Page 18 of Facade

Clarke had taken to wearing a sports bra to bed as a precaution, but still wasn’t prepared. She would have to hustle her ass. Hitting a light switch, she raced to the kitchen.

After downing a small glass of water with two drops of the DSV potion, Clarke hit the intercom. “Prefects, open every door on your floor, make sure the students are up, and meet me in the common room by the back door. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.”

Clarke released the button after getting an affirmative response, and dashed back into the bedroom. Yanking the pajama top over her head, Clarke pulled on a modified tank as she shoved her feet into a pair of slippers. The charm bracelet, which had been on the nightstand, went on next. She put the pajama top back on as she jogged into the living room, only stopping to grab her tablet.

A few bleary-eyed students in nightwear stood near the door while more emerged from the stairwells. Relieved that she hadn’t slowed them down much, Clarke made a digital check mark for each student on her roster.

The ones accounted for were sent outside, with prefects last. Clarke followed them out. Per protocol, the students lined up by floor, and walked to the greenspace between the elemental and caster dorms, directed by their prefects.

The shifters were the most orderly, and beat her students by less than a minute. Clarke was satisfied to be close behind them, and impressed with the reaction time of her students. When she briefly caught his eye, Jace nodded to her.

Surprisingly, the elementals and casters were the least organized, and the last to assemble. Having the shortest distance to walk, that didn’t reflect well on the prefects and monitors for those dorms.

Fortunately, within thirty minutes, everyone was released and back in their rooms. Clarke’s tablet chimed, announcing a staff meeting before classes later that morning. She had a hard time falling back to sleep, and gave up after a few hours of drifting in and out of restless slumber.

Clarke was envious of how alert most of the staff appeared to be when they assembled for the last-minute faculty meeting. She felt like a zombie. There was a full breakfast buffet with carafes of steaming coffee. That was an upside.

Unlike the previous meeting, the librarians weren’t present. Dean Stanhope waited for everyone to serve themselves before sitting down at the head of the table.

“Since we all have a full day ahead of us, I’ll make this quick,” the dean said. “This drill was a test to determine our preparedness for an actual emergency. Some of you may be disgruntled with the timing of it, but catastrophes can happen at any time, day or night.

“Mr. Smith, Mr. Voudrie, your performance was exemplary. Given how new you are to this position, Mr. Voudrie, we are particularly pleased with the responsiveness of the powered students.”

“Thank you, sir,” Clarke said. “Most of the credit should go to my prefects, who reacted immediately.”

Dean Stanhope nodded and smiled before turning his attention to Mitch and Ray. “Casters and elementals, I need you to up your game. The students could have been in danger if this had been a genuine emergency. Given the designated meeting spot, your students should have arrived first. I need you both to take this seriously, focusing on improving organization and timeliness.”

Ray and Mitch grumbled halfhearted responses, looking surly. Both muttered excuses, blaming their students and prefects. Mitch glared at Clarke, like his poor performance was entirely her fault.

Rather than engaging, Clarke kept her mouth shut. It was ridiculous, though. Beyond the fact that the meeting spot was right outside their dorms, neither of them had to don extra clothing, put on a charm bracelet, and take a potion to keep a disguise intact.

Dean Stanhope had every right to scold them. They should be ashamed of such a shoddy showing.

“Be advised that there will be more drills until I am confident in everyone’s responsiveness,” the dean said before standing from his seat. “Enjoy your breakfast, and have a good day.”

With that, the dean and assistant dean left them to their own devices. Bruce Walker, the head of the powered department, smiled at her warmly.

“I’m proud to have you on the team, Clark,” Bruce said. “You are a credit to the institution.”

“Thank you, sir. I take this job, and the responsibilities of my position seriously,” Clarke said.

“Keep up the good work,” Wayne said as he and Bruce stood.

Carl Washington, who presided over the elementals, turned to Mitch. “Mr. Pierce, I expect better results at the next drill. Perhaps you should consider it a healthy competition.”

“Yes, sir,” Mitch said sulkily.

Armando Garcia, head of the casters, also had something to say. “Mr. Baker, a poor performance and lack of dedication does not motivate our students to excel. Please remember that you are a role model whose actions reflect on the entire department.”

Ray nodded stiffly in response. The department heads then left as well.

Professor Halston raised his coffee cup to her in a silent toast. Clarke nodded in acknowledgement.

“Suck up,” Ray muttered.

“Taking pride in doing my job well does not make me a suck up,” Clarke said calmly. She wouldn’t lower herself to his level, but refused to put up with his snide comments.

“I call bullshit,” Mitch complained. “You made us look bad, and now you’re soaking up the accolades, acting superior to me and Ray.”