Fly: A PORTAL Chronicles Novel (The PORTAL Chronicles) (9 page)

The girl stopped abruptly as if offended before putting her hand to the green goop on her face. “Oh! Sorry. I was giving myself a facial and forgot I had it on. Have a seat while I go wash it off,” she said, already walking to her bathroom.

Stepping over the threshold of her dorm, I was in awe of the beauty around me. It was the same layout as my room, but with a bigger dose of sophistication.

In the living area, I took a seat in one of the dramatic white armchairs, taking in the grey walls, ornate white fireplace and striped black and white rug. Looking up, I noticed there wasn’t one chandelier, but three, all hung at different heights, their crystals diffusing light about the dim room.

“Sorry about that,” said the girl, patting her face with a towel as she walked towards me. “How’s that for a first impression?” She plopped into an adjacent chair. “Miriam Veracruz,” she said, extending her hand. “But you can call me Mia.”

She was petite and enviably tan with long, luscious dark hair. Her big brown eyes lit up as she flashed a white grin. She looked like a doll with her olive skin, little nose, and plump, pink lips — the kind of doll a parent buys but doesn’t let a child play with for fear of mussing the hair or wrinkling the dress, setting it high on an unreachable shelf for all to appreciate its perfect beauty.

“I’m Sophie Cohen,” I said, shaking her hand.

“Sorry, again. I was unpacking while my mask dried and totally forgot I had it on.”

“I’m sorry, too,” I said, “for startling you.”

“No harm done,” she smiled. “Anyhow, I was told you’re new to Brightman so I wanted to meet you and see how your first night went.”

I was touched by Mia’s thoughtfulness. “It went well. I definitely can’t complain about my living quarters.”

“Which reminds me,” she said, running over and peeking into my dorm. “Nice! Very inviting and cozy.” She made her way back to me. “This is perfect! We can hang out in your dorm during the week and have get-togethers in mine on the weekends.”

I smiled in agreement. My dorm was better suited for day-to-day living and the décor of Mia’s definitely set the mood for special occasions. “I like it. But you’re in charge of the invite list since I don’t know anyone yet.”

“You know Everett,” Mia corrected. “He’s the one who told me about you.”

“Everett?”
Everett has been talking about me!?!
My stomach flipped at the thought. I hoped I wasn’t blushing. “True. I met him last night. He was very—” I stopped, not trusting Mia enough to openly share just yet. “—nice.”

“Yeah, he’s great. We’re really good friends. He went on and on about how kind and fun you were, so I just knew I had to meet you.” She smiled. “He even suggested we sit with him at breakfast. You in?”

I squinted in thought, trying to figure the situation out. Everett going out of his way to make sure we sat with him. Good. But Mia being “really good friends” with Everett? I wasn’t so sure. Mia was exactly what I assumed Everett’s type was. But then again, Mia was every guy’s type. She was absolutely stunning. I decided to carefully watch them over breakfast before judging the nature of their relationship.

“Definitely. I’m famished,” I said, forcing a smile.

“Perfect! So, like I said, Everett wouldn’t shut up about you. He told me you’re from Portland, you like to read, that you’ll be a junior like me, oh, and how your Dad broke the news about you coming here. I was sorry to hear about that.”

I watched her, wary of her knowing so much about me. Scarred from past experience, I had a hard time trusting other girls. There was no telling what Mia’s intentions were.

She continued, “Since we’re both juniors, maybe we’ll have some classes together.”

“Maybe,” I agreed. “Along with enrolling me, my dad also registered me for classes. I haven’t seen my class schedule yet, but I have the odd suspicion I’ll have to redo the entire thing.”

“Everett and I can take you to the registration office after breakfast. We can even help you choose your classes since we know which teachers to take and which to avoid.”

“That would be awesome,” I said, sincerely appreciative of Mia’s offer.

“Everett also mentioned you’ve grown up all over the world.”

“He did?” I didn’t remember telling him that.

“That’s so cool,” Mia rambled on. “I’ve only ever lived one place. Well, two if you count Brightman.”

“Where?” I asked, grasping the opportunity to get the focus off me.

“My family lives in L.A. My parents travel a lot with my dad’s job, so they sent me here. Keeps me out of the way, I guess. But I like it, so no harm done.”

I instantly felt sympathy for Mia. I related in a way. “What do your parents do?”

“Dad is a bigwig talent agent out that way and Mom is a professional plastic.”

“A what?”

Mia laughed. “Sorry, it’s a term I coined. My mom is a little addicted to plastic surgery,” she explained rolling her eyes. “She hates when I call her that, which is why I continue to.”

“Oh.”

“I think she’s trying to morph into a human Barbie doll or something. It’s sick. Too much torture and pain for my taste. Before I left for Brightman yesterday, I went to say goodbye and found Mom in bed, wrapped like a mummy from chest to hips with these little tubes coming out from underneath the bandages. She looked like a science experiment gone wrong. Or maybe like an alien… or something an alien got hold of.” Noticing the confused look on my face, she quickly explained, “Mom had a third tummy tuck. The tubes are for drainage.” I crinkled my nose. “But enough grossness for one morning. It’s almost time for breakfast.” Mia hopped to her feet. “I know eating is not the most appealing idea after that topic of discussion, but one of the many perks at Brightman is the food. All of our meals are prepared by world-class chefs.”

I perked up. “I met one last night. I think her name was Maddy?”

“I love her! Yeah, she’s head of the kitchen here. She used to be Executive Chef at some fancy Parisian place.”

“Wow.”

“You’ll find that most of Brightman’s staff is top notch,” Mia said. “Anyway, I still need to get ready. Meet you in the hall in fifteen?”

“Me too,” I said, running my fingers through my matted bedhead. “It’s a plan.”

I saw him before we reached the cafeteria floor.

Hagen was hard to miss among the gaggle of vultures seated around the new meat, aka their prey. The crowd of girls giggled loudly, expertly flipping their hair and talking over one another to gain his attention. There were blondes, brunettes, and redheads — all pretty and, telling from their expensive-looking attire, super wealthy.

I turned away to look for Everett when Mia nudged me. “Oh. My. Goodness. Check him out! Three o’clock.”

“Huh!?!”

“A guy who knows what he wants. Right on. Don’t look now, but he is totally checking you out.”

Looking, I caught Hagen’s eyes, and in a tizzy, quickly turned by back on him.
I’m imagining it. Wait! He’s staring at Mia. Of course! That makes much more sense.

I almost didn’t recognize Mia when I met her in the hallway. She was pretty enough with no makeup, but throw some designer clothes, a straightening iron and some makeup her way, and voila, you had yourself a bona fide exotic beauty.

“Sophie!” Mia groaned. “I said
don’t
look!”

“Mia, he’s staring at you.”

“No, he’s definitely looking at you,” she affirmed resolutely. “Did you not see his face light up when you glanced at him just now?”

“It did not!”

“It so did,” she laughed. “Maybe we should sit with him.”

“No!” I said, my face growing hot. I wasn’t one to fight for a guy’s attention and, after my dream about Hagen, wasn’t vying to cozy up to him over breakfast. And truthfully, I really wanted to sit with Everett.

“Sophie, breathe!” Mia commanded, sounding alarmed. “You’re acting like you never talked to a guy before.”

“I’ve talked to lots of guys! Just never one who looked like a model,” I added to cover the fact that I was nervous about sitting with Everett, not Hagen. Though, when I thought about it, Everett looked like a model too, only adding to my fluster.

Mia laughed. “You’re the total opposite of smooth.”

“You have no idea.”

“Okay, it’s final then! We’re sitting with him.”

I suddenly understood her intentions. She liked Hagen, an interest I readily supported. I knew how girls worked, or how the majority of girls worked, anyway. Mia planned to use me, the girl who had Hagen’s eye, as her “in” with him. But I didn’t mind in the least if it diverted her attention from Everett. I sighed, relieved to have finally figured her out.

But then she spoiled my fun, saying, “And I know exactly what you’re thinking, but I don’t want Hagen for myself. I don’t date high school boys, and I have a boyfriend, so think of me as Switzerland.”

“Okay,” I mumbled, my hope deflated. I rallied, trying to think positively.
Maybe sitting with Hagen will work in my favor. Everett will see I am a girl worthy of attention. Or maybe he’ll think I’m taken and lose interest… if he’s even interested to begin with.
I kicked myself for not having researched dating tips already.

“Good! But first, figure out what you’re going to eat for breakfast, and then worry about the guy. About fifty people just cut in front of us,” Mia said, spinning me around.

My eyes grew big. Never before had I seen so much food at once. Students waited in neat lines in front of various food stations where cooks served up fresh waffles, pancakes, French toast, Eggs Benedict, omelets, and crepes. A whole wall was taken up by row after row of cereal dispensers, and a table next to the glorious wall offered every type and flavor of milk and soymilk. Next to that was a buffet of biscuits and gravy, bacon, cinnamon rolls, an array of donuts, sausage links, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, grits, and every type of fruit imaginable.

“What looks good?” Mia asked.

“The question is ‘What smells good,’” I corrected. “But I think I’ll stick with cereal,” I said, overwhelmed.

“Suit yourself,” she shrugged, heading for the waffle line.

I grabbed a bowl and tray and approached the wall of cereal, even finding it intimidating.

“Shoot, they gave me two!”

Immediately recognizing the voice, I turned to find Everett glaring at his tray. “Hi!” I beamed.

“Oh! Hi, Sophie.” His eyes twinkled.

Stupid, horrid butterflies. Die! Die! Die!

“Do you like freshly baked blueberry scones?” he asked, exaggeratedly showcasing a perfect scone on a pretty plate. “They accidentally gave me two.”

The sweet scent of blueberries made my mouth water. “Sure. Thanks,” I said, accepting the plate. “Blueberry scones are my favorite.”

“Really? Then you’re in luck. Maddy bakes them fresh every morning.” He smiled.

I frowned, noticing his swollen lip. “What happened to your lower lip?”

“Oh!” he said, sucking it. “It’s nothing.”

“It doesn’t look like nothing. What happened?”

“I’m going to grab something from the coffee bar. You want anything?” he asked, ignoring my question. “Latte, Americano, mint tea?”

Now I frowned and cocked my head to the side. The baked potato soup and blueberry scone were peculiar enough, but Everett offering mint tea was downright suspicious. I let it go, determined to ask about it later. “Mint tea, please,” I said slowly.

“No problem. I’ll find a table. Find Mia and meet me in a bit, okay?”

I opened my mouth to inform him Mia and I were sitting with Hagen, but he was already out of earshot. Feeling crummy, I served myself cereal and fruit.

“Ready to go?” I heard Mia ask. She stood beside me, her tray piled high with bacon, sausage, eggs, and a huge waffle overflowing with butter and syrup.

“Would you like some waffle with your syrup?” I teased.

“Oh shush!” She rolled her eyes. “A girl’s gotta’ eat.” And before I knew it, she was off — on a beeline for Hagen’s table.

Chapter 12

Spilling Tea and Secrets

“Mia, wait!” Sophie hissed under her breath.

I laughed and shook my head. If there was one thing I knew about her, it was that once she had a plan, she executed it at any and all cost.

Catching my eye, Mia smiled. I quickly looked away, feeling sick to my stomach. Something about the way she looked at me told me I was involved in her plan. But how? What was she up to now?

“Mia!” Sophie’s voice was close.

The girls approached Hagen’s table. Sophie slowed and smiled.

“No, no, no! Keep walking. Follow me,” Mia said without moving the clenched teeth of her pretty smile.

“What? But… ” Sophie looked nonplussed.

“Trust me,” Mia sang before gushing loudly, “Good morning, Everett! Mind if Sophie and I sit with you?”

“That was the plan, wasn’t it?” I asked, giving her a searching look. Putting her tray on the table, Mia sat across from me. I looked from her to Sophie, who seemed very confused. “Here’s your tea,” I said, sliding the steaming cup towards her. Mia cut into her gooey waffle like a thick steak before giving me a stern glare and gesturing at Sophie. “Oh, sorry,” I said, clueing in. “Have a seat, Sophie.” I stood and pulled out the chair beside me.

“Thanks,” she said, grateful for the direction. She sat abruptly, accidentally hitting the cup of tea with her tray and spilling it on herself and the table. “Ouch!”

I quickly pulled her chair away from the mess, but she already looked pained and humiliated. “Hold your shirt away from your skin,” I said, grabbing the hem.

“Stop!” she hissed under her breath, her eyes darting to Hagen’s table.

My heart dropped as understanding set in. “Sorry. I was trying to help.”

Sophie’s cheeks blazed red. “I don’t want to draw attention to myself.” She again glanced at Hagen, who was too absorbed in bragging about himself to a mass of girls to notice.

I knelt in front of her. “I don’t care what
other people
think, Sophie. I just want to make sure you’re okay. Did the tea burn you?”

“No, I’m fine,” she said, obediently holding her shirt out. “It wasn’t that hot.”