“No. There’s plenty of room for both of us.”
She smiled. “Thanks. Are you sure?”
“Of course.” I nodded to a closed door next to her giant wardrobe. “That the bathroom?”
She walked over to the door and opened it. “Yeah. We share the bathroom with two other girls. Ashley and Tamara. Their room is on the other side.”
I followed her in and gaped at the huge bathroom. To the left, a beautiful marbled double sink stood with a giant mirror and a plush red rug spread across the gorgeous tiled floor. Directly opposite the sink a full-length mirror was attached to a small closet. Past the red carpet, a giant jacuzzi style bath stood and across from that, a large glass screened shower.
“The toilet is in there.” Shiloh motioned to the closed door between the tub and shower.
“One bathroom for four girls?” I shook my head.
“Yeah. Ashley made a schedule for us.”
My eyebrow arched. “A what now?”
Shiloh flushed. “A schedule for who gets to shower and stuff. But if you have go, and it’s not your time, you can go to the public bathroom right down the hall.”
I blinked, processing her words. A schedule for peeing? How did that even work? I didn’t know who these other girls were, but already I had a feeling I was going to be stepping on some toes.
I didn’t follow rules well.
“When is your aunt coming with your stuff?” Shiloh broke the tension.
“She said after lunch.”
“Oh. Well, I have archery training then, but afterwards, I can come right up and help. If you need.”
“Thanks, but I don’t have a lot of stuff.”
“Okay. Do you want me to walk with you to your first class? I have class too so I’m going there, anyway.”
I smiled at her. “Yeah, that would be great. Thanks.”
She led me back out and locked the door. “Oh. I forgot to ask Molly for another room key. Don’t worry. I’ll track you down and give one to you. Meet for lunch in the cafeteria? When is your lunch?”
I pulled up the tablet once more. “One o’clock.”
“Hmm. Mine is at twelve, but I’ll give the key to Javi. I have class with him before lunch period.”
“One to one-thirty. Thirty minutes for lunch?” I touched the screen.
“Yeah. They like us to keep it short so we can get more classes in.”
“Sounds kind of strict,” I grunted.
Her face turned serious. “Oh yeah. They’re very strict. You should have gotten a handbook with all the policies and rules. But I guess since you didn’t get orientation yet…” she trailed off with a thoughtful look.
Handbook for policies and rules? I snorted. No, thanks. More and more I was glad I missed orientation. This wasn’t a school. It was a prison. A large, fancy, beautiful prison.
And I would not be there for long.
11
“Sorry, we didn’t get time to check out the pool or backyard,” Shiloh said as we took the elevator down to the first floor.
“It’s fine. I’m sure there will be time later. Do you think they’ll let me skip out on the first day of classes? I mean since I haven’t even been to orientation yet?” I asked hopefully.
She gave me a wry smile. “I don’t think so. Sorry.”
I groaned. “I should have grabbed another cup of that magic coffee.”
“They have coffee in the student lounge in the main classroom building.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
We fell silent again as she led me out of the dorm house and out onto the sidewalk. Just like yesterday, the sky was a brilliant blue and the sun bright and cheery. I couldn’t see the beach from where we stood, but I could smell it. It couldn’t be too far off. I glanced around to see if I could spot the airplane hangar, but the large buildings blocked out the view. Shiloh led me across the street to the giant classroom building.
“Here. You should check to make sure your replacement card works.” Shiloh pointed at the pad on the outside.
I swiped my card and watched as the little light lit up green. Shiloh opened the door for me and let me go first. A cold burst of air hit us, making me glad for my unapproved jacket.
“My class is upstairs. You have my number on the student tablet so just send me a message if you need anything. I’ll be back in the dorm before dinner and I can show you where we can eat.”
Dinner seemed so far away. Could I make it that long? I waved goodbye and thanked her again as she entered the elevator and disappeared behind the doors.
A stream of students exited the elevators and rooms all at once, crowding me. The once quiet lobby turned into a noisy pool of people. Eyes glanced at me, a mixture of surprise, distaste, and apathy written in their faces.
Ignoring the stares, I pulled up my tablet once more and looked for the class number and map. All the way at the opposite end of the building—and it started in five minutes. I tucked away the tablet again and picked up my pace.
The first class was filled with freshman, just like Shiloh warned me. As hard as I tried to pretend I didn’t care, the students snickers and curious looks annoyed me. Thankfully, the teacher was just as annoyed that my presence seemed to disrupt her young class. She gave me a login and code for the online course. I spent the class period sitting in a chair, trying to figure out the tablet before my next class.
Class 401: Advanced Protocols for GRIMM agents
That didn’t sound like a freshman class. I perked up. Maybe Shiloh or Javi would be there. I tried to open the class roster, but the system crashed.
Giving up after five minutes of trying to get it back, I wandered the hall, looking for the student lounge. When I got there, it was filled with students, but not a single sound came from them. I blinked in surprise and walked closer. Their
