Spirit Elfen

Chapter 4

4

Honi stood by the table, wondering what had just happened. He hated—hated—the way Adi blew up sometimes. Okay, so he’d been late. He replayed the conversation in his mind and cringed. Yeah, maybe he shouldn’t have been quite so blunt, repeating John’s words back to her. Nobody liked to be called a “distraction.”

Ho’neo whined in sympathy and pushed his cold nose into Honi’s palm. He looked down and surreptitiously patted the wolf’s head. Then he sat down heavily. Now that he was here, might as well have some of the pie. He picked up his fork and broke the golden-brown crust. Just as he bit down on the tart filling, somebody sat down opposite him.

“Honi, my man!” Sam laughed when Honi’s face scrunched up in a grimace. “Yeah, could have warned you. The rhubarb pie is so sour, it’s inedible.”

Honi nodded as he sucked on his teeth, trying to get the acid out of his mouth before it dissolved the enamel. Sam’s companion, a small spirit fox, opened his mouth and seemed to laugh along with his human. Honi gave him a quick, filthy look before concentrating on his friend. Sam didn’t know he had a fox following him everywhere, and Honi wasn’t going to tell him.

“So… did I just see Adi storm off?” Sam’s pale blue eyes sparkled with mischief. He’d been party to several fights in the couple’s temperamental relationship. Honi didn’t have many friends on campus, and he treasured Sam for his calm and steadfast support.

After last year’s events, which had cemented Honi’s reputation as a weird loner, Sam had stood by him and accepted Adi into their friendship circle with admirable ease. Sam still looked at him expectantly. His fox nosed at his temple without his human taking any notice.

Honi sighed before replying, “I screwed up. Again.”

He bent down, took the straw between his lips, and sucked noisily. He closed his eyes for a moment. Damn, that was good. Cold, sweet, with a depth of flavor that only good quality chocolate could add, combined with bitter coffee undertones. When he opened his eyes again, Sam was laughing at him.

“Do you need a moment alone with your beverage?”

Honi grinned weakly, acknowledging the joke. Then his face turned serious again.

“Do you think I’m a good boyfriend?”

Sam and his fox both tilted their heads to the left. It would have been funny, had Honi been in the mood.

“Um, why’re you asking me? Shouldn’t you discuss that with—I don’t know—your girlfriend?”

Honi sighed again. “I should, but every time we see each other lately, we get into fights.”

“Fights about what?”

“Mainly about how much time we spend together.” Honi looked up.

Sam had stopped smiling. “You mean, how much time you don’t spend together,” he said. “You know I’m your friend, right?”

Honi swallowed. Sam reminding him of their friendship meant nothing good. “Sure,” he replied.

“This is the first time in three weeks I’ve seen you. And only because I ran into you by chance…”

“You know I’m under a lot of stress. I have to get this paper finished, and—”

Sam interrupted him. “Adi told me last week that she hadn’t seen you in ten days. What’s going on, Honi? It’s bad enough shutting out your best friend, but your girlfriend? Are you surprised she feels neglected?” Sam stopped and took a deep breath.

Honi stared. That was quite a speech for his usually quiet friend. But damn, he was right. He had been neglecting Adi. She hadn’t slept over for weeks, and even when they met for training sessions, he had to rush off right after. Sam’s voice interrupted his train of thought.

“You’ve got to talk to her, Honi. I know you two love each other, but she’s not the kind of girl to hang around forever. I don’t know why you keep pushing her away, but you need to stop. Talk to her before it’s too late.”

Sam finished off the pie in two bites and got up. He waved before walking out of the building, his spirit animal’s tail wrapped around his neck. Honi stared after him, wondering what he meant by that. It seemed that Sam had spent more time with Adi than Honi had. What did he know that Honi didn’t? He had a really bad feeling about this.

Deep in thought, Honi returned the tray on autopilot and barely registered the server’s smile when he handed over the empty cups and plates. He’d just left the cafeteria, walking quickly towards his appointment to meet with his thesis advisor, when his phone buzzed again.

Honi answered without checking the display and came to a sudden halt. John’s agitated voice made his hair stand on end.

“John, calm down. What’s going on?” He pushed his apprehension from his voice.

“Honi, I’m so sorry. I just finished meeting with the fiscal team, and I’ve got bad news…” His voice trailed off.

Honi waited, trying to control his breathing. Bad news. At least it didn’t have to do with his immediate family. John had been talking with the group responsible for financing projects, like the stipend program that paid a large chunk towards Honi’s college courses.

John’s deep inhale interrupted Honi’s train of thought, and he concentrated on hearing what the shaman had to say next.

“Let me just come out and say it. Donations have been down from last year. Many families lost their income, and we have a lot less money coming in.” Another pause before John continued. Honi didn’t like the weariness in his voice.

“You need to finish your studies as quickly as possible. We don’t have enough funds to pay for your extension.”

And there it was. Honi’s stomach sank, and he felt cold. He already had a heavy course load. Heavy enough that he’d had no time for a job to fund his studies.

After the events just before end of third year, the college had allowed him to move forward with his courses even though he hadn’t been able to take some of his exams. An individualized study-plan deferred some classes to the next term. That way, he would still graduate, albeit six months after everybody else.

As it was, he worked as hard as he could. There was no leeway, and no chance that he could finish college at the end of spring term. Earliest he expected to graduate was winter. Honi sat down heavily on a bench next to the gravel pathway.

“Honi? Are you still there?” John’s voice sounded tinny from a distance. Honi’s hand had dropped into his lap, and he quickly lifted the phone back to his ear.

“Thanks for letting me know. I need to go, think about what this means for me.”

Not waiting for a reply, he disconnected. This couldn’t have come at a worse time. His eyes staring unfocused into the distance, he tried to parse the news. His thoughts circled around and around, getting darker and darker. Ho’neo pushed against his leg, the warm weight of his body a comforting presence.

Honi couldn’t see a way out. No way would he graduate in time. Even if he managed to find a part-time job halfway through the semester in a small college town, he wouldn’t make enough money to pay for his single dorm room, school fees, books, and still have enough left over for food. His grade point average wasn’t good enough to get him one of the few coveted full-ride grants offered by the college.

His head dropped back, and he stared sightlessly into the sky. What about Adi? She was already pissed at him for not spending any time with her. How would she take the news? He knew he’d neglected her, but it wasn’t like he had a choice. His body felt cold all over. A leaden weight rested in his stomach as he pondered and deliberated and came to the same conclusion every damn time. If he didn’t find another source of income, he’d have to drop out and find something else to do with his life.