"Who?"
"Keith."
I made a face. "He's not really my friend."
"Oh, you think? Most of us figured that out on day one, Sage."
I felt a little bad about that. Some part of me knew that I shouldn't let my personal feelings for Keith mix with business. We were co-workers of sorts and should've been presenting a united, professional front. At the same time, I was kind of glad these people - even if they were vampires and dhampirs - didn't think I was friendly with Keith. I didn't want them thinking he and I had much in common. I certainly didn't want to have a lot in common with him. The full meaning of Adrian's words suddenly hit me. "Wait. He was just here?"
"A half hour ago."
He must have come straight from the school. I was lucky to have missed him. Something told me he wouldn't approve of me furthering Adrian's education.
"What was he here for?"
"Dunno. I think he was checking on Clarence. The old guy hasn't been feeling well." Adrian pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. "Do you mind?"
"Yes," I replied. "What's wrong with Clarence?"
"I don't know, but he's been resting a lot, which makes things even more boring. I mean, he wasn't the greatest conversationalist, but some of his crazy stories were interesting." Adrian turned wistful. "Especially with scotch."
"Keep me updated on how he's doing," I murmured. I wondered if perhaps that was why Keith had been in such a hurry earlier. If Clarence was seriously ill, we were going to have to make arrangements with a Moroi doctor. That would complicate our setup here in Palm Springs because we'd either have to move Clarence or bring in someone. If Keith was working on it, then I shouldn't have concerned myself... but I just didn't trust him to do a good job with anything.
"I don't know how you put up with him," said Adrian. "I used to think you were weak and just didn't fight back... but now, honestly, I think you're actually pretty tough. It takes a hell of a lot of strength to not complain and lash out. I don't have that self-control."
"You've got more than you think," I said, a little flustered by the compliment. I was down on myself so much for what I saw as not pushing back sometimes that it had never occurred to me that took its own strength. I was even more surprised that it would take Adrian to point this out to me. "I'm always walking a line. My dad - and the Alchemists - are really big on obedience and following the directions of your superiors. I'm kind of in a double bind because I'm on shaky ground with them, so it's extra important for me to not make a fuss."
"Because of Rose?" His tone was carefully controlled.
I nodded. "Yup. What I did was tantamount to treason in their eyes."
"I don't know what 'tantamount' means, but it sounds pretty serious." I could see him studying me out of the corner of his eye. "Was it worth it?"
"So far." It was easy to say that since Zoe had no tattoo yet and I hadn't seen a re-education center. If those things changed, so might my answers. "It was the right thing to do. I guess that justified dramatic action."
"I broke a lot of rules to help Rose too," he said, a troubled tone in his voice. "I did it out of love. Misguided love, but love nonetheless. I don't know if that's as noble as your reasons, particularly since she was in love with someone else. Most of my 'dramatic actions' haven't been for any cause. Most of them have been to annoy my parents."
I actually found myself a little jealous of that. I couldn't fathom purposely trying to get a reaction from my dad - though I'd certainly wanted to. "I think love's a noble reason," I told him. I was speaking objectively, of course. I'd never been in love and had no point of reference to really judge. Based on what I'd observed in others, I assumed it was an amazing thing... but for now, I was too busy with my job to notice its absence. I wondered if I should be disappointed by that. "And I think you have plenty of time to do other noble things."
He chuckled. "Never thought my biggest cheerleader would be someone who thought I was evil and unnatural."
That made two of us.
Hesitantly, I managed to ask a question that had been burning inside me. "Do you still love her? Rose?" Along with not knowing what it felt like to be in love, I also didn't know how long it took to recover from love.
Adrian's smile faded. His gaze turned inward. "Yes. No. It's hard to get over someone like that. She had a huge effect on me, both good and bad. That's hard to move past. I try not to think about her much in terms of love and hate. Mostly I'm trying to get on with my life. With mixed results, unfortunately."
We soon reached the college. Wes Regan was a big man with a salt-and-pepper beard who worked in Carlton's registration office. Ms. Terwilliger had tutored Wes's niece for free one summer, and Wes felt he owed her a favor.
"Here's the deal," he said once we were seated across from him. Adrian was wearing khaki pants and a sage-colored button-down shirt that would've been great for job interviews. A little too late. "I can't just enroll you. College applications are long and require transcripts, and there's no way you can swing one in two days. What I can do is get you in as an auditor."
"Like with the IRS?" asked Adrian.
"No. Auditing means you're attending the class and doing the work but not getting a grade for it."
Adrian opened his mouth to speak, and I could only imagine what comment he had about doing work for no credit. I quickly interrupted him.
"And then what?"
"Then, if you can throw together an application in, oh, a week or two - and are accepted - I can retroactively change you to student status."
"What about financial aid?" asked Adrian, leaning forward. "Can I get some money for this?"
"If you qualify," said Wes. "But you can't really file for it until you've been accepted."
Adrian slumped back, and I was able to guess his thoughts. If getting enrolled would take a couple of weeks, there'd undoubtedly be a delay with the financial aid filing too. Adrian was looking at a month or more of living with Clarence, and that was probably optimistic. I half-expected Adrian to get up and nix everything. Instead, a resolute expression crossed his face. He nodded.