Page 17 of Facade

A few items were broken in transit, due to inefficient packing. That resulted in emergency runs into town for replacements. The constant noise of clanging, stomping feet, doors slamming, and people shouting to be heard over the cacophony, was bringing on a headache.

She used her power to animate three coat racks and two tables. That helped somewhat, and the parents seemed to appreciate it.

With the doors propped open for hours, the air conditioner struggled to cool the vast space. By midafternoon, everyone was sweaty, tired, and cranky. Fortunately, all of the students were accounted for, meaning that the worst of it was over.

Clarke had three students under the age of eighteen, who would be completing their high school education at the college. They were understandably nervous, and had a number of questions. She made a point to welcome them, and speak at length with their parents.

Once everyone was settled in, Clarke threw herself onto the couch in her apartment. She was hungry, but even tossing a frozen pizza in the oven felt like too much effort. Her power couldn’t open the freezer.

Clarke was staring into the kitchen when her phone rang. It was Jace. “Hey,” she said listlessly.

“You survived the day.”

“Barely.”

Jace chuckled at that. “It’s like this every year. I’m used to it now. From what I could see, it looked pretty organized over there. You seemed to have everything under control.”

“That’s not how I would have described it, but thank you,” Clarke said.

“I ordered burgers from a diner in town,” Jace said. “There’s too much going on here for me to eat with you, but I’ll send one of the older students over with food.”

“You’re my hero,” Clarke said seriously.

Most people weren’t half as thoughtful as Jace was. She was beyond grateful to have him in her corner.

“Good. I hope I’ll always be your hero,” Jace said, sounding like he meant it.

“Are you worried about the younger students?” Clarke asked.

One of her seventeen-year-olds was a telepath, but none of them had what were considered to be very dangerous powers. Her older students had reasonable control over their abilities.

Jace had four students under eighteen, one of whom was a mountain lion shifter. If the boy couldn’t control his animal, other students could be injured. It was a potentially volatile situation.

“Yes and no,” Jace responded. “Three of them are prey species, and all of them are nervous. I don’t want to leave them unsupervised in the immediate future.”

“That makes sense. If things are calmer tomorrow, we can talk then,” Clarke said.

She missed him, but would never want or expect Jace to neglect his responsibilities to his students. His dedication was admirable. They talked for a few more minutes before disconnecting.

As Jace had promised, a shifter buzzed for entry at the rear doors of the dorm less than an hour later. Clarke met him there, and handed the man money in exchange for the bag of takeout. He tried to refuse the tip, but Clarke insisted.

“Take it,” she said. “Not having to cook is more than worth a few dollars. Tell Mr. Smith thank you, and that I’ll buy next time.”

“Will do. Have a good night, Mr. Voudrie.”

The food was delicious. After eating, Clarke checked all the floors to make sure there weren’t any problems. She used the PA system to remind the students of the house rules, and orientation the next day.

Despite how hectic the move-in process had been, Clarke appreciated having a full house. Being the only person in the enormous building had been strange. The dorm felt lived-in now.

Orientation went smoothly. All the students had their rooms organized by the end of the day. Clarke tried to pay attention to all of them, but her intuition was quiet.

Each floor had an appointed prefect. Those young men seemed responsible, and well-suited to their roles. Either the powered students were innocent, or her instincts weren’t cooperating.

Clarke and Jace still ran together in the mornings. He trusted the older prefects in the shifter dorm to keep their eyes on the boys. It was too busy, however, for them to spend any more time with each other over the next few days.

Before Clarke knew it, it was Monday, and the start of classes. She had twelve students, three powered, two elementals, four shifters, and three casters. Not all of them had been born to evolved parents, and some had experienced a shocking transition. Clarke had been concerned that it could be a volatile situation, but both her classes were without incident.

Three days later, Clarke was woken abruptly by the blaring of a siren. She stumbled out of bed, blinking at the digital clock that read 2 AM. Jace had warned her that there would be a minimum of two emergency drills in the first semester to test their responsiveness.