The Island of Dragons (Rockpools Book 4), Gregg Dunnett [books to improve english .txt] 📗

“I’m studying Marine Biology,” I say. “I chose Boston University because it has one of the best Marine Biology courses in the whole world. And because it’s quite close to home as well.”

Guy kind of nods and grins. “Supercool. I’m doing Law. Say do you wanna beer? I got some grass too, I don’t know if you’re into that?”

“You’re studying Law?”

“Yeah. Why?”

I shake my head. “No reason.”

“Shall I skin one up?”

“No. But thanks.”

Guy nods again. “Cool. I’ll just get the beers then.”

After a while he leaves, and I start unpacking. I guess he’s nervous, just like I am, and this is his way of showing it. While he’s gone I connect my laptop to the Wi-Fi, but then he doesn’t come back, because someone else arrives in the apartment. I hear Guy talking to them in the little kitchen lounge area. I don’t particularly want to go out and meet them, but eventually I know I kind of have to.

It’s another boy, a bit older than me, and dressed in sports clothes. Guy’s given him a beer already and they’re knocking them back.

“Yeah, so I bet it’s gonna be three girls and three boys,” Guy says, and I work out he’s talking about the six rooms in the apartment. Then he spots me, standing in the doorway.

“Billy, this is Jimbo. He’s in room four.” I step forward and we shake hands. He’s got a really firm grip, like he’s testing me. Guy’s holding out a beer to me this time, and I take it now, if nothing else I need something cold to fix my hand.

“Are you into sports?” Jimbo asks, then goes on. “You don’t look like you’re much into sports.”

“No,” I start saying, but he’s not listening.

“I play a lot of hockey. Like a lot of hockey.” He chuckles, and twists to point at the shoulder of his tracksuit, which has a badge sewn onto it. I notice that’s in the shape of a hockey stick. He turns back to glance at what I’m wearing, hiking trousers (I like them because they have extra pockets on the thighs, which is useful to carry things), my best checked-shirt, then looks at Guy too, who’s wearing jeans, but with a t-shirt and BU jumper. He seems disappointed. “I guess you guys don’t play hockey?”

And then the front door opens again, and a girl comes in, carrying bags and looking nervous, and we all troop out to meet her. And then later on another girl arrives. The whole episode takes a while, but eventually I work out that alongside me there are five other members of the apartment. They are:

James (Jimbo) Drew, 18, from somewhere near New York and here on a sports scholarship to study sports science. Which isn’t really a science is it? He’s the one who told me to call him Jimbo, but I haven’t decided if I’m going to yet.

Guy Musgrave, 19, from Dover, Delaware. He really is in the first year of a law degree.

Laura Collins, 18, from a small town outside Philadelphia. She’s in the room next door to me. She’s studying French History and has blonde hair and really big boobs. Even if I hadn’t noticed this fact myself (which I had), Guy and Jimbo have mentioned it at least a dozen times between them.

Claire Leharve, which I think is a French name. She’s 18 and comes from somewhere in Ohio. She’s studying English Literature, and when she came in she was literally holding a copy of Wuthering Heights, as if it might protect her. Looks-wise she’s the opposite of Laura, she’s very tall and thin, and has no boobs at all. Neither Guy nor Jimbo spent long talking to her.

Sarah Ellingham, 18, from Connecticut. She’s studying psychology. She has dark hair and I think she’s actually quite a lot prettier than Laura, although not in an obvious way. She’s the one Guy said was shy, and I suppose she is, because she hasn’t said much yet. Maybe that means she has hidden depths.

And then there’s me. So that means I’m the youngest in the house (it’s an apartment not a house, but already everyone’s calling it a house, so I’m going to do the same). But we’re all freshmen, or freshwomen, if that’s a term. Normally I’d look it up, but I don’t really seem to have the time, even though none of us are actually doing anything, except sharing little details about the schools we went to, and why we chose to come here.

“Say, I heard there’s a party tonight,” Guy tells us all at one point, and it’s clear he expects we’re all going to go. “Let’s get some more beers in and get out there.” And then him and Jimbo go off together to the store to buy more beer – because we’ve drunk it all by then. When they’re gone, the girls go back to their rooms, and gratefully, I do the same.

Chapter Six

We all go out to a special student bar first. It’s massive, and it takes ages to order any drinks at the bar. We all huddle together, because we’re the only people we actually know, but actually the music is so loud you can’t really talk. So I spend the time looking around at the other students. I don’t know why, but I expected them to look really different to the other students in my school. I mean they are a bit bigger, but they’re all wearing the same sort of clothes, and they look disappointedly similar. Like they’re interested in pretty much the same things.

After a while Guy gets a message on his cell telling him to come to the party, so we go there instead. It’s held in an apartment that’s identical to our new one, only it somehow looks as though the occupants have been there forever. They’ve put up a few decorations – those foil-banners you