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While swimming away from the panicking people, I scan the area before me. Everything is blurred by the water, and with the sheet intact, it’s also dark. Except for three spots farther up ahead.
Light streams down in three perfect circles. One to the left, one to the right, and one straight ahead. Since there is no light in the pool, it must be coming from the ceiling in the room, which means that there are openings in the metal sheet. The one to my left is the closest one, so I start towards it.
About half of our group has figured out the same thing too. The others, however, are still thrashing around in blind panic. If I was a decent person, I would’ve tapped the ones I passed on the shoulder and pointed towards the openings. But I’m not a decent person. And helping people would only draw attention to me. Attention I can’t afford.
Since the day I started at Blackwater University, all I have done is to quietly go to all my classes. I’m never late. And never too early. I never ask questions and only answer when someone speaks to me directly. I sit at the edge of a group when I eat, so that I don’t stand out by eating completely alone, but I don’t belong to the group either and make sure to rotate groups every day.
Then I go straight back to my apartment in the residential area where all of the other students live too. I never attend parties unless I’m directly invited, since refusing would draw attention. But I thankfully haven’t been invited to one yet. I stay inside my apartment as much as possible. I barely interact with the rest of the first-years, and never with anyone in the second or third year.
And because of all that, I have managed to follow that one vital rule that will keep me alive. Be invisible. So I completely ignore the panicking students who are frantically banging their fists on the metal sheet and instead simply swim towards the closest circle of light.
When I get close to it, two other people are near it as well. Two guys.
The circle is only wide enough for one person to climb out at a time. The first guy to reach it immediately grabs the edges and starts hauling himself up. I reach the hole next, so I tread water while waiting for my turn.
A few seconds later, the second guy arrives beside me.
His features are blurred from the water, but I can clearly read the panic on his face. He must not be used to holding his breath because he looks about two seconds away from gulping down water in sheer panic.
Once the first guy is out, I start towards the hole.
Dull pain pulses through me, and the air in my lungs involuntarily escapes, as the second guy punches me in the stomach. Bubbles float up to the surface as my breath leaves me.
The punch shifted me away from the hole, which I’m assuming was the primary purpose of it, and the guy immediately swims up and grabs the edges.
I could’ve yanked him back down and snapped his fucking wrist for daring to hit me, but that would also draw attention, so I do what I have done from the moment I set foot on this campus. Nothing.
My lungs burn as I tread water, waiting for the guy to finish getting up. But I smother the panic like I have been taught to do and summon the incredible patience that has been my companion for most of my life.
I can wait.
I can take it.
I can endure it.
I repeat that over and over in my head until the guy has finally crawled out of the hole. Kicking my legs, I swim towards the rippling surface above.
Noise crashes back against my eardrums as I at last break the surface. I suck in a gasp, refilling my lungs. While blinking water out of my eyes, I reach up and grab the edges of the hole.
The metal is cold and slick underneath my palms.
Bracing myself on it, I climb out of the water and roll over so that I’m lying on my back on the metal sheet. My chest rises and falls as I drag in another few deep breaths.
“Well done, Johnson,” Ms. Saber says from somewhere to my left.
I push myself up on my elbows to find her looking straight at me. After sucking in another breath, I give her a nod in acknowledgement of the praise.
“Class is finished when you’ve made it out,” she continues, and then points towards another door that is set into the outer wall. “So go back home and change clothes before your next class.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I reply.
After pushing my wet hair out of my face, I get to my feet and start towards the indicated door. Water runs down from my entire body, leaving a dark trail on the metal and then on the stone floor beside the pool. I squeeze some water from my hair and then shake it out before pushing the door open.
Behind me, the sound of water splashing on metal echoes through the room.
“Well done, O’Malley,” Saber says. “Class is finished when—”
But the rest of her instructions are cut off as I stride back out into the warm September air. I draw in a deep breath and tip my head up towards the sun for a few seconds. In this part of the country, the heat of summer will linger for a while yet. And right now, I’m thankful for it.
