Page 9 of The First Year

So much for him not speaking to me.

Once inside the dining hall, I stood in the doorway like a rock in a river, wondering which way to go. “To your left. There’s assigned seating. Your last name is on your table.”

I got in that line, and he gave a nod of confirmation. No one talked to each other. Everyone looked ahead and kept their mouths closed. The ladies serving food smiled at me and nodded, but even they said nothing. We didn’t get to choose our food—a plate was placed on our tray and that was that.

Thank the goddess there was cake.

My favorite: yellow cake with chocolate icing.

Now to find my seat. This place wasn’t like any academy I’d seen and didn’t hold a candle to the Urban Academy. Students there sat with their mates. There were people on each other’s laps. Laughter filled the air. A low roar of chatter resounded constantly. Even some fighting broke out once in a while.

But here?

No one spoke. Not just in line but while they ate their supper. No sharing stories. No tips on classes or study dates upcoming. No one in love that I could see. No mates that I sensed.

Like a prison.

I suspected prison might be more…lively.

After a few minutes of feeling like a fool, I found my table. My name was on a piece of paper that had been recently taped to the surface. Recently, because everyone else’s seemed to be stained or crinkled with use.

Almost as soon as my ass hit the seat, people began to talk.

What the hell? Were they silent because of me? Not a great way to welcome a new student.

I took a chance and glanced around. Odin and some other guys were at a table only a few feet from me, huddled together, speaking in hushed tones.

Sighing, I started to eat. I’d learned a universal rule. First days anywhere sucked.

The food was actually good, which was a surprise. Lots of things in life smelled good but were rotten inside. Like my aunt.

A trickle of sweat poured down the back of my neck. My fever had shot back up. Maybe I was just stressed and none of this overheating had anything to do with the bite. A small chance, but something to cling to.

Chapter Seven

Sol

My friends and I parted ways at the dining hall. While they went in, I partook in a side quest to find out more about the female who had Odin in a stupor. The last thing I wanted was for my friend to get hurt.

I walked into the office right as it was about to close for the evening. Professors and administrators had to eat too.

“Sol, is there something I can do for you?” Mrs. Adams was walking around the counter, probably to leave.

“I think I left my favorite pen here. Dropped it earlier. Is there any way I can look around for it?”

Her head tilted a bit, and she squinted at me. “Your pen?”

“Yes. You can go on to supper. I’ll lock the door on my way out.”

She looked torn. Rightfully so. I wasn’t to be trusted in the midst of potential mischief. I used to be an upstanding guy, but Evander had rubbed off on me and everyone knew we were friends. This was a side of me even they didn’t know about. My father would balk at my breaking the rules. “I’m very hungry tonight. Don’t dawdle and I’ll know if anything is out of place. Look for your pen and then out with you.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She left without another word. I didn’t even have to look under the letter S files because when I passed her desk, there was Roxy’s file—sitting right on top.

Inside was nothing remarkable. A stint at Urban Academy. Good grades. No disciplinary action. There was no mention of her parentage, which struck me as odd, but nothing out of the ordinary. Every student here had a story, and it was rare to hear about blissful childhoods among us.

There was no picture in her file, but I was satisfied my roommate and best friend wasn’t falling for some kind of criminal.

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