NEWBORN: Book One of the Newborn Trilogy Read Online Free PDF Page B

Questions?”
    Silence. People are staring at him, unsure of
what to expect. Will he be tough? How much reading will he assign?
“No questions?” Dr. Renaus asks, sounding genuinely surprised. A
boy sniggers. “In that case, we’ll continue to the coursework and
syllabus.” Opening his folder, he passes a stack of papers to the
girl sitting next to him and from there it circles around. “We’ll
be studying English literature in the Victorian Era – a period
spanning the entirety of Queen Victoria’s life, roughly from 1830
to 1900.
    “It was a time of tumultuous upheaval in
Europe – an old theme even then, but what’s so fascinating in the
Victorian Era wasn’t that there was upheaval, but that it
was upheaval brought by socioeconomics rather than warfare,” Dr.
Renaus remarks, looking around impressively. “The rise of
industrialization not only decimated the landscape, but also made
millions of people into little more than cogs in a great machine.
The suffering industrialization brought to England led to some of
the most beautiful works the English language has ever
encountered.”
    For some reason I feel alright all of a
sudden, my nausea momentarily distracted. Taking out my notebook
and a pen, I lean back in my chair and wait as the stack of syllabi
makes its way to me.
    * * *
    The rain has stopped. I’m walking to the
dining hall, hoping this time my attempt to take in some nutrients
won’t be a complete failure. I’m wrong. No sooner do I reach the
doors than I turn back, feeling sick. The distraction of class
notwithstanding, my nausea has returned twofold. I take refuge on a
bench under a tree.
    After giving some background on why the
Victorian Era was so inspiring for writers and poets, Dr. Renaus
went over the syllabi and then assigned reading. By then there
wasn’t much time left, so we were dismissed early. I almost wish
class had gone on all day. Then I wouldn’t be in so much pain. It’s
idleness that allows me to feel it.
    I think of Kiri. Is she back from class yet?
Geez, she must have an early one if she was gone before I woke. But
thinking of Kiri makes me think of him – of Gabriel, and
with him I have no answers whatsoever. What on earth makes him so
arrogant about everything? And what is he about? He’s so different
somehow. What I really want to know is how he will find me. He said
he would – said he didn’t need a number, or didn’t have a phone.
One or the other. Or both.
    Sighing, I try to distract myself from my
nausea by gazing around. This really is a beautiful campus.
Evergreen State College even has its own beach, a stretch at the
base of Puget Sound. Maybe I should go sometime.
    With him , my alter ego quips.
    No , I retort. By myself!
    Ask him out! my alter ego
exclaims.
    “No,” I say aloud, unawares.
    A loud pop sounds right next to me.
    “No what?” asks a voice.
    I gape at him. “Gabriel! I – you!”
    “Sorry,” Gabriel says, unabashed. “I do that
– make a popping noise with my lips. Done it since I was a kid.
Like this,” and he pops his lips, the sound exactly like the one I
just heard. “So no what?”
    “Nothing,” I lie. Has he grown more beautiful
in a single day? He must have. But he’s no less ridiculous
looking.
    Gabriel’s flowing black robes of yesterday
have been switched out for flowing green robes today, the color
meshing wonderfully with the blond of his hair and the white of his
smile. I gape at the Adonis before me in unrestrained appreciation.
Why the fuck weren’t boys this hot talking to me in high
school?
    “Tell me,” Gabriel pushes. “I can see you’re
lying. It’s one of my pow – skills ,” he corrects. “Telling
if people are lying or not. I’m very good at it. I want to know
what or to whom you were disagreeing with just now all by
yourself.” He gestures to the empty space surrounding us.
    I sigh my surrender. “Fine,” I say, gesturing
away my dissonance. “Well, I – I couldn’t decide whether I