The Book of Firsts

Three

Tuesday of my second week at Corascur, and I was sitting in the office of Ms Lezecki, the guidance counsellor, listening to her catalogue my classes.

"It’s not that I don’t think you perfectly capable of mastering this curriculum, Mikaela," she said. "But these additional IB credits are very intensive, and you may have underestimated the workload." She held up a hand as I started to speak. "I have no intention of wasting your time or mine attempting to persuade you to change your courses. But I am suggesting you consider putting in a special circumstances application to Dorner House. Since you have no relatives in the city, I’ve no doubt the application would be accepted, moving you to the top of the waiting list for a room in the dormitories. With your study load, you don’t need the added burden of travel, let alone the practicalities of living alone."

She handed me a pamphlet about Corascur’s boarding facilities, and I promised to consider it, tucked the pamphlet away, and then headed to pick up a sandwich before climbing a tree. I wasn’t going to rush just because I might be going to kiss someone—and didn’t quite know who.

My self-restraint paid dividends as I neared the top of the wall. Voices. I froze on a lower branch, listening.

"…pity to leave it empty. Why don’t you eat lunch here every day?"

"I’d be a poor president if I cut myself off so frequently. Going around and about at lunch gives people a chance to raise issues with me informally—and I’ll hear more of the gossip. Besides, I like the idea of this garden as a special retreat, a place where I can shut myself away and concentrate. Along with holding the occasional council meeting. You sure you’ve got everything this time?"

The question held both a smile and an ironic note, and though I was too low to see over the wall, I could well picture Rin’s expression. A few muffled, indeterminate sounds followed, and Rin laughed.

"No, Vicki. Really and truly no."

Rin’s companion made an exasperated sound. "I’m not fooled by this story about only focusing on study this year. No-one believes you mean it. What’s going on?"

"What people believe doesn’t matter," Rin said lightly, to the accompaniment of the faint squeak of the gate. "And it will always be really and truly no, Vicki."

That last sentence had held a great deal of flint. I would wince to be on the receiving end, and felt a rush of sympathy for the unseen Vicki.

Swinging my feet, I waited as the gate shut once again, and the key turned. I had no classes in common with the Three Kings, but even without reading the forums, simply keeping my ears open the previous week had provided a wealth of detail. Not everyone was a fan, but they all seemed to have an opinion, and a general picture had built up. Bran was troubled, distant and eccentric. Kyou, despite a weakness for jibes, was competent and helpful. Rin, warm and kind, had by far the best reputation—that of a perfect gentleman—but there had been a mention of a dislike of being pushed, and an occasional hair-trigger temper. He hadn’t struck me at all as warm and kind, and I found the contrast intriguing.

"I feel like I should call here kitty kitty," Rin said, from beyond the wall. "Are you there, Cheshire?"

I climbed up from my branch to perch again on the wall. "A proper Cheshire would just sit here, spouting cryptic comments and snark," I said.

"A maddening creature, to be sure." He was gazing up at me with a faint, gentle smile that I didn’t trust at all.

"And you were right about winning, I see." I jumped down, and was struck once again by how tall he was. I wasn’t used to feeling short.

"Nothing like being first," he said, voice dropping a note in tone. "Thank you for playing, Cheshire."

Because being there at all meant I’d agreed. I would kiss Rin now, and later Bran and Kyou, then progress down a list. I suspected I was going to enjoy myself immensely.

"Ready when you are," I said.

Rin placed his hands behind his back, then leaned forward. An unhurried brush of the lips, and a gentle taste. No clumsy attempt to thrust his tongue down my throat, but instead an incremental increase in intensity, until I found myself pressed against the wall while Rin, hands still held so there was no chance of touching me, sent tingles all through me.

At last, he lifted his head, enough so that we were no longer touching. I needed a moment before I could speak.

"I think that was more than a minute."

"I wasn’t counting," he replied, still smiling faintly. "And I begin to understand that the next couple of weeks might constitute a peculiar form of torture."

His mouth was still very close to mine, and I laughed softly, knowing he would feel my breath.

"You three are the ones who came up with that list. Didn’t you think over what it would do to you?"

"A slow build up makes the pay off all the better. In theory. Whether I can get through the next few steps…"

He drew back a little, kissed me on the cheek, then stepped away.

Rin was not the only one the drawn-out nature of the challenge was going to test to the limit. Deciding that, with today’s encounter complete, there was no reason to remain, I climbed back to the top of the wall, glanced down at him watching me, and then dropped down to the nearest branch.

I was going to have to exercise the strictest mental discipline over the next couple of months. And start bringing spare underwear to school.