A handful of students mill about. Some play cards, others video games on the smaller of the TVs, and a few are even watching the news on mute. Guess even my generation has to do things old school when cell phones are taken out of the equation. Footage of Blakemore Academy plays across the screen. Construction crews work to rebuild the walls while text scrolls underneath it.
...after the attack, much of the old building, including the library, was destroyed. Once the work is completed, Blakemore will reopen as a leadership school for humans and supes alike. Up next, coverage of the upcoming wedding of the century between Acadiana Blakemore and Sebastian Locke. Blakemore has been integral in the process to change the school after the fall out from the Unleashing.
A girl with long brown hair appears on screen, and I definitely remember the Paranormal Princess now. It always irritated me the way the media talked about her, dissecting what she wore, who she dated, and speculating about all sorts of junk they had no business poking their noses into.
The way they handled her break up with that Golden Boy dude nearly made me throw my cell across my bedroom. I guess after they saw who he really was, they felt pretty stupid. Then again, it is the media, so there isn’t much hope of that. Drama sells after all.
I roll my eyes away from the TV and focus back on Kaz and Rafe. The latter is watching the TV as well, brow furrowed. I’m about to ask him what’s on his mind, when Kaz distracts me.
“Now, stairs can be tricky,” he says. “You can always just float up for now. That’s usually easier than trying to walk up them on your first day.”
Rafe laughs, snapping out of whatever memory he was clearly trapped in. “It’s true. Took me three or four tries to climb the stairs at Blakemore. If I’d realized I could float I would have. Should have figured that out on my own.”
“Like I said before, most everything around campus is spelled to make it easier for us to touch things,” Kaz says. “But the stairs are good practice for when you start to learn to handle objects still in the realm of the living.”
I look at my feet, then at the door. The rules definitely keep my head spinning. If I can stand on the first floor, why would it be difficult walking up the stairs? Either way, flying sounds pretty cool, so I might as well do that.
“Everything in your room is spelled as well to make things easier though,” Kaz says. “So, getting into bed won’t be a battle. Things are hard enough without having to lose sleep.”
“Well that’s good. Do I need to know anything about, like, putting on the breaks if I do float?” I squint one eye. “I’m not going to slip straight out of the school if I do something wrong, right? Fly off into the atmosphere never to be seen again?”
Kaz grins. “Shouldn’t be a problem. For some reason, it’s just a lot easier to master than the stair thing. Just stop the way you have been. Your room’s on the third floor. 305. If you have any questions, Haya should be able to help.”
I give Kaz a mock salute. “Thanks chief. Guess I’ll see you two in the morning...at breakfast?”
We all say goodnight, and I watch the two boys drift toward their door on the other side of the building. I try not to let my gaze linger on Rafe. Try, but fail miserably. The attraction fluttering through me sparks even more questions about my life.
Was I romantically involved? Did I date?
When I can’t remember, I drag my gaze away from Rafe, then face my own staircase. It can’t be that hard. Not if I’m already standing on the floor. Curious, I try to grab the door handle, but my fingers slide right through. I scowl at it.
“This isn’t over. We will meet again.” With a snort, I glide past the wood and follow the stairs up to the third floor.
But not without sneezing, of course.
Doors line the hall, each with pearl white numbers across them. At least some things are easy around here. I pause at 305, wondering if I should knock, wondering if I can knock. I focus and give it a whirl, but again, my knuckles can’t make purchase with the wood. Nothing for it. I’m way too tired to care, so I just poke my head inside.
Empty, and unbelievably massive. My jaw drops as I drift forward. Though I’m missing my memories, I know for sure I’ve never seen a bedroom quite this big. Really, it kind of looks like two rooms shoved together. Matching beds are pushed against a set of massive windows looking out on a sky thick with stars. A single couch covered in pillows and plush blankets separates them.
What I assume are closets are half open on either side of the room, though I can’t imagine why on earth we’d need them. Then again, I still don’t have the rules all sorted, so maybe we can change clothes? I shake my head and float toward one of the windows. A forest stretches out around Locklear, disappearing down the other side of the mountain.
Something moves in the moonlight. Dark. Deeper than the other shadows, it twists, tornado-like. I squint to see better, curious.
“Billie!”
Haya’s voice comes from behind and I jump a little. Or, jump as much as a hovering ghost can. I swirl around to face her. It’s a little hard to stop, kind of like oversteering a boat on a lake. A memory coasts across the room, almost like someone’s projecting an old film onto the walls, the floor. I’m on
