The Class Reject: A Pariah in Purgatory (Book II)

Chapter 12

        

Chapter 12

            Try Miles was Miren.

            Or Miren was Miles—Ugh, she was beginning to have trouble telling who exactly she was. Jeno and about seventy-percent of the students had left for the five-day Thanksgiving weekend. Which meant she was stuck with her thoughts. And they were destructive by nature.

            Sprawled on her bed (no gauze or bras, hallelujah), she let her mind wander. She considered the future, her non-existent future, as she drifted in and out of slumber. Penelope plagued these thoughts, but she ignored all feelings associated with the girl. There was a time they were friends. Then they weren't and Penelope made her life hell. Now she was going to make Penelope's life hell.

            It was the circle of life.

            But how could she take down the girl who had everything? There was only a small window of opportunity to inflict irreparable damage. But what would undo Van Helsing completely?

            Miren bit her lip as she considered an even more unsightly reality. Maybe she couldn't take her down. Maybe she was just wasting her time. Maybe all of this is a waste of time.

            There was a knock on the door, probably just the RD making sure she hadn't masturbated to death or escaped from the window to go to a party.

            "I'm alive," she replied to door. The knocking stopped and she rose to her feet. It was hard to believe she had spent more than twenty-four hours in her dorm room, but her homework was done, and she had been eating more for necessity than hunger. So after she pulled on a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt and one of Jeno's coats, she braved the outdoors.

            The weather channel predicted snow for later in the week, and she could believe it. She cursed herself for forgetting gloves and for coming outside in general as she passed the mess hall.

            "What the fuck am I doing out here?" she said as she took in the empty campus. The sight should have been peaceful, but it was already getting dark, which just made the sight more eerie. She gritted her teeth as they began to chatter in the cold and headed back to the dorm. Vending machine dinner it was.

            "Miles?" Miren looked up, and saw Artemis walking down the steps of Woodley Hall with a small box. She pulled her hood down to get a better look at the girl before deciding against it. Artemis was standing in front of her. It wasn't a figment of her imagination. Oh why couldn't it be a figment of her imagination?!

            Miren forced a smile. "What brings you here?"

            Artemis shifted the box in her hands for emphasis. "I wanted to get some of my things from Soren's room. The RD retrieved them for me. I've been missing my comics for years now."

            Miren raised a brow. "You read comics?"

            "I'm a nerd. I'm not afraid to admit it." She shrugged. "Ms. Marvel is low-key my inspiration."

            "There's no shame in that," Miren said, putting her hands in her pockets. "Well, I should probably leave you. It's Thanksgiving and you probably have plans."

            "I don't." Artemis pursed her lips. "My parents are in Cairo doing some business stuff. And my brother is too busy with his ER residency to even take a break himself, let alone play house with me." She shrugged again. "Are you up to anything? I wouldn't mind some company."