It was only when Charley and I left the lecture hall did I realize she had a basket of what appeared to be baked goods. I arched a brow at her, tugging at the hem of my old green boyfriend shirt. I was still uncomfortable by my lack of uniform. It wasn’t like I thought everyone was staring at me, but it felt that way.
“What is that?” I asked, jutting my chin at the basket.
“This?” Charley asked, lifting the basket. “This is for Tom.”
“Tom?”
“He’s the assistant to Doctor Dickbag,” she said. “Want to come with me when I give it to him?”
She strapped her bag across her chest before she began to make her way across Ring Row, the park in the middle of a giant circle that separated each specialty and formed a long oval filled with trees, grass, and benches. There was even a fountain at the center of the grass - at least, from what I heard. I had yet to fully explore the campus, but it was hard to escape the press that accompanied the academy since it was implemented three years ago by Robert himself. I wondered how much input he had when it came to the actual design.
“You think baked goods is going to win over Doctor Dickbag?” I asked, scurrying to keep up with her.
“No,” she said firmly. “But kindness will win over Tom, and then Tom will convince Dickbag.”
“So…you’re bribing him,” I said.
“You say bribe, I say gifting,” Charley said, lifting her shoulder. She carefully stepped around a patch of wildflowers. “Look, that’s not the point. The point is that Lannister wants me to do this shadow thing. He’s even going to give me extra credit in his class if I do it. And all that tech mumbo-jumbo goes over my head, but it’s a required part of the curriculum. Which I get. I do. But I need all the help I can get in that class.” She glanced over at me as I bundled my arms across my chest. “What about you?”
I cocked my head to the side. A couple of birds flew overhead until they landed on the branches of a thick tree to my left. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, class isn’t usually that intense,” she said, curling blonde hair behind her ears after adjusting the crown on her head. “Well, it’s Lannister, so sometimes, yes, it is. But for your first day…I can’t believe you said that.”
“Yeah. I can’t either. It just…it came out.”
“I don’t blame you,” she said as we reached the medical building. “You’ve been holding that in for three years. It was brave, you know. Speaking your truth. I’m surprised Lannister listened to it. I know you defended him, but still. As much as I love the guy, he loves the sound of his voice more than anything else.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing out loud. I didn’t even know the guy, but I could tell that that was true.
We headed for the first window on the right. Tom wore light blue scrubs, brown hair slicked back. He smiled when he saw Charley.
“You’re still banned from this building, Charley,” he said in a deep voice. “But I can tell Dr. Palmer…” His voice trailed off when Charley heaved the basket onto the counter. “What is that?”
“A treat,” she said. “For the office. Even Dr. Palmer. Homemade. Tell him I say ‘I can’t wait to work with him soon.’”
“Will do,” he said, reaching for the basket.
Charley looped her arm through mine and we made our way out of the building. “You didn’t even speak to Doctor Dickbag,” I pointed out.
“I don’t have to,” she said. “He’ll come to me. And anyway, you need something in your system before your meeting with Lannister. I’m thinking something with caffeine. Maybe some alcohol, but it’s ten thirty in the morning, so…”
“Yeah, that’s off the table,” I said.
She nodded once. “As long as you don’t go in there empty-handed,” she said. “You never know what to expect from Lannister. The best thing you can do is be prepared.”
Except…I wasn’t sure how to get prepared. I wound up grabbing water at the on-campus cafe and that was it. Charley walked me to his office, in the same building as mechanical teams. I could hear some hollering down the hallway, which opened up into a garage where people were working on tech vehicles that were infused with Lannister tech specifically designed to help a mission - whatever that might be. Despite the physical work, the building itself was practically spotless, with new brick and egg white walls with black and white photos hanging in the lobby. This place screamed sophisticated-masculine, which probably meant his lab was here.
I took the elevator down to the basement, as per Charley’s instructions. The second I stepped out, a sleek robot rolled up to me, clipboard in hand. I didn’t even have time to take in my surroundings. Red light hit my face, and I froze, knowing this thing was doing a scan of my head.
“Do you have an appointment?” There was a soft voice, almost feminine, the second the light disappeared.
“Did he outsource an assistant?” I asked before I could stop myself.
“I’m sorry, I do not see did he outsource an assistant on the list,” the robot said, actually looking down at the clipboard - as though it could read whatever was listed. “If you’d like to schedule a meeting with Professor Lannister, I can open the book and scan for available dates and times that work best for his schedule.”
“I have an appointment,” I said. “Lara -“
“No one named Lara is scheduled for an appointment.”
“Look, maybe -“ I darted around the robot and headed into the first room I happened upon.
I had no idea if this was where he was but it looked like the only room I could access with ease and, if he wasn’t, maybe there was some kind of alarm that would go off, telling him I was here. The room itself was encased by glass with two long tables rooted in the white floor, wooden swivel stools lining both sides. Machines whirred. There was a silver box probably filled with tools on one of the stools and a large vehicle lifted up off to the side looked terribly out of place. The counters sparkled white. Everything looked clean and new.
“You are not allowed to be in here -“ the robot wheeled after me, raising the clipboard in frustration - if robots could even feel frustration.
“It’s fine.”
Without warning, Robert Lannister himself emerged from underneath one of the vehicles he was working on. He was dressed almost like a mechanic - oil and grease on his face, muscle shirt clinging to his stocky frame, black slacks, and black socks but no shoes. He wasn’t in one of his patented suits, wasn’t even in shoes.
God, he looked…good.
There was something about the grease, the oil, the unkempt way his dark hair stuck up at all angles…
He picked himself off the cart and grabbed a white rag his assistant robot thing handed him. Glancing down at his wrist, he looked back up at me.
“Right on time,” he said. “I appreciate timeliness.”
“Why am I here?” I asked. I wasn’t going to sit around and fish for compliments when I had to get to work in a couple of hours and wanted some time to take in what had happened today.
Robert looked at the robot before slowly making his way to a glimmering white sink. He turned on the faucet and proceeded to rinse off his hands. The water began to turn a dark brownish color as he let it run over himself.
“I mean, that’s the question they don’t answer in church, right?” he asked. “Why I called you here, specifically, in my secret lair, was to check in on you, see how you’re doing. I also wanted to get you your schedule for the academy, there’s a few papers you have to sign in regards to the med fund, and I wanted to introduce you to your home away from home.”
It took me a moment to let his words sink in. He had this uncanny ability to speak a mile a minute and I needed a moment to catch up to everything.
“Hey, can I ask you something?” he asked. He turned off the faucet, tore off a brown paper towel from the roll, and dried off his hands. “Did you really mean what you said back in class?”
“What?” I was still trying to take in what he said before. And the robot. That was a trip.
“About the lack of unity,” he said.
I focused my eyes on him. Only then did I realize what he really meant by his question. He wanted to know if I really meant that Vic’s death wasn’t his fault. I wasn’t sure why he cared one way or the other about my opinion. I was no one important. Hell, I probably shouldn’t even be here, if I was being honest.
But the way his dark eyes held onto me, I was sure my skin would bruise if he could do such a thing with merely his gaze.
I curled hair behind my ear and nodded once, looking at the floor rather than at him.
“I wasn’t there, obviously, when everything happened,” I said, “so it’s not like I understand the technological ramifications of your design. But I heard what happened. Vic was a beloved hero and he died wearing something you insisted would save his life. They wanted your head.”
“Still do,” he said before clicking the back of his teeth with his tongue. “Some of them, at least.”
“But,” I continued, shifting my weight. “The truth of the matter is, it’s not fair to say Vic would still be alive if your tech had undergone a fourth review. That’s arguing semantics, a point we couldn’t prove if we tried. They just want someone to blame. And you’re kind of an easy target.”
“Easy?” he asked, arching a brow.
“I think what really happened was the lack of communication between everyone involved,” I said, ignoring him. “There’s more than just the first responders. There are the medics, the tech creators, the administrative team, PR. There’s the task force, organizing things. There’s the jet-setters, with eagle eye views. There’s a bunch of different pieces to this unit. But it just seemed like everyone was doing their own thing. Even Vic. He rushed in. He could have waited for his team. But he didn’t. He made the choice. And, unfortunately for him, it was the wrong one.”
“His dumbass decision caused the death of three innocent bystanders,” Robert said, hands going to his hips. “You know, Wonder Boy isn’t going to let you forget what happened, right? He’s -“
“The dean’s son, I know,” I said.
“I was actually going to say a pain in the ass,” he replied. “God, you’re wrong a lot, do you know that?”
I gave him a face. “You know, I can leave,” I said. “I don’t even have a school uniform. Isn’t that, like, an important requirement?”
“Come on, kid,” he said, waving. “Let’s get you situated here. After all, you’re my shadow. Might as well get to know me better. And I’ll get all that taken care of. Don’t worry about it. Just…just work with me here, okay?”
I hesitated. I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want to be at this academy, especially after everything my dad had endured because of these asshats.
But maybe…maybe I could help. In some small, practically insignificant way, maybe I could help. And that was enough.
For now.