Page 32 of Self Studies

“Would you like to come in?” I asked.

Before he could answer, Roisin pushed the door all the way open. “Mercedes is running, Saff.” She narrowed her eyes. “As I would think you know.”

Saffron scowled at my roommate. “I’ll wait out here.” He shifted his scowl to me. “Be quick.”

“Saffron’s here for you?” Roisin asked as the door shut.

The lump in Sandy’s bed shot up, and covers spilled off a petite Asian woman. A pronounced indent from her pillow ran across her face.

Roisin poked my arm to get my attention. “Still have a headache?”

I batted away my stout roommate and shook my head.

Roisin nodded in understanding. “Don’t worry.” She patted me on the shoulder. “We all know what it’s like. Sorry, we can’t fix your bed. The Dealership will take whatever we put on it. I’ll hide Sandy’s pillow for you.” She winked at me. “Don’t tell Sandy.”

Obviously hearing every word, the other young woman rubbed her eyes and gave us a sleepy glare.

I shot Roisin a small smile and answered her original question. “Saffron’s my student liaison.”

A hairbrush, toothbrush, and shoes were at the top of the trash bag. Grabbing the toothbrush, I marched to the bathroom. Roisin followed me and started talking as I relished the feeling of scrubbing my teeth.

“Student liaisons are usually one of the girls from your dorm room. I volunteered.” Roisin put her hands in the air. “But it’s cool, I guess. It’s not like you had any control over it, right?”

“Toothpaste?” I asked, hesitating to steal it with her right there.

Roisin gestured to the tube bolted to the wall. “It’s all communal. You don’t need my permission. Go for it.”

I wrinkled my nose, wishing I’d asked sooner instead of feeling bad about stealing but didn’t voice it. Roisin hopped up on the sink next to me as a few other girls from our joined rooms made their way to the showers.

“We’ve got pads and tampons,” Roisin said. “But if you want a menstrual cup, you’ll need to buy that with your extra rations.”

“I’ve never, ah, needed any of that stuff,” I said, remembering Saffron’s reaction last night. I didn’t understand his sudden tenderness like I’d lost something.

“Cool,” Roisin said, clearly not as affected as the Greek God. “All the toiletries are for everyone. We ask they go back on the shelves. There are usually some random hair ties and cheap jewelry, just in case you need to present yourself to the board. Money isn’t really useful here. You can only really buy things with rations.” She started drawing in the fog forming on the mirror. “I’m sure Saffron will explain how gems work to you. Some people still have family connections to the outside who send them extra rations.” She wrinkled her nose. “Mercedes and Saffron, for example. Most of us only get extras by winning events in GS, General Sports, and random extra credit in classes.” Roisin paused, and the sound of my toothbrush filled the bathroom. “You’re going to brush your teeth away.”

I spit and smiled. “Never again.”

Roisin gave me an odd look, but I didn’t explain. My breath had to have been smelling something fierce when Beryl kissed me the first time, but he hadn’t said a thing. At least I’d tasted like cheese and bacon with Saffron.

Roisin held out her hand for my toothbrush. I handed it over, and we stepped back into our room. Sandy stood half-naked at the end of her bed. Neither of my roommates seemed concerned, but I worried about my socket. Turning my back to them so they couldn’t see it, I stripped and started dressing in my new uniform.

“So, Saffron’s your liaison?” Roisin wiggled her eyebrows. “Do you know how that happened?”

Unabashed, Roisin watched me. “Jesus, you are so thin.”

I frowned and tried to dress faster. Damon said extra weight made mages weak and showed a lack of control. From what I’d seen from the diverse student body, that wasn’t true. I didn’t want to think about him limiting my diet so I couldn’t put on muscle and take care of myself.

“So, Saffron?” Roisin asked, my thoughts keeping me from the conversation for an awkward amount of time.

“Ah, no,” I answered. “I don’t know how it happened.”

“You do know he’s like this institute’s prince, right?” Sandy said, her voice a disarming southern drawl. “Top of all of his classes. He runs one of the few Coteries which hasn’t gotten shut down.”

I started buttoning my shirt. “What’s a Coterie? Why do they get shut down?”

“Coteries are like group hobbies,” Roisin explained. “It’s both something outside of studying we can participate in and something the board can use to judge us between Aptitudes.”

I found new socks in the bag and fished them out. “I still don’t understand Aptitudes.”

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