The Mating School

Chapter 37

The second level was different than the rest of the school. Lily and Anne had only seen a small section on their first visit to retrieve the prophecy. 

It had a much more open and futuristic feel to it. The floors were paved with cobblestone, and one wall of the overlarge corridor was entirely a window that let in a bright view of the edge of the lake. 

The room Lily was taken to was a large meeting space with a long wooden table and chairs. It was too big of a room it seemed for just the four of them. Mrs. Bernette, and two men, who'd introduced themselves as Mr. Hatchet, and Mr. Richardson. Apparently in this company, she wasn't Lily, but rather Miss Ikenna. It seemed cold somehow. If they were there to be friendly and create allies... then why did they say Anne couldn't come? Why were they Mr. Richardson when he might have been... just Mark? A potential new friend and ally. Assuming Mark was his first name... 

'I'd rather have respect than just a title', thought Lily.

"Miss Ikenna, Thank you for coming," said Mr. Hatchet. "We'd hoped you might have come sooner to establish allegiance to the ruling committee."

"A lot was going on," said Lily. "I didn't know it was expected of me, and I didn't even know about ...the situation until recently."

"That's understandable," said Mr. Richardson. "But seeing how devastating it would be to the shifter and Lycan societies if things didn't work out favorably I would have thought you would have made this more of a priority."

"With respect," said Lily, "I didn't know what I didn't know, and our new relationship shouldn't be rooted in the doubt caused by not knowing."

"That's understood," said Mr. Hatchet, "But it's been months. I know you're new to the field of politics Miss Ikenna, but things move fast here, and waits like that... in the future, will not be interpreted kindly."

Lily didn't say anything. What could she say? This wasn't a good way to create a new ally in her mind.. with reprimanding. She didn't do anything wrong. 

"This response may seem harsh," said Mrs. Bernette, "We understand that you've been working to adapt to your new situation. But we hope that you understand how meticulous the situation is, and how it would impact such a vast amount of people if the Lycan situation didn't work out amicably."

"It sure would be unfortunate if it wasn't amicable," said Lily, feeling the situation wasn't amicable at all. Sure they might be heading the current government and the school, but that didn't mean she wasn't deserving of respect and kindness.

"Very well." said Mrs. Bernette, "We'll not speak again of the delay in establishing our union. Please do have a seat." 

"Moving forward, things are rather straightforward," said Mr. Richardson, as they got settled. "Mr. Hatchet, you have the document?"

"It is here," he said, sliding it to where Lily sat. It was large and square, and there was a faint smell of peppermint. 

Lily leaned a bit closer to try to read it. The print was small.. which wouldn't have been a problem for any shifter, but for some reason, it was hard to read, as if focusing on the words caused the lines in the letters to wiggle a bit and start to reshape themselves.

"Go ahead dear," said Mrs. Bernette. "You'll have to sign at the bottom."

Lily picked up the paper as Mrs. Bernette suggested. It was thick and stiff like parchment. The scent was overwhelming, and it made her feel.. odd. Why would a government body have oversized scented contracts? They'd be hard to file it seems. Were all the documents scented also? Maybe with different scents. 

Lily imagined an intern attempting to file them all and how the smell of so many mixed scents would become a mixed pot of chaos. She nearly laughed but caught herself. She looked up and the other three people... the government officials.. and it all seemed so odd to her. 

They all sat perched in their chairs so tensely. And the view of the lake beyond the window glistening in the clear blue sky of summer... She imagined how the sun would feel on her skin, and how the fresh grass would smell...

And instead, here she was. In this cold room. In a meeting, she wasn't understanding. Needing to sign a document that she couldn't seem to read, in a tense atmosphere that was so thick that it felt like she could have cut it with a razor blade. Like cutting through paper. Like a paper heart, she'd cut out once when she was so young to give to a friend. 

She looked down at the paper again... did she have to sign it? They'd be angry if she didn't and yet... they are the government and .. she'd done nothing wrong. And yet the echo of the prophecy played in her mind. The memory of her and Anne finding it seemed like such a long time ago. The raspy words of the prophecy warbled out of the glass orb like a music box playing near a child's crib in a nursery.

'She will unite with states before. Or there will follow brutal war, and friendship will be nevermore...'

Maybe her being here at all could be defined as her uniting. She'd had every intention to be amicable... did they?

She picked up the metal pen. It felt icy between her fingers. She'd have to at least seem amicable...

So with a heavy heart, she scribbled a random loopy scratch on the line at the bottom of the contract. The others seemed to heave a sigh of relief as one.

"Thank you Miss Ikenna." 

"Don't mention it," said Lily. She could feel the effects of it already. She knew what they'd done. It seemed that she could attempt to be amicable and 'unite' as the prophecy seemed to suggest, but the reality was it wasn't meant to be.

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