Chapter Six

“Hey, Astrid! Wait up!”

                I turned toward the sound of my name, briefly wondering if there might be another girl on campus with the same name, but decided that seemed unlikely. Almost as unlikely as the tiny blue ceramic rabbit clinking gently against my keys in the smallest pocket of my backpack.

                “You don’t remember me, do you?” the guy said as he slowed to a stop in front of me. I squinted at him, pretending not to know.  “Brett? From dance class?” He blew out what sounded like an exasperated breath. “I took you to Health Services when you sprained your ankle?”

                Opening my eyes wide, I shrugged, and said, “I must have blocked it out, the traumatic experience and all.”

                “Seriously?”

                I couldn’t hold the laughter in any longer, and started giggling so hard that I started to hiccup. “Of course I remember you,” I said. “I’m just messing with you.”

                Brett looked confused for a split second before he chuckled and shook his head. “Can I walk you to class?” he asked.

                Now it was my turn to blink in confusion. “What? Oh, no, I’m not going to class. Actually, I was going to grab lunch. You want to come with me?”

                I didn’t miss the look of pleased surprise that crossed his face before he looked down at his feet, which did surprising things to my stomach. Brett had the large frame of the football player in him, but equally he had the grace of a dancer. The combination was oddly attractive, but there was something else about him. He almost seemed shy at the moment. I liked that.

                “Sure, where did you want to go?” he asked.

                “There’s a pizza place across from the theater building that I’ve had my eye on. Do you feel like a slice?” I hooked my thumbs into the straps of my backpack as I grinned up at him.

                The relief on his face was almost comic. “That sounds great,” he said.

                We started walking, and immediately fell into sync with one another. There was something comfortable about Brett that I had to admit that I noticed the first time he’d helped me across campus. “So…how are…things?” Brett asked.

                I giggled again. “Things? What kind of things?” I asked, teasing him.

                “Well,” Brett said, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. “I mean, you stopped coming to class, so I figured something was probably wrong. I asked Helene, but she didn’t know. I was curious.”

                “You were curious? About me?” I couldn’t keep the disbelief out of my voice.

                Brett gave me a sideways smile, and said, “Well, yeah. You were the best dancer in there, and you weren’t at all interested in the fact that I’m on the most awesome football team this school has ever seen.”

                “I forgot how modest you were about that,” I said. “And just for the record, still not interested in the football team.”

                Gripping his chest with mock pain, he said, “You wound me. No, seriously, you should at least come check out a game.”

                “I…”I began. “Maybe I should.” I couldn’t believe the words had just come out of my mouth. Desperate to change the subject, I blurted out, “Have you ever heard of the Blue Bunnies?”

                Brett cut another sideways glance at me. “Well, yeah. Who hasn’t?”

                I groaned. “Me for one.”

                “Why do you ask?” Brett asked. “I mean, I’ve heard that they’re picking their current crop, but…” he trailed off. “Wait a minute, did you get one? Are you one of the chosen few?”

                The bark of laughter that came from my throat startled me. It felt good to laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing. I hadn’t told anyone that I’d gotten the little figurine, well other than Kia, and just admitting it felt good. “Do you want to see it?” I asked, suddenly, stopping in front of a bench.

                Without waiting for his answer, I dropped down to the bench, digging into my bag for the bunny. Brett sat down next to me, and glanced around nervously. “Dude, I don’t think that I’m privileged enough to see it.”

                I shot him a look that I hoped conveyed my disgust with the entire production. “Here it is,” I said, producing the small ceramic rabbit. Showing it to Brett, the little creature seemed far less sinister than when I’d looked at it with Kia.

                “I’ve never seen one,” Brett said, reaching out tentatively to take the rabbit from me. There was awe in his voice that didn’t make sense to me. Still, I felt a strange swell of pride as he turned the figurine over in his hands. “Some of the guys on the team have girlfriends who have received Blue Bunny invites, but I’ve never met anyone myself.”

                Arching an eyebrow, I tried to make a serious face. “Do you feel like your life is complete now?”

                Brett shook his head ruefully. “I feel silly,” he said, “but really, it’s a huge honor.”

                I looked down at the bunny doubtfully. “I guess,” I said. “It’s just that…that where I come from this kind of thing would be mocked mercilessly.”

                “Well, you’re here now, and this place is kind of it’s own world if you haven’t noticed,” Brett said.

                “Like out of the Twilight Zone,” I agreed with a giggle.

                “You do realize that you just admitted what a nerd you are,” Brett said.

                I shoved him gently with my shoulder. “Takes one to know one,” I said.

                “So are you going to join them?” he asked after a few moments of silence.

                “I feel like I don’t really have a choice,” I said. “It’s like the Blue Bunny mafia or something.” I started to giggle, unable to keep the absurdity inside anymore.

                “This isn’t a joke. The Blue Bunnies are everything on this campus.” The laughter died in my throat as I looked up into the blistering anger of a strange blond girl staring down at me.