he felt exactly how he looked he'd have bumped into every door tonight insofar.
«break»
Slowly and rather drunkenly the Astronomy Club made its way down the streets shouting loud streams of profanity and screaming poetry to the stars and telling stories to the dark sky. It was a rambunctious display of human creativity and stupidity. People were staring, drunks were raging at them, and visionaries were praising their minds.
“And,” Norah started, leaning half of her weight on Jones, “her heart was pierced; broken. It was smashed in from the inside. She was hurt from the inside. It was that rod, that stick, that he drove through her. Not a breath rolled over her lips since 23:19 that day, that night.” Corey continued:
“She considered herself deadlocked and unable to escape from his grasp. She was held in his arms, unable to move away from his body. What would you call his body?-no, what would you call her love?”
Coriander suddenly ran in front of the group and screamed up at the stars, “Was it the kind of love where your whole body heats up? Did your heart begin to race?”
MacIntyre galloped up to her, the Astronomy Club members watching from their frozen steps. “Were you afraid?-no, what were you afraid of?” At this moment MacIntyre and Coriander stared at each other, also frozen, but then the members behind them started laughing, making everyone around them to break out laughing, too.
The rest of the walk to the top of Mt Krohma was spent singing songs made up on the spot, earning them rather silly cheers from those who bothered to watch.
When they reached the top of Mt Krohma, exhausted and gasping for air, they all fell down in a circle, heads together, and sang New Vance Private Academy's school motto and anthem.
“Adversus solem ne loquitor!” was the motto, and then they sang, “The brave and bold / have come and told / us tales from beyond the stars! / Of secretive Mars / and lost guitars, / perhaps a trip to the moon! / If you be sane / and not so lame / you'll be given a bright new cane, / and then come home / so cold and alone, / you'll be frozen to the bone! / Stay right here, / we're close and near / you'll forever be able to hear / the lear so clear / you'll never forget to soar / off the wild boar.” Obviously some words were changed to fit the Astronomy Club's rather loose mood earlier at Jubilées, trying their best to beckon down laughs lest they choke on their sandwiches.
At the end of the song and its earned laughs, Coriander suddenly sat up. She crawled on her hands and knees to get a good view of the metropolis below, so clear and beautiful her eyes and jaws were both wide with surprise and pure joy. She crossed her legs and opened her arms to the city as if asking for a hug from it. Very solemnly she started:
“And in this world there are no deaths. But following no deaths... means there is no life, whether what life is new or old and fragile, it doesn't, nay, it can't exist.” The others each slowly sat up to look at her and the view of the city. To them it was an almost daily sight but to the new member and her own eyes it was a wreath of glory. “Would this be the new world? How can you call this paradise? This is nothing but nothing.”
Norah crawled and sat next to Coriander. “There must have been a mistake in our creation. In the creation of our life. It was then passed down through the births to reach an individual soul,” she said sadly. Corey laughed a pitiful laugh.
“There are no saviors in this cold world,” he said. “We drive ourselves knowing this, but then what?”
Elaine suddenly piped up with, “It all seems too stupid to answer.” The quietness of the top of the mountain was much appreciated by the sobering group of teenagers, MacIntyre laying down behind the others doing the opposite with Norah's Smirnoff.
At the sudden sound of MacIntyre's hiccup Norah turned around to look at him. When she saw the half-drunken bottle of 40% vodka she cursed and scrambled stupidly to him, snatching the bottle away and taking a good long swig for herself. “Idiot,” she called him.
Everyone had turned to look at him, Elaine and Coriander giggling to themselves, but the stopped when MacIntyre started speaking. With a soft and gentle voice he said, “Like mist messes in tough light / Foggy laughs that mess up our sights.” It by all means was meaningless, but there was a charm about it that attracted the whole group of teenagers to the adult. There was something about that line that made them admire him, made them want to be with him more often.
“That sounded pretty,” Elaine said, her eyes sparkling in the lights from the sky above and city below.
Standing up quite proudly, Coriander said with a firm defiance, “We should make a journal. Something like 'The Daily Log of the NVPA Late Night Club,' or 'Astronomy Club's Journal.' You know? Our ethereal powers told by freedom-” She was about to take a step toward MacIntyre and Norah but her foot caught on a tree root and she tumbled, falling on top of Elaine and Corey. Laughter filled the night.
At the obvious drunkenness of the club MacIntyre mustered up the most adult posture he could muster in his smashed state to stand up. His eyes looked down at his students, all of them in his homeroom class, and then he smiled. “What time is it?” he asked, his words half slurred. Jones looked at his wristwatch, surprised MacIntyre was able enough to stand.
“Around five,” he said, his vision too blurry to look at the time correctly.
The familiar friendly smile formed upon MacIntyre's lips. “Five, you say? Aha ha ha! Well, then! Shall we head down from this peak? Mound our cosmic horses and ride them to Twenty-Four's?” A round of cheers came from the Astronomy Club members and then a magnificent loud “Yeah!” from its teacher sponsor. Elaine and Corey helped Coriander stand and Norah helped her start down the mountain trail. Corey and Jones went to MacIntyre's side to stop him from his already-showing wobbles.
A soft murmur of, “Is Cori a lightweight?” came from Elaine's lips and Coriander drowsingly nodded her head.
“Don't forget!” MacIntyre started, “Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love!”
“Yes!” screamead Coriander, and for the rest of the way down the Astronomy Club sang 'Truth, beauty, freedom, love!'
---
Don't forget to comment!
Chapter: one
Rating: PG14
Word Count: 7,844
Summary: no good story summery yet D:
Authors Notes/Disclaimer: no editing done. also, no formatting.
beauty as we make it by tally (the average ladle)
Everyone was asking the same question: “Who is that girl?” By the time word got around to MacIntyre's ears she was already halfway across the main building's roof. It appeared she was heading towards the science building, where MacIntyre's room was.
Since she was a student in MacIntyre's homeroom class, Headmaster Juha had ordered him to get her down by any means possible. At the order MacIntyre felt like he was sent his death sentence: did he really have to run across the roof just to fetch this girl? He thought it was ridiculous; why couldn't Headmaster Juha send a class perfect or academy security in his stead?
“To maintain discipline. This will be an example to the other teachers and students to guarantee no more roof-walkers do as they please,” he had replied and rejected any furthering of the conversation. MacIntyre grumbled his way to the roof stairs and carefully climbed his way up to the ceramic tile roof.
As soon as he was balanced and looked at his surroundings, he could clearly see a girl no taller than five feet more than halfway down the main building's slim roof.
New Vance Private Academy's original architects had intended this building to be completely European styled, but with the new age of Asian influence the design was altered halfway through construction, resulting in the ceramic tiled roof with a curved slope and white brick outer walls with dark wooden interior walls and floors. The interior walls were made up of thin pikes of wood used as a frame and then two sheets of thick plywood as the actual wall. Another sheet of dark wood was glued over top of the plywood to give it the appearance of the average sturdy wall, even though anyone could be easily thrown through it.
Now focusing back onto MacIntyre, who was uneasily speeding across the roof toward the targeted girl, cheers and woots screaming from the many students below. Could there be a worse way to spend one's lunch hour?
She seemed to have stopped before the science building; there was a huge gap of 1.5 meters between it and the main building. There was no way she was going to jump it, was there?
It seemed she was coming back, but when she turned back around and her pace quickened so did MacIntyre's. She was going to jump.
«break»
Holding her tightly by the upper arm, MacIntyre dragged her into Headmaster Juha's office.
“Please close the door and take a seat,” Headmaster Juha had ordered and both the girl and MacIntyre complied. Headmaster Juha paced around the office, his front mostly faced out the window behind his desk and away from the girl and MacIntyre. The tight military uniform he wore wrinkled and tightened at the most uncomfortable spots as he paced.
Millions of thoughts were running through MacIntyre's mind: What if he's fired? What if the girl is expelled right away? Wait, wouldn't that be a good thing? She wouldn't climb onto the roof again, or cause him anymore trouble! Oh, but what if she was kicked out of her last school because of this, too? What if this was her last option and he had delivered her right to her undesirable fate by complying to Headmaster Juha's orders and...
Headmaster Juha cleared his throat and took a sip of the heavy smelling black coffee on his desk, just the tiniest slit in his face mask enough to take said sip. “Thank you, MacIntyre, for taking Coriander down,” he said as he walked around from behind his desk to stand in front of the other two. “Control your students better,” he continued and nodded his head before turning his attention to Coriander. “You,” he said.
“Yes? What about me?” There was a twinkle to her voice, like the sweet singing of the flute, but there was a harshness to her words like nails on a chalkboard. Something about her words made you both want to hear more but also stab your ears to bits. While MacIntyre was taken aback by this lucid fact, Headmaster Juha seemed unaware of it.
“Do you understand the effects of what you did today?” he asked and she shrugged her shoulders. “You could have fallen, first of all, and it would have been our fault. While you are on our property we are your guardians, we are responsible for your safety. Do you know the weight of what we hold?”
Coriander shrugged her shoulders again. MacIntyre was impressed by the girl's resilience, her nonchalant attitude to Headmaster Juha's daunting atmosphere. Headmaster Juha looked like he was starting to get pissed off, but who could tell what he was feeling behind that black mask of his?
“We actually trust our students with the fire escape, unlike most institutes. You abusing the privilege is like saying 'Fuck you, Headmaster Juha. Fuck you, Homeroom teacher MacIntyre.' Do you get it? Or are you too thick in the skull to understand so simple as to not use the fire escape unless in a fire?” Headmaster Juha sighed, took off his military cap, patted the top of his head (which was also covered in the black leather mask), and then put it back on. “Listen, this will be your first strike. Do you hear me? We call your parents next time, and on your third you're expelled.”
“You're a coward, Headmaster Juha, are you not?”
Headmaster Juha's eyes widened and for a second you couldn't see his eyelids. “What was that? Must I call your parents right now?” Just then, the lunch bell rang signaling the beginning of afternoon classes. Coriander continued:
“No, thank you, Headmaster Juha.” Despite the gentle chill in her words her facial expression was light and gleeful, as if there were a fire in her which could not be exhausted.
Headmaster Juha's sharp eyes turned to MacIntyre, who understood the silent words. MacIntyre stood up and said, “I should get to my classroom. Teachers have to lead by example, which means we can't be late for class.” After his tiny, meaningless words were propelled into the air he bowed slightly, turned and left.
He took a small glance back at her and what he saw both surprised and frightened him: she winked with a sly smile and then pressed her index finger against her lips like a hush. What did she mean by that? He looked up at Headmaster Juha and thanked the angels he wasn't looking. He hurried out before she had anymore chances to act strange.
It was a short walk to the science building. There was a thin covered walkway between the science and main buildings on the main and second floors but not on the third. The event at lunch time kept repeating itself in MacIntyre's mind, let alone the silence. Why did she do that? Why did she climb the roof? Wasn't today her first day?
On top of that, her file told him it was her birthday today. She was turning seventeen. Was it some sort of rebellious stunt challenging the onlookers to be true to themselves, no matter their ages?
MacIntyre shook his head as he climbed the only staircase in the science building to his astronomy classroom on the third floor. When he opened his classroom door he saw all his seats filled with perky students ready for class. Not one of them seemed to want to rebel against him and he couldn't decide whether he was grateful for it or not.
«break»
After school had ended and MacIntyre had already signed himself out at the office, on his way out he spotted five teenagers by the sportgrounds gates. One of them was Coriander Kale, the very mischievous teenager from earlier that day. From his spot near the front gates he could tell it was a bullying scene. Two boys and two girls picking on Coriander Kale; a boy and girl brunettes and a boy and a girl blonds. It was clear to MacIntyre who they were just by the formation they took around their target.
“What were you thinking?” asked the dark haired male. “All you want is the fucking attention,” he continued.
“Not only that, though. You think you're some fucking flying squirrel? A jumping lop rabbit? You're crazy if you were thinking about jumping that gap. Oh, yeah, you're going to be a real superstar after jumping, or will you be dead?” said the blond female. They were Avery Desch and Chelsea Miller, respectively. Them, as a couple, combined with the radical and strict efforts of Chase Miller and Rebecca Herr, result in what is called the Cruel Theory. The four of them have earned both the respect and rebellion of the student body. They are either loved or hated by all students and staff. There haven't been many in history to have felt nonchalant about them, but it's not impossible. Usually by the politically apathetic.
“I'll be watching you, Coriander Kale. The first moment you stray from the student's right path, I'm onto you,” said Chase, who was one of the class perfects and most certainly did have suspension rights.
“I don't know what you guys're talking about,” Coriander replied with an innocent look on her face, voice still like a flute.
Should he intervene? It was the staff's job to inhibit all student-student bullying; but this wasn't violence as the code had declared, it was simple mistreatment and verbal harassment. He felt Chase was abusing his privilege a little bit. But it was a threat, not a guarantee.
Before MacIntyre could reach a decision he spotted two teenagers heading into the fray from the science building. A boy and a girl who he recognized as Norah Wallace and Jones Tallow, two grade elven students just like Coriander Kale.
“Hey!” Norah shouted as she and Jones stepped into the scene, their mental fists ready for a hit or two. The Cruel Theory turned slightly to allow the two intruders between them and Coriander, who's face was like that of a five year old. “You shouldn't be picking on a new student,” Norah argued. “What will Headmaster Juha say if we tell him even the class perfect has sunk to petty verbal abuse?”
Chase clenched his teeth and tightened his fists but he suddenly regained his former cool composure. “You wouldn't dare,” he said and a slow grin grew across his face. “If you tell Headmaster Juha about my verbal abuse, I'll tell him about the time I saw you drinking on school grounds.”
“It wasn't alcohol, and we weren't drinking it. It was seawater from the summer. Why would someone purposely drink seawater?” Jones corrected.
“Ah, but it was still in that liquor bottle. Under that premise, I'm pretty sure the rest of the story should go in my favor, especially when I'm the perfect and you two are just some silly dreamers,” Chase continued, insisting everything will always go his way.
“How about some decency? Why don't you just save yourselves and leave right at this moment. You're making this into a scene when it doesn't need to be,” Rebecca said with a sour note. Her arms were crossed and her lips were slightly puckered.
MacIntyre felt sorry for Norah and Jones, who were now being bullied because of their interference with Coriander's bullying. Should he step in now?
Before he could come to a reasonable conclusion, yet again, he was interrupted, but this time not by more students, but by his own impulsion. His feet took steps on their own and he began walking toward the pitiful scene.
The first to notice him was the blonde female, Chelsea Miller, the other Miller's older sister who's eagle eyes, once seeing of the astronomy teacher, went wide. She rested a hand on her brother's shoulder and whispered into his ear, “MacIntyre's here.”
Chase took a giant step back from the Cruel Theory and bowed to MacIntyre at the waist. “Hello, Mr MacIntyre. What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice calm and gentle. It was like he wasn't in the least caught off guard.
MacIntyre smiled a bright smile despite the aloofness of his mentality. “Good afternoon, Chase Miller. What I'm doing here is not your business, but what is mine is what you're doing here.” He took a step sideways and opened up the scene to include the spot near the main gates where MacIntyre once stood. “I was on my way to the teacher's dorm when I spotted the Cruel Theory and my student in what looked to be bullying positions.” MacIntyre's completely peaceful tone of voice and gentle face and deadly knowledge of the scene was projected from like the very energy he was.
The rest of the Cruel Theory gave slight nods of their heads to MacIntyre who took this as a sign of recognition. But there was no fear in their eyes, despite the fact of what they were doing to be an extent of verbal abuse and threatening. Coolly, Chase bowed his head and said, “It's a long story, Mr MacIntyre. I'm sure you wouldn't--”
“I do intend to listen for as long as it takes. When my students are included in some trouble, I'm the one to sweep it up. Headmaster Juha's rules and regulations. Why do you think I went to get Coriander Kale today?” he asked with a wide grin on his pale face.
“Well...” Now cornered and having no where to run, Chase's head wasn't just lowered it hung.
“I'll let all your crimes slide this time. I'm not on perfect terms with Headmaster Juha, either, after this afternoon's incident. Go, scram. Head off to wherever you were heading off to, but remember nine o' clock curfew,” MacIntyre continued and the Cruel Theory stepped away with sighs of relief. Norah and Jones hovered over to the teacher, wonder and appreciation in their eyes. MacIntyre's gleeful-yet-malevolent personality faded into his real one, the one who's actually pretty chill and kind.
“Why'd you let them go?” asked Norah. MacIntyre scratched the side of his nose with his index as he thought.
“I really didn't want to file a report,” he answered and his students sighed happily, then laughed.
“That's our Will,” Jones said and faked a punch at MacIntyre's arm, who laughed along with the teenagers.
A small cough came from behind the relaxing scene and sudden attention was drawn to the naturally wide-eyed Coriander Kale. “Hello!” she chimed with music in her voice. “Good afternoon, isn't it?” Norah laughed. She enjoyed the cool and calm attitude of the Coriander Kale. Perhaps even a little more than our MacIntyre.
With an eyebrow raised, Jones asked, “Do you know who you were just attacked by?”
“Our malicious Cruel Theory. I advise you to try to never cross paths with them again. And you two,” MacIntyre turned to Norah and Jones, “should know way better than to go headfirst into battle with the leverage on their side.”
“Like you probably heard, Will, it wasn't liquor. It was seawater from the summer, and we weren't even drinking out of it! The damn bastard just saw the Fireball bottle and immediately assumed it was Fireball. Shows what he knows! Fireball isn't even clear, it's brown!”
“More like brownish,” MacIntyre corrected. “It's a brown clear. Like my favorite, Captain Morgans, except Fireball really burns on its way down.” Norah and Jones laughed while Coriander watched in silence with wide puppy-dog eyes, as if begging for attention. An awkwardness started to set in as eyes shifted between Coriander and anything or anyone else.
Once more, Coriander decided to wink at MacIntyre, both Norah and Jones seeing and noting it. The three normal people exchange glances before Coriander pipes up with, “MacIntyre, am I unique?”
Norah holds in her laughter but Jones bursts out, earning him a prompted slap to the stomach from Norah. “Shh,” she hissed to him and they both looked up at MacIntyre.
He looked away from the scene up to the twin dorm buildings outside the gates, next to the sportgrounds. After a few seconds he looks back down at her, her eyes still lit up at him, and says, “Where are you heading, Kale?”
“You call all your other students by their first names. Call me Cori, too.” There was a pause where she used her hands to motion sounds coming from her mouth.
“Cori?”
“Yes!” she responded with the diligence of a loyal dog.
“Where are you heading?”
“Pomme Dorm Building, RM333,” she replied and then laughed, seemingly for no reason. But she justified it with, “It's three-three-three! Hee hee! It's half evil! Hee hee!” Norah laughed wildly while Jones rolled his eyes at the lamity of her joke.
Just then Norah shot up from her bent over laughter, a straight face on and a hand on her hips. “I know that room!” she shouted. These words were like a magic spell cast upon Coriander, for she started jumping up and down with joy. “It's the room across from me, RM332! I'll take you there, all right?”
“All right! Awesome! I'm ready! Headmaster Juha said my luggage is already there, and he also gave me the key.” Coriander dramatically dove into her bag and soon triumphantly pulled out a small key with the numbers 333 engraved into it.
Norah nodded to her and then turned to MacIntyre. “Where're you headed, Will?”
MacIntyre shrugged and scratched the side of his nose. “I don't know. I was thinking about heading back to my apartment and then head out into town.”
“Hoping to find something out there?” Jones asked, raising an eyebrow.
MacIntyre shrugged. “I don't know. I've been bored lately and, well, I guess I'm hoping I'll find something to do. Something entertaining for me.” He laughed dejectedly. “When you're my age, things you love start to bore you, and then you get to a point where you're just depressed because all the things you once loved are now things you have no reason to love anymore.”
Out of some fascination for the depressingly morbid line Coriander laughed a light giggle. “Totally. I understand what that feels like. The best way to get out of that is to keep doing the unexpected, and keep trying to scare people with your weirdosity.” This earned her the sideways glances from her surroundings. Was she really this strange? Only seventeen and already getting bored of life?
“Anyway,” Norah started with a hint of hesitancy, “how about I take you to that room now, Cori?”
«break»
Slim corridors of the Pomme Dorm Building squeaked and glowed as Norah led Coriander down them. They were on the third floor, the farthest down the hall from the stairs. In front of the pair was RM333 and with the key in Coriander's hand she tapped it and then unlocked it.
From inside came the chime of a crystal clear and innocent voice, who's owner had shot up off her bed and formally bowed to the two entering the room.
“This is it! Hope you two get acquainted! See ya!” Norah sang and then exited the room, closing the door behind her. Coriander had the biggest grin on her face and she danced in the room, not really paying any attention to the other female in the room besides bothering to not run into her.
After a gentle cough, she said, in nothing higher than a murmur, “Hello... You must be Coriander Kale?” To which Coriander jumped as high as the ceiling, did a small jig on the carpet, and then spun around and around until she came to a complete stop in front of Vivienne Archus. She screamed:
“Yes! That's me! Hello! It's so nice to meet you! You already know my name, what's yours?” Vivienne's eyes bulged and her mouth made an almost perfect O.
“Uh... Uh... Vivi... enne Archus.”
“Wonderful! Good afternoon, Vivi! Would you like to show me around the room? Or is that not a part of your customs, here?” Coriander's eyes were wide with a foreign excitement. Had she not been in England before? Where had she transferred from? She spoke English very well, so either she was a very good learner or she was from North America, another place where English was the main language.
“Uh... no, uh... Well, what I mean to say is... Uh...”
“Spit it out, woman! Tell me! What is it you would like to say?” Coriander's words jolted Vivienne into disarray.
“Oh! Yes! Well, um, I relinquish all authority of this room to you! It's... well, too much space for me. All I want to take care of are my own things, and that's it. Everything else in this room you can be the boss of!”
“Wonderful! That's wonderful. So now there's a lot of this room which belongs to me. Let me unpack everywhere, and then we can spend some time together.”
«break»
After all of Coriander Kale's items were unpacked, put away, and placed in their respectable places around the room, a soft hand rasped at the door. Coriander looked up from her laptop with excitement gleaming in her eyes. “Who is it?” she called.
“Norah. Could you open the door for a sec?” she asked. With haste, Coriander got up and opened the door. Norah peered into the tidy room, scoping for and spotting the shy Vivienne, before looking at Coriander. “Would you and your roomie like to head out for the night? I promise on my triple A's you'll be back before sunrise. Maybe we'll even see the sunrise on the dorm roof,” Norah said and then winked. Coriander jumped with joy.
“Fantastic!” she shouted. “I'd love to.” She turned to Vivienne. “How about you? Doesn't it sound like fun to you? Or do you really want to just hole yourself up in this durow room?” Norah raised an eyebrow at Coriander.
“Durow?” she repeated.
“Yep. It means dusty room of wood,” Coriander explained with a puff of her cheeks.
“No, thank you.” Coriander and Norah both looked at Vivienne as she huddled in her black leather computer chair. “I really don't mind being inside for a night. It's nice, and quiet.”
“Suit yourself, Vivi,” Coriander said to her and then turned to Norah. “I'll get ready right now.”
“Great. I'll meet you at the bus stop up the main road. Not very many students know about it since its sign is covered up with ivy vines. But, if you look ve-ry closely, you'll see this city's famous blue and red bus sign,” Norah explained and closed the door herself before she ran across the hall to her own room.
With great haste, Coriander took off the simple white dress and scrambled over to the trunk at the foot of her bed. She slipped on circle-patterned gray-black tights, a plain cream dress and a red ¾ sleeve cardigan, buttoning only the button at the top. For her hair, she ran into the bathroom, quickly watered it down, and then rolled it into copper ringlets. She sprayed them lightly with hair product.
On her way out, she slipped on some navy flats, a long beige scarf, and a dark brown beaded bracelet.
«break»
Clear skies posed their stars as Coriander Kale snapped their image inside her infamous camera, white crystals pasted against a navy velvet backdrop, looking so smooth Coriander felt like she could reach out and touch it all. If she were to cover one eye and stretch her hand skyward, she'd swear she was able to grasp the velvet in her hands.
“Cori!” she heard against the roar of the oncoming bus. “Get on, hurry!” The bus sped past Norah and stopped right in front of Coriander. A firm line was on her lips and when she peered around Norah she noticed she was being chased by someone.
“One moment,” she said to the bus driver and then ran to Norah, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled with all her strength onto the bus. They both toppled on top of each other on the floor of the bus. “Hurry!” Coriander said and the bus driver closed the door and sped away.
“Are you two all right?” the bus driver asked. Coriander nodded her head as she helped Norah get up. The two of them showed their school cards, which served as bus passes, and took some seats at the back of the bus.
They both laughed. “That was a blast!” Norah said and Coriander nodded.
“That was fantastic! I want to do it again! Can we? Tomorrow night?”
“Hahaha! No way!”
“Who was that behind you?” Coriander asked suddenly, interrupting the gleeful scene with a serious question. Norah was slightly surprised with the sudden tone, and also with the fact Coriander had a serious tone at all.
“Hm? Oh, it was just the caretaker. Before I left I set mousetraps all over his office, glued pornography to his office walls, and then hid dozens of rotten eggs under his pillow. I don't think he knows about the eggs, but-haha!-he will soon enough.” The two girls cheered with the success of the rude tricks Norah had cast upon the careless caretaker. “By the way, I didn't make you wait long, did I?”
Shaking her head, Coriander replied, “Not at all. I wasted my time with taking pictures.” At that moment she held up her camera, but only for a second, for Nosy Norah swatted at it and glued it to her own palms, turning the electronic on and flipping through the pictures. “Pretty sky,” she said at the most recent night sky picture.
Coriander didn't mind, of course, but as Norah neared the pictures of Coriander's previous life she became more anxious. When a picture of a dark alleyway with the dead body of a single rotten kitten in it came up she snatched it back. “Sorry,” she said, “that's a little private. I'm not very good.”
“How can you say it's private? How can you say you're not good? From the photo of the night sky to the photo of a leafless tree in spring to the one I just saw... Haha. No matter how I say it, you're a good photographer.” Norah winked and, with a mildly reluctant smile, Coriander giggled.
Norah decided to go further: “With the photo of the night sky you captured its glory, with the photo of the single empty milk jar on the side of the road you captured its loneliness, and with that photo of the rotten cat in a dark alley... you captured its determination to survive.” There was this hu-ge smile on Norah's face as she said this, and despite the dark feeling her words envisioned, their sense and appeal made Coriander feel like she'd finished some great task. It left her with a hunger for more recognition.
“So,” Coriander said, raising her heels to the seat and pulling her knees into her chest, “where are we headed to? Where are we now?” Norah looked out the window and her eyes bulged.
“We're here!” she shouted and pulled on the bus' emergency stop. They'd missed the bus stop and were dead center in the intersection. Norah grabbed onto Coriander's wrist and pulled her to the back door, shoving Coriander to it. The bus' back door was one of those pressure ones, where all you need to do is to press on it, so when Coriander fell on it she fell through it. “Sorry!” she called to the bus driver as she jumped out and ran with Coriander in tow to the nearest corner.
“Wait... where are we?” she said and gawked at the tall skyscrapers and bright lights. The streets were filled with action and the sidewalks were full of people walking. There were cars and trucks and taxis everywhere. With the glint in Coriander's eyes, Norah thought she'd never seen a working city before.
“We're in - - - -, in case you couldn't guess. I mean, where else? The next town over is - - - -. Anyway, follow me. You wouldn't want to get lost around here,” Norah said and grabbed Coriander's wrist again. She dragged the shameless gawker down the block to the alleyway and then in it. They walked a little bit and then came to the back of a café. “Watch this,” Norah said and winked. She let go of Coriander's wrist and knocked an intricate code all along the back door. Within seconds there were three return knocks and the red metal door swung open, revealing a fast-paced kitchen.
“This is Fireside Café,” Norah explained as she guided Coriander through the bustling kitchen, ducking and dodging chefs and cooks as if she had memorized their fearless pace. “Although we're underage, we have special connections with the owner here.”
“We?” Coriander repeated.
“Of course, 'we'. The New Vance Private Academy's Astronomy Club!” Norah shouted as she opened the kitchen doors and entered the café area. She and Coriander meandered through the setup of round chairs and square tables until they reached the lounge area, where a bunch of teens sat. “Good evening, guys,” Norah greeted. “This is Coriander Kale. I'm sure you've all heard of her by now.”
There were only three people sitting down, laying around on the sofas and recliner chairs and loveseats, one of them being Jones Tallow. Now that Norah and Coriander were here they were able to, surprisingly, take up most of the lounge area.
“Cori, you've met Jones Tallow,” Norah started, showing the new female the young man with shaggy light brown hair wearing green and white clothes.
“Hey, Cori. I wasn't aware you were going to be showing up tonight. If I'd known beforehand,” Jones eyed Norah, who looked away, “I would have dressed a little more formally. This is, after all, your first meeting.”
“Yes, well, anyway, this is Elaine Corne,” Norah continued, taking a seat next to Jones on the biggest loveseat Coriander had ever seen. It did indeed borderline loveseat and sofa. Norah gestured with the swat of her hand at a tall female with blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore plum and navy colors with black tights. Her blonde hair was pulled tight at the back of her head in a high ponytail and her lips were pursed together.
“Yeah, I know her. She's the kook who climbed to the school roof, isn't she?” Elaine said and crossed her arms. She was sitting in one of the big red sofa chairs and was across the coffee table from Norah and Jones.
Norah was about to start how Coriander wasn't a kook, but Coriander started first: “Yep! That's me. I'm the one who went up onto the roof, just to clarify it with... uh... you, sir?” The final Astronomy Club member introduced himself:
“I am Corey Thomas. It's nice to make the acquaintance, Coriander Kale,” he said in a calm tone of voice and in a very gentlemanly manner, with his head slightly bowed and his hand out before his face. He wore rather unusual clothes, like those from the middle to late nineteenth century, in dark colors matching his dark brown hair and chestnut eyes. He sat in the only other recliner chair but preferred to not recline in it unless sleeping.
“Of course, you know me,” Norah started, “my full name is Norah Winnie Wallace-but you can clearly forget about the 'Winnie'.” She bent down as she whispered the last part, her lanky blonde hair falling down her shoulders and surrounding her plain face.
“Take a seat, Cori,” Jones said and motioned to the empty sofa. With a gleaming smile, she nodded her head and took her seat at one end, her face all smiles. Norah frowned all of a sudden and said:
“Where's Will? It's almost six already.” Everyone's eyes went to Corey, since he was usually the one to contact Will, so he piped up with:
“I tried calling him on my mobile before you and Coriander arrived, but to no avail.”
“So that's what took you so long!” Elaine said, slightly rejoiced for some odd reason. Her voice was overruled by Norah's:
“Is it off?”
“I don't think so, it's more than that. It rang a couple times and then went to the machine. The next time I called it went straight there. I think he's ignoring us,” Corey explained with a small frown.
“I'm not ignoring any of you. I just came from an meeting. Can't believe I forgot to turn off my cell,” he said. Everyone looked up at their teacher, William MacIntyre. It was Coriander's surprise; she was expecting another student. At Coriander's somehow enlightened face, Norah laughed.
“Didn't think Will was Mr MacIntyre? Haha! He's the head of Astronomy at New Vance, so of course he's the one sponsoring the club. Without staff involvement, we'd never be able to get out of that shiteasy curfew,” she explained. MacIntyre climbed around the lounging furniture and made his way to sit on the sofa, opposite of Coriander.
MacIntyre looked over at her as he leaned back and relaxed. “Hey, Cori. You're here? Well, I formally welcome you into the New Vance Private Academy's Astronomy Club. Or, otherwise known by us club-goers as the NVPA Late Night Club. Sure, we do some astronomy, but we mostly fool around and stuff until late. This is our second meeting this year and we haven't done anything spectacular yet, so just wait until things start rolling.”
Coriander laughed, a twinkle in her eye like she had some underlying self. “Really, now? That's fantastic! I can't wait until then. Is the joining process really this easy?”
“Not in reality,” Jones replied. “To join this specific club you have to be brought here by one of the members, such as Norah. What has just happened to you is one of the hardest things to do at New Vance. There are about two other clubs with this rule, but, by far, we're the one everyone wants to get into.”
“You're one lucky dog, Cori,” said MacIntyre as he gently bowed his head to her as a sort of recognition. “Norah must have really seen something in you.” Said female swatted her hand, almost hitting Jones in the process.
“Na-ah. Not really. At first, I felt sorry for her, but I started to see this familiar gleam. It was like I'd met you before or something.” Jones stared at her, and she stared back. “What?”
“You invited her on that sort of basis? Do you even know what kind of person she is? For all you know, she could be some druggie hooked on cocaine and heroin and wouldn't even know.”
“Oh, shut it. Jones, would you suspect this innocent little thing to be addicted to drugs?”
Elaine sat up and smiled. “Cori, do you drink?” With a broad smile and a little squeak, she nodded her head quite vigorously.
“Well, then!” MacIntyre boomed. “A round of drinks for everyone. Order whatever you like. Then what do you all say to going to Jubilées for some sandwiches, a hike up Mt Krohma to do some stargazing, and then stopping by Twenty-Four's for some ruckus-making?”
“More ruckus? It feels so good to do it, but I feel really bad for the Twenty-Four's manager, having to deal with us all the time,” Jones said, laughing at the end of it. MacIntyre's dark green eyes flashed to Coriander for just a second and then went to Elaine as she started to speak:
“I can relate. When I used to work at Maris Convenience there were these little hooligans who'd come by every once in a while and make a mess of everything. I swear, if I see them ever again I'm popping their heads off one by one, very joyously.”
“Hey, Will, could we stop by Matris before that hike?” Norah asked. MacIntyre eyed her cautiously. Was she up to something? But Norah only pressed her index finger to her lips as if saying 'shhh'.
“If you're paying, I don't mind.”
Coriander was looking around from person to person looking for the right explanation. Corey laughed at her. “Don't worry about it. We'll help you get a job, show you around the city, and make sure you remember what's what, and if no one wants to do it as a group I promise to do so myself, in our own time.” His smile was soft and kindhearted, like he really meant the best for her. She smiled and thanked him in return but a deathglare from Elaine to Coriander was hard for Norah to miss.
«break»
Atop the short building, the front of which read MATRIS in big red Arial font letters, was the image of a clear glass jug with a red liquid inside, most likely painted to look like red wine. The only six individuals involved with the Astronomy Club dragged their tired feet as they walked to the lonely and dark building. It was 24/7 but the lights were dim and there was no one inside, but as they entered the small liquor store a bell above the door rang and a beautiful young woman came out from the back.
“Good evening! How can I help you?” she asked. The young store clerk was tall with long wavy blond hair which framed her thin face. She had high cheekbones and long thick curly eyelashes. Her eyes were a pale gray and adorably large. She had the appeal of a woman and the cuteness of a child.
MacIntyre scrunched his eyebrows at the woman's smile. “Are you new here?” he asked and glanced over at Norah before looking back a the clerk.
The woman smiled like the sun and her eyes brightened like diamonds, eager to please him. “Yes, I am. Is that a problem?” MacIntyre shrugged.
“Not really. You just wouldn't know Norah's regular order. She'll have a Smirnoff 55. I'm ordering, so it's legal, but she's paying,” he said. Norah stepped closer to the counter, taking out a wallet from her purse.
With a twinkle in her eye the clerk said, “All right. One moment,” and stepped into the back of the store to fetch the drink. Within seconds she was back with the Smirnoff Black in her slim fingers. “This it?” she asked.
“Yes, thank you,” Norah replied as she handed over the bills. As the clerk gave Norah the Smirnoff in a brown paper bag she shyly eyed MacIntyre's figure and smiled. Coriander noticed and, with the exact same smile, grabbed onto MacIntyre's arm.
“Norah has her alcohol, Will. Let's all go for that hike. Have some fun! Write some lyrics, do some dancing, sing and laugh and be everything we can be! It'll be fantastic,” she said, eager and mouthy. Sideways glances from everyone was obvious-even MacIntyre understood what she was doing-but no one seemed to care. There was a glare of shock from the clerk, but she brushed Coriander's advance on MacIntyre off like a speck of dirt.
“Hm? Oh, yeah, sure. Let's go, guys.” MacIntyre's eyes were half-lidded and hazy, as if he wasn't seeing what was plainly in front of him. If he felt exactly how he looked he'd have bumped into every door tonight insofar.
«break»
Slowly and rather drunkenly the Astronomy Club made its way down the streets shouting loud streams of profanity and screaming poetry to the stars and telling stories to the dark sky. It was a rambunctious display of human creativity and stupidity. People were staring, drunks were raging at them, and visionaries were praising their minds.
“And,” Norah started, leaning half of her weight on Jones, “her heart was pierced; broken. It was smashed in from the inside. She was hurt from the inside. It was that rod, that stick, that he drove through her. Not a breath rolled over her lips since 23:19 that day, that night.” Corey continued:
“She considered herself deadlocked and unable to escape from his grasp. She was held in his arms, unable to move away from his body. What would you call his body?-no, what would you call her love?”
Coriander suddenly ran in front of the group and screamed up at the stars, “Was it the kind of love where your whole body heats up? Did your heart begin to race?”
MacIntyre galloped up to her, the Astronomy Club members watching from their frozen steps. “Were you afraid?-no, what were you afraid of?” At this moment MacIntyre and Coriander stared at each other, also frozen, but then the members behind them started laughing, making everyone around them to break out laughing, too.
The rest of the walk to the top of Mt Krohma was spent singing songs made up on the spot, earning them rather silly cheers from those who bothered to watch.
When they reached the top of Mt Krohma, exhausted and gasping for air, they all fell down in a circle, heads together, and sang New Vance Private Academy's school motto and anthem.
“Adversus solem ne loquitor!” was the motto, and then they sang, “The brave and bold / have come and told / us tales from beyond the stars! / Of secretive Mars / and lost guitars, / perhaps a trip to the moon! / If you be sane / and not so lame / you'll be given a bright new cane, / and then come home / so cold and alone, / you'll be frozen to the bone! / Stay right here, / we're close and near / you'll forever be able to hear / the lear so clear / you'll never forget to soar / off the wild boar.” Obviously some words were changed to fit the Astronomy Club's rather loose mood earlier at Jubilées, trying their best to beckon down laughs lest they choke on their sandwiches.
At the end of the song and its earned laughs, Coriander suddenly sat up. She crawled on her hands and knees to get a good view of the metropolis below, so clear and beautiful her eyes and jaws were both wide with surprise and pure joy. She crossed her legs and opened her arms to the city as if asking for a hug from it. Very solemnly she started:
“And in this world there are no deaths. But following no deaths... means there is no life, whether what life is new or old and fragile, it doesn't, nay, it can't exist.” The others each slowly sat up to look at her and the view of the city. To them it was an almost daily sight but to the new member and her own eyes it was a wreath of glory. “Would this be the new world? How can you call this paradise? This is nothing but nothing.”
Norah crawled and sat next to Coriander. “There must have been a mistake in our creation. In the creation of our life. It was then passed down through the births to reach an individual soul,” she said sadly. Corey laughed a pitiful laugh.
“There are no saviors in this cold world,” he said. “We drive ourselves knowing this, but then what?”
Elaine suddenly piped up with, “It all seems too stupid to answer.” The quietness of the top of the mountain was much appreciated by the sobering group of teenagers, MacIntyre laying down behind the others doing the opposite with Norah's Smirnoff.
At the sudden sound of MacIntyre's hiccup Norah turned around to look at him. When she saw the half-drunken bottle of 40% vodka she cursed and scrambled stupidly to him, snatching the bottle away and taking a good long swig for herself. “Idiot,” she called him.
Everyone had turned to look at him, Elaine and Coriander giggling to themselves, but the stopped when MacIntyre started speaking. With a soft and gentle voice he said, “Like mist messes in tough light / Foggy laughs that mess up our sights.” It by all means was meaningless, but there was a charm about it that attracted the whole group of teenagers to the adult. There was something about that line that made them admire him, made them want to be with him more often.
“That sounded pretty,” Elaine said, her eyes sparkling in the lights from the sky above and city below.
Standing up quite proudly, Coriander said with a firm defiance, “We should make a journal. Something like 'The Daily Log of the NVPA Late Night Club,' or 'Astronomy Club's Journal.' You know? Our ethereal powers told by freedom-” She was about to take a step toward MacIntyre and Norah but her foot caught on a tree root and she tumbled, falling on top of Elaine and Corey. Laughter filled the night.
At the obvious drunkenness of the club MacIntyre mustered up the most adult posture he could muster in his smashed state to stand up. His eyes looked down at his students, all of them in his homeroom class, and then he smiled. “What time is it?” he asked, his words half slurred. Jones looked at his wristwatch, surprised MacIntyre was able enough to stand.
“Around five,” he said, his vision too blurry to look at the time correctly.
The familiar friendly smile formed upon MacIntyre's lips. “Five, you say? Aha ha ha! Well, then! Shall we head down from this peak? Mound our cosmic horses and ride them to Twenty-Four's?” A round of cheers came from the Astronomy Club members and then a magnificent loud “Yeah!” from its teacher sponsor. Elaine and Corey helped Coriander stand and Norah helped her start down the mountain trail. Corey and Jones went to MacIntyre's side to stop him from his already-showing wobbles.
A soft murmur of, “Is Cori a lightweight?” came from Elaine's lips and Coriander drowsingly nodded her head.
“Don't forget!” MacIntyre started, “Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love!”
“Yes!” screamead Coriander, and for the rest of the way down the Astronomy Club sang 'Truth, beauty, freedom, love!'
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