Page 174 of Skalterra By Nightmare
She typed a bit more and then exhaled heavily.
“Sorry, one of our admissions officers called out today, so we’re running behind, but we can squeeze you in with someone else here in a little bit.”
I waited for further instruction at the desk, but after another moment of typing, she finally looked up at me.
“Did you have a question?”
“Oh!” Embarrassment burned in my face. “Um, no. Sorry.”
She gestured to the waiting area, and I pivoted on my heel, trying not to look at the other waitlisted hopefuls as I took a seat. A girl two chairs over repeatedly clicked on a pen. The boy in the seat next to me tapped his foot so rapidly that the floor beneath us trembled. He mumbled under his breath, apparently in the middle of a practice interview with an imaginary admissions officer.
I set my backpack between my feet and checked my phone, hoping for a text from Liam. I wouldn’t have even cared if it had said that he hated me. Anything would’ve been nice.
I only had a text from Mom.
“Good luck and have fun today! I’m proud to be your mom!”
Fresh guilt frothed inside me. I’d betrayed her last night, and sure, I’d reaped the punishment for it, but I still felt bad. She’d tried to protect me. I’d ignored her.
A girl with her head bowed low hurried out of a closed door down the adjoining hall, clutching a folder to her chest and refusing to look up. She burst through the door I’d come in through, and disappeared into the main corridor of College Hall.
“Mr. Parker?” The woman at the desk looked at the boy next to me. “Office number three. Second one on your left.”
The mumbling boy shot to his feet and staggered down the hall with short, nervous steps to the office the girl had just exited. His nerves set mine on edge, and I tried for another deep breath.
The thought of Liam alone at the train station made me choke on it, and I erupted in a fit of coughing as another prospective student came through the main door.
I closed my eyes. It would be fine. If I didn’t get in, maybe I could go to community college with Sabrina. I was pretty sure she hated me, but so did most people. I would get over it. Carpooling would be awkward, but maybe we’d agree on some nice audiobooks to fill the silence.
And then I could transfer to Von Leer next year. There was a chance Liam would still hate me by then, but after a year of carpooling with Sabrina, I would be toughened up.
If I failed my interview, it would be a setback, sure, but I would land on my feet. I’d find a way forward.
But then I remembered the plastic mannequin Linsey had hung from the trees, and the look of anger on my father’s face the night before when he’d learned who I was.
No.
Ihadto get in, even if it was just to spite them.
“Miss Warrender?”
I bolted to my feet, looking wildly at the woman at the desk.
“What?” My heart rate soared to the point of being painful. I hadn’t even noticed Pen Girl get called back to her interview.
“Office Five?” The woman said it in a tone that implied she’d already told me this.
“Right.” My voice was too high-pitched. “Yeah, that’s what I thought you said. I was just making sure.”
I got quieter with each word, and then after an awkward pause, I scooped my backpack up and hurried down the hall. The previous student had left the door to Office Five open, and the admissions officer stood with his back to me, messing with the filing cabinet behind his desk.
“Come in, come in! Please!” he called.
Summer sunshine poured through the large window to my right. That and the bookshelf full of old, leather-bound tomes and knick-knacks to my left made the office feel a little more inviting than daunting. I stepped in, steadying my breathing as I closed the door behind me.
“Sorry about the wait,” the admissions officer said. He messed with the sleeves of his button-up that he wore under a wool waistcoat, rolling them up to his elbows. “Give me just a moment to pull your file up on the computer. Things have been a bit crazy this morning. What was your name?”
He turned around to take a seat, and flashed me a wide, assured smile that glinted white under his cockatoo-coiffed hair.
