Chapter Four

Sara

Ian was so close she could smell his warm smoky scent. And he was smart and funny…and unity seemed like a brilliant idea right now. Nothing would come from spending time with him, but just because she was sentenced to marry Ferrin didn’t mean she couldn’t have friends…handsome fabulous-smelling male friends… Right? It’s not like she was attracted to him… Okay maybe she was, but she’d never act on it. That was absurd. Maybe she noticed these things about him only because she’d never been around any males who weren’t Blue. And Blue males prided themselves on presenting an upper-class demeanor. They were loyal to a fault, but they didn’t make time to joke around or have entertaining conversations with Blue females. Blue females were a means to an end… The continuation of a legacy. As far as Ferrin was concerned, she was an incubator. What a weird and depressing thought.

“Something wrong?” Ian asked.

Her mind had wandered and she’d let what she was thinking show on her face. “What? No. I’m just hungry. I was fantasizing about caramel corn from The Snack Shack.”

Ian glanced at Einstein and Helani and waved them in closer. “I think we should act out a real-life scenario using our strengths. If we wanted to skip class and run to Dragon’s Bluff to buy a bag of caramel corn, how could we make that happen?”

Einstein laughed. “Skipping class is unacceptable.”

Helani’s face lit up. “That’s your role, Einstein. You stay here and figure out how to make it look like we didn’t skip class.”

“Seriously?” Einstein scoffed at the idea.

“I guess there are some things even a Green can’t figure out,” Ian said.

Einstein sat up and glared at him. “Of course I could figure it—” He pointed at Ian. “That was sneaky. I could certainly figure it out if I wanted to… Which I don’t.”

“How long would it take to fly from this building to The Snack Shack in Dragon’s Bluff?” Sara asked. “Not like we plan on doing it, but I’m curious.”

“You’re all a bunch of manipulative jerks,” Einstein muttered as he opened his notebook and wrote down some figures. “Given most Dragons fly at fifty miles per hour and we’re a little more than four miles from Dragon’s Bluff and there isn’t much wind today, it would take about five minutes to fly there. So ten minutes round trip, not counting the time you’d spend entering the store and making your purchase.”

“We have fifteen minutes between classes,” Ian said. “It’s doable.”

“Except for the whole getting-caught issue,” Einstein said.

“College students roam around campus at all different times of the day and they are free to come and go as they please. So it’s not unusual for students to leave campus,” Helani pointed out.

“Either Ian or Helani would have to go,” Sara said. “No Blue female would leave campus during the school week.”

“You could change that,” Ian said, “and you probably should. Shake up the Blue image so future generations of Blue females won’t have to worry so much about keeping up appearances.”

“I hate to admit this, but my parents would be furious, and I don’t think caramel corn is worth their wrath.” Maybe someday she’d find something that was.

“Okay,” Ian said. “We’ll make it a relay race. Sara will use a campus phone to call ahead and order the caramel corn, putting it on her family’s account. Then I’ll fly over and pick up the popcorn. Not having to pay for it will cut out a few minutes. I’ll fly back and meet Helani inside the fence on campus. She can fly the caramel corn over to the gymnasium and stash it in her locker when she changes into her gym clothes for Basic Movement.”

“Why can’t you put it in your locker?” Helani asked.

“Because,” Ian said, “I can guarantee the girl’s locker room smells much less offensive.”

They all laughed. Laughter from the other side of the room caught Sara’s attention. “Do you think they’re plotting a popcorn caper?”

“The Great Popcorn Caper. Sounds like the title of a mystery,” Einstein said. “If you’re going to go through with this, Sara should ask to use the restroom and make the call.”

“Now?” This was fun to plot out but she hadn’t thought they were serious. “You really want to do this?” Her heart rate jumped up a notch. This could be fun.

Ian glanced at the clock. “Why don’t we talk about it some more before we commit. Maybe we should pick up pizza rather than popcorn.”

“Not as portable or as easy to store in a locker,” Helani pointed out.

“You stole my line of logic,” Einstein said.

“I’m not just a pretty face,” the Orange Dragon teased.

“Maybe…” Sara couldn’t believe she was about to suggest this. “Maybe we could ask Mr. Clayton if we could form some sort of club where Dragons from all Clans are invited to meet for dinner or snacks. It would encourage mingling, which is what the Directorate claims they want.”

“Not in the dining hall,” Einstein said. “Everyone eats with their own Clan, so I think it would be too intimidating to vary from tradition. We could meet on the grounds somewhere or in the library.”

She didn’t want to let this idea slip away, so she stood. “Let’s ask him right now.” Ian joined her while Helani and Einstein followed along.

Mr. Clayton glanced up from the paper he was grading. “Yes?”

“We’ve discovered interacting with other Clans is intriguing and informative. We were hoping we could set up a club where students could maybe have a meal together—outside of the dining hall.”

“A meal might be tricky,” Mr. Clayton said. “But I could set up a club where students could meet, talk, have snacks, and play games. Something with a little bit of structure that would allow everyone to mingle without pressure.”

“Sounds great,” Ian said. “Maybe we could send a few students into Dragon’s Bluff for caramel corn.”

“I could put in an order for caramel corn and assorted snacks in the club’s name,” Mr. Clayton said. “And The Snack Shack would deliver because it’s best to keep any and all activity associated with the club on school grounds.”

“We’d need a name for the club.” She had no idea what a good one would be.

“Expand Your Horizons Club?” Einstein suggested.

“We’ll go with that for now,” Mr. Clayton said. “I’ll submit the request to the Directorate and they’ll get back to us with their approval.”

“A student club requires Directorate approval?” Helani asked.

“The Directorate is in charge of the curriculum,” Mr. Clayton reminded them. “It’s always best to check with them first. I doubt there will be any resistance to the idea, but I’ll let you know.”

…

It took a week for the Directorate to approve the Expand Your Horizons Club and another week for Mr. Clayton to plan a Friday game night.

“I don’t understand why you want to join this club,” Ferrin complained at lunch Friday afternoon.

“Don’t you ever want to try something different?”

“No.”

“Well, I do.” Frankly, she was glad he wasn’t interested. “Plus it’s good for us to have separate activities. My mother has her gardening club and she works with the Women’s League. Joining this club is kind of like that.”

“I suppose you’re right.” He cut his hamburger into even halves. “It’s probably healthy for us to spend some time apart. After all, a lot of my time will be taken up by the Directorate after we’re married, so it’s good for you to develop outside interests.”

Yes, because without you by my side I’ll have no idea what to do. Idiot.

…

Mr. Clayton had set up the Expand Your Horizons meeting in one of the classrooms in the science building. Desks had been pushed together to form a table. A few other desks had been lined up against the wall to act as a buffet, featuring individual bags of caramel corn, cookies, and bottled water.

Ian sat next to Einstein and a Green female Sara didn’t know. When he glanced up and smiled, her pulse kicked up a notch. No big deal. She was excited about making new friends.

She gave a small wave and then headed over to the buffet to grab a bottle of water. No reason to be nervous. This was networking. Something her mother wanted her to do and now she was doing it, just not with the people her mother intended.

Drink in hand, she walked over and sat next to Ian. He pointed to the Green female. “This is Einstein’s intended, Julie.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sara said.

“Ferrin is your intended.” Julie stated like she was waiting for confirmation.

Sara nodded.

“He won’t be joining us,” Julie said, again making a statement sound like a question.

Sara shook her head no.

“While I’m sure we’ll miss him,” Ian said. “Why don’t we talk about something else?”

“Why are you here?” Julie asked Sara.

“Is this normal conversation for you?” Sara shot back. “Because it seems a little confrontational.”

“Does it?” Julie said with a huge grin on her face.

“You’re doing it on purpose to gauge my reaction,” Sara guessed.

“Yes. Sorry. I like to entertain myself with mental puzzles and I was trying to figure you out. You don’t fit the Blue mold.”

Sara looked at Ian. “Should I wear a sign that says: not your normal ice princess?”

…

Ian

“That might help,” Ian said.

“Do all of you fit the mold of your Clan stereotypes?” Sara asked.

Ian ticked items off on his finger. “I’m strong, quick tempered, and unbelievably handsome, so yes.”

Sara laughed. It was a warm, happy sound. He was pretty sure Blues weren’t supposed to laugh like that.

Ian pointed at the two Greens. “Your turn. Are you typical Greens?”

“We’re smart and we don’t care about social niceties,” Einstein said. “So…yes.”

“How do you feel about the other Clans?” Sara asked. “Are they just there for you to study?”

“No,” Einstein said, at the same time Julie said, “Yes.”

“What?” Julie asked. “It’s not a bad thing. I want to study and quantify everything and use the information I gather to make sense of the world and to make the world a better place.” She gestured around the room. “Don’t you find it curious that no one else showed up?”

“No,” Ian said. “I think the club is too new.”

“I expected Helani to be here,” Sara said.

“I didn’t,” said Einstein. “Oranges don’t like large gatherings.”

“This isn’t exactly a large gathering,” Ian pointed out.

“Agreed, but she wouldn’t have known,” Einstein said. “If we tell her about it maybe she’ll show up next time.”

“Let’s pick a game.” Ian stood and went over to the table to study his choices. Nothing too exciting, but it would work. “We have Battleship, checkers, chess, and cards.”

“Do either of you know how to play chess?” Julie asked.

Ian shook his head. “I’m more a checkers kind of guy.”

“Checkers sounds like a low stress game,” Sara said.

Julie pointed at her. “You know how to play chess, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do, and no, I won’t play either of you because I have a feeling it wouldn’t be fun for me.”

“Grab the cards and we can all play Go Fish,” Einstein said. “This is supposed to be a friendly, social gathering, after all.”

He set the checkers down and picked up the cards. “Who wants to deal?”

“You can do it,” Sara said.

He dealt out five cards and then set the rest of the deck in the middle of the table. “Who goes first?” Ian asked.

Sara pointed at Julie. “She does, because if I go first she’ll analyze my motives.”

Julie grinned. “Sure, I’ll go first. And I’ll point out how amusing it is that you think you can make decisions for the whole group.”

Sara fanned her cards out in her hand. “I’m going to assume you’ll be abrasive no matter what I do, so I might as well do what I want.”

“Sound logic,” Einstein said as he drew a card.

Julie was obnoxious. Since Einstein wasn’t complaining, this must be how Greens normally behaved, which was weird. Sara wasn’t one to back down, and while she seemed annoyed, she didn’t seem upset, so Ian would go with the flow.

After Einstein won two hands in a row, Ian stood. “I think it’s time for snacks.”

“Good idea.” Sara followed him over to the makeshift buffet.

He grabbed a few cookies and some caramel corn. “You okay?” he asked, keeping his voice low so the Greens wouldn’t overhear.

She grabbed a bag of caramel corn. “Please. I deal with Ferrin on a daily basis. Julie is a walk in the park.”

“An oddly passive-aggressive walk in the park,” Ian added. “I hope she doesn’t plan on becoming a medic because her bedside manner would be terrible.”

Sara laughed and warmth spread through Ian’s chest again. They went back to the table and watched as Einstein and Julie played War with the cards.

“Are you always so competitive with each other?” Sara asked.

“Yes,” Julie said as she won another round. “Do Blue females ever compete with Blue males?”

Sara paused like she was thinking. “I never thought about it, but I’ve never seen my parents play any type of game together. Most conversations occur over dinner. Besides that, they don’t spend much time together.”

“So they just orbit around each other?” Julie said.

“My father has his interests and my mother has hers,” Sara said. “Isn’t that normal?”

“My parents talk all the time and go out to dinner and work on projects together,” Julie said. “Einstein’s are the same.”

Sara looked at him. “Do your parents spend time together besides dinner?”

He nodded. “Yeah. We all go shopping together or have cookouts in the backyard. We play board games. We’re together all the time.”

“Oh.” Sara sighed. “I guess Blues really are different. The party line is that marriage is more of a business partnership than a relationship.”

“Is that what you want for your marriage?” Julie asked in a kinder voice than she’d used all night.

Sara opened her mouth but didn’t say anything. She blinked her eyes rapidly and stood. “Excuse me.” She left the room.

Well, hell. Should I go after her?

“She’s the first Blue I’ve ever felt sorry for,” Julie said.

Flames reared up in Ian’s gut. He pushed them down and went to find Sara. Where would she have gone? There were restrooms across the hall. That’s probably where she went. He stood outside of the women’s room. Now what? He couldn’t go in. So he knocked and pushed the door open a few inches. “Sara, are you okay?”

“Yes. Give me a minute, please.”

He let the door shut and then took a few steps backward until he leaned against the wall. What could he say to her? Sorry your life is going to suck. Sorry you have to marry someone you can’t stand. Sorry you’re going to be trapped in a terrible marriage. It’s not like he could do anything to change the situation. No Dragons really had a choice about who they married.

Sara came out. Her eyes were shining and red like she’d been crying. That punched him in the gut. Without thinking he reached out and pulled her into a hug. She stood rigid against him for a moment. Had he made a mistake? And then she leaned into the embrace. He inhaled. She smelled like freshly fallen snow. And he didn’t want to let go of her, but he needed to before someone saw them and asked why in the hell he was touching the Speaker’s daughter, so he opened his arms.

She stepped back and stared up at him with sad blue eyes and all he wanted to do was take care of her. But that wasn’t his job, and it could never be his job.

“Thank you,” she said, “for coming to check on me.”

“That’s what friends do,” he said. “Are you ready to go back in?”

“I think I’m done for this evening. I’ll just say my goodbyes.”

He followed her back into the room where the two Greens were talking and eating caramel corn, like nothing strange had occurred. Einstein glanced up. “We were about ready to call it a night. Hopefully, next time we can convince a few more students to join us.”

“That would be nice,” Sara said.

Ian walked over and grabbed the snacks they’d left on the table. “No use letting good food go to waste. I’m going to grab some extra caramel corn to take back to my room.”

Sara picked up the small bag of popcorn she’d never opened and hugged it to her chest.

Ian grabbed four more. “See you all later.” He headed out the door with Sara. “I could walk you back to your dorm, since it’s on my way.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

As they made their way across campus, other students gave them strange looks. “I’m not sure if they want the caramel corn or if they think it’s strange to see us walking together.”

“It’s absurd,” Sara said. “We all attend class together. Why can’t we hang out with friends from different Clans?”

“Yeah, and if it’s the caramel corn, I’m ready to fight them for it,” he joked.

She smiled, but it seemed forced.

He felt like he needed to say something comforting. “You know, you can make your life whatever you want it to be.”

Now she did laugh, but there wasn’t any humor in it. “That is a big fat lie, but thank you for trying to cheer me up.”

They walked in silence, passing other students, ignoring the weird looks. When they reached the Blue dorm, Ian paused. “If you ever need to talk, I’ll listen.”