Rae of Hope (The Chronicles of Kerrigan) (27 page)

After dinner, Dean Carter rose and moved to the podium. Headmaster Lanford waited quietly beside him, absently smoothing down his combover with his hand.

Dean Carter cleared his throat, rested both hands on the podium and looked intently at the audience, making sure he had everyone’s attention before he started speaking.

“I’d like to thank everyone for attending the dinner this evening. Headmaster Lanford and I are pleased with the turnout and, of course, we are thankful for all of your support. Your financial support has been a wonderful credit to this school. It’s amazing how generous each talented individual in this room has been in giving back to the school which helped all of you to reach the incomes you’ve attained. It’s like every one of you have a secret power.” He finished the sentence with a lascivious grin.

 
Rae didn’t really think it was funny, but most of the adults got a kick out of the comment and laughter floated across the room. She leaned back and relaxed, expecting more stupid comments, but she froze when she heard his next line.

“It’s a credit to have the Kerrigan name back at Guilder. Many of us thought all had ended with the terrible fire. How fortunate for us, and for Rae, that Headmaster Lanford was able to locate her and invite her into the school. It’s a new experience for all to have females attending classes. From the comments our male students have made, it’s a positive improvement.” This elicited another round of chuckles in the room. Again, Rae wasn’t at all amused.

She scratched her head.
Could Dean Carter be schizophrenic? He hates having women here.
She huffed. The guy obviously wanted to put on a show for the parents.

“Ms. Kerrigan turned sixteen just a few weeks ago, around mid-November.” He looked directly at Rae. “She’s inked with a very unique tatù, one which is new to all of us.” The lights dimmed as he spoke. “But she is her father’s daughter. And, it appears, has his ability.” The dean held up a small remote and pointed it at a projector set up in the back of the room.

Mortified, Rae saw her
tatù
appear on the big screen behind the dean. She wanted to crawl under the table to hide.
The ability to teleport would be really handy right about now.
The quiet murmurs of her father’s name and the whispered remorse over her mother’s tragic death burned into her brain, but the part she couldn’t stand to hear were the questions of whether or not she was “dark” like her father had been. She wished Riley hadn’t been touching her all night. She could use a disappearing tatù right now, not some hyped up cheetah. She felt trapped and needed to run.

Lanford moved in front of the podium, cutting off the Dean, and raised his hands. He shushed everyone with his words. “Thank you, Dean Carter. I’m sure the alumni are interested in Ms Kerrigan’s tatù and are concerned with her well-being.” He turned to the audience and slipped a hand into his pocket. “Rae has settled into Guilder with grace and a willingness to learn. She spent most of her first term at a disadvantage to the other students in her class, yet still managed to maintain a perfect 4.0 GPA, without the use of her tatù. She’s a very talented student. There has only been praise from her professors. Well done, Ms Kerrigan!”

The headmaster began clapping. The audience, like sheep, reluctantly joined in.

Riley leaned over to Rae and whispered, “You should stand up.”

Her face burning and her heart hammering away, Rae shyly rose. A sea of heads turned her way, making her instantly nauseous. She quickly sat back down and kept her eyes trained on her hands, refusing to look up again.

Thankfully, Headmaster Lanford changed the subject. “Now, shall we consider the new matters at hand? There has been keen interest in some upgrades to the school’s grounds. I have hopes for building a new football pitch which includes heating pipes underground so the teams would be able to play on the field year round…”

Rae listened to the crazy suggestion. Only professional football teams did that sort of thing. Then again, at Guilder, ordinary just wouldn’t do.

The remainder of the evening continued at a snail’s pace for Rae. Thanks to Dean Carter, she felt like the main attraction at the freak show. Alumni came up to shake her hand again and offer words of encouragement and also words of criticism. Again her tatù made it nearly impossible to handle the contact. Riley continued to stand by her and lend his support -- emotionally and physically. By the end of the evening, Rae wasn’t sure what she looked forward to most: getting away from the alumni, or from Riley. She swore she’d never drink caffeine again.

At half past eleven, Molly found her. “Hey, are you ‘bout ready? My dad wants to get going. We’ve got a long drive to Wales and he wants to do it all tonight. I think he’s had enough socializing. He’s kind of the quiet type.”

 
Rae had a moment to wonder how anyone related to Molly could be “the quiet type”. The party looked like it was just beginning to liven up for the old people and Rae could have hugged Molly for finding her. She felt more than ready to leave. If she could, she’d have used Riley’s cheetah skills to peel out of there. “Heck yeah! Let’s go get our stuff.”

“I’ll walk you ladies to the door.” Riley stepped between the two of them and kept his arm around Rae’s waist. Near the front door, he leaned down toward her. At the last moment, she realized what he planned to do and quickly turned her head. Riley’s sloppy lips landed on her jawline. She had no intention of her first kiss being with him.

“Thanks for helping me out, tonight. Have a good winter break.” After gushing the words out, she grabbed Molly’s arm and dragged her outside, not caring that it was a less than graceful exit.

Molly laughed when they hit the sidewalk. “That was awesome!”

Rae glared at her. “I didn’t think he’d ever leave my side.”

Molly interlaced their arms. “Riley’s got a huge crush on you.”

“Ya think?” Rae wiped her cheek, making a sour face. It still felt wet.

“Don’t be so grossed out. The guy’s good-looking and smart. He’s also got great family connections. You know,” Molly said, elbowing Rae lightly in the ribs, “you could do a lot worse.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I think I have enough on my plate.” Rae sighed. “I don’t really want to deal with a relationship on top of everything else.”
Except with this one, totally unattainable guy with the perfect dimple…

Molly, for once, didn’t say anything. She just shook her head.

Chapter 19

Friendly Advice

The
drive to Cardiff ended up taking about five hours. Not that Rae paid much attention. Her thoughts kept creeping back to Dean Carter blurting out her ability to everyone at the Alumni dinner. She stared at the back of Molly’s head as she sat in front beside her father. Eventually, Rae had kicked her shoes off and stretched out across the back seat, using her bent arm to cushion her head against the side window.

The sound of the car downshifting and the flash of street lights on the back of her eyelids woke her. She yawned and shifted, cringing when she discovered the crick in her neck.

After rubbing her eyes, she stared silently at the city of Cardiff. She checked her watch, and realized that even at three am, the city didn’t sleep. A few cars cruised the roads, either coming home or maybe heading out. Who knew?
Who really cares?
Rae thought, yawning again.

Molly leaned forward doing the “seatbelt sleep” - her head bounced with the motion of the car, the seat belt the only thing that kept her upright. They went over a bump and Molly’s head bobbed up and down like a fishing bobber, making Rae giggle. Molly snorted, but didn’t wake- up.

“We’re almost thar,” Molly’s dad said in his thick Welsh accent. Rae wouldn’t have understood him if she hadn’t been living with Molly for the past few months. Molly’s accent seemed barely noticeable to her now.

 
He flipped the turn signal on and turned right, down a street with row-on-row houses. Another turn and the houses became semi-attached and then increasing detached as they drove on, indicating a rise in home price. They finally pulled into a cul-de-sac with four large homes. He parked the car in the first driveway on the left and turned the ignition off.

“We home?” Molly croaked, popping her head up. “Thank goodness. I’m so tired.”

“Yar, yer mum set up the spare room fer Rae.” He hopped out of the car and opened the back passenger door, saying to Rae, “It’s right by Molly’s and you ’ave yer own bathroom.” He slung Molly’s bag over his shoulder and put his arm around Molly. “Nice t’ave you back fer a bit.”

Rae leaned over and grabbed her bag and followed them in. She smiled when she heard Molly’s dad whisper to his daughter. “Everything good wit yer ink?” He snapped his fingers and a few sparks flew out of them. “Able to do this yit?”

“No, but that’s totally awesome.” Molly perked up. “Can you teach me?”

“Sure, if yer mum gives us a bit of time on our own.” He laughed, as if at some private joke. “She wan’s ta take you two to the shops ‘ommorrow.”

Rae followed them inside, a small pang of jealousy filling her. Molly’s dad seemed so sweet. Quiet and reserved, he had a kind and sincere quality about him. He obviously adored his daughter. Rae thought back to Molly’s words when they’d first met. She’d said something about her dad telling her to be careful around Rae. He didn’t seem the kind of person to be like that…maybe Molly had taken his words out of context.

Based on what she knew of her roomie, it seemed likely. Rae grinned involuntarily, thinking back on multiple instances where Molly had blown things out of proportion.

Rae took a moment to wonder how someone so loud and outgoing could come from someone so quiet and introverted. Maybe Molls’ mom would be the pushier kind. Her dad wore very nice, labeled clothes, but maybe it was Molly and her mom who did the shopping.

They carried their stuff up the large staircase, giving Rae a glimpse of the house. Everything in the house was designer and classy, looking like it had jumped straight out of a high-priced magazine. It reminded Rae of Molly’s wardrobe.

Her room, across from Molly’s, looked like it’d been a photo-shoot backdrop in Vanity Fair: Polo sheets on a high poster bed, the walls and trim painted a brilliant white. The ensuite bathroom had a shower, separate bath and sink done in silvers and lilac. Rae brushed her teeth and crawled into bed, too tired to let her brain take in anything more beyond the luxurious softness of the sheets. She fell asleep immediately.

“Rae… Rae… You awake?” Molly whispered loudly, her weight dipping the mattress beside Rae on the large bed.

Rae felt Molly’s finger touch her eyebrow a split second before her eyelid jerked open of its own accord. Her eye rolled left to right, catching Molly dressed in pajamas covered in Chanel logos, before pulling her head back. “I am now.” She considered tossing one of the five hundred thread count pillows at her friend, but it would be a shame to throw something so wonderfully soft. “What time is it?”

“’Bout eleven.” Molly’s fingers reached beside Rae’s head and pulled at one of her curls. “You know, you would look fantastic if we lightened your hair. Hmm… maybe blonde?” She shook her head. “No, too much. Maybe some chunky highlights. Oh! You’d be like a modern day Tinkerbelle.” She tilted her head, obviously visualizing it in her mind. “I can color your hair sometime if you want. I took a class a few summers ago.”

“You took a hair class?” Rae couldn’t picture it. Her flashy, designer-labeled roomie, a beauty school girl?
Maybe a dropout
. Rae grinned at the cheesy Grease-Lightening comparison.

“Aced it. Even the teacher was asking me to do her hair. She said I had some natural talent for finding the right colors for people. Whatever.” She shrugged. “I thought I might be a stylist, and wanted to make sure I knew how to do people up from head to toe.” She looked around the room. “Sorry this room’s so boring. The antique bookcase, over there by the window, has a section which drops down and turns into a desk. You can set your computer up there and we’ve got wireless. Password is “tricity” with no caps or anything. Like elec
tricity
” She began snapping her fingers, staring intently at them.