Altogether I attended a couple months of high school. A few weeks here and a few weeks there when I was at different foster homes before I quit going or ran away or both. I’m not really qualified to judge colleges. Having been said, I can tell you this, the campus at Cornell is much nicer than that of the University of Illinois. I suppose most people know that.
Tag’s mom told me where her dorm room was but I still got lost. I figured at Cornell people were staring at me because they were snooty richers but I got more dirty looks at this place. I thought college kids were supposed to be non-judgmental and touchy-feely snowflakes. Maybe if I get some money I should look into plastic surgery. Get my lip fixed. I don’t give a shit, but people might stare less.
I had a cover story cooked up for the roommate but she wasn’t there. Good thing too. I’m a terrible liar. I was expecting the book to be like the Necronomicon, human skin and blood stains and screaming faces, stuff like that, but it was just a leather journal with one of those stretchy bands around it.
Dorm rooms are small and I was only searching half of it, but it still took hours finding that damn thing. Maybe it was hiding from me. When I finally did grab it, the touch was like walking out into really cold weather. It took my breath away. Objects can have power, I know that now. You all remember what happened. This isn’t just a book of spells, it has a power of its own.
It’s an ugly thing. A thing of hate. Not even good old fashioned red-blooded human hate either – something alien. Something that hates that I, and all humans, even exist.
I was so preoccupied with the book that I didn’t even realize that Royale’s trunk was sitting against the wall acting as a table of sorts. I must have overlooked it a hundred times when I was searching for the book. It just didn’t register. It’s like when you see someone out of context and you don’t recognize them. Like that time I saw Colin Kaepernick at a grocery store.
I was so overjoyed that I sat down for a minute. I assumed Tag had torched Royale’s trunk along with my car but she must have realized that it had some magic knowledge she could plunder and took it instead. It’s silly to get so emotional over a box but it’s okay to be silly once in a while.
When Royale walked into the room I about fucking fainted.
