Chapter 3: Chapter 2

Jovi didn’t tell her parents or cousin Emma about Vincent’s contract. How would she even begin to explain that she made a pact with a real-life demon fairy? What even is a demon fairy? She had heard of demons before, but not a demon fairy. Her family would think she’s nuts. Even Jovi thought she was nuts, and she’s the one who said ‘yes’ to Vincent.

Jovi wasn’t sure if she could have said ‘no.’ There was something pulling her into Vincent on that summer’s day, like metal to a magnet. Jovi had felt like she wasn’t in control of herself.

Instead of telling her family the truth, Jovi told them that she was accepted to Manhattan University and she believed she would certainly earn a job that could pay her loans off in a timely manner. Emma couldn’t contain her excitement for Jovi. Jovi’s father wasn’t too thrilled sending her off to New York, but her mother shooed her off and muttered something about trust and that Jovi needed a break from their household.

Jovi had doubts about her meeting with Vincent. She wondered if she was scammed and wouldn’t see him again. In that case, she wouldn’t have to go to Manhattan University. Jovi would be back at square one, broke and dallying about finding a better job, but at least she wouldn’t have to risk giving her life to someone she didn’t know if she couldn’t fulfill the contract’s rules.

Jovi may never see her family again.

But it was real. Vincent kept his word. The first year’s worth of tuition was transferred to Jovi’s bank account.

Every other item Jovi packed for moving day had Vincent in question. She sifted through her closet and drawers trying to find clothes and jewelry that a high-status person would wear. The results were dismal. Jovi only had a couple formal dresses – one of which was too short because of how old it was – one pair of tiny diamond stud earrings, and a cross necklace that she had gotten from a religious ceremony when she was a child. She stuffed all of it under her casual clothing and toiletries.

The move in day came and went like a whirlwind. Jovi’s parents remained stoic in their farewells and the rest of the day was dedicated towards meeting all the other girls in their dormitory and touring the campus. Jovi went out like a light that night.

This morning hit hard.

Jovi set her cosmetics bag on the white marbled sink that spanned the hallway. The mirror had some watermarks on it. As she arranged her items for use, she noticed a piece of gunk on the sink’s spout. Gross, Jovi thought. She grabbed a paper towel and picked at it until the gunk came off. Then, she pinned her hair up and washed her face.

“Good morning, Jovi,” Sam, her roommate, said.

Jovi patted her face with the towel. “Hi.”

Sam stood a few inches taller than Jovi. She was still in her pajamas, which Jovi was convinced were made of real silk, and her honey colored hair sat above her shoulders. She ran water over her toothbrush.

“Shoot,” Sam said, “I forgot my toothpaste. Can I borrow some?”

“Of course,” Jovi said, pushing her bag over.

Sam glossed her toothbrush with paste and shoved it into her mouth. “I like this toothpaste. It has a really strong mint flavor.”

“It’s a no-name brand.”

“It’s better than the one I use. Mine may taste good, but it doesn’t clean as well as yours.”

“You can keep it if you want.”

“I can get it myself,” Sam spat into the sink, “you’ll just have to point it out to me when we go shopping.”

“Sure.”

Jovi saw her phone brighten up from the corner of her eye. Her first class, Finance, was starting soon, and she wasn’t sure how long it’d take to get to the building.

“I’ll see you in the lobby. How do you take your coffee?”

“Aww,” Sam smiled. “I’ll have a cold-brew with skim milk and a couple pumps of syrup. Oh, and an energy bar!”

Jovi swapped her cosmetics purse for her plaid satchel and hopped into the elevator. There was a small cafe that operated on the ground floor of the dormitory for residents. A menu hung over the counter. The coffee Sam had wanted would cost Jovi more than she was willing to dish out. I won’t have anything, Jovi thought. 

In front of Jovi was a girl with pitch-black hair that dropped to her waistline. She wore leather shorts and her shirt revealed her midriff. Her boots clacked up to the cashier.

The girl turned. She observed Jovi with an eye as sharp as a snake’s. “What are you ordering?”

Jovi blinked. “Pardon?”

“What do you want from the menu?”

“I was going to order an energy bar and a cold-brew with skim milk and two pumps of syrup,” Jovi said.

“That it?”

“I was going to get a drink for myself, too, but I changed my mind.”

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“Just tell me what you’d get for yourself.”

Jovi jerked her head up at the menu yet again. She hadn’t picked out anything for herself because she already accepted that she wouldn’t be paying extra money. She went through the coffee menu and tasted each option in her mind. Hurry, Jovi thought, hearing a boot tapping. Go with something simple. 

“I’ll have a – ”

The girl slapped an energy bar onto the counter. “Give me a cold brew with skim milk and syrup, an extra dark black coffee, and a vanilla swirl latte.”

Jovi and the girl stood off to the side. The girl appeared so out of place from the other ones at the university. She wasn’t as refined as the other girls with their princess-perfect diamonds. Instead, she had metal studs and dark makeup. She was like Jovi, in a way – well, in an opposite way. Jovi wanted to give the girl the benefit of the doubt, especially because of the girl’s generosity, but Jovi could’ve sworn she heard a voice telling her to stay away.

The cashier called the order out. Jovi turned, nearly forgetting to say thank you, but the girl already left. 

The vanilla swirl latte was for Jovi. Exactly what Jovi was going to ask for.

Running came from the elevator, breaking Jovi’s trance. It was Sam.

“Jovi! We’ve got to go. We’ll be late!” Sam grabbed her drink and bar. “Hey, passion fruit energy bar! How’d you know my favorite flavor?”

Jovi didn’t know. “I got lucky.”

---

Walking from the back to the front of a classroom while the professor was speaking naturally attracted some eyes. Jovi tripped over the corner of someone’s chair and luckily regained her footing just enough to sit in the chair next to Sam without collapsing into it.

“Welcome,” the professor said, barely batting an eye at their tardiness. 

The professor continued explaining the syllabus, displayed on a large screen. Jovi sank into her seat so that the students behind her could see, not that she was that tall. The classroom was bright and plain. There was a curvy sculpture in the front of the room that caught light from the tall windows. The only other place of interest was the clock, and looking at it wouldn’t make it go faster.

Sam nudged Jovi. “I know him.”

“Who?” Jovi whispered, glancing at the professor pacing right in front of them.

“Mr. Turner. Well, I know him by his first name, John. He’s my elementary school friend’s older brother.” Sam’s eyes had a newfound twinkle in her eyes. “I used to have a crush on him!”

The professor looked like he belonged in the class as a student. He was lean and his hair was a bit messy, but he wore a dress shirt and bow tie. He was rather cute.

“I think I’m going to ask him out,” Sam said.

“But he’s our professor,” Jovi said. “We can’t date faculty.”

“You’re 22. I’m 18. We’re adults now.”

Jovi felt like she was a world away from Sam, but she did have a point. They technically have more grounding in the real world. But did that make pursuing their teacher OK?

“I think it’s against the law,” Jovi pressed. 

“I’m only going to ask him if he’s free for lunch. He’s related to my friend, after all.”

Students stood to leave the classroom. Sam left her bag in her chair and jumped to Mr. Turner’s desk. She grinned from ear to ear as she spoke, the grin being contagious, because Mr. Turner started smiling.

Jovi wasn’t sure if Sam remembered their own lunch plans. Her stomach grumbled, regretting not ordering anything else from the cafe. If Jovi were at home right now, she’d be in her old workplace’s kitchen, asking the chefs for a specialty order. Better yet, she’d have her mother’s cooking.

The girl from her dormitory’s cafe walked down the hall with a catty swing in her step. Jovi swallowed. Jovi had another opportunity to thank the girl for the coffee, but she didn’t want to. She could’ve sworn she heard the same voice from the morning telling her to stay away – this time, more definitively.

Before Jovi could take out her phone to look busy, the girl stepped uncomfortably close to Jovi. The girl’s snake eyes locked onto Jovi like a snare trapping a mouse’s tail. 

“Hi,” Jovi said. “I forgot to thank you for the coffee earlier.”

“Save it,” the girl said. “I’m Iris, Vincent’s demon secretary. Be outside of your dormitory at 6:30 PM for your first date.”

Iris walked off. Jovi lost her appetite.

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