Page 5 of Darkened Wings
“Astra,” I hissed, “are you all right?”
Showing her sense of self-preservation was less than it should be, Donna said, “No, she’s anything but all right. She’s—”
“Don’t you dare!”
I barely got my hands wrapped around her arms before she launched over the counter and ended her, and somehow probably my academic career. “Astra, stop! She’s not worth it.” I didn’t have to know another thing about Donna to be sure of that. “Let’s just get our things and you can show me our room, okay?”
There was a long moment when I wasn’t sure I could hold onto her, but then she sagged in my grip. “I’m all right.” She glared at the cowering older woman. “Despite what some people think.”
“Okay.” I let out a long breath and released her. “Donna, I will need a full set of uniforms as well, please. Should I just help myself?”
The quartermaster—I had decided to call her that—shook her head. “It’s not done. Come stand on this pedestal so I can measure you. We insist on well-fitted ensembles for our students.”
Glancing from Donna to Astra and back again, I tried to figure out what happened. What she’d been about to say that was insulting because it certainly was. And those eyes? There was a story there, for sure. But since nobody was trying to kill each other or dealing out disparaging remarks, I stepped onto the low, round platform to get fitted for my uniforms. Astra stood against the wall, hugging her parcel as if ready to race away the second I was done. I didn’t blame her, since I felt the same. When Donna had taken a couple of dozen measurements, she moved to the shelves and put together a stack of skirts, blouses, underthings, socks, a hoodie and a blazer both, sweaters and shoes then set them down in front of a huge roll of brown paper and packaged them the same way she’d done for Astra.
We were out the door in 2.2 seconds and sprinting down the hall as if being pursued. It turned into a race, one my roommate had the advantage in since I had no idea where our room actually was, and after our steeplechase, I still couldn’t have found it on my own. We dropped off our clothes and headed out again, to the bookstore this time, where we had to fill our arms with what felt like hundreds of books and supplies.
“Don’t they believe in e-readers?” I grumbled. “Even in high school we used rented digital texts from online bookstores.
“No, they don’t. We are a traditional school with lots of traditions to uphold. One of which is books printed in ink on paper. And all the other stuff we have that the human world is leaving behind.”
“Ugh.”
“You said it,” she snarked. “We are the ugh school, but there’s no place else we can learn what we need to know to do well in our society. And unlike the rest of you, I have to fight extra hard to fit in.”
Before I could ask what she meant by that, we were dashing off for dinner.
Chapter Four
When I was in high school, at the beginning of the school year, the halls bustled with freshman who had their backpacks on, fresh-faced and yet pale, scared out of their wits, class schedule in one hand and map of the school in the other. They bumped into poles and other people, just pinballs in the high school machine, bouncing around, all the time on the verge of panic.
I didn’t look forward to it, but that would be me tomorrow. In the meantime, I was starving, not only from the trip but from scrambling all over campus. There were books, not to mention all the specific notebooks and even specialized pens some of the classes required. We’d left the uniforms on our beds, the wrappings opened but nothing put away. Skirts, knee-high socks, pressed white button-downs, and an array of sweaters ranging from vests to cardigans, pullovers, and everything in between.
Today would be the last day I wore my regular street clothes for quite some time. At least during the school day.
“This place is going to take some getting used to,” I said as we rounded a corner that looked like every other corner. We walked down a gloomy hall while Astra chattered on about how the hallways were different. Maybe one day I would feel the same but, right now, they were all one blur of expensive wood and marble floors. Whoever buffed the floors around this place had their job cut out for them.
I smelled the aromas of food and heard the other students inside talking, way before she reached out her hand and pointed to the large oak double doors in front of us. Crowds weren’t my favorite, but I’d gotten nowhere in life thus far from cowering, although I was an expert in the field. I balled and relaxed my fingers as we got closer, forcing my breaths to remain steady. I might be terrified of this place and finding my way here, but there was no reason to show it to anyone. There are just some things you don’t let other people know. From what I’d learned, people take your fear and exploit the hell out of it any chance they get.
“This is where the meals are served?” I asked and Astra nodded. I noticed that the closer we got to the double doors, the more jittery she became. Instead of the excited chatter, silence replaced her words. I wondered why. Maybe she was an outsider like me.
We opened the doors and walked in. Not ten steps later, all noise in the dining hall ceased. The talking stopped. Several pieces of silverware were clattered onto plates. Even the chefs and servers paused and looked at me. All eyes in the dining hall were on me, darts right into my insecurities, making them bleed.
Astra grabbed my arm and dragged me to the serving line and, after a few more moments of gawking, the talking began again, and all motion went back to normal. But they still side-eyed me while the whispers reached my ears.
“That’s her? She’s the one?” I heard from someone ahead of us in line. As I reached for the plate of steaming hot food being offered to me, I tried to smile at the server. She looked down. Guess I wasn’t going to make friends with the staff. There went all hopes of extra rolls.
There wasn’t a choice of food, rather, students took what was given to them. I wasn’t complaining, not for one second. Instead, I desperately tried not to drool right there onto my plate. That would really give them something to gossip about.
As we passed the tables, Astra was walking so fast I barely kept up. I heard the whispers, the ones I dreaded and yet, they were no surprise to me.
“She came from such a good family.”
“I can’t believe she is here.”
“This school year is officially in the toilet.”
“Who does she think she is?”
