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“I thought we were studying. We had a plan, remember? Wehave that history test in a couple of days. And I’m eyeball deep in homework, which means you are as well.”
She cocked her head sideways and hummed a bit. “But we have some extra time, right? I mean, we’re not studying all night, are we?”
I honestly thought we would, but the glint in my roommate’s eyes told me otherwise. I didn’t immediately answer.
“A walk would be good to clear our heads,” she went on. “I think we should take a walk and get to know the place we’re going to call home for the next few years.”
I looked down at my books, not wanting to start yet. “What time is curfew?”
She clapped. Yeah, she’d already won. “We have to be in our dorm room by ten, I think.”
“You went to the assembly this morning. They didn’t tell you?”
Her eyes widened. “I might have zoned out a few times. But I really do think it’s ten.”
According to the clock on the wall, it was only seven. That meant we had three hours to get that fresh air and back in time. The last thing I wanted was to be in trouble. That might mean getting kicked out and, unlike others, I had nowhere else to go. “Okay,” I conceded then put on my shoes and a hoodie.
“Where are we even going?” I asked, looking over my shoulder as June headed out in a direction I’d never gone. I tried to memorize different things I saw that would guide me home in case June left me somewhere or I got lost.
“I don’t know. It’s an adventure.”
Shit. My whole damned life for the last few months had been an adventure. I wanted calm and regimented. I’d come to exactly the right place for that, and here I was, galivanting around like a fool looking for trouble.
I laughed at myself, thinking about the word galivanting. Mynanny had used the word often since walking outside of my wing of the castle was considered trouble for the leaders.
My chest swelled with a bit of regret, leaving those I loved behind. There weren’t many of them who truly loved me for who I was, but there were some. I bet their hearts were broken when they realized I was gone. I didn’t leave a note. I simply vanished. If I had told someone my plans, they might have been pulled in and questioned. The way I escaped was best for them. If they had nothing to tell, they wouldn’t be punished for lying or not divulging information.
They knew nothing.
June rounded a corner, and my heart flip-flopped even though I knew she was only steps away from me. There was something eerie about this place at night. With no students or noise to liven it, it was coffin-like and the hallways narrowed around me even though I knew they weren’t moving.
I didn’t have a watch or a phone and the more we walked around, the more I began to panic. “June?” I asked the darkness as I turned the corner and saw nothing ahead of me. No light. No doors. No June.
“I’m here,” she said and appeared from an alcove carved into the wall. “This leads to the common area.”
Releasing a breath of relief, I put my hand to my chest. The common area I knew.
I walked from the hallway to the common area but, again, my heart dropped. Yeah, I knew the common area and how to get back to the dorm, but there was no one around. Not a soul. Twinkle lights strung in the trees that gave the place a bit of life, along with the flickering lampposts where sidewalk met grass but no other students.
“June, no one else is out. Maybe we should go back.”
She didn’t seem to hear me. June was in the middle of the common area, arms in the air, turning in circles with thebrightest smile on her face.
“Ahem.” A female cleared her throat behind me. Night came to attention, snapping her teeth inside me. “Ms. Sol. Ms. Harding. I’m assuming you have a pass to be here at this time?”
Well, everyone knew what they said about assuming.
“A pass?” I asked, feeling my cheeks heat up. “We were just taking a walk. A break from studying.”
I turned to see Ms. Hollis with her arms crossed over her chest. She had a walkie-talkie clipped to her jacket and a scowl plastered to her face. “A break from studying? On your first night here?”
Shit. Shit. Double-shit. Triple? Ah hell. June came over. “We’ll go back now. I didn’t know.”
Ms. Hollis cocked her head sideways. “That’s strange that you didn’t know because I specifically asked you two to make that welcome packet and all the rules entailed your best friend. How could you not know? Curfew to be in your rooms is at seven unless you have a pass for the library or the study hall or there is some student activity that requires you to be out of your rooms.”
“We have to have a pass to go to the library and study?”
She nodded as a snowflake clung to her lashes. “Yes. I made you aware of how strictly disciplined this academy was. I will record one demerit for each of you. Now, return to your room and actually study. While you’re at it, read the damned packet. Both of you.”
