Chapter 6:
All day long Fakir could feel eyes staring at him, boring holes into his back, each of them filled with judgment, grief, frustration, and jealousy. He was relieved when his afternoon classes had ended and his roommates had left. Nobody had even made an attempt to talk to him all day. Of course he didn't care about that, he's always been a loner, but he did care about what they were saying about him and what could happen to Ahiru. Time and time again he contemplated what he would do with her. He would've brought her to Charon, but he's traveling, working for a client in china and would be back until the spring. What about Erika? No, he can't, he knew the dangers and her words sill rang in his ears, "that makes her your responsibility." He pondered on his options for a while making his way to Ahiru's pond, taking as complicated a route as he could think of to lose the group of girls following him. He soon came to the pond and saw Ahiru sitting on the edge dock with her toes skimming the water. She seemed sad.
"Ahiru!" he called and she looked up.
"Fakir I think some people saw us," she said getting up and running over to him. "what are we gonna do?"
He thought about it for a moment and then his eyes widened as if had a great idea pop into his head "Can you change into a duck?" he asked suddenly.
"Maybe, why?" she asked in confusion.
"I told the girls that I had a duck that was injured with me but it got away, so if I come back holding a duck it would be a lot less suspicious then a girl.
"Oh, you're right!" she said, "ok," she squeezed her eyes shut and made a face as though she was constipated.
A large sweat drop appeared on the back of Fakir's head, "ummm… I don't think this is worki-" he was interrupted by a loud "Quack!" Ahiru disappeared and all was left was a pile of clothes with a lump inside them. A little duck poked its head out from the neck-hole of the dress. Fakir scooped up the dress and skill fully hid her ballet shoes, leotard and coat in a hollowed-out hole of a tree. He wrapped everything else up in the dress and wrapped his blazer around it. Ahiru climbed on top of it and nestled herself in. Fakir carried her back to the dorm. When they entered the campus the sun was setting and groups of girls were whispering and staring at them. Ahiru could feel their stares and nestled herself deeper into the lump of clothes. When they finally got to his room he set her down on his bed and sat next to her.
"What are we going to do? Erika doesn't want us near her, Charon's away, and it's almost winter," he shook his head. He then heard some rustling from behind his door. He quietly got up and opened it. A wave of girls came toppling in.
"Quack qua-qua-quack qua-quack? (When did you get stalkers?)" Ahiru quacked trying to suppress a laugh as all the girls struggled to get up under the weight of each other. Eventually all the girls had run away and Fakir closed the door behind them, shut the curtains, and stood there facing the wall.
"You can transform back now…" he said, his face red. There was a red light that flashed behind him.
"It's ok," Ahiru said sitting down on one of his roommates beds.
"So… since when could you do that? Change between your human and duck forms at will, I mean," fakir asked. The atmosphere in the room had turned very awkward.
"Ever since Erika became the author… What do you think she's writing about?"
"Knowing her it could be anything…" fakir said, he had been wondering this too and the fact that he could never know just sharpened his interest. A couple second later they heard a knock on the door. Ahiru scurried under the bed she was sitting on instantaneously.
"Lights out." called a familiar voice
"Ok," fakir called back, smiling at Ahiru whose head was poking out under the bed skirt.
"Safe?"She asked starting to crawl out from under the bed.
"Yeah," Fakir laid back on his bed and stared at the ceiling "goodnight Ahiru," he reached over and turned of the lamp on his bedside table
Ahiru climbed under the covers of the foreign bed. "Goodnight Fakir."