Page 8 of Stay Toxic
“It’s…fine,” I find myself saying. “As you said, I wasn’t there, and you didn't have my number to warn me, after all.” I clear my throat, awkward as fuck, especially in the wake of her own ease and familiarity. “We definitely should exchange details. You’re Ari, right? And I go by Tia, not Hestia.”
“I get it. Ari is short for Ariktha. A bit of a mouthful, right? Teachers never got it right when I was growing up, so I just asked everyone to stick to Ari.”
She brings out her phone, and offers a QR code for me to scan.
I extract the phone number and send her a quick text.
“Oh, and I got us chocolate,” I say, remembering the box I picked up in town.
“Oh my gosh, aren’t you thesweetest?” She eagerly opens the box, and presents it to me before taking one.
Her genuine enthusiasm having erased my filter as well as my anxiety, I find myself confessing, “I’m glad you’re cool about warning me when you’re having some guys around.” I wince. “After last night, I went to see if I could change rooms and now the receptionist thinks I’m a bigot. I didn’t even see you! Not that it would have changed anything,” I’m quick to add, “I just figured I’d be better off paired with someone without that kind of social life…”
Ari scoffs. “Don’t sweat it, I’ll tell her you walked in on us, she’ll get it.”
“You would?” I blink, surprised by her offer.
Who would volunteer to snitch on themselves to the faculty about that kind of stuff?
“Well, yeah,” she replies with a shrug. “It was a blonde, preppy clothes, severe hairstyle, right?”
I nod.
“That’s my cousin. She knows what I’m like.”
“Really?” I don’t hide my surprise.
Ari is golden-skinned, with thick, dark brown hair, and a straight nose, which makes her ethnicity impossible to guess, but also, clearly not strictly white. The girl from yesterday was your average all-American Cali girl—albeit a little more mature.
“I’m a third-generation Thorn Falls kid, tracing back to when the town was created,” she tells me, returning to her books, “so I’m related to half of the families from southie and the west side.”
“Wow. You’re from a founding family?”
Thorn Falls, while too small to be called a city, is notorious as an economic power on the West Coast. The handful of families who built this town are very well known. It’s one of the reasons why Mother let me come here. She can’t resist the chance of making political connections with this town through me. Honestly, I’m surprised she fell for it; I never was the best at cultivating relationships with what she considers therightpeople. They bore me to tears, though I suppose Calla qualifies, and she seemed all right.
Ari laughs. “More like my grandma used to clean the founder’s toilets. How about you, where are you from?” she asks, which is the most natural follow-up, but I can’t help a grimace.
I don’t want to talk about where I’m from, my past, or my family, but that’s unavoidable during introductions.
“New Mexico, born and raised,” I say, hoping to leave it at that. “But my father’s family is from New York. Need help with those?” I offer, jumping on a change of subject.
“Thanks for offering, but I’m fussy about my books,” she replies, bouncing across the room to offer me another chocolate.
There are at least eight piles of ten books each spread across her bed. At first glance, it’s an eclectic selection: I spot some covers that seem like classics, others, fantasy, contemporary romances. Even the odd thriller, in black and white with bold yellow type.
“I like to shelve them in order of preference, and those I haven’t read yet have their own shelves, and then there’s also series, colors…”
“You’re a true bookworm.” I grin.
“Please,” she snorts. “I’m a bookdragon. These are just a few I can’t part with, and those want to read this week. You should see my library at home.”
I’m so glad I didn’t get my way last night. It would have been a shame to miss out on getting to know Ari.
“Something tells me we’ll get along just fine. I read every day,” I say. “Though I tend to stick to ebooks.”
I’ve never wanted to stay home; the idea of having tons of cherished material possessions to move when I can finally escape isn’t appealing. It’s much easier to just grab my e-reader.
“I know they’re better for the environment, but I just refuse to spend ten bucks on a virtual book the retailers can take back, when the hardcovers or paperbacks are the same price. Cheaper, sometimes,” she rants.
