The Broken Curse (36 page)

"Is everything okay?" I ask him.

"I have to keep busy. Do you think I can take you up on that offer to work here?"

"Of course!" I exclaim. "They'd probably be more than glad to have you."
 

"I really appreciate it." He nods, his eyes drawn down towards the grass.
 

"Would you like to go now?" I ask him. He nods again.
 

Since classes begin tomorrow, most of the teachers have already moved in. The freshmen came on campus today, with eager eyes and even more eager attitudes. I lead Alexandros to the Admin Building and walk us to the back where the mentor offices are.

I knock on the door.
 

"Come in!" a voice booms from behind the door. I push my way in, smiling at the man behind the desk, and Alex follows behind me.

"I have someone who'd like a job," I tell Linus.

"It's great to see you again, Alexandros." Alex steps forward and shakes Linus's hand. Linus gestures to the seat in front of the desk, and I step backwards.

"I'll let you guys deal with it. See you tomorrow!" I smile at the two and then exit. I still have to stop and get my books from Kara. And then tomorrow, classes resume.
 

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

back to normal

I get dressed for the unusually warm day. We're on the top of a mountain, so usually the temperature doesn't get past eighty. But today it's pushing ninety-five, and I'm sweating just standing still.
 

I slip on a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and my lucky sneakers. I make an effort to straighten my hair and put a headband on, pushing my hair out of my face. As I swipe eyeliner under my eyes, Ari sneaks up from behind me and wraps his arms around my waist.

"Well, aren't you just stunning," he purrs in my ear.

"Oh, please. Look at you." I smile at him through the mirror and look him up and down. He's wearing a button-up shirt and gray slacks. His hair is styled back with gel, holding it perfectly in place.

"I have students to impress."
 

"Yeah, me. It's going to be so strange."

"It'll be fine," he promises, kissing the sweet spot right behind my ear. "I have to run though. When do you have me?"

"Not until sixth."

"Meet for lunch?"

"Deal." I turn around in his arms and kiss him on the lips. I wrap my arms around him, and press myself to his body. "I'll miss you until then."

"I'll miss you more." He kisses me again and then grabs his briefcase from the bed. He looks back at me, winks, and then rushes out of the room and down the stairs. Kara texts me almost immediately.
 

Meet outside?

I respond:
One second!

I sprint down the stairs, my backpack in hand, and swing the door to Ari's house open. Kara pushes in with Lisa behind her. They're both dressed to the nine's with lipgloss applied, mascara and eyeliner coating their eyes.

"I can't believe this year is already starting," Kara says as she hops on one of the kitchen stools.

"I can see why you gave up the dorm room. This place is sick," Lisa says as she walks around the room.

"Let's go. We can't be late for our first class."
 

"All right, second years! This is how it's going to go down. I'm going to need you all to line up. It's going to be a pleasure grouping you all by skills this time. First heat, let's go!" Magdelina hasn't lost an ounce of her grit.

I roll my eyes and walk towards the side of the room. There are a ton of new faces in the group. Mikey and Shane line up with the boys, while the three of us girls line up on the opposite side.
 

"Hey, I'm Jessa. I heard about what happened over the summer. You guys are heroes," she gushes. She's pretty, with dark brown hair and light green eyes.
 

I don't have time to respond because Alex walks into the room, the doors banging loudly behind him. Magdelina glares at his entrance.

"What are you doing here?" she asks, her tone laced with anger.

"I'm your co-teacher."

"Linus said I'd have the class to myself since Ari picked up more academic classes."

"Well, he changed his mind. You're stuck with me." He grins at her, and I swear she softens just a little bit. She looks away fast, training her eyes to the ground, and then looks back up at him.

"I'm making them do drills and then grouping them by their skills."

"I'm good with that," he says and then faces us all, who stare at the two of them in amusement. "You heard the lady, line up! Heat one get ready to sprint." Alex claps his hands, and we all listen.
 

But I look past him and watch Magdelina smiling, a true smile that I don't think I've ever seen on her face before. I nod my head and then get ready to dominate the drills.
 

"Thank the gods you're in this class with me," I tell Kara as we step into Ari's classroom. He's teaching a combat history class, and unfortunately it's required. And again, unfortunately, he's the only teacher.

Kara and I sit in the back of the room next to each other. People start to file into the room. I recognize a few faces from last year, but none that I really talked to. That is until the girl Jessa walks into the room. She smiles when she sees Kara and me and sits in the seat in front of me.

"Hi guys! I'm so excited to see you again."
 

"I'm Ryder," I say, nodding at her.

"I know who you are. You're like legendary. It's such an honor to be in the same class as you."

"I'm not really legendary. I'm just a normal student, like you."

"Okay. I'll try to pretend that." She turns around in her seat, and Kara and I look between each other. Then he walks in the room.

"Hello students, welcome to Combat History." Ari walks to the side of the room and drops his briefcase on the desk. I have a perfect view from the back of the room of all the girls swooning.
 

It's actually kind of funny.

"Professor Aristeus?" Kara asks, raising her hand. He turns, a frown on his face, and nods his head for her to continue. "I just wanted to make sure that Eurydice won't be getting any special treatment."

I look over at her and kick her. She yelps and runs her hand down to her shin, rubbing it up and down. Ari's eyes flash with humor, but I doubt any of the other students pick up on it.

"Good point, Kara. I'd like to address this from the start. Nobody, not even my beautiful soul mate will get special treatment. Including you, Kara. This is a classroom, after all." He turns back to the white board and starts scribbling.

"You're such an ass," I angry-whisper across the aisle.

"I had to play around with you."

"You're too much."

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

the building blocks

"I swear, we're always waiting for her," I growl as I straddle Ari's bike just outside of Aphro Hall. Kara and Junior are driving my car to the house, but we figured we'd all leave together.
 

"We should just leave. Junior drives this route twice a week. It's not like he doesn't know where to go," Ari says, revving the engine. I contemplate his words and then agree, shooting off a quick text to Kara telling her that we ditched her and will meet her there.

I fasten my helmet over my head and grab onto Ari's waist. He reaches down and pulls my hands lower. And then we're off.
 

The sun begins to set on the cool October evening. As Ari drives through dimly-lit New York streets, I lay my head against his back and watch the landscapes zoom by.
 

Before I know it, the drive has gone by. I perk up when I recognize the street sign and watch my childhood home come into view. Nothing has changed; yet at the same time, it feels so different.

When Ari parks, I jump off the back and tear the helmet off my head. My hair is probably sticking up on all ends, so I pat my hair down with my palms. Ari comes over and fixes my hair, tucking it behind my ears.

"You're beautiful." He kisses me and then lifts me into his arms, twirling us around until I laugh so loud I think I might pee in my pants. He places me back on the ground and takes my hand.

"Is it weird that I'm kind of nervous?" I ask him as we walk up the front walkway.

"No. This is the first formal time we're all together." Ari knocks on the door, and by the second bang, my dad swings open the door, a huge smile on his face.
 

"Welcome, kids!" He reaches towards me and tugs me into his chest for a hug. "Missed you, Ryder." He kisses my forehead and then reaches his hand out to Ari.
 

"Hello, sir," Ari says as he takes my dad's hand. My dad smirks at Ari, who refuses to call him anything but 'sir'. I reach back for Ari, and we follow my dad into the kitchen.
 

"Is anyone here yet?" I ask Dad as we sit down at the kitchen table.

"Nope. Your mother said she'd be a few minutes late. Atee is with her. Weren't Kara and Junior riding with you?"

"We left them," I tell dad. "She was taking too long, so we left before them. They shouldn't be too far behind." Just then, the doorbell rings. "I'll get it!" I yell as I jump up from the table and sprint to the door. I swing it open and am so excited to see my new family.

"Hi Mom, Atee!" I open the door wide, giving them room to come in. Atee squeezes by and kisses my cheek before moving right through the house like he knows it.

"I missed you. It's been, what, two weeks? Come here." Mom tugs me into her chest and shuts the door behind her. Her touch is warm and comforting. I've missed it.

"Let's see what your dad has cooked up," she says, and we walk together to the kitchen, where everyone is congregating. A few minutes later, Junior and Kara walk into the house and join us. And then a few minutes after that, we're all at the dining room table, sitting and sharing a meal.

"Who wants to say grace?" my dad asks after our plates are full.
 

"I will," I say and bow my head, staring at my mashed potatoes on the plate. "I'm thankful for everyone coming here today for this special dinner. You are my family, and I love you all. I'm so thankful to have a chance to build relationships with my mother and brother. And I'm thankful to my dad for being so awesome. I'm thankful to my friends, Kara and Junior. And my soul mate, and best friend, Ari. So let's eat, enjoy each other, and have a great night."
 

"Amen?" Kara says, full of questions.
 

"Yeah! Amen!" I say, laughing. Everyone's first mission is food. Forks and knives clank on the fine china, and all I can hear is grumbling and slurping. But we're all comfortable.
 

I sit beside Ari, with Atee on my left. My mother is at one end and my father at the other. Kara and Junior sit opposite me. I can't help but feel like we're missing one person—Ollie.

It's been months since I spoke to him. Luckily, Cristos has been keeping track of Dimitri who's with him, so we know his general vicinity. Last time he checked in, they were in southern Europe, skydiving in Seville.
 

"You okay?" Ari leans over to me and asks.