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64: LETTER
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The Mate Agreement 65: EVERY STORY NEEDS A DRESS UP MONTAGE
I wake up the next day to the good news that Miss Valerie will be evaluating the rest of our Mate 101 scores based on our interactions with our mates during the school trip. It’s basically a guarantee that I have passed the class with flying colors, but the good news does little to lift the cloud of gloom I’ve slept and woken up with. Evin tells me the school management are in a hurry to graduate us, eager to usher in another set of students. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Just a month ago, I’d been sick of this whole school, and dying to graduate so I could return to my pack house. Now, I’m not so sure I want to leave. I’m not so sure I’m ready to leave. I don’t even want to get out of this bed. “It’s two in the afternoon already.” Evin says, wiggling her feet into black knee-high boots, before standing up and smoothing down the sequin mini-dress she’s wearing. This is the third time she’d come back to the dorm room to change her outfit for the portfolio photos
The Mate Agreement 66: PROM IT UP
Time flies by quicker than I could grasp.We’d stayed in Bonnie’s Boutique until it was almost sundown the previous day, but I ended up finding the perfect dress. Or at least what both Wilma and Bibah agreed was the perfect dress. To me, it seemed a little too much for prom.By the time we got back to school, I was too exhausted to do anything else, so I crashed into bed and welcomed the slumber. Early the next morning, Evin woke me up to remind me that today was my last chance to get my academic bearings properly done; transcripts, reports, and the official college application recommendations for those of us with the intention to pursue higher education.So while the rest of the seniors bubbled with excitement and counted down the few hours until prom, I went from one administrative office to another, getting everything for my graduation ready. But I liked it, because it took my mind off things I didn’t want to think about. Like William Ravenstone. Mostly.It had been more than twent
The Mate Agreement 67: FRAGMENTS OF MY SOUL
I slip out of the ballroom.My feet hurt from dancing in heels, so I kick off the red shoes and hold them in my hand as I make my way outside. I can hear the soft bass of Wildest Dream by Taylor Swift playing back inside, and it’s so hauntingly beautiful hearing the bridge out in the hallway that I’m tempted to go back in.But I’m too sad. My heart feels too heavy.And the sound of the downpour of rain outside pulls me.The wind is howling, swaying the branches of the trees in the distance. I take a deep breath; a lung-full of the scent of rain on sand. I step into it, barefoot in the grass, my silk dress trailing behind. Craning my head up towards the sky, I feel every raindrop on my skin, eyes closed lips slightly parted. It’s magic. It’s comfort. It’s peace. It’s perfect. Almost. I unpin my hair and shake it, flinging droplets of rain.I can still hear the soft echoes of the song from the ballroom, and like a mad woman, I begin to twirl barefoot in the rain, dancing, crying, singing
The Mate Agreement 68: GRADUATION
I stand near the school gates, tapping my foot. My black heels sink a little into the damp earth with each movement, causing me to stumble slightly here and there. I keep my gaze on the gate with rapt attention and laser focus, impatiently waiting.I glance down at my phone. No calls, just a message from Bibah telling me to get back to the hall, that graduation is now in full swing. I dial my mom’s number.I look back to the gates again, chewing my bottom lip. My mother is running thirty minutes late. But that isn’t all. She always, always answers her phone, but this is the twelfth time I’ve called, each going to voicemail.I wait for the beep as the call goes to her answering machine. Her voice floods my ears for the twelfth time, mechanical and formal.*Camille here, leave a message.*“Mom, where are you?! It’s starting already. Call me back as soon as you get this, please.” I say, then sigh and end the call, hoping she’s just in a place that had little or no service.I tuck the pho
The Mate Agreement 69: COUP
I’m not particularly fond of planes.There’s something about the flying pieces of metal that’s just unnatural to me. I’m not exactly scared of heights, but being a thousand feet in the air and stuck in a moving contraption of metal and technology is a bit unnerving. Or maybe it is just my claustrophobia kicking in.I lean back in the ridiculously comfortable seat. William had booked us both first class tickets on the plane heading for Deveras. I’d flown coach once, but this is much nicer. I sigh, and sink deeper into the seat. We’d manage to make it in time for the flight thanks to Akio’s transporting skills and his older sister’s fast car that literally teleported us to the airport.“Comfortable?” William asks, leaning sideways in his seat to watch me.I nod. “It’s just a flying piece of metal anyways.”He chuckles, then a worried expression envelopes his face. He takes my hand, looking at me seriously. “It’s going to be okay, you know that right?” He whispers.I’m not so sure.If an
The Mate Agreement 70: BANG
I kick the door behind me close softly with the heel of my foot, earning a warning glare from the man pointing a gun at my head. He presses the barrel deeper, applying enough pressure that I’m pretty sure will leave a mark on my temple.I pray by some universal miracle that William takes a hint of the closed door. Impossible, almost, but a girl can hope.Lucien takes his time walking down the stairs.I glare at him steadily.He looks slightly older than the last time I’d seen him. The neatly kept beard is new, but the dark curly hair with streaks of white here and there is something I’m familiar with. The cigarette in the corner of his thin lips glows; smoke enticingly rising upwards in a wiggly line. For someone in his late forties, he sure doesn’t look his age.I guess evil keeps a person young.He smirks, and it takes everything in me to not lunge at him and punch that stupid expression off his face. He flicks the cigarette on the floor as he reaches the bottom of the stairs, and s
The Mate Agreement 71: A FRENZIED CAR CHASE THE LEXIE WAY
The sun glares down at me; too bright for being in the dark for too long. There’s danger in the air, oxygen burning up my lungs. Every muscle in my body begs to jump into action.A gunshot!Adrenaline pumps in my veins. It feels like salvation. Everything is somehow sharper, stronger, faster. The crisp breeze blows through the tendrils of my chopped hair as I sprint out of the driveway, towards the parking lot, eyes searching for the car and for Lexie.I spot the faded blue 80’s Volkswagen Rabbit pickup just as Lexie honks at us. I don’t turn around to see the armed men giving chase. Neither does William. He flings open the door of the backseat, and slides inside, my mom still limply thrown over his shoulder.I follow suit; cramping myself into the front passenger seat next to Lexie, she throws the backpack on her lap to mine, and I push it into a heap at my feet and slam the door shut.“Go!” I yell, looking into the rear view mirror and seeing the armed men take aim on the vehicle, r
The Mate Agreement 72: UNLIKELY ALLIANCES
Lexie drives us to a field with an open stretch of land. It looks like the place had been commissioned for an industrial building, but the foundations were yet to be put in place. For what seems like stretch of miles in every direction, there are only industrial buildings and factories. We are a safe distance from Deveras civilization. William makes a phone call outside while Lexie and I stay in the car, the windows doing little to shield us from the pollution in the air.I move to the backseat and cradle my mom’s unconscious body. She’s breathing fine, but no amount of shaking or talking has woken her up yet. Most of her wounds are still fresh, unable to heal. Something must be impairing her fast healing abilities.My phone rings from the front seat.Lexie rummages through the dashboard compartment where she had stuffed most of the things I’d shaken out of her backpack, and hands me my ringing phone.“Thanks.” I say, collecting it from her, grateful not only for the massive help she
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The Mate Agreement 105: YOU’RE KINDA HOT WHEN YOU NAG
The Mate Agreement 104: LOST TO WHIMSY
The Mate Agreement 103: IMMERSED
