Priory // h.s.

chapter twenty-seven

Lunch the next day is one of the most awkward things I've ever had to endure.

Harry is so focused on his meal that he doesn't look up for nearly the entire half-hour, methodically cutting his sandwich into tiny pieces and chewing each morsel about a hundred thousand times. It would be hilarious, if I weren't so busy trying to get myself to stop staring at him.

With only five minutes left of lunch-break, he finally looks up. "What?"

I regard him coolly, though my face feels abnormally hot. "What?"

"You're staring at me."

I cross my arms over my chest. "Am not."

"Are too."

Sighing, I mutter, "Aren't we going to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" He zips up his lunchbox and refuses to meet my gaze.

"You know what."

"Hm."

I swallow. "The kiss."

Harry freezes, and it's like time is suspended for that duration. When he replies, his face is devoid of emotion. "What's there to talk about?"

Is he being serious right now? "Why'd you do it?"

His jaw clenches.

"I mean, I thought you hated--disliked me."

His eyes darken to olive.

"We barely know each other; we're hardly even friends--"

He sucks in a breath.

"--and then you... you just up and kiss me out of nowhere."

The lunch bell rings, signaling that it's time to head back to work. Harry stands up and glares down at me; I find myself wilting beneath his glower. "You know what? Just forget it, Amber. Like you said, I dislike you. We barely know each other and we're hardly even friends."

Too late, I realize my mistake. "Harry, I didn't mean to--"

"No need to apologize for telling me the truth. Don't worry; it wasn't like I thought we were close or anything, either."

"Yeah?" I'm standing now, too. "Then why the hell did you kiss me? What did it mean?"

Pain glances across his features. "Nothing, obviously. It was a mistake," he spits. "And so was ever agreeing to let you help me with my investigation. I should've known this would happen."

His words hurt me, but I don't let it show. Instead, I let anger serve as a handy disguise, snapping, "Guess you're not as smart as you'd like to think."

Seething, I whirl around and march away.

 —

"Jesus, Amber. Go easy on that test tube, would you? You're going to break everything if you keep slamming stuff around like that."

"Sorry," I apologize to Reyna, placing the glass tube down in a more gentle fashion. "I'm just--"

"In a bad mood? Don't worry about it. We all have those days."

I smile a little. "Yeah," I say with a sigh.

My lab partner bends over our microscope, scrawling notes down on a pad of paper. "Did you hear? One of the Lab Twos got promoted."

I give her a nod. "Yep. Kenneth Asperg. He's my roommate's boyfriend." I don't tell her about the relationship problems it's causing between him and Jillian; doubt she cares very much. 

"Smart kid. Not very many Lab Twos get promoted to the next rank."

"What is the next rank? Is it a Lab Three?" I ask before I can help myself.

Reyna gives me a suspicious glance. "I'd assume so, but no one knows for sure. You know how guarded Lab 3 is."

"Believe me, I know," I mumble. 

Reyna peels off her white gloves and douses her hands in sanitizer. "Someday, I hope to be promoted. At least to become a Lab Two."

"As soon as they choose someone to promote, they'll pick you," I assure her. "You're the best this lab's got."

She cracks a little grin. "Thanks. I know I could do a lot more, if they'd let me."

I'm sure she could; Reyna's absolutely brilliant, there's no doubt there. It's a mystery to me why she's still a Lab One. From what I know, she's worked here for a bit, and there's absolutely no reason why she shouldn't be a Lab Two. 

Maura approaches our table at that point, interrupting our line of conversation. "Excuse me, ladies. Hate to interrupt, but Mr. Reeves has an assignment for a couple of interns to carry out. Mr. Billings is sparing one of his Lab Twos, and so of course I have to send one of you guys. Would either of you be interested?"

"I'll go," I say, before I can stop myself. 

If she finds my instant volunteering all the more reason to be suspicious of me, Maura doesn't let on. She merely hands me a binder of papers. "Here's the assignment. The place you're going to isn't too far, so you guys can walk. Your Lab Two partner should be waiting down in the parking lot by now; I think Mr. Billings said he already sent his volunteer down. Hurry along, now, don't keep everyone waiting."

Giving her a quick nod, I tuck the binder under my arm. "See you later," I whisper to Reyna. She nods, not looking too concerned about my absence; I think she'll like the chance to prove what she's got by performing our experiments all by herself.

Oh well. I've got an errand to run.

With that, I toss off my labcoat, get into the elevator, and make my way down to the parking lot.