By the time Evren had found Lisa again, his sister Mabel was already there by her side. She looked at him with disgust, pulling Lisa behind her, as though she needed to be protected.
“Gross, big brother,” she stuck out her tongue at him. “Why are you trying to talk to Lisa like she’s your friend? Stay away from us, I don’t want anyone to find out we’re related.”
Her words just washed over him, ineffectually. He'd heard worse before from her. Instead of listening, he admired the way Mabel had grown out her thick, dark hair, and her near-black eyes were as lovely as ever. They mirrored his own, those not as masculine as his were, not to mention their noses and mouths were the same. There was no denying their family resemblance. He would've called her cute, if she wasn’t such a terror to him all the time.
Change of plans.
Rather than partner hunting, he spent the rest of the day planning for his new courses. Junior courses were notoriously much harder than freshman courses. He looked through all the documents on the shelf he shared with Lyra. He noticed a few of them he'd never read before, and some others that he thought merited re-reading once his courses were started.
Then, after eating final meal by himself in his room, he went outside and noticed that the shadow of the sun’s light was setting. Using the walls of the Nexus, he had learned how to tell time with precision. The light was all the way up in Level B, which meant it was after 7 bells. The Junior Dance was already underway.
Evren briefly considered not attending, though he knew that wasn’t an option. Attendance was mandatory. He sighed once again and started off down the stairs to Zone 4G, where the Junior Dance Hall could be found.
* * * * * * * * *
The Dance Hall's ceiling was lower than most halls, hanging just out of Evren's reach, which served to create a more intimate atmosphere. Colorful lights sprang from stones embedded in the walls, tinting the moving bodies of the second year students in vibrant, gut-wrenching colors. The music was loud and repetitive, but the exciting buzz of the harmony and the deep boom of the bass line was compelling, and nearly everyone in the hall was out on the floor dancing.
It reminded Evren of a natural cave, probably by design, and featured towering stalagmites growing from the floor while huge stalactites hung ominously overhead. The smooth floor rippled like a wave, hardened into rock. As Evren crossed the floor, he felt like a boat navigating an undulating sea.
Where was she?
“Hey Evren, good to see you again,” his friend Arthur shouted over the music. He pointed over to a tall, thin girl with her straw-colored hair in pigtails he was dancing with. “You’ve met Delores, right?”
“Yeah, we were paired for a few activities last year. Hi, Delores.”
“Hi, Evren,” she replied smiling, then she looked him up and down appraisingly. “Why are you wearing your uniform to the dance? Don’t you have any casual clothes?”
“Naw, I outgrew them all last year.”
“Well, at least take off your necktie and undo the top button,” Arthur laughed. “You’re not attending a lecture. By the way, Delores and I are partners now.”
“Wow, congratulations you two,” Evren said, trying to be cheerful about it. He didn’t know what else to say.
“Thanks, I’m just glad he said yes,” Delores added, taking Evren’s pause as a request to hear the story. “I was thinking about him, well him and a few other boys, the whole summer, planning on the perfect partnership for Junior year. Then I asked him right away this morning.”
“She didn’t even wait to see who her trial partner would be!” Arthur crowed, as if that were the funniest part. Evren felt like a rock was forming in the pit of his stomach.
“Anyhow,” Arthur concluded, gesturing across the room, "I saw Blaise and Reginald over there. They both have new partners. Where’s your partner at?”
“I’m looking for her now,” Evren said, jumping on the opportunity to get out of that conversation. “Have either of you seen Lyra around?”
“No way!” Delores said, jumping back into the middle. “Are you back with Lyra again? What happened to Frederick?”
“He’s gone.” Evren replied simply.
Arthur and Delores exchanged looks. They moved in closer to him until the three of them looked like conspirators. Evren was surprised when Delores’ cheek bumped into his, but she didn’t seem bothered by it.
“The same thing happened to Stanley, I heard.” Arthur hissed. “Tonya arrived at the Academy today to find she had gone from Top Ranked in the freshman year to trial partner on day 1 of Junior year. Whoever gets her is going to have a hard time living up to expectations!”
“Where did he go?” Evren whispered back.
“What do you mean?” Arthur replied. He and Delores exchanged another confused look. ”He’s gone, Evren. But if I were you I’d go check on Lyra. Last I saw, she was talking with Joshua in the Private Dance room.”
He pointed to a bend in the hall that twisted out of view, so it seemed to lead to another chamber all together. Arthur was still talking but Evren couldn’t hear a word that was being said. The room seemed to dim around him, as he felt a wave of regret pass over him. What he feared would happen was happening. Just as he’d gotten the partner of his dreams, he was going to lose her!
Without another word, Evren pulled himself away from the conversation and strode in the direction she had indicated. As he strode away, he could hear Delores call after him, “Don’t be too disappointed. You two are really not at the same level at all.”
The bend in the hall blocked out the heavy beat of the main hall, leading to a smaller quieter space. The lighting was softer, and the music was dulcet and slow. A few couples were dancing, swaying in one another's arms, much closer than simple partners would ever dance. One girl had her head on her partner's shoulder. Another couple was surreptitiously kissing as they moved. The mood here was sexually charged.
A wooden stage took up a good portion of the intimate chamber. The most attractive girl imaginable was swaying to the music drawing attention like sugar draws flies. Her short blond hair fanned enticingly under the pale light as her tall, curvy body moved in a captivating pattern. Her supple limbs performed the same steps, again and again, though it didn't feel at all repetitive.
Eight boys were gathered around the stage, leaning in and feeding her compliments. Their eyes were wide with desire, and Evren could see why. The dancer's skirt, short and airy, spun with her movements, showing off her gorgeous thighs and shapely ass. The effect was mesmerizing, and the girl either didn’t know or didn’t care that they could see everything. As she moved, she looked down with a mischievous grin at her admirers. He knew this girl.
It was the class queen, Veronica.
Evren moved closer, admiring the flex of her toned body, the sexy flashes of underwear, her flat stomach, and perfect navel. But he knew well enough not to get too close. Veronica had a reputation for treating boys like disposable tissues, and he was already experiencing that thrown-away feeling.
That’s when he saw the two of them, standing against the far wall of the chamber, behind a stalagmite shaped like a big tree stump. Lyra and Joshua were locked in conversation, and he could tell that they weren’t just catching up on the events of their summer. Lyra was drawn up to her full height, somewhat shorter than Joshua, her hands clamped rigidly to the sides of her dress. She was wearing a spectacular beige one-piece; sensible, beautiful, and covered in red and white symbols. The neckline was trimmed lower than anything he’d ever seen her wearing before, giving a generous peek at her beautiful bosom.
Joshua was standing at arm’s length, nodding along to what she was saying, and somehow maintaining eye contact despite the awesome curvaceous body in his field of vision.
Evren kept his distance, refusing to encroach on their conversation. That would be a sure way to raise Lyra’s ire and would make things even worse. But he couldn’t help but read their body language and try to puzzle out what their conversation was about.
Lyra was doing much of the talking. Obviously upset. Was she disappointed that he was her partner once again? Was she asking Joshua to leave his current partner behind in favor of her?
Evren thought back to last year’s rankings and recalled that Joshua was paired with a girl with a dark complexion and a pretty smile. They have been ranked highly. Weren't they Top Ten in the Spring Tournament?
But how could he resist, when he had a girl like Lyra asking him personally to be her partner? Evren held on to that thin strand of hope that he would not want to leave his old partner behind.
He watched until Lyra's shoulders slumped and she stopped talking. Joshua, reaching out, put his arm out and rested it on her shoulders, then he pulled her closer until both his arms were wrapped around her small feminine form and he was hugging her. Evren had touched her shoulders before, but he’d never once tried to hug her like that. Jealousy flowed through him like floodgates opening.
He was accustomed to dealing with his negative emotions, though, and easily pushed the jealousy down, to a place in his heart where he could examine it later, when he was by himself.
“Hey, what the hell!”
Someone was talking to him. It took Evren a minute to register that the boys around the stage were all focused on him now. The strong female voice that had called out was talking to him. It was Veronica who was standing, hands on her hips, blue eyes blazing in his direction.
“You are ruining my dance routine!”
Evren realized where he was. He was standing next to the boys who were watching Veronica dance. He must’ve been grinding his teeth, in order to spoil the mood so badly.
Evren bowed his head, ready to apologize to Veronica.
“I’m sorry…”
“Sorry doesn’t cut it, Evren!” she shot back with an attitude. How did she know his name? “Just turn back this way, and watch me dance.”
She was acting like a spoiled child, speaking so loudly that even the slow-dancing couples looked up to see what the commotion was. Evren looked over and saw that Lyra and Joshua had stopped their conversation. Lyra appeared unsurprised to see him. She stepped out of Joshua's arms in his direction, speaking in a calm, clear voice.
“What's happening over there. Why are you with Veronica, Evren?”
Evren did not know what to think or say. Everyone was still looking at him. Joshua was peering at him, from over Lyra’s shoulder. The boys around him were jostled him, telling him to just watch the girl dance. Evren was on the spot, and he had the overwhelming urge to get away from here!
Without another word, he crossed the room like a stone rolling down a hill, knocking a few of the boys out of his way in the process. He was headed for the nearest exit, not even registering that it was not the same way he'd entered through. He could still feel the pressure of Lyra and Veronica's eyes, still watching him, and hear the buzz of students chatting and laughing as he fled down the darkened passageway.