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She muttered under her breath, but still got up and reluctantly left the room.
I took a bracing breath and stole a glance at Jemmy before I put the cheese on the bread. She had a hand over her mouth but removed it as soon as Ella left the room. “Where are you going? With who? Why all the sudden secrets?”
“I’m not sure yet. With Troy. And I’m still trying to figure things out.” I answered in the order she shot the questions at me, stirring the soup as I reduced the heat.
“Ooooh, so it’s like a date,” Jemmy held a hand over her heart.
I sighed. “No, yes, I don’t know. I’m new to all this! How does it normally work for everyone else that’s connected?”
Jemmy frowned. “Well, the lucky ones knew each other since they were like eleven, twelve, and thirteen. By the time they were sixteen, they’d hoped they had a connection out there. Most people know their connections by their junior or senior year. The marks are a dead giveaway. They are eager to find out how their gifts may evolve.”
“How many gifted people have connections?” I asked as I placed four sandwiches on a plate. I decided to make two more, just in case Remy wanted an extra sandwich or the girls were hungrier from swimming.
“I can’t speak for the world at large, but in our community here, I would say only a quarter of us do,” she stated.
I gaped at her. “If the guys hadn’t found me then they would have lost their gifts, how often does that happen? How quickly do the bonds need to be made?”
Jemmy frowned, and I had a feeling she was thinking about herself. She was eighteen and hadn’t met her connected yet. She had spent the last two years hoping to meet him or them. “I would say ten percent of us lose them and there’s no exact expiration date on it. I never heard anyone delaying the inevitable.”
Remy had woken up in time to eat lunch with us. Jemmy was a master of conversation and kept the conversation light. I knew it was her way of dealing with her fears as well. She filled me in on what to expect at school. It sounded like they liked to keep their students busy.
I colored under their praises of my simple grilled cheese and tomato soup.
Jemmy insisted that I change before going to the school. I grudgingly took her advice and went upstairs to change into a pair of dark skinny jeans, a heather grey Henley, matching heather gray boots, and I threw on a baby blue infinity scarf to finish my look. I ran a brush through my hair, happy to see it was still pinned straight.
When we got back downstairs, Remy informed us he was going to have a conference call with the district managers he hadn’t reached yesterday and today, before heading to his local restaurants. He told us he would be home for dinner.
I still felt guilty that he had rushed home to check on me and found myself embracing him before leaving to tour the school. He returned my embrace without reservation, and I liked how he gave me a gentle squeeze before letting me go.
“You are soooo lucky,” Jemmy muttered at me as we went to a detached six car garage. “Most girls would cut off their right arm to be committed to your guys for life.”
I felt flustered. “You’re such a drama queen, and just because they are my connected doesn’t necessarily mean a level of commitment. Who knows, maybe they’ll get bored with me? If they want to explore other options, I won’t stop them. It’s not fair.”
She laughed at me. “Oh, girl if you only knew. You keep telling yourself that!”
We went to the administrative building first, where we met Will and got our schedules and dorm room assignments.
“Get any practice in today?” Will asked me.
I had to smile a little. He reminded me so much of my uncle at that moment. It almost felt normal. I had been taking care of myself for so long, I had forgotten that this was supposed to be the norm. “I did, and I completed it,” I answered him.
“Performance on Sunday,” Jemmy announced in a high falsetto. “You are invited to attend, in the music room, before her date.”
Will had a faint smile on his lips, but his eyes were highly curious. “A date, hmm.”
Jemmy laughed, clearly enjoying my discomfort. “Don’t worry Pops, you know the guy. He knows the rules and he may have her home on time.”
I blushed and attempted to push her towards the doors. “Yes, well, we should probably get going. See the school and what not. Bye Will, we will see you later.”
“This one isn’t even dating anyone. Well, that I know of,” Jemmy called mischievously over her shoulder as I continued pushing her.
Jemmy had taken a twisted sense of enjoyment in informing Will about my meetings with Tamara, Stacey, and Rose at breakfast that morning. Will didn’t seem so happy that the guys had put me in that situation. I spent most of the time trying to defend them while ignoring the elephant in the room.
She was gleefully giggling as we walked over to her white convertible Volkswagen Beetle. I stopped with my hands on my hips. “Keep it up,” I smiled sweetly. “You forget there’s such thing as payback and we haven’t met your connected yet.”
She pouted. “You’re no fun,” she muttered as we got into her car.
It was my turn to laugh as we headed down the hill to Ella’s school first. I could feel her nervousness as we walked the halls with an administrative assistant named Courtney. As Courtney took us around the school, I got the feeling she was more interested in finding out about Jace’s and Troy’s love lives than giving us a tour. She looked slightly older than us, so I assumed she had gone to school with them.
