Page 16 of The First Year

Here, phones were not allowed. At least for me.

I checked the door, but it was still securely locked. Although I was fairly confident they’d let me out eventually, I still didn’t like the confinement.

After another shower in the adequate bathroom to rinse off any dust from the floor, I pulled out the uniform and laid it on the bed. Desi’s advice about the shorts came to mind, and I dug through my things and found a pair of reasonably short black bicycle shorts that should do the job. I had a hairbrush in my purse that somehow ended up in my bag, along with a tinted lip balm way down at the bottom, and that would have to do it for self-care.

Just as I swiped the balm on my bottom lip, a loudclickcame from the door. I nearly tripped over my own feet in my rush to get there and out into the hallway. Nearly forgetting the book bag that must have been dropped off while I was lost in the dark.

Even with the information I had been given, there was no possibility I could find my first class, so I headed for the dining room instead with the hopes of getting a cup of coffee and maybe something handheld to eat while I tried not to get lost again. I never had this problem at Urban Academy.

And of course I couldn’t find the dining room. But I did stumble upon the administration building, which worked out better than I could have hoped. The student manning the receptionist’s desk informed me that someone would take me to my first class, and I should just have a seat.

I expected Odin, since he was doing that kind of job the day before, and a familiar face would be welcome, but instead, it was one of his friends from his dining table.

Sol.

Chapter Thirteen

Sol

“Oh, I thought Odin would take me,” she blurted then blushed so becomingly, I wanted to place my palm on that rosy skin and warm it there, slide it into the soft hair at her temples, and draw her in close. “Not that you aren’t just fine. I mean…”

“It’s all right,” I hastened to say, shaking my head to free it of thoughts that would do nobody any good. “Everyone wants Odin. But I’m here working off demerits, so if you won’t let me take you, I won’t be able to get credit for that.”

“I wouldn’t want to do that.” She shifted her bag higher on her shoulder. “Do you have time to walk me past the dining room so I can get some coffee? My mind doesn’t really switch on without caffeine, and I have a feeling I’ll need all the brain power I can get in my classes.”

“You haven’t had anything yet?” I tsked. “What kind of brain power will you have on an empty stomach? Let’s grab you that coffee and maybe a breakfast burrito or a scone for the road.”

“You have scones?” Her eyes lit up, and I wanted to find lots more ways to make that happen. “I love them. It was the only good thing my aunt ever made.” The light dulled. “She just usually didn’t share them with me.”

“So you had to watch others enjoy your favorite thing?” Outraged, I began plotting ways to make her aunt pay for that and what I suspected were many other crimes against this female.

“No big deal. I snuck them when she was sleeping. After the first day, she thought they were stale anyway.”

I reached for her bag. “Let me get this from you. It looks heavy.”

“It kind of is. At Urban Academy, most of our books were on tablet, but if what I was issued offers any indication, that’s not the case here.”

“No, we’re very low-tech.” I guided her out into the hallway and toward the dining room. “What kind of scones do you like?”

“She only made orange cranberry. But at Urban Academy, we had chocolate chip a few times. They were delicious.”

“Let’s go see what we can find.” We didn’t have scones every day, but I’d spotted some when I grabbed my sausage and egg muffin on my way to the office. “They’re really popular, so I hope they aren’t all gone.”

“Me too!” Roxy picked up the speed of her steps. “I wonder what kind they will be.”

Please let there be some.

It wasn’t as if I could just dash out and buy her some or even order them overnight online. As we proceeded toward the dining room, I surreptitiously crossed my fingers. “Here we are.”

No line remained, although a few students lingered at the tables. Classes would begin shortly, and showing up late was a guaranteed demerit nobody needed. When a student received orientation, they were warned to avoid them by following the rules. Simple enough, we all thought until we learned that there were so many rules, some of which changed without notice, that no one could remain demerit free.

I always had enough to be just on the good side of danger, so I took on various jobs around the school to keep from crossing that line. Nothing I did was terrible, at least nothing I got caught for…but the threat of what might come if we were booted from this prison was never clear enough for me to be willing to take the chance. Not yet, anyway.

“Look, chocolate chip scones.” Roxy piled three on her tray then stopped. “I’m being greedy. How many are we allowed?”

I shrugged. “If it was earlier, I’d say keep it to a couple until everyone has a chance, but that ship has sailed, so take all you want.”

“Really?” Her smile brought that light back to her eyes and melted my hard heart. “I think three is enough. Maybe I can wrap them in napkins for later?”

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