Elysium (14 page)

I was getting this weird vibe from Nik, but I pushed the thought away, thinking it was just me being weird. I followed him into the natatorium, where all the girls and guys branched off into their respectable locker rooms. I was starting to really doubt my decision about taking this class, given the fact I didn’t even own a bathing suit.

As soon as I walked through the small, tiled hallway leading into the main portion of the locker room, there was a small shop on the right. Bathing suits hung from wire racks, as well as warm-up outfits in the standard white or navy. A young girl sat behind the high counter, a recent tabloid magazine in hand. I guessed supernatural creatures liked to read trash too.

The locker room was loud, the female voices bouncing off the walls. I stopped in front of the counter, staring at the girl, who didn’t bother looking up, even though I knew she was aware I was standing there. I cleared my throat, and she dropped the magazine, rolling her eyes as she stared at me.

“Need a suit?”

Her tone was mocking and sarcastic, and I was a little taken aback by her attitude. She must really hate dishing out the swimwear. “Uh, yeah.” She looked me up and down, well, as much as she could given the fact that the counter was in the way. She turned and grabbed a navy suit with a large white dragon pasted across the side.

“What’s your name and ID number?”

“Meadow Caldwell, but I don’t know my number.”

“New student?” She looked at me with an almost exasperated expression.

“Yeah.” She typed in her computer, obviously making sure I was legit, before handing me the bathing suit and a small duffle bag. She wrote down my ID number on a slip of paper and handed it to me. I thanked her and headed back towards where the other voices were coming from.

I rounded a corner and stopped as I saw several girls, including Porscha, wrap towels around their swimsuit clad bodies. Being inconspicuous wasn’t a talent I had, but I attempted to do just that. I thought I had gone unnoticed, as they made their way out of the locker room, but Porscha trailed behind, stopping before she rounded the corner and stared at me.

She smirked, the smile anything but friendly, as she turned around and came towards me. Her towel was hanging over her arm, her body like something out of a swimsuit magazine.

“So how do you like Arcane Manor?”

Her voice was sickly sweet, and I wasn’t fooled into thinking she actually cared. “Okay, I guess.” I took a step back, as she continued to advance on me. I should have held my ground, but I was still getting used to this new “me”, and I knew nothing about Porscha or the powers she wielded.

My back was now pressed against the lockers, and I gripped my bag. I wasn’t fooled by the way she was acting. I could tell from the look in her eyes she loathed me.

“You like Dorian?”

“Excuse me?” I squeaked in surprise as she slammed my shoulder forcefully into the lockers. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Anger slammed inside of me like a tidal wave.

“If I ever see you flirting with my boyfriend again, you’ll regret it.” His voice was smooth and laced with menace.

I stared open mouthed at her, so flabbergasted with what she had just said I couldn’t think of a retort. I wanted to say something witty and sarcastic, tell her that her boyfriend was the one pursuing me. No retort came, and I cursed internally as I watched the smug smile spread across her face.

She sauntered out of the locker room, without even a backward glance in my direction. Soon, I was left by myself, and the only sound I could hear was my own rapid beating heart. I set the duffle bag on one of the wood benches and unzipped it. What Porscha had said to me still had me reeling. I pushed it aside though, knowing I couldn’t let her get under my skin.

I pulled apart the side of my duffle bag and looked in. Inside was a plush white towel, a pair of flip flops, a pair of sweats, a white tee-shirt, and a swim cap. I hurried and got dressed, slipping my feet into the flip flops and grabbing the swim cap. I didn’t know if I would need it today, but it was in there for a reason, so I grabbed it just in case.

My hair was already in a ponytail, so I just tightened it before grabbing my towel and heading in the direction the other girls had. I wasn’t the best swimmer, but I had been on a swim team when I was younger and hadn’t done too bad. Of course, that was so many years ago. I hope I don’t make an ass out of myself. I walked down a long narrow hallway, my flip flops hitting the tile in a loudly irritating way. I stopped at the door in front of me, taking a deep breath and pushing it open.

The smell of chlorine and the humidity hit me first, as the door swung open. I took a few steps forward, just enough so the door could shut behind me. I tightened my hold on the towel and looked around. There was a regulation size pool in front of me, and I wondered exactly how they had managed to build something like this underground. Guys and girls were scattered throughout the room, their voices loud and excited.

There were no windows, of course, but as I looked at the ceiling, I realized they didn’t need any. Painted in perfect realistic detail were the mountains, the sun and clouds, even little birds soaring over the horizon. “Wow.”

“Like it, do you?”

I dropped my gaze and was startled to see Nik right in front of me. I hadn’t heard his approach, and I wondered if stealthy silence was once of his specialties. I nodded and couldn’t help as I looked at his body. He wore spandex swim pants, the kind I’d seen Michael Phelps wear one time while watching the Olympics. I remembered I had thought how he was probably the only one who would look good in them. I was wrong.

Nik was hot, like really, really hot. He must have worked out a lot, because his body was ripped. He definitely had the body of a swimmer. I was vaguely aware I hadn’t answered him, and he hadn’t said anything else. I snapped my eyes back up. I had been caught checking him out. He wore a telltale smile, and I knew my examination of him hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“I’m sorry,” I stammered out, the heat in my face not dissipating. He hadn’t said anything, just kept smiling at me, which didn’t help my humiliation.

“You a good swimmer?”

I was so thankful he changed the subject, no doubt seeing the bright red hue of my face and hopefully feeling sympathy for me. I cleared my throat. “I used to swim, but I’m probably not half as good as any of you guys.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine. Come on, coach always gives his ‘encouragement’ speeches before we start. Really they’re just lectures on what we need to improve.” He looked at where I was clasping the towel and gestured towards a rack on the wall. “You can hang your towel there. You have your cap?”

I took off the towel and hung it on the rack, slipping off my flip flops, turning back around and holding up my swim cap. The floor was cold and damp under my feet, sending chills through me and making me shiver. Nik was looking at me with that strange expression on his face again, something I didn’t know if I should look too deeply into. “Should I put it on now?”

He shook his head, before clearing his throat, and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “You know you’re pretty lucky they had a spot open. Usually this class is filled before registration even begins. It must have been your beauty that pulled some strings.”

I blushed again, a bad habit I was forming while here. An older man shouted something over to us, and Nik looked over his shoulder.

“We better go. When the coach starts to yell, it usually means he’s in a foul mood.” He smiled and turned, walking towards where all of the other students had started to congregate.

I followed, my eyes immediately going to his back and my mouth opening in shock. Covering Nik’s entire back in bright blue and black ink were the most intricately detailed wings. I hadn’t pictured Nik as the type of person to get a tattoo, although what did I know? As if he saw me staring at his back, he looked behind his shoulder.

“Everything okay?”

I snapped my eyes to his face, nodding briskly and picking up my pace to keep up with his long strides. We reached the semi-circle of swimmers, Porscha smirking at me a second before her attention went back to the coach.

“We have a new team mate, Meadow Caldwell. I want everyone to welcome her and show her the ropes.” The coach’s face was serious, and everyone went toward me.

They all smiled and said hi, introducing themselves before the coach started spouting off what we would be doing today. He clapped his hands together, and everyone branched off. It was when several of the guys turned around I noticed they too had huge wing tattoos covering their backs. The tattoos were all different in design and color, but the arches all started at the top of their shoulders, and the tips curved and reached their lower backs. Not all the guys had them, but I made the connection that the ones that did have the tattoos were probably demons. Hence they all had the same tattoo, because they were of the same species.

I was starting to get dizzy from all the new things being revealed. I needed to make sure I remembered to ask Nik about it later. Nik gestured for me to follow him to the edge of the pool, where we would do some warm-up laps. I set my cap down and twisted my hair in a bun before grabbing the cap and snapping it on. It was tight and uncomfortable on my head.

Nik’s hair was short, but he put his cap on anyway. The coach yelled out some names, Nik being one of them, and told them to get in the water and do five laps. I stepped back as Nik and the other swimmers took their places on the starting blocks. The coach shouted something unintelligibly, and they all dove into the water. I watched in apt awe as Nik took off, his body moving through the water with such precision and speed, he far surpassed everyone else.

Nik was a full lap ahead of everyone else, and as they were starting their fifth lap, Nik was getting out of the pool, the water dripping off of his body as he snapped off his cap. He grabbed his towel and started drying off, as he walked up next to me. I couldn’t help but stare at him. “You were freakin’ awesome.” I watched his cheeks become pink, surprised I had embarrassed him. “You completely smoked everyone else.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not too bad.”

“You’re being modest.” I could tell he must not get many compliments by the way he was handling mine, and I thought it was cute. The coach shouted the next set of names, mine included, and I took my place. My heart was beating hard. I was so nervous. I was out of shape and knew I would most likely be the last person to finish my five laps.

****

I limped back to my room, so sore after swim practice. I continually asked myself why I had decided to take that elective. I had been right—I was the slowest one, everyone already out of the pool and staring down at me, as I finished my last lap. I thought maybe the coach would have seen how horrible I was and would have shown me some mercy, but I had been wrong. We had done more laps afterwards, and then raced each other. I hadn’t realized how out of shape I was, until I left the natatorium. I had my arm wrapped around my side, the pain pulsating with each step I took. I thought I might have pulled a muscle.

Violet walked beside me, her full attention on the conversation she was having on her cell phone. I didn’t know what it was, but the idea that fey, demons, and all sorts of other mystical creatures had cell phones and led relatively “normal” lives kind of shocked me. Knowing that the girl walking beside me was a creature out of a fairy tale, yet here she was arguing with her mother over the “C” she got on her Biology exam was a little surreal. I don’t know what I thought.
Maybe I couldn’t let go of the belief that they led extraordinary lives, that they didn’t go through the same problems every teenager did, or that they didn’t face the same academic repercussion for getting low grades. It was weird, to say the least.

It was almost two in the morning, and I was ready for bed. I entered the Manor, students milling around after getting out of class. A few of them waved at me, and I was surprised
how I was adjusting to my new life relatively well, considering the circumstances.

I took the stairs quickly, striding down the hallway and pushing my bedroom door open. It still was a shock every time I walked into my room. Everything was just so beautiful and lavish, so expensive and pristine.

I tossed my book bag on the floor, knowing it would be smart for me to start on my homework, but I was too tired. I did a face plant on my bed, closing my eyes and telling myself I would only rest for a little while. Soon I felt myself fading into that in-between, when you are still awake but not fully. I basked in that afterglow. It was a peaceful and relaxing feeling, but I opened my eyes, knowing if I didn’t get up, I would be up all day and would be exhausted for my classes tomorrow.

I sat up, moving over to my book bag and pulling out my textbooks. Someone knocked on my door, and I moved towards it. I opened it and was surprised to see Nik standing on the other side. He wore a pair of track pants and a white tee, his NY Yankees hat on his head, as he smiled down at me.

“Nik?” I knitted my brows, as he walked into my room, his eyes seeming to take everything in, yet he never spoke. “Is everything okay?” He turned and looked down at me, and his eyes seemed darker than the blue I had grown so used to. I was becoming uncomfortable, and as I stared at him it was almost as if the edges of his body were hazy.