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While most people brought something from home or received care packages, a filled cabinet, especially after a kitchen raid, would draw attention for sure. But my computer wasn’t the only thing in here with a secret divider. The snack cabinet had afalse back—installed by Blaze, so when anyone looked inside, as we had a few minutes ago, they saw just what we wanted them to see. Usually a few granola bars and maybe some chips and sports drinks from the student store. That was why the dramatic opening of the cabinet meant nothing. He was just making a point.
As we slipped out into the hallway, Blaze muttered, “I wonder which room is hers?”
I didn’t have to ask which her this time, but Casimir glanced at him. “She must be really something.”
She was.
Chapter Thirteen
Karelis
I tucked my hands into my sleeves and pulled my hoodie up while we made the walk of shame back to our dorm room. I fully expected Ms. Hollis to follow us, but once we were on the path back, she vanished.
“Do I need to apologize?” June asked as we ducked in between large stone pillars. It was clear to me that she was taking the long way home.
“Pfft. No. I willingly agreed to this excursion. Let’s not repeat it though. I can’t get in trouble. This is my last resort.”
“Can I ask why?” We didn’t stop walking but had slowed down quite a bit. She really didn’t want to go back to the dorm room. For me, it was a little slice of heaven. Safe. Clean. A real bed. No one looking over my shoulders or watching me on cameras in every corner. Yeah, that had been a thing in the Light Kingdom. I never said it out loud, but it was more like the Light Prison.
“What the hell even is a demerit? Do we start with a certain number and then lose them, or are we at a negative number now?”
From the look on Ms. Hollis’ face, demerits were a serious business, but I couldn’t help but laugh thinking that I was at a negative score on my first day. Things like this didn’t even surprise me anymore. There was a time in my life when I would’ve come unglued at the thought of stepping out of line or being the slightest bit in trouble, but now, it rolled off my shoulders. Not that I wasn’t taking this school to heart. But I wasn’t going to spend the rest of the night biting my fingernails and wringing my hands over it.
“Maybe we should be studying that welcome packet afterall,” I said. “If we had some tape, I’d pull it apart and tape the damned thing to the walls like wallpaper.”
June sat at her desk and leaned back “They’d probably nail us for destruction of school property or something.”
“Let’s buckle down. Turn this night around.” I opened the syllabus for my shifter politics class and pulled out the book to finish the reading for the night. I had a feeling that the history professor wasn’t the only one who enjoyed giving quizzes, plus, I’d actually enjoyed the lecture.
June did the same. Her pen tapping began as a noise that toyed with splitting my head open, but it soon became a welcome background sound. That was the thing about this place.
It was too damned quiet.
Perhaps I was simply used to the hustle and bustle of the castle. There were so many people who worked for the king and queen. They couldn’t even fart without someone there to capture the wind. I always thought it was a bit overboard, but who was I to say anything. Any rebuttal from my point of view would be seen as hostile, and Night trying to take over control of me. Night wasn’t evil. She was tired of all their bullshit.
There was a real difference.
At a noise outside, June and I lifted our heads from our studies at the same time. “You heard that?” she asked in a whisper.
“Why are you whispering? And yes.” I got up to look out the window and saw nothing but the flickering lights from the common area and some soft lights from buildings across the way.
A low chuckle came from the hallway followed by a hush. “Out there,” I whispered.
“Go look,” June said, standing up. She backed up against the wall. Fear and curiosity permeated my senses. My roommate was more freaked out than she was letting on.
“Why me?” I asked but moved toward the door and reached for the handle. I turned it gently, trying not to make a sound before sticking my head out. I didn’t see one but three guys, and two of them were the ones from the administration office. I stepped back in the room but kept my eyes on them. “Come on.”
“Oh, now you’re trying to get me in trouble?” I thought she would refuse but, instead, she was behind me in an instant. “Let’s go.”
I snorted. Didn’t take much to convince her. We tip-toed out of the room, following the three males out into the hallway. They were talking in low, hushed voices about eating and being hungry. The hallway was filled with their scent. Manly and true to their words, hungry.
June tugged on my hand. Her eyebrows bounced. “Where are we going?” she whispered in my ear.
I shrugged. I didn’t know.
What I did know was that I wanted another chance to see those two guys again, even if they did make my knees melt and I acted like a complete, blithering fool in front of them. My wolves were at full alert now and whining inside for me to get closer.
We followed them around campus, in and out of hallways until I recognized the surroundings and smelled tonight’s dinner still lingering in the air. They were going to the kitchen. I would bet another demerit on it.
