Queen of the Clueless (Interim Goddess of Love) (5 page)

When I turned to the source of the sound, she was standing on the other end of the long, now empty hallway, surely out of earshot of anyone else. She was in a corporate suit (some seniors were always in business attire lately, for presentations and panel project defense), navy blue platforms, and
looked radiantly beautiful even from this distance. One arm had a shiny black bag hooked on it, the other arm was stretched out toward me.

"What?" I said, under my breath, but knowing she could hear.

The arm relaxed back to her side. "No, you're not there yet."

This was not the first time she did this. The randomly running into me and doing this staredown drama.

And yet I was still Interim Goddess. "So you keep saying."

She smiled and entered one of the classrooms.

I rolled my eyes.
This is me ignoring you.

"Stop right there."

I froze, and turned around, but it wasn't the guard, or Vida, who had just said that. It was Diego Simon, senior, basketball player, and God of the Sea.

It was my first time to see him since my visit to the National Museum, and discovering the story behind the painting
Maganda's Regret
. I thought that maybe I should say something about it, like ask him what the deal was, if he really did fall in love with the first mortal woman... but Diego wasn't the type for heart-to-heart talks. In fact, Diego Simon was known on campus more for the fights he started, the guys he beat up, and the games he got thrown out of. For fighting.

So maybe I shouldn't bring up questions about his tragic love story. He seemed like he would still be holding a grudge after millennia.

Besides, we weren't actually friends. I mean, he had ignored me all of freshman year, despite my hanging out with his best buddy Quin nearly every day. He only started noticing I existed a few months ago.

"Did you just come out of there?" I asked instead, noticing that he had left the dean's office. "Because I want to talk to
—"

"New Girl, I told you to stop. Shut up for a second." As if to emphasize his point, Diego touched my shoulder, ran a finger across the blade like he was flicking lint off my shirt, and suddenly it... my drama, it was gone.

Maybe it wasn't so sudden. Maybe I was becoming more attuned to these slight movements, the way Quin and Diego and their kind messed with (or readjusted) the natural order of things. What would have seemed to anyone else like a simple tap on the shoulder felt, to me, like an icy breeze blew from my side up my neck, and as it passed me it took something with it.

It took away the beginnings of my anger.

"Are you portable stress management therapy now?" I demanded.

He smiled at me. "Whatever that was, it wasn't going to help you. I took it away. You're welcome."

Diego Simon wasn't just God of the Sea. What he was, specifically, was the god of work. If people who needed help with love summoned me, Diego responded to those whose concerns revolved around work. He even helped me out a bit, when I was starting my goddess training, and I had to admit, I was able to finish my first Goddess of Love project (matching Kathy up with her crush/secret admirer Jake) in large part because of him.

"Thank you," I said, calmer.

"Why are you looking for the dean?"

I took a deep breath, and marveled at how good that felt. Just a minute ago my mind was rac
ing, my blood pressure was up, and now I was all zen. Things felt and seemed clearer. "Project. I think my friend is dating the guy who's been stealing things. Just wanted to see if the dean can confirm anything for me."

"Interesting," Diego said. "I can tell you now that he doesn't know who it is. And that he'd like to settle this as quietly as possible, before Ford River starts getting that kind of reputation."

"What kind of reputation?"

"You know. If the parents of these rich kids find out that their expensive toys aren't safe on campus, maybe they won't want their kids studying here."

"That's not fair," I said.

"It's the truth. Why do you think you get to have all of this for free? It's because someone's father is paying for two."

I actually knew that. My mom was raising me by herself and could never afford Ford River's tuition on her income. The school had a very generous scholarship program, and I wasn't clueless about where the money was coming from.

"I meant it's not fair because the thief could actually be one of them. Not a scholarship kid."

"Is that why you're here?"

I shrugged. "I thought he'd know for sure who it was. He did put out the memo right? So students have been reporting their lost stuff to him?"

"You don't need him, New Girl. Just talk to me. You mean the thief's girlfriend summoned you?"

The way he was looking at me just then made me a little uncomfortable. No wait
—Diego always did make me a little uncomfortable, but this was different, because I was starting to see that he might actually respect me a little. "Maybe," I said.

"Then you don't need to work with Quin on this new project of yours. You've stumbled onto my territory."

These were the things reported stolen to the Dean of Student Affairs:

A cellphone, barely two weeks old, reported by Saree Anderson. She noticed it missing at five o'clock, when she tried to call her driver to pick her up. She last used it at lunch, to post something on Twitter.
 

Three thousand pesos in cash, by Frankie Fuentes. He noticed it missing at lunch time, but knew he had it with him that morning.

Two pairs of silver earrings, by Mandy Cho. She bought them the day before, a pair for her and another for her friend, but then couldn't find them from the bag she had stashed in her locker.

It didn't sound like a lot, but these were the only ones that had been officially reported to the dean. Sol probably lost the most in the past few weeks, but she wasn't filling up paperwork on it.

I knew this for a fact not because of the Goddess Thing, but because I was alone with Diego inside the dean's office and I had the printouts of all the theft reports in front of me. Nothing from Sol.

"Do you want a beer?" Diego said, his head inside the small refrigerator in the corner of the room.

"No," I said automatically, then, "Why does the dean have beer in here?"

"His dirty little secret. Not that he has many. But this stealing thing is starting to bother him, because of that reality show."

"What reality show?"

"They're producing a show on cable about the school. Follow some students around, show what a nice place it is. He doesn't want it to become
CSI
."

Of course he didn't. Ford River was generally pretty to look at and peaceful to stay in. Apart from the stealing and students hanging out in the dean's office looking through his stuff. "I hope we don't get into trouble."

As soon as I said that, and because I got that withering look from him a moment later, I knew that was the wrong thing to say.

When you summon one of the gods, meaning one of those in Bathala's family of
 deities who rule over various aspects of life and the universe, and they actually take the time to respond to you, you kind of become their bitch.

Sorry, "
devotee
." You become devoted to them. When these deities are in human form, and they ask you to do something, chances are you will do it. Diego Simon, God of the Sea, also had power over that thing people do every day to feed and support themselves. The dean was obviously troubled about this turn of events at his school, and called upon the god who could help him. People did this without ever having to know a chant or a password; the instinct and the ability to do so had been around since the time of our ancestors, never mind that we no longer knew the gods' names.

Or that one of them was currently Ford River's most famous troublemaker.
 

So, as a devotee of Diego, the dean would not mind that we were in his office going through his stuff. He probably even welcomed it, and gave Diego the keys, and told him to help himself to the beer.

"Sorry," I said. "I still forget what the rules are sometimes."

"The only rule is that Father knows best," Diego said, head back in the refrigerator. "Everything else is negotiable."

I flipped through the theft reports again, trying to find a connection to Neil. Mandy was in my batch, but Saree and Frankie weren't. Frankie might have been one of Neil's friends, but I wasn't sure...

Just then the bell rang, which meant I was late for my next class.

"Don't go," Diego said, almost an order.

"I'm going to be late for history," I said.

"You honestly want to sit in a classroom when you could be getting this idiot instead."

"There might be a test today," I countered, but meekly.

Diego laughed and headed for the door. "You're forgetting that you're one of us now, New Girl. You have a job, and it's not to take history tests."

Why was I even taking history anyway? I was a psych major, for crying out loud.
 

And I did want to get that guy, if Neil was actually the thief. Sol could be spending her time on homework, on finishing her double major. Even
making a sandwich
was a more productive use of her time, instead of worrying about the creep.

With Diego at my side, so many things about this job were easier. First of all, no training. If he could do something, he would do it, and not just watch from the sidelines as the newbie struggled.

So he found out exactly where Neil was right then (East building, waiting for Sol to come out of our history class) and we plotted to intercept him.

"Can I take him?" I said, as we crossed the field and neared our prey.

"Take him where?"

"Can I be the one who talks to him?"

Diego wasn't one for talking. I could imagine what he had planned for Neil already, once he saw him. Probably a punch, a chokehold, a "Stop stealing from people, asshole!" and he would consider his work done.

But that meant I didn't get to speak to him, and I didn't get the opportunity to make him my bitch. I mean, devotee.

Which meant it'll be harder to convince him to stay away from Sol.

"You really want to do this?" Diego asked.

"Yes please."

"But you're not very efficient. This is my job too."

"You can back me up all you want, but I want to take the lead."

He was skeptical, and I couldn't blame him, but I matched his look with what I hoped looked resembled defiance.

"Fine," Diego said. "You do the talking."

"Can you, you know, go to the cafeteria? Just for a few minutes?"

"That's not backup."

"I don't want you hovering around judging how I talk to him."

"I won't judge."

He would so judge, and I didn't want him to jump in and interrupt me before I got the chance to
claim
Neil. "Please."

Diego shrugged. "Fine. Call me when you're done."

I watched him back away from me, and then walk toward the cafeteria, and then enter the building, before I started on my way again.

Neil had his back turned to me, but I recognized that shock of hair anywhere. It was deliberately wild, sort of a fake mohawk created with hair product, and it stuck out against the background of cork boards that he was facing.

I had it all planned out: I would ask him about Sol, maybe mention her ex to introduce doubt, and then wait for him to admit any insecurities about their relationship. If I couldn't get Sol to summon me, I could probably get him to do it. A confession of feelings would make him mine.

I could tell him in plain words that it would be best for everyone if he and Sol broke up.

And, stop stealing.

He turned and faced me a split second earlier than I was expecting, and my momentum was thrown off a bit.

"Hi, Neil," I said.

"Hi, Hannah," he said, and he reached over to shake my hand. "I'm Neil."

I blinked. "I know," I said.

I didn't think about it too much
. I shook his hand.

His fingers felt a little cold.

"Why are your fingers—"

For half a heartbeat, everything looked so bright. No wait,
white
.

"...I know it sounds weird, but I swear it works. It's my sister's new favorite thing. And I think you should try it. I wouldn't mind taking you. The closest I think is in Alabang, but I can ask your
tita
if you're worried that she won't let you go with me. Or we can go after a school thing, like your museum trip? Will she be okay with that?"