Page 7 of Riley's Storm

Chapter5

Riley

Why was it so loud here? How could anyone think?

We were standing in line at the cafeteria, waiting to get food. Storm was chatting away to the other omegas around us; clearly, she had a lot of friends. My nose was twitching from all the conflicting scents in one room. How was I going to make it through the school year if it was this bad every mealtime?

"This is Riley," I heard Storm say, introducing me to one of her friends. "We're sharing a room this year."

She said it so matter-of-factly, it took me back a little. She had already accepted that we would be together, even if another option presented itself. The omega she was talking to raised her brows as she looked me over. I could tell she hadn't heard the story of what had gone down on the top floor of Dunning yet. Storm ignored her questioning look, apparently trying to save me from further embarrassment. I could have kissed her for that small kindness.

"Riley, this is Olivia. She's in the same year as us."

"Hello," I said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Hello, Riley. You have a good roommate here," she said, smiling at Storm. "She won't steer you wrong."

I glanced up and saw Storm smirking. Not in a teasing way. It was more like Olivia's words had pleased her. Before I could say anything in return, it was our turn at the order station. Storm and Olivia rattled off their requests, obviously well versed in what they wanted. Then it was my turn. I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry as dust. What were the choices? How did I choose?

Storm saw my terrified expression and took over once more. "She'll have the same as me."

Then, she leaned down to whisper in my ear, "If you don't like anything, just leave it on the tray. I'll show you where to find the menu for the next meal."

I nodded gratefully and held out my hand to accept the tray from the cafeteria worker, then the three of us walked over to the cashier. Olivia and Storm pressed their fingertips to the pad on the counter and I did the same. The pad accepted our prints with a chime. Storm led our little group over to an empty table.

When I slid into my seat, I looked at my tray for the first time. On it there was an apple, carrots with ranch dressing, multi-colored pasta, and what I thought was a lamb shank. My nose wrinkled as I looked at it. This was more food than I had ever had at one meal. How was I going to eat all this?

Storm and Olivia didn’t seem to have the same worries. They tucked into their meals quickly, chewing and talking between bites. Storm sat next to me, and I thanked whoever was watching out for me today. Her scent was strong enough that it was overpowering all the others around me. Every so often, I ducked my head and inhaled a whiff of her, clearing out my sensitive nose.

Olivia and Storm chatted about the classes we had, starting in just a few days. They compared their schedules and discovered which ones we all had together.

As we wrapped up our meal, I still had an apple and some of the pasta left. I watched as other omegas casually walked their trays to the trash can, dumping in several uneaten items. Each time they did, I flinched a little. It was so wasteful.

I grabbed my apple and tucked it into my pocket. At Storm’s look, I shrugged and gave the excuse of wanting to save it for a snack later. After we turned our trays into the wash line, Olivia excused herself to head back to her room. Storm and I went off in the other direction, looking for the office.

I hoped that the same receptionist wouldn’t be there this time, but when I opened the door and stepped inside, I was disappointed to find her seated there. She was still typing away on her keyboard and ignoring me. This time, I didn’t stand there waiting for her acknowledgement. I cleared my throat right away.

The woman let out a long-suffering sigh and looked toward the ceiling like she couldn’t believe I was interrupting her. My face flamed hot.

“What do you need now?” she practically snapped, barely turning her head in my direction.

I stumbled over my words but finally got out, “I need to have a bed sent up to my new room?”

I phrased it like a question, though it wasn’t. This woman had me so flustered, I didn’t know which way was up. I could feel my heart racing, and my hands fluttered at my sides nervously.

“There is a bed in your room. Why would we send a new one?”

“Oh, um, well, I moved rooms and there is—”

“Who said you could move rooms?” the woman snarled, finally facing me. “I’m not sure how things were done where you’re from, but that’s not how it’s done at the ORA. We gave you a room, and that’s the room you’re to stay in.”

I swallowed. “Well, you see, the room I was assigned—”

“Isyourroom. You cannot just decide to change it because you wanted something else, missy.”

My mouth gaped open, but I said nothing else. What would be the point? She just kept cutting off my explanations. Behind me, I felt, more than heard, Storm step up. She placed her hand on my shoulder, squeezing lightly.

“Is there a problem here, Caryn?”

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