6 Rising Anger (1/2)

”Hey, I'm going for a run later, are you coming along?” Celia asked the girls after class.

”I have a fencing class later, but if you go before that I can do a quick jog around the field with you.” Isabelle said.

”Uh, yeah, I'll go too. My back's been hurting all day. Maybe I can jog it out, stretch my muscles.”

”I don't know, Boots. If it hurts, maybe you should go lie down. It's a little cold out.”

The girls were walking back to the dorms to put their things away. The sun was still out, but the wind was cold.

Ash pressed her thumb to her lower back and traced along her spine, massaging the sore spots. She'd felt a slight pain in her back for days now, but today the pain was sharp. Not only that, she had felt her joints aching all day. It was like someone had thrown her body in a washing machine and set it on high.

”Maybe she just needs a massage. I bet she'd like a Swedish massage, wouldn't she, Cece?” Isabelle said playfully, looking to Celia for back up.

”Oooh, yeah, a Swedish massage from a hot Swedish man! A tall Swedish man with blue eyes and blonde hair working out the kinks in your back? Mmmm-hmmm.” Celia swayed as she walked, exaggerating the tone of her voice, making herself sound like an airhead.

”Mmmm, yes. A tall, handsome man with big strong Swedish hands, working all the way down. Mmmmm,” Isabelle had started to sway walk too, matching Celia's cadence and talking in the same air-headed tone of voice. Isabelle put a finger to her lips. ”Mmmm, Swedish daddy!”

[Ugh, Hunter isn't Swedish. He's some kind of Scandinavian, sure. But I don't think he's Swedish.] Ash thought quietly to herself, mentally responding to her friends's teasing.

Not for the first time, Ash regretted telling her friends about her crush on Hunter. She had told them about it in confidence since she assumed they would figure it out for themselves eventually. They had kept her secret---which wasn't exactly hard to do given that the rest of their peers weren't exactly interested in the trio and their affairs. The teasing wasn't even what annoyed her the most, because she loved bantering with her friends. What irritated her was that they weren't interested in anyone, which left her with nothing to tease them back with.

Celia and Isabelle didn't have crushes on anyone at the Academy. Celia had a girlfriend before she came to the school, but that relationship had ended badly. The breakup was why Celia had agreed to being sent off to boarding school by her parents in the first place: she wanted to get as far away from her ex as possible. Isabelle, on the other hand, just wasn't interested in dating people her own age. She had explained that after college she would likely be married off to a nobleman or some high-roller in her own country. She was still so eager to please her father that she had dismissed the idea of being with any man he didn't choose for her.

”You know what, I think I'll pass on jogging today. And no massage either, thanks,” Ash said in a huff.

”Hey, we were just kidding,” Isabelle said.

”---But if you change your mind you could have him in our room. Just put a sign on the door so I know you have a man in there.” Celia offered, jokingly.

”How about I barricade the door so you sleep outside on the ground?” Ash said, seething.

Her friends stopped walking and turned to look at her. They were already in front of their dorm building.