章節 8: -
Rue did not attend orientation.
There was no point in sweating with a bunch of boys potentially doing plenty of manly things that could expose her gender. She didn't have to go but already she knew that it involved measuring dicks and bad Omega jokes. And hiding the truth would be difficult when faced with manly, cloth-less activities.
But for her absence, she received a buddy, someone tagged to her just because she missed every talk and thus didn't have the information necessary when it came to an all-Alpha school. Theodore was her new best friend, a short alien with a head of red curls and a smile that brightened his eyes. He had two tongues, which led to an accent that nibbled and curled over vowels, and scales that glistened purple and rough on his skin.
He was sweet; happily mated into a pack. A picture of his mates dangled around his neck like a claiming bite—a pretty Omega, a female Beta and another Alpha who was two years their senior. She liked him immediately just because he didn't judge the tattered look of her outfit and the obvious lack of money. Nor did his nose wrinkle when he caught a whiff of her fake Alpha scent so generously applied over her neck.
She'd made her aunts milk that guy at the den till he was dry and weeping just for her education.
"The buffets come on a subscription basis. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner all year round at the cafeterias," he explained, leading her down the aisle of fresh produce. "But there are grocery stores on campus including this one if you're looking to cook. And a kitchen within the shared space of your dormitory."
It had the energy of an emergency room, blinding in brightness and teeming with activity. The shelves rotated goods to appease those with a non-existent attention span, with priorities that made no sense. She dodged a display that rattled and swerved—a basket of bread vanished, exchanged with a selection of artisan butter.
Rue was used to shelves packing with items from aeons ago, used to expired cans that dripped and grew grey with mould. She wanted to see a kid with a calculator and a bag of drugs at the counter. His parents arguing behind doors, always something about money.
Boxes that filled the spaces till it became a fire hazard—a maze that required balancing acts from its customers. A grocery store in her town was a domicile that smelled like salty, wet preserves, and the most expensive thing would never top five credits.
"Anything cheaper than ten credit biscuits and fifty gold talon meat?"
Rue tapped a finger on the luxurious display, felt herself grow cold at the disgusting display of wealth. The full pincer was placed on a charcuterie board, surrounded by the decapitated heads of animals she'd never seen in her life. She could buy ten houses with that money.
The price tag was vomit-inducing, and she dropped a head of lettuce that was worth two kidneys back into its bowl. The vibrant green was washed in a fog of edible antiseptic and polished off with morning dew. It glittered.
"I know everyone's coming from money in this place," she sighed, dropping her hands and stepping away from the display, "but I've got to eat."
Theo paused as he led her through the store, seemed to contemplate his words. "It's a station away but vans linger three bus stops outside campus," Theo answered with a hesitant smile. "Underground, but inexpensive. Black market."
"Drugs and cabbages?" Rue snorted, dropping her gaze away from fancy sauces and packet noodles. Nothing was within her budget.
"The food's mostly a decoy," he admitted. "They've got other things, but students have to turn up with something if they do get caught."
"And some people do enjoy the taste of their polluted homes," Rue nodded, satisfied as she rubbed her hands together, "thanks, Theo."
"Just help me out in class, will you?" he grinned, revealed gums that flashed into sharp teeth. "First day and you're already the best."
"It was a dumb move," she groaned, "everyone's got their eyes on me."
Class had been pretty damn eventful, and she winced at his reminder, hands rubbing at the back of her neck. She'd planned to keep attention away from herself, but day one and almost everyone in her cohort knew her name.
She'd fucked up just by doing too well.
"They'll look for you for help," he told her, "you could be making plenty of friends."
"Or enemies," she replied, "Didn't anticipate Prof revealing scores the moment we handed them in."
Rue had been a couple of minutes late, lost in the portals that led to her first class. She'd sunk into the paper in a frenzy, not truly understanding its purpose and too afraid to ask the octopus professor that stood at the front.
The paper had been simple enough, a couple of multi-choice questions on the biology of various different alien species in the galaxy. Short essays that questioned her understanding of the basics. A mathematical problem she had to solve.
Rue had scratched out her answers with sass, scoffed at the questions and pulverised its intention and purpose in existing within the paper. She'd been mad at the universe, had felt a need to prove to herself that she could do this and the other Universities had fucked up by rejecting her application.
Before she knew it, her name was on the ranking board, spelt out like they were at a football match, and she'd just shot a perfect goal.
It was goddamn embarrassing.
"Oh, he'll do that to encourage us to work harder. And Omegaverse degree holders are always prime targets for packs of our calibre," Theo shrugged going through his grocery list, "other Alphas will notice and look at the scores. For the unmated, this is a good chance." His eyes swept to her looking at her neck for bites, and she slapped a hand to it, felt the burn of his eyes.
"They'll look for more than just test scores, they need to see our abilities in the field. Abilities that I may or may not have," she laughed, panic sizzling in her chest. "Also, we're Alphas dude. They should be looking for Omegas."
"Who wouldn't want a doctor in their pack who would know exactly what to do to soothe a rut that goes wrong? Or end a heat? We will specialise in the ability to calm and soothe, you know? Help them out?" He glanced at her weirdly. "You're from a rural monogamous species, aren't you?"
Translation: you live under a rock and don't know your degree. Fuck.
Theo's brows knotted and his tongue flicked out to wet nervous lips. "You do know what we're meant for right? You didn't attend orientation but that can't possibly mean, you don't know the basics of our—"
Rue choked, cleared her throat before she spoke. "I've seen Alphas with two Alphas. Ten Omegas and a male Beta." She shot back a laugh, leading him towards the exit. "I'm not a dumbass."
"I didn't say you are."
He didn't seem convinced, but it was probably because he'd been spot on. She wasn't that interested in what she would be studying. Rue silently cursed in her head. In fact, she didn't really know what her jobscope included only that her degree was fifth in line for the highest pay in the world.
The eros in the club had been part of the decision-making, had given a nonchalant shrug towards the option and a nod that had made it seem easy enough. She'd been drunk during the entire process, had groaned as she went through the list, fingers hovering over business and economics.
'Nuhuh, you've got bigger things in life,' Air had teased, pulled her away from her choices. 'Is this all you want?'
'Corporate slave is still pretty fancy,' she'd groaned, but his hands had pulled her wrist, led her fingers up towards the top. 'Omegaverse?' The chuckle that had escaped him had been almost lethal, ghosting over her flesh and pulling goosebumps all over her skin. She'd shuddered and he'd laughed, warm and breathy.
'You'd be a doctor. Hm? Wouldn't you like that?' he murmured, voice the sweetest caramel. 'Caring for sick Alphas, Betas and Omegas. You know how concerned everyone gets over their sub-genders.' She squinted, couldn't really make out the fine print.
'It says I will learn to soothe Alphas, I can't do that, I piss them off!' she blubbered and he smiled, revealed pearly whites and the sharpest incisors.
'Oh no, darling,' he purred and her chest grew warm and fluttery from his voice, ' you calm them down so good. It's an easy job. Really, really fun. And they pay so well. Nothing you don't already know how to do.' She'd sighed, had dreamily began the process with clumsy fingers.
'You know someone who does this?'
He'd shrugged with a nod, seemed nonchalant enough. 'My father.'
'And you sure it wouldn't end up with me, a hand deep in someone's ass feeling up a prostate?' she'd slammed a palm against the table, wagged a finger at him. 'Don't want diarrhoea on my hands.' He'd giggled at her words, body snaking up to hers to rest his chin against her shoulder, his breath warm against her cheek.
'Just fill up the form.'
But Air hadn't answered her question, and maybe that meant she was going to be fisting people for work.
-
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