003- Pretty Boy on Rink
1082 Words
RHODA
-THREE WEEKS LATER-
I stood before Megathron College with Clawdeen beside me, both of us staring up in awe.
The last time I'd been here was during a sports competition, when the gates were open to the public.
Clawdeen squeezed my shoulder. “Should I dress up like a boy too? This college is too dope, man."
“I know, right?"
Getting here hadn't been easy. Clawdeen and I had re-created Rhodes' mole, and I'd cut my hair short. If there was one thing I was grateful for, it was that nobody except Dad — not even Ricco could ever tell Rhodes and me apart.
I'd passed the online entrance tests easily enough; not may people applied to an all-boys college. Clawdeen had gotten her hands on a werewolf perfume too. So here I was — no longer Rhoda Othello, human girl. Now I was Rhodes Othello, An Alpha.
Convincing my family had been surprisingly simple. Dad believed I'd been accepted into some foreign college to study law. Rhodes was too busy with his rap and happy he could use my ID for whatever he was using it for, without knowing what I had done with his own.
Clawdeen's number was saved as my guardian's emergency contact, just in case. Dad would never know anything.
And now, here I was. The final test ahead of me: three months at MBC, on probation, with a spotless record required.
“Just three months, and you'll be a real student here,” Clawdeen said. "But you need to keep a low profile. That's the only way no one notices you. And don't talk too much— that voice of yours could get you caught.” she game me one last advice, then pulled me into a hug.
"This is only possible because of you, Deen,” I said, holding her tightly. “I don't know what I would have done without you.”
We broke apart, and she left me to face my fate alone.
The new-student screening took up nearly the entire day. Uniforms, ID, tags, locker assignment, and finally dorm room.
I'd be sharing a room with someone listed only as M. Jones.
No one was there when I arrived, but judging by the posters covering the walls, I could tell he played hockey.
“Keep your head down, Othello.” The teacher escorting me said. “Remember you're still on probation?"
I nodded and he left.
My bed sat beside the window, giving me a clear view of half the campus if I lay down just right.
Once I'd settled in, I called Clawdeen, wiped off my mole, and pulled on a hood to hide my short hair before video-calling Dad.
“Why does your dorm look so…male? Is your roommate a tomboy?" Ricco teased through the screen.
I quickly angled myself toward the window. “My roommate plays hockey. I just got room assigned, I haven't met him… I mean her.”
“Just be careful dear." Dad said, smiling at me — genuinely, for the first time in weeks. “I'm glad you've finally let go of ballet. Focus on bringing home that law certificate.”
My chest ached at the lie I was living, but I agreed anyway, ended the call, and pulled my disguise back to explore the school. Classes would officially begin Monday.
Dad would hate me if he ever found out. Rhodes — whose identity I was borrowing — might never forgive me either.
But I couldn't stop now. That scholarship email arrived right when I was ready to give up entirely. Becoming a ballerina here, even disguised as a boy, was the only way out I had left.
My feet carried me towards the ballet studio. No one was inside, but I stepped in anyway. Posters of legendary ballerinas lined the walls — and one face stopped me cold.
I gasped. "Aunt Celeste?”
Beneath her photo, an engraved plaque read: ‘CELESTE OTHELLO - THE LAST OTHELLO FAMILY BALLERINA’
Last.
My fists clenched at my sides. That word sat heavy in my chest — heavier, somehow, knowing what it had cost my family. Knowing what it had cost my mother, too, in her own way.
Just a matter of time. She won't be the last. I'll make sure of that.
Within my three months probation… ‘Last Othello Family Ballerina’ would be erased from her plaque.
I walked out towards the hockey rink, where a crowd of students already gathered. Another familiar face stared back at me from a wall poster — Mikaeel Jones (MJ). So my roommate wasn't just some jerk but a school celebrity.
I pushed through the crowd to get a better look but stopped short.
They weren't playing regular Hockey. This was bandy — one of the rarest forms of Hockey on ice.
The boy in the M. Jones jersey had his back to me, so I couldn't see his face yet. The crowd cheered him on like he was something more than just a player.
For a moment, I was completely captivated. The game itself felt regal, almost ceremonial — and also did the boy playing it.
Then the bandy ball came rolling toward me, and Jones turned aroud. Our eyes met.
My heart stopped.
Those eyes looked familiar more than it should…
“Pass the ball, pretty boy!" One of the players shouted.
The crowd around me joined in. “Pass to Jones! Pass to Jones!”
But I knew absolutely nothing about hockey — let alone bandy. What was I supposed to do?
Before I could even think, the ball slipped right through my legs and rolled into the crowd. Someone else scooped it up and threw it to the opposing player.
The whistle blew. “You lost this round, Jones. Submit the wager to the coach."
For a moment, it felt like the whole world had gone silent — like it was just the two of us standing there. He didn't move. Around me, some students cursed in my direction while others clearly rooting for the opposing team, celebrated.
“You're in trouble now, pretty boy." The student beside me muttered. “You didn't pass him the ball on purpose, right? He just lost because of you. I'd run if I were you.”
I couldn't get a single word out. God, It's my first day, and I'm already in trouble — With the school's star boy and my roommate.
My terrible luck or fate?
- Writer
