pH Balance

This story is a continuation of my Q3 project. Here’s the link to Part 1

Bex thought back to that first day in the Phoenix House common room, with Laila. She wondered if she’d ever see her roommate—or anyone else—ever again

… 

Bex and Laila decided to spend their first afternoon reading together. For about half an hour, they read on the common room couch. They quietly flipped pages and occasionally reached for the bowl of popcorn that rested between them.

Then, other students started to trickle in. Most of them stopped to say hi to Laila, who introduced them to her new roommate. Everyone else in Phoenix House moved in four years ago as a first-year. A fresh face was uncommon and exciting.

Bex resolved to commit every face to memory. It helped that Laila supplemented her with an in-depth, off-the-record biography—after the subject was out of earshot, of course. Then, it was back to reading—until someone new entered through the door, surprised and delighted to meet the newest resident of Phoenix House.  

As Bex and Laila cycled through these conversations, they continued to learn more about each other: (least) favourite school subjects, bucket list items, and childhood adventures. Both girls were only children raised by highly esteemed academics—but had very different educations. Laila’s mother, the illustrious archaeologist Dr. Croft, stuck her daughter in boarding school as early as she could. By contrast, the Professors Yeoh brought their daughter along  as they taught, researched, and travelled around the world. 

“Why’d you give up travelling for a typical, boring school?” Laila asked. “I’d give anything to expedition with my mum.”

“It sounds stupid, but I wanted the kinds of friendships I saw on TV and read in books,” Bex explained. “We moved every few years. My only close friends are the cousins I’d see on holiday. And I love them—we’re like sisters. But I wanted to meet new people and make my own friends. People who like me for me, not because we shared a happy childhood.”

Laila nodded, “That makes sense. I’ve made incredible friends here. And have had moments with them that I wouldn’t trade for a first-class trip anywhere in the world.”

There was something else, too. Something Bex didn’t have the words to articulate. In all her travels, she’d been told where to go and what to do. Her adventures up until this point—traversing ancient ruins, scuba diving through coral reefs, exploring bustling markets—were fantastic. But they’ve all been with her parents. Bex never had a journey that was truly hers. 

The decision to go to boarding school was the first one she’d ever really made. Her parents were incredibly supportive—it would make her uni application more competitive, after all. The only real challenge was becoming a version of herself that was bolder, stronger, and more independent than the girl she’d been for the past fifteen years. 

“I’ve never had much classroom experience either,” Bex confessed. “I was homeschooled a lot. Sometimes my parents just had me take their classes”

“Your parents, the professors?” Laila asked ,eyebrows raised, “Shouldn’t you be heading straight to uni, then?” 

“No,” Bex said with a laugh. “I’ve watched enough bad TV to know that high school gives you invaluable life lessons. And they can’t be found in any textbook.”

“What do you mean?”

“Socialising. People skills. How to make friends. How to flirt.” Bex said with a shrug. “There was no drama in my educational experience. I think I’d learn from it.”

Laila was about to say something, but she was interrupted. Someone thundered down the stairs and stomped towards the kitchen. The girls both looked up. Laila immediately scowled and buried her face in her novel. Bex’s eyes locked with the only boy in Phoenix house she had yet to hear about. Before she had time to wonder why, he veered away from the refrigerator and into the common room.

He looked at Bex the entire time. 

“Laila,” he said, his eyes still softly focused on Bex. The deep blue pools shimmered, like sunlight reflecting off something just below the water’s surface. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your new friend?”

Bex met many American students and academics throughout her travels. But nobody who looked like this: straight out of the shows she binged with her cousins late at night. A main character in a drama chronicling rich, sociopathic teenagers played by gorgeous people in their mid-twenties. 

Fall term didn’t start for two more days, but the drama was already beginning. 

Bex turned to face her new roommate, intrigued. Laila dramatically flipped a page in her book. It was clear she wanted nothing to do with the American. Bex, on the other hand, wanted him to be a character in her story. And with boys like these, the stories practically wrote themselves.

 Bex looked back at the American. 

This was the moment—her chance to be a part of something she’d only seen on screen and page. And to play the part, she’d have to leave her old self behind. She’d have to act like someone who’s in control of their narrative. No matter how ridiculous she felt.

What’s the worst that could happen?

“I can introduce myself, thanks,” Bex said, standing up and holding out her hand. She silently told her conscience to shut up and channelled every ounce of wisdom she could from her late-night TV marathons. “Rebecca Yeoh. Bex—for brevity.”

“Bex for brevity,” he considered. He took her hand gently. “Chase Duckworth. But my friends call me—“ 

“Duckie.” Bex finished, punctuating the end of the sentence with a firm handshake. And a smile. Bex heard all about Chase Duckworth. Not from Laila—and she wondered why—but from the headmistress. She spent a great deal of time during orientation singing his praises to Bex: Prefect, top of their class, and the first American cricket captain the school has ever seen. How lucky she was to be living in Phoenix House with the Chase Duckworth.

“Your reputation precedes you.”

Duckie looked at Laila pointedly. Bex’s new roommate glanced up from her book and met his eyes. “You have never been worth my time. I told her nothing about you.” 

Clearly Duckie’s reputation wasn’t as pristine as the headmistress made it seem: was that just Laila’s opinion, or something the entire house shared? How had she met nearly everyone else in the House without hearing his name once?

“Laila still hasn’t forgiven me for a silly little trifle last term.” Bex was about to ask for more information when Laila interjected:

“Bex, just ignore him.” She went back to her book. Laila was clearly not interested in interacting any more with the obnoxious—albeit attractive—American; but Bex was. 

For the plot, of course.

“Guys like me are very hard to ignore,” Duckie said with a shark-toothed grin. Looks like I’m not the only one getting my dialogue from a teen drama, Bex thought. She considered her response, wanting to move the conversation forward in a more exciting direction. 

“Bex, would you like to leave?” Laila asked through gritted teeth. She was still glaring at her book.

“Hold on a second. He’s right,” Bex replied. “Boys like Duckie are very hard to ignore,” she said with a smile, daring him to make the next move. 

Laila and Duckie both looked at her, with an expression somewhere between confusion and surprise. Duckie recovered first, settling back into his devilish smile. 

“The same goes for girls like you, Bex”

“In his case, it’s technically girls anywhere and everywhere,” Laila said bitterly. 

“Laila. It’s time to let it go,” Duckie said, shaking his head. “Bex, I’d like to set the record straight—“

“I haven’t told her anything,” Laila said. She re-opened her book and stuck her nose in it. Bex didn’t know it then, but it was the angriest she would see her roomate this entire term.

“Over dinner,” Duckie finished.

“Absolutely not,” Bex replied. Duckie looked a bit bemused but didn’t miss a beat replying. He was no stranger to rejection: over time, he’s learned how to bounce back from it unscathed.

“Because of the rumours you heard? The very slander I’m promising to rectify?”

“Because underneath the rumours and the slander,” Bex said, grabbing her book from the couch, “There is always a kernel of truth. And I won’t put myself in such a precarious position until I know exactly who I’m dealing with.” She wasn’t sure where that came from—maybe a Gossip Girl season finale?

“This ‘precarious position’ is a chance for us to get to know one another.” Duckie sat down next to her. “And you’ll see I’m not the terrible guy Laila makes me out to be.”

“Laila didn’t have to tell me anything. And she didn’t. I’m sure I know exactly what kind of guy you are,” Bex replied, “And I know I’d be in a whole lot of trouble if we dined alone together.”

She turned to her roommate. “And I will be eating with my roommate this evening. Shall we? ”

“I was just waiting for you to ask,” Laila replied, as they both stood up together. The girls left Duckie sitting there, in the common room, alone on the couch. After he was out of earshot, Laila asked:

“You’re not seriously thinking of going out with that pile of rubbish, are you? It seemed like you were rejecting him but also encouraging him to try harder.”

“Of course not,” Bex snorted. “Duckie seems fun to mess with. He obviously takes himself too seriously.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing. Most of the girls he’s dumped would take him back in a heartbeat. And there’s a lot of them.”

“But not you.” Bex said matter-of-factly. 

“Gross. We never dated.” Bex looked at her roommate expectantly. “So you’re wondering why I dislike him, then? Aside from his obvious transgressions against every girl within a ten-mile radius?” Laila exhaled dramatically. “Fine. I’ll tell you.” 

The two roommates turned the corner in the stairwell..  

“Last term, Duckie kept trying to ask me out. He wouldn’t leave me alone. He was intrigued by the fact that I was the only girl that’s ever rejected him.”

“If he’s the school’s most eligible guy, I’m worried about my dating prospects.”

“Definitely not the most eligible. Looks can take you a long way, I guess,” Laila said. “Anyways, Duckie eventually found out I’d been secretly dating his sister, Kendra, the entire time he tried to get me to go out with him.” Laila laughed. “He threw a fit. It was hilarious.” 

“What’s Kendra like?” Bex asked. If she and Laila were dating, the twins were probably very different.

“She’s great. The funniest person I’ve ever met. You’ll meet her tomorrow when she gets in from LA.” Laila opened the door to their room. “Bex, how did you hear about Duckie anyways? I didn’t mention him because I wanted your first day to be a posiitve experience.”

“When I arrived, I had a chat with the headmistress. You know, to learn more about the school. Transferring as a fifth year student is difficult.”

Laila nodded.

“And she suggested that the Prefect of Phoenix House give me a tour tomorrow morning.”

… 

Of course Bex didn’t tell him all of that. Or any of that. The memory flashed before her eyes in an instant, and then she was back on the supply closet floor, wondering how quickly things went from normal to ridiculous to utterly hopeless.

“Remember the first time I rejected you?” She asked, after taking a deep breath of musty, bleach-scented air.

“I haven’t been able to set foot in the common room since,” Duckie said sarcastically.

“Yeah, well right after that, Laila and I went back to our room to get ready for dinner. She was telling me all about her girlfriend’s annoying twin brother while I was moving a bookshelf. Some of the wallpaper accidentally came off. I saw the DelPhi letters, surrounded by a bunch of names.”

“People who were part of the Order?”

“Yeah. I know that now,” Bex said while nodding. “I, of course, had no idea what to make of the writing. But Laila told me she’d seen the symbol before, on what looked like a map. The writing was all in Latin, so she didn’t remember much of what it said—she couldn’t even tell what it was supposed to be.”

“When she found it in grandfather’s book?”

“Yeah. Laila thought it was odd that a copy of Metamorphoses was on a shelf that was only otherwise occupied by 21st century beach reads. She asked Kendra about it, of course. Kendra freaked out and said it was a delicate family heirloom that her recently departed grandfather gave her. After that, Laila just attributed it to some rich people eccentricities and forgot all about it. Until we saw the symbol again.”

“When did this all happen?”

“A few days ago, before Kendra went to London with your mum.”

“How did you make the connection between the names on your wall and the Order? Did you find something at the library?” Bex shook her head. “Kendra?”

“Not Kendra. You.” Duckie raised his eyebrows. “I all but forgot about the names on the wall until we went on our campus tour. Remember our trip to the gym?”

This Week’s Top 3

• “It’s Spooky Surfing Time” 🏄🏾‍♀️ – a fun playlist of surf rock with creepy vibes, perfect for October!
• Poltergeist 👻 – E.T. vibes (Spielberg, makes sense) but spooky (not scary). Also there’s a very good boy who no harm comes to in the film. It’s worth the watch just for E. Buzz.
• Bingo Night @ Temescal Taproom 🍺