King of Corium (Corium University Trilogy 1)

As soon as I enter the large doors leading into the library, I relax a little. Pulling off the hood, I walk around and glance between every aisle until I find Brittney. I finally spot her in the fiction section with her nose deep inside a book.

“Checking out the romance books again?”

My voice drags her out of whatever universe she was visiting, and her eyes snap up to me.

“Oh, hi!” She closes the book in front of her abruptly and quickly shoves it on the shelves. “Just doing a routine quality check. It’s part of my job,” she says innocently.

“Sure, it is.” I laugh, feeling a little lighter already. Brittney has become a friend, my only friend, making the library the only place I’m actually welcome. My smile fades at the thought of how lonely I really am. Even though I have Brittney, I only see her at the place she works. She probably wouldn’t even be my friend if she didn’t work here.

“What’s the matter? You look a little pale.” Brittney walks over, concern etched into her face. She pats my shoulder as if she actually cares.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just haven’t eaten anything today.” Or yesterday, I add in my mind.

“Well, you are in luck then. Because I brought lunch, and there is plenty for both of us.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to—”

“I told you, there is plenty for both of us,” she interrupts. “Now, let’s go and get you fed before you fall over. You’re already skinny as hell.”

Taking my arm, she basically drags me across the library and into her office. “You just sit.” She pushes me into the chair and disappears into another room that’s attached. I hear the bing of the microwave, and then the wonderful scent of savory aroma fills the air. I have to muffle a moan. My stomach is growling so loud, I’m surprised Brittney can’t hear it from the other room.

A moment later, she reappears, carrying two full plates in her hands. “Here you go, dear.” She places a plate in front of me and hands me a fork. I try not to eat like a savage, but it’s hard not to shovel food into my mouth like I haven’t eaten in days.

To make it less awkward, I try to make some small talk between large bites.

“Have you worked here for a long time?”

“This is only my second year, but this year is much more fun since I actually have a student coming to the library.” She giggles.

“How old are you?” I ask while shoving pieces of marinated chicken into my mouth.

“How old do you think I am?” She retorts, spearing a piece of romaine lettuce on her fork. I tilt my head to the side and examine her face. Other than some fine lines around her eyes, nothing else shows her age.

“If I had to guess, I’d say late twenties?”

“Your guess is correct.” She beams, and her smile is contagious enough that it makes me smile too. I’ve only known Brittney a short while, but she gives me a different vibe than any of the other staff I’ve come across here. Each person has been hateful and dismissive, including the damn headmaster. I can’t help but wonder how she ended up working here, and while I know it’s a bit rude to ask, I can’t help myself.

“Sorry if this question comes off as stepping over the line between student and teacher, but how did you end up getting a job here? You don’t seem like a criminal. I mean, maybe you are, but you’re good at hiding it.”

Brittney lets out a low laugh, and her cheeks flush red. I can’t tell if I’ve embarrassed her or if I’ve done something wrong.

“Well, it’s kind of a long story… and a little personal.” Her cheeks are bright red now, and she’s looking at me like she isn’t sure if she should tell me.

“I totally understand if you don’t want to tell me. I was just curious.”

Brittney shakes her head. “No, no. It’s okay, it’s just…” Her eyes skirt away for a moment before coming back to meet mine, and then she lets out a breath. “I went through a bit of a wild phase in my college days. I was dating a computer geek at the time, and he showed me everything he knew about hacking and getting into stuff I had no business getting into.”

My mouth pops open, and I won’t lie. I’m kind of shocked by her response.

“He taught you how to hack into people’s computers?” I want to tell her how cool that is, but I don’t since I get the feeling this story isn’t going in a good direction.

She nods. “Phoenix taught me everything.”

“His name was Phoenix?

“Yes, I always loved his name too. His username was Firebird.” She giggles, and a spark I’ve never seen before flashes over her eyes but vanishes faster than it appeared.