Faith Heights

Chapter 21

If I thought the school was treating me oddly before, then I was in for a rude shock as I passed through the halls the next day. Everyone stared as if they expected me to burst into flames at a moment's notice. And after passing the final interview, a small part of me thought I might, too. 

Yet, now, I had no reason to fear their stares; I knew why everyone was watching. Knowing that I belonged here helped to keep me from looking at my feet, or avoiding the thousand other students in the building. Most of the pressure I'd let weigh down my shoulders for months was gone, as if I was finally able to take a deep breath. Now, all I had to do was wait for my last test.  My soulmate's confirmation that I really was who everyone believed. 

I struggled not to think about what that test might hold for me. If I didn't pass, then I was able to return home to my old life and friends, with an ignorant bliss surrounding my memories of Faith Heights. I knew I wouldn't explicitly forget Rhea, Jackson or Nick, but everything else, from the gruesome cellar-like gym rooms to Theo's transformation in the woods, would be wiped from my mind. I didn't want to forget, but if I failed my test, then I would leave without any regrets- except the ones that Leclair instilled in my mind to replace the supernatural.

But if I passed my last test... then I not only had a permanent place in the supernatural community, but a predetermined soulmate. Someone I was expected to spend the rest of my life with. I'd avoided dating for most of high school, and had always had a very clear, focused plan for what I wanted to achieve through university. If I met someone along the way, great. If not, then I'd move to Phase Three of The Plan. But, now, all my priorities were being rearranged for me, by a blonde angel that I had yet to meet. At least in this lifetime. 

Rhea had passed her final interview, too. Like all the other scholarship students though, she was still oblivious to the uncanny world encircling her. She'd be informed of the truth once her soulmate confirmed her identity, just as I was supposed to be.

It had become increasingly difficult to stay by Rhea's side when she could tell I was keeping things from her. I now understood why Jackson had felt obliged to confess his secrets to me; if I came across anyone from my life in Griffith, I'd struggle to keep a straight face, let alone lie to them about my new reality. Jackson had claimed that it wouldn't be wise to confide in Rhea, since her identity wasn't contingent upon an angel's confirmation. She didn't need the mental preparation, I supposed. Rhea was something more of a common case, but I couldn't pull much more than that out of Jackson. Whenever I mentioned her name, Jackson would blush furiously, and always changed the subject away from anything Rhea-related.

It was because of my frustrating inability to lie that I was avoiding the other scholarship students more and more, studying with Jackson and his friends instead of Rhea and the others in our class. I even turned down her next offer to drive into town, despite the chance it would offer to see Nick again. Instead, I laid sprawled under a shady tree on the lawn with Gabe and James, while Theo, Dylan and Jackson kicked a football across the grass' length. Theo had tried to catch me off guard a few times and thrown the ball my way, but he'd quickly learnt that it wasn't the best idea when I'd ended up with a purple bruise covering half my cheek. Truly, I thought they would have been sick of my presence by now; I was constantly badgering them with questions, keeping a nightly written log of everything I learnt about them and the other supernatural students. But I eventually realised that, despite how exasperating they clearly found my interrogations, I was a novelty to them, too. A fact that I took full advantage of.

I was studying at one of the library's larger tables with Jackson's friends when Lydia Clarke approached us in a pair of blindingly yellow heels. She wore a similarly bright cardigan over a red dress, cinched at her waist by a thick black belt. Her blue eyes widened as she smiled at each of us, and in my peripherals, I noticed each of the boys sit up a little straighter.