12. Metamorphosis
The hallway was deserted when Cissnei came out from the first floor bathroom. There was nothing odd about it – the last class of the day had ended ten minutes ago – but the silence was eerie. She hurried her steps, hiding her hands under her arms. The cold had gotten tenacious enough to seep indoors. This past week she'd been half-frozen by the time she made it back to her room, after her secretive nightly swimming lessons with Reno.
As Cissnei approached the next corridor, she picked up on the murmur of quiet conversation. A boy and a girl. Never one to miss an opportunity, she slowed and tiptoed to the corner for a peek.
It was Reno, talking to a brown-haired girl. Trinny from class, Cissnei recognized. As she watched, he stepped closer and touched Trinny's hair. The girl giggled and dropped her gaze as he leaned closer and murmured something, running his hand through her brown locks. A sinking sensation came over Cissnei.
The bell rang, signaling the start of the school's afternoon activities. The girl jumped, and with a quick "I've got to go!" she scurried away and disappeared through the door at the end of the corridor. Reno slipped his hands into his pockets and watched her leave, but he turned his head when Cissnei stepped into the corridor.
"There you are," he said, flashing a grin. "Got any plans for the next half an hour?"
"Still working on it," she said with a pinned-on smile.
Their footsteps echoed in the empty hallway. Those who stayed in the building for their afternoon club meetings had already gathered in their designated classrooms. She and Reno had no such hurry, though. Their sparring session with Tseng was still forty-five minutes away.
"So, what was that about?"
Cissnei cringed as her voice rang sharper than she had intended in the empty hall.
"Huh?"
"You and Trinny, talking."
"Oh, that?" There was something decidedly smug about the grin that crept onto his face. "Just needed some hairpins."
"What?"
"Yeah, my old ones got confiscated. I remembered you said she liked me, so thought I'd turn on the ol' charm and just ask her for some."
"You... charmed her?"
"Hey, I can be charmin'! Bit rusty now, maybe, but I used to be pretty good at it."
His walk held a bit more swagger than usual, and she had rarely seen that spark in his eye. She'd seen it the first time he'd talked her into sneaking into the school kitchen. It had been there as he sauntered out of class, sent to the principal by Mr. Nesbitt for the second time. It wasn't the giddy sparkle of infatuation, Cissnei could see that much.
"So that's what it was about? Hairpins?"
Reno's chuckle was more like a purr than laughter.
"What's with the interrogation, Ciss? You gettin' jealous?"
"No, I just... Weren't you leading her on?"
"Ain't like I made any promises. Told her she's pretty and her hair looked nice, s'all. A fair trade, y'know? A few compliments for a few hairpins, yo."
A purring cat – that's what he reminded her of. A purring, self-satisfied cat who had just stolen the cream and gotten away with it.
"You told her she's pretty, so she gave you hairpins? Am I missing part of the equation here?"
"Eh, said I needed some to keep my hair outta my eyes." He blew some of the red strands out of his face and grinned. "Ain't like I was lyin', yo."
His explanation made it sound like he'd been playing a role. Not so different from what she did... only it was. What she had seen had looked like... seduction. Cissnei couldn't put her finger on why that changed anything, but she had learned to interpret the tight knot in her belly as discomfort.
"You make it sound easy," she mumbled.
"Make 'em laugh, make 'em feel good," he said with a shrug. "Ain't rocket science." He gave her a sly look from the corner of his eye. "Works on dudes, too, in case you're wonderin'."
For a second Cissnei could see it. She could see herself smiling and playing with her hair like the older girls would around their boys. It made the twisting in her gut worse. It also made her pulse quicken.
"And would you know because...?"
Cissnei had hoped to fluster him like he had flustered her, but he just smirked.
"Sometimes I need cookies, too."
"...Cookies?"
His smile grew wider.
"Might surprise ya how many of the guys at the dorm get cookies in the mail from their moms. Might surprise ya more to know that not all of 'em hate my guts."
His eyes glittered with laughter, but he said it so casually that she couldn't tell how much of it was a joke.
Then, like that, the mirth was gone. Reno stopped in his tracks and stared out through the glass of the front doors. Cissnei frowned and scanned the school yard, trying to figure out what had spooked him, but no one was out there.
"What?"
"Sweet Shiva's frozen ass," he whispered. "Is that... real?"
She peered out again. A smile spread across her face as it finally clicked into place.
"Haven't you seen snow before?"
She'd noticed at first glance, of course, but she'd been too preoccupied with Reno's spooked reaction. A layer of white blanketed the yard and everything in it. A good two inches had fallen from the sky during the afternoon classes, and more was floating down in large, fluffy flakes.
"Yeah, but... Look!" He pushed through the door in a sudden fit of excitement, but stopped right at the edge of the wide doorstep to look around. "There's so much of it! It's everywhere, just lyin' there on the ground!"
Cissnei had to stifle a laugh at the expression on his face. The poor guy seemed to be in shock.
"Isn't that what snow usually does?"
"Not below plate. Some would blow in under the plate sometimes, but not like this. I mean, look at it!" Reno threw out his arm in an arc, gesturing at the world in general with a shrill laugh of disbelief. "It's just floatin' down! From nothin'!" He cast a wary glance upwards, though only for a second.
"From clouds, Reno."
"Yeah, I know that, it's just... We didn't have this. Not like this. Ever."
He was grinning now.
"Didn't it get cold under there?"
"Sure, it got cold. Cold enough to freeze your goddamn balls off, but mostly that just meant a bunch of ice. Icicles danglin' from the plate above, slippery streets, frozen showers..."
"Showers?"
"Yeah," he chuckled. "The heat broke a few times. One of those freeze-your-balls-off type deals, yo."
"That must have sucked."
"Sure did," Reno mumbled, but his attention was clearly elsewhere. He had stepped into the yard and was wandering down the path, twirling as he went and staring all around. Cissnei trailed after him, content to just enjoy the look of wonder on his face as he watched the flakes waft down in their lazy dance. They were so rare, these moments when he let his guard down.
The yard was so still she could feel the snow creaking under her shoes. As she glanced down, she realized other students must already have had their share of the excitement. The snow on the path was littered with footprints, and much of it was scooped up along the sides. The snow was too dry, too powdery for proper fun, but that never stopped people from giving it a go when it first fell.
Cissnei stopped and glanced at Reno, a smile playing on her lips.
"Hey, Reno!"
Her aim was true. Just as he looked her way, her snowball smacked his forehead in a shower of powdery snow. He just stood there at first, blinking, but the ring of her laughter brought him out of his daze. His eyes narrowed to slits, but there was a wily grin on his face.
"Oh, you're so gettin' it now, ya lil' hellcat!"
Reno pounced, but she ducked to the side in the nick of time, scooping up another fistful of snow as she did. The second ball socked him in the chest as he straightened back up. He yelped, she giggled, he lunged for her again, and with a squeal she took off along the path.
He caught her in the yard behind the administration building, right under the apple tree, and the impact toppled them both. They rolled around, each trying to get the upper hand, yowling whenever snow touched bare skin. Reno managed to get on top of her and shoved snow down the back of her sweater.
"You jerk!" she hollered between fits of giggles. "That's not allowed!"
"Yeah? Well, I always fight dirty," he quipped with a toothy grin, reaching for more snow.
She kicked the trunk of the tree, dumping a white flurry on them both. As he shrieked and threw his arms up over his head, she knocked him over and squirmed free, and the chase was on again.
When they finally called it a truce, both of them were huffing and caked with snow.
"How about next time we get our gloves first," Cissnei grumbled, blowing on her reddened fingertips. "My fingers have turned into icicles."
Reno snatched up one of her hands and covered it with both of his own, rubbing gently. His fingers must have been chilled, too, but they felt warmer than her own nonetheless.
"Aw, poor baby," he cooed. "Didn't anyone tell ya it ain't smart to wear snow as a hat?"
He was one to talk. His hair was more white than red at this point. Cissnei reached up to brush the snow out of it.
Reno dropped her hand and flinched back with a startled breath. He went stiff as a rod.
She went still too, her hand hovering mid-air until she let it fall. He gave her a sheepish look as his shoulders loosened up again.
"Sorry," he muttered. "It ain't you, it's just... y'know. Like a reflex."
Her dad had reacted like that once during his last visit. He'd been doing dishes, and she'd tapped him on his back to get his attention. Her dad had dropped a plate and spun around, sending suds flying everywhere, and had stared at her with a strange look in his eyes, as if he didn't know who she was. It had only lasted a second, though, and then he'd made her promise never to do it again. To never touch him without warning, and never shake him to wake him up.
Shrugging off the memory, Cissnei mustered a smile.
"It's okay. I wasn't going to do anything bad, though. Just wanted to get some of the snow off you."
"Oh. Thanks."
Reno reached up to do it himself, and Cissnei noticed he brushed the scar by his eye with his fingertips on the way. Once he'd swatted most of the snow out, he cleared his throat.
"Y'know, as cool as this is... Heh. Pun totally intended," he added with a quick grin. "It's got one downside to it."
"When you go back inside, your pants are going to be soaked?" Cissnei suggested with a crooked smile of her own.
Reno's eyes widened before he looked down at himself.
"Aw crap, it does that?"
"It's snow," she said, laughter bubbling up between her words. "It melts."
"Goddammit, I knew it was startin' to feel like too much fun," he griped, slapping packed snow off of his trousers.
"What did you mean, then?"
"Huh? Oh, this." He pointed to the trail they had made across the yard. "Looks like we ain't gonna sneak out for a swim anytime soon."
"Oh." She frowned, but soon brightened again. "We don't need to. You're good enough that we could use the regular pool hours in the evenings."
In the weeks that had passed since their first lesson, Cissnei had also seen a transformation in his poolside manner. He wasn't so quick to hunch down and wrap his arms around his waist anymore. She suspected it had something to do with the fact that his ribs were no longer poking out so much, and the hollow beneath them had begun to fill out – with a hint of abs.
"Ya really think so?" Reno asked, watching her with sudden shyness.
The same change could be seen in his face. His cheeks were fuller, and while his skin was still pale, it was no longer the sickly white it had once been. Right now, after twenty minutes of frolicking in the snow, his cheeks were a ruddy pink that clashed with his hair. He hadn't cut his mop in the months he'd spent at First Sector High, and it was now long enough to reach below his eyes. It may have been deliberate. Partially hidden, the scar was less noticeable.
His transformation hadn't gone unnoticed by the others, either. His rendezvous with Trinny was proof of that. The girls in class still marked his passing with titters and whispers – but these days those whispers were rather different in character. Cissnei wasn't sure why that bothered her. Maybe it was because the substance of the remarks hadn't changed. It was all about the surface. The inside hadn't mattered to them then, and it didn't matter now. Not even to Trinny.
Then again, the surface was all they got to see. They saw his smirks, not his smiles. They didn't get to hear about his dreams of flying and traveling the world. She did.
"Yeah, I really think so," Cissnei said. "So, how about Wednesdays and Fridays?"
Reno smiled, one of those shy smiles that came from within.
"Deal."
A few weeks later, Tseng pulled Reno aside after their sparring match.
"I hear you've had a change of heart regarding your swimming practice," the Turk said.
As far as Reno was concerned, his reaction had been perfectly justified. Prancing around in the swim briefs was still a humiliation bordering on psychological torture. A guy couldn't even enjoy the eye candy without making a public fool of himself. But, it was an embarrassment that all the guys in this shitty school had to face. It also helped to know that these days he could make it from one end of the pool to the other without certain death by drowning.
"You spyin' on me now?" Reno laughed, though he couldn't be bothered to add any spite. "And here I thought Turks had real work to do."
"It was hardly an effort. Just a few questions to teachers and staff on the way in. The pool attendant has seen you several times recently."
Tseng didn't even bat an eye at the little jab. Well, two could act cool.
"Eh, you said it yourself," Reno said with a shrug. "Got a swim test to pass, yo."
"I'm pleased to see a sign of determination in you. So pleased, in fact, that I have decided to test your enthusiasm in the field."
"Seriously?"
Reno's single word fizzed with poorly concealed excitement. So much for keeping it cool.
"Check with the dorm supervisor," Tseng said. "He has something for you. I expect you to be wearing it when I pick you up tomorrow at noon."
"It ain't a mog costume, is it? 'Cause if it is, someone's gonna get hurt."
The corners of Tseng's mouth rose a fraction.
"Noon tomorrow," he repeated. "The main gate."
A shower and change of clothes had never felt so long. Ignoring the cold, Reno barreled through the school yard with damp hair. At the boys' dorm, he poked his head through the open window to the supervisor's office.
"Hey, Baldy! I hear ya got somethin' for me."
The supervisor looked up from his crossword puzzle and scowled, squinting at Reno over the rim of his glasses. Such a miserable twat, that guy.
"C'mon, man, haul some ass. I ain't got all day."
The man set down his crossword and got to his feet. He yawned and stretched, then dragged himself to the back room like a fat, sedated snail. After half an eternity he emerged again, holding a coat hanger with a black garment bag. Reno was practically vibrating with impatience, but struggled to keep his mouth shut. If he gave the guy another piece of his mind, the bastard would probably sit down and take a nap. So Reno stood, and glared, and snatched up his prize the second it was within reach.
Once safe in his room, Reno hooked the hanger over his door, then tugged the zipper open and yanked the bag off. Then he just stood, and beheld.
Even in the shitty light of the ceiling lamp, the luster of the dark fabric was obvious. It almost gleamed.
The black tie was even shinier.
A tie. Ifrit's ass, he had a goddamned tie.
How the hell did ties even work?
Reno ran his fingers over the front of the jacket, savoring the smoothness. He carefully lifted the jacket off the hanger. At first glance, the white shirt underneath looked a lot like the short-sleeved uniform shirt of First Sector High, but when Reno shrugged himself into it he realized how wrong he'd been. After the rough, scratchy cotton of his school shirt, this was like a gentle caress.
He only had the patience to do up a few buttons before he threw on the jacket and dashed to the mirror. The jacket was a tad wide in the shoulders and the sleeves were definitely too roomy for his spindly arms, but a smile spread across Reno's face as he checked out his reflection. He closed his eyes and took a moment to just feel the soft weight of the Turk suit on his shoulders.
Yeah, he could get used to this. He totally could.
