His pants were a different matter. He wasn’t sure when he’d purchased them, but it had been at least two summers ago because pants shopping was one of his least favorite activities in the world. For basically just being temporary leg coverings, people fussed over them way too much. Grabbing his phone off his dresser, Rahul walked out of his dorm room and shut the door behind him, feeling the first flurry of nerves.
It was Thursday, and to be precise, T-2 days until the Hindman Gala on Saturday. Caterina had been meeting with him nearly every day until now, and today marked one of the last of his social training classes. He was meeting her in the senior common area, which, like the rest of the dorm, would be empty. They had the next day off, so the seniors were all on an optional skiing trip that the school administration had organized; as far as Rahul knew, he, Caterina, and a couple of seniors who’d been unlucky enough to get sick were the only ones who’d opted to stay behind. He’d just told Grey and the others that he felt a little under the weather. The benefit of having a reputation of being honest to a fault was that no one thought to question you when you actually lied.
Him and Caterina, alone. Caterina and him, by themselves. Talking. Laughing. Growing closer? His brain couldn’t wrap itself around the concept. Anytime he thought about it, he went into a mild state of shock.
Doing one last check in the mirror to confirm he looked decent, he turned and walked into the common room.
Caterina stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows on the far side, staring out at the mountains in the distance. Her dark brown hair cascaded down her back like thick ribbons of silk. She was wearing a shimmery gold sweater with voluminous sleeves and dark jeans that hugged her skinny legs and butt. Her shoes were so high and pointy, Rahul wondered at her ability to walk in them.
He cleared his throat and she turned, looking a little foggy, as if she’d been light-years away. “Hey.”
She looked at him inscrutably for a moment and then walked a few steps forward, holding up one long index finger. “Lesson one: You do not greet people by saying ‘hey.’ Instead, try, ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you,’ or if you know them, ‘It’s so nice to see you again.’ ”
“Right. Sorry.” Rahul took a step forward. “It’s so nice to see you again.”
Caterina nodded. “That’s better. Also, don’t say ‘sorry.’ You should say, ‘Excuse me.’ ”
“Right,” Rahul repeated. “Excuse me.” After a pause, he added, not able to help his curiosity, “Do people really care about that?”
“About what?” Caterina asked, cocking her head.
“The minutiae. ‘Excuse me’ rather than ‘sorry’ seems a little… I don’t know. Who really keeps track of all of that?”
Caterina raised one thin eyebrow, and Rahul knew he’d stepped in it. “I do. As do many others. Etiquette separates us from animals, Rahul.”
“Really?” he said. “I thought that was opposable thumbs.”
For a moment, he was aghast. He shouldn’t have said anything. He was being rude; she’d change her mind about helping him with these lessons. But then Caterina smiled a half smile, and Rahul’s heart sang.
“All right,” she said, turning toward a small table that had been set with two chairs, napkins, silverware, and plates. “Let’s say we’ve been led to the dinner portion of the evening and they’ve shown us to our tables. Demonstrate how you’d proceed.”
“Okay…” Rahul glanced at Caterina, as if there might be some trick she was playing on him. “I mean, it’s pretty straightforward, right? I’d… go sit down?”
Caterina held one hand out as if to say he should do what he felt was right, so Rahul nodded, walked quickly and decisively to the chair, and sat. Looking up at her hopefully, he said, “How’d I do?”
But Caterina was already shaking her head. “No. Firstly, you have to wait for me to take my seat first.”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” Rahul shot up from his chair and joined her at her side. “I mean, excuse me.”
Caterina walked, gracefully and surely, to the table and looked at him, waiting.
“Um… go ahead?”
Giving him a withering look, she said, “Hold my chair back, please.”
“Oh, okay.” Rahul rushed forward and held the back of one of the chairs, but Caterina didn’t move.
“The lady always gets the better view,” Caterina said, nodding her head toward the bank of windows meaningfully.
Rahul walked to the other chair and held its back.
Smiling, Caterina walked over and took a seat. “Perfect.”
Feeling a lot more pleased than he should, Rahul took a seat opposite her.
Caterina reached into a small purse thing she had with her and pulled out a Lara Bar. Reaching over the table, she set it on Rahul’s plate. “Eat it, please.”
Rahul glanced at it uncertainly. “Um… should I unwrap it first?”
“Yes!” Caterina said after an incredulous pause. “How will you eat it if you don’t unwrap it?”
“I don’t know,” Rahul replied. “I wasn’t sure if unwrapping was a faux pas or something.”
Caterina took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Please unwrap and consume the Lara Bar.”
“Okay.” Rahul unwrapped it and took a bite, and then another, and another, until the bar was gone. He looked at Caterina while chewing (with his mouth closed; he wasn’t a total troglodyte), his eyebrows raised.
“Say your name,” she said, gazing at him steadily.
“Mmm?” Rahul asked, frowning.
“Say your name. Right now. Don’t bother swallowing first.”
So he did, in spite of his misgivings. As he’d known it would, a disgusting spray of Lara Bar landed in front of him on his empty plate.
“Sor—excuse me,” he said, rushing to wipe it up with his napkin.
“That’s a lesson in eating etiquette,” Caterina said calmly. “If you can’t comfortably say your name with food in your mouth, you have far too much food in your mouth. Slow down and take smaller bites. It’s not a contest.”
Rahul nodded. Caterina reached into her purse and pulled out yet another Lara Bar, then set it on the napkin on top of his plate. “Let’s do that again.”
Rahul unwrapped the bar and, this time, took a tiny bite of the corner. Looking at Caterina, he said, uncertainly, “Rahul Chopra.”
She smiled, a real smile, and he nearly fell off his chair. “Excellent, Rahul Chopra,” she said, and he’d never heard anything as beautiful as his full name in her mouth. “That’s another lesson down.”
CATERINA
“Handshakes are how men are judged at this kind of thing,” Caterina explained. They’d moved on from the dining table. Now they were standing, facing each other, in front of the windows. Outside, a blanket of snow had started to fall, coating the rolling hills of the campus in pure white. It was Caterina’s favorite kind of weather.
Straightening her shoulders, Caterina held out a hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said, smiling the gracious, elegant smile she used in high society.