the atrium wasn’t as enticing. Instead, it made me feel like the beauty was a façade.
Jaxon led us to the center hallway, where the entryway was made of bronze. Over the top of the doorway, silver script was embedded in granite stone with numerous flourishes.
“ Exegi monumentum aere perennius ,” I said aloud, probably butchering the entire thing.
“ I have erected a monument more lasting than bronze ,” Jaxon said tonelessly. “A quote in Latin from Horace.”
I nodded, taking in the implications of the claim. “Mr. Riggs must think very highly of this place and his students.”
“He thinks very highly of himself, that’s for sure.” Jaxon muttered under his breath, then gestured above him to the right. Another camera. He stared it down as he spoke. “ Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur. ”
“What’d you say?” Alice asked. She was braver than me; I would have let him ramble on until we got to our room. She had to learn and know everything.
“Just something for Riggs,” he said.
“What’s it mean?”
He snorted derisively as we walked into the hallway. “That I can be just as much like Confucius as you can, with your so-called nuggets of wisdom.”
“At least I have the nuggets to say them in plain English so everyone can understand them,” Alice shot back angrily.
He was as quick as she was with a comeback. “A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.”
Alice’s face widened with shock. “You know Oscar Wilde? How do you know Oscar Wilde?”
“Had lunch with him yesterday before I came to pick you two up. We’re old pals,” he nudged her in the side with his elbow. “He loves the french toast the kitchen whips up.”
Alice opened and closed her mouth, seemingly shocked that someone else had read her beloved poet’s works. “Apparently he knows how to read, Alice.”
“Of course I know how to read,” Jaxon scoffed. He stopped in front of an oval wooden door that was closed. The numbers 3-1-7 were nailed to the front. The handle to the door was a wheel like those I’d seen on vaults. He shoved a plastic card into each of our hands. “This is your room. Goodnight.”
“Wait a second,” I called, turning the card over in my hands. “What’s this?”
“Your key, of course,” he said, exasperated. “I swear you two are like cavemen.”
He stalked back over and snatched the key from my hand, then swiped it below the contraption mounted beside the door. It beeped twice, and the light flashed from red to green like the ones we’d seen on the way to the academy. He pushed the card back into my palm, but his touch was gentle. His turned the wheel in the center of the door, and I heard a click from the other side. The decorative cog on top of the door spun wildly and hummed, moving the much smaller gear below it. A moment later the door swung open a hair, and Jaxon stepped back.
“There. Seven A.M. is breakfast. No excuses. Your classes start tomorrow. Your closet is full, and Sari will show you to the common area in the morning.”
“Who’s Sari?” I asked, nonplussed by his information drop.
“Your other roommate. Don’t try to wake her up at this hour. She’ll maul you like a rabid bear.”
Without another word, he turned on his heel and left us standing at our door. Alice focused her attention on the door and her key, but I watched him walk away. Not thirty feet down the hall he stopped.
“And for the record, I said ‘Many fear their reputation, but few their conscience’ back there,” he said, not looking at us. In the low light of the candelabras I saw him brandish his own key card and jab it through the reader by the door. Before he disappeared into his room, he cast one long glance back to us. The shadows danced across his face, creating the illusion that he bore one massive bruise on his left side. I wondered if he felt that way inside, too.
Alice tugged at my hand. “Avery, come on,” she urged
Jaxon led us to the center hallway, where the entryway was made of bronze. Over the top of the doorway, silver script was embedded in granite stone with numerous flourishes.
“ Exegi monumentum aere perennius ,” I said aloud, probably butchering the entire thing.
“ I have erected a monument more lasting than bronze ,” Jaxon said tonelessly. “A quote in Latin from Horace.”
I nodded, taking in the implications of the claim. “Mr. Riggs must think very highly of this place and his students.”
“He thinks very highly of himself, that’s for sure.” Jaxon muttered under his breath, then gestured above him to the right. Another camera. He stared it down as he spoke. “ Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur. ”
“What’d you say?” Alice asked. She was braver than me; I would have let him ramble on until we got to our room. She had to learn and know everything.
“Just something for Riggs,” he said.
“What’s it mean?”
He snorted derisively as we walked into the hallway. “That I can be just as much like Confucius as you can, with your so-called nuggets of wisdom.”
“At least I have the nuggets to say them in plain English so everyone can understand them,” Alice shot back angrily.
He was as quick as she was with a comeback. “A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.”
Alice’s face widened with shock. “You know Oscar Wilde? How do you know Oscar Wilde?”
“Had lunch with him yesterday before I came to pick you two up. We’re old pals,” he nudged her in the side with his elbow. “He loves the french toast the kitchen whips up.”
Alice opened and closed her mouth, seemingly shocked that someone else had read her beloved poet’s works. “Apparently he knows how to read, Alice.”
“Of course I know how to read,” Jaxon scoffed. He stopped in front of an oval wooden door that was closed. The numbers 3-1-7 were nailed to the front. The handle to the door was a wheel like those I’d seen on vaults. He shoved a plastic card into each of our hands. “This is your room. Goodnight.”
“Wait a second,” I called, turning the card over in my hands. “What’s this?”
“Your key, of course,” he said, exasperated. “I swear you two are like cavemen.”
He stalked back over and snatched the key from my hand, then swiped it below the contraption mounted beside the door. It beeped twice, and the light flashed from red to green like the ones we’d seen on the way to the academy. He pushed the card back into my palm, but his touch was gentle. His turned the wheel in the center of the door, and I heard a click from the other side. The decorative cog on top of the door spun wildly and hummed, moving the much smaller gear below it. A moment later the door swung open a hair, and Jaxon stepped back.
“There. Seven A.M. is breakfast. No excuses. Your classes start tomorrow. Your closet is full, and Sari will show you to the common area in the morning.”
“Who’s Sari?” I asked, nonplussed by his information drop.
“Your other roommate. Don’t try to wake her up at this hour. She’ll maul you like a rabid bear.”
Without another word, he turned on his heel and left us standing at our door. Alice focused her attention on the door and her key, but I watched him walk away. Not thirty feet down the hall he stopped.
“And for the record, I said ‘Many fear their reputation, but few their conscience’ back there,” he said, not looking at us. In the low light of the candelabras I saw him brandish his own key card and jab it through the reader by the door. Before he disappeared into his room, he cast one long glance back to us. The shadows danced across his face, creating the illusion that he bore one massive bruise on his left side. I wondered if he felt that way inside, too.
Alice tugged at my hand. “Avery, come on,” she urged
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