Ruler (Wolves of Royal Paynes #2) - Kiki Burrelli Page 0,1
before pushing the door open. Mr. Grouse turned his office chair and smiled when he saw it was me. "Storri, you're here for your robes?"
He spun back around while I was still nodding enthusiastically.
"Thank you so much, again, Mr. Grouse. I would've stuck out like a speckled egg in my street clothes." And I didn't need more reasons to stick out. I was already the strange, pudgy, loner kid who talked to animals.
No one knew they talked back. My mother had known, and she'd been the one to tell me to keep it a secret. She explained that the rest of the world couldn't do what I could do, and they wouldn't be pleased to find out, but scared.
Mr. Grouse's head was still buried as he searched. "Please, stop thanking me. It's what any decent person would do."
That wasn't true. Decent people didn't go out of their way to make sure a kid didn't get taken by social services when his mom got sick. Decent people didn't check in to make sure the electricity and water were getting paid and that they hadn't been shut off. I owed a lot of my high school success to this man. Whenever I asked him how to repay him, he'd always say to make him proud of the man I become.
At SFSVM, I hoped to do just that.
Mr. Grouse handed me two plastic-wrapped items, and I wasted no time ripping open the first. I pulled the robe out, dark red with gold trim, and shook it out to hang over the front of my body. That wouldn't do. I needed the whole ensemble. I pulled out the hat, fluffing it out to fit on my head. "How do I look?" The cap slid until it was lopsided.
Mr. Grouse laughed. "Well-educated. While you're here, I wanted to talk to you about a few apartments I've found for rent. None of them are very big, but I thought you'd like to be able to get out of that house, and if you found an apartment, you could sell your mother's house. The money might help you get through the first couple of terms at Yamitt Community College."
I froze in the act of primping and staring at myself in my robes. The last Mr. Grouse and I had spoken, Yamitt CC had been the school we'd decided on, but that was only because I didn't think I'd ever get into SFSVM and, if I did, didn't think I'd get a scholarship. "About that…"
It was Mr. Grouse's turn to freeze, and my nerves jumped into my throat. "About the apartments? Or about college?"
I frowned. Halfway through, it turned into a squint. "Both." I took a deep breath and rolled my shoulders back. "I applied to a few more colleges than what I told you."
"Oh?" Ears focused, whites of his eyes showing, Mr. Grouse was wary but trying not to let me know.
Maybe he didn't want to hurt my feelings. "Yes, I didn't have high hopes, so I didn't bother telling you, but I heard back from the San Francisco School of Veterinary Medicine, and they've accepted me on a full scholarship. Room included!" I waited for his explosion of excitement.
Mr. Grouse stood sharply. Stomping my way, he leaned close, locking the door to his office. "You really should've discussed this with me, Storri."
His warm breath smelled like burnt coffee, and I wrinkled my nose. He draped his arm over my shoulders, odd since he hardly ever touched me. But he brought me to the second chair in his office and sat me down before rolling his around to face me. With trepidation, I noticed he'd placed his chair between mine and the door.
I stiffened, my spine pulling from the back of the chair as I pushed my glasses up my nose. "It didn't seem very likely, and I didn't want to get your hopes up."
Mr. Grouse shook his head. "My hopes wouldn't have been up, Storri. I would've been able to talk you out of it before things got too far. San Francisco is too dangerous. There's no way for you to—"
"Dangerous?" I pitched forward, clinging to the arms of the chair. If I had back hair, it would've been sticking straight up. "I don't think I'll stray very far from campus, at least not until I figure things out. I know San Francisco is a lot bigger than Yamitt, but if I start small, I'll get used to things. I'm sure of it."