The Gospel of the Knife by Will Shetterly

Author:Will Shetterly [Shetterly, Will]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf

Chapter Eight

As you walk up to Rider House, Fitzgerald and thirteen boys come out in jackets and ties. The tall nef, Chad Vaughn, is one of them. So is the small boy you met on your way in earlier. Fitzgerald says, “Mr. Nix!”

You say quickly, “Sorry, sir, I’ll be ready-”

“Either you’re ready or you’re not, mister. Take that to heart.”

“Uh, yes, sir-”

Fitzgerald smiles. “Relax. We’re going up a little early. You want to be a winner in life, remember Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s advice. ‘Git thar fustest with the mostest.’”

The small boy says, “So we should follow the advice of the losers?”

As Fitzgerald frowns, Vaughn says, “They hardly ever had the mostest.”

“True,” Fitzgerald tells Vaughn with approval, and turns back to you. “Christopher Nix, your housemates. I expect us to be one big happy family.” He names the others quickly.

No one looks at you like they think you’re a brother. The only new name that sticks is David Levitz, the small boy; he’s your roommate.

Vaughn studies you, long enough to say he remembers being bumped in the stairwell. Then he smiles broadly, saying, “Welcome to the Academy, lad.”

Fitzgerald adds, “Mr. Vaughn’s the senior resident. When I’m not around, he’s in charge. He’ll do morning inspection and assign demerits to anyone whose room isn’t up to snuff. If you have questions about any aspect of Academy life, take them to him first.”

Vaughn looks at you and says dryly, “There’s nothing I enjoy more than setting wayward scholars straight.”

Fitzgerald tells you, “Better hustle, Mister Nix.” He starts toward High House, and the boys follow.

Levitz lingers. “Nix?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m Jewish.”

You shrug. “That’s cool.”

“You can ask for another room if you don’t like Jews.”

“How do you know I’m not Jewish?”

He looks at you, taps his forehead, and says, “I have amazing psychic powers.”

You think you didn’t feel the blood in him, then realize you’re taking all this a little too seriously. You say, “Hey, I’ll always be grateful to the Jews. They invented superhero comics.”

“Fuck.” Levitz shakes his head and heads after the others. “I could’ve had the biggest single at school.”

As you yank open the front door, Levitz calls, “Nix! Superman or Spider-Man?”

You glance back. “Neither. Give me Batman, Dr. Strange, or Captain America.”

Levitz nods. “That’s cool. Totally fuckheaded, but cool.”

You nod back, run inside, grab a blazer, then the first tie you see. You lose three minutes trying to make it look like it was knotted by someone with opposable thumbs, then run out.

The dining hall is enormous. Dozens of round tables are covered with white linen. Platters of food are brought out by students. Each table is supervised by a master. You might like this if boys and girls ate together, but girls eat most meals on their campus.

Fitzgerald stands by a table. As you come up, he says, “A place opened up at the headmaster’s. Since you’re new, he thought you might want to join him.”

You cross the dining hall, feeling conspicuous. Mather may think boys will respect you if you sit at his table.

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