“Do you know where to go for classes tomorrow?” Her question caught me off guard.
I paused my show and looked at her. “What did you say?”
She looked taken aback. “I… just wanted to make sure you knew where to go for your classes tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow is Saturday.”
“Yes.” She nodded.
“We have classes on Saturday?”
“Sunday too.”
I threw my head back against my pillow and groaned. “Of course, we do. Do we never get a day off?”
“Occasionally.”
Which probably meant never. I groaned again and picked up my tablet. The battery was dead so I couldn’t check my class schedule.
“Here. I have an extra charger for that.” Shiloh got off her bed and brought it to me.
Thanking her, I plugged it in and sighed.
“Do we at least get to sleep in?” I asked hopefully.
Her face scrunched up. “Depends on your classes. The freshman and sophomores usually have classes in the earlier morning and the juniors and seniors later in the day.”
I gave her a flat look. “So, I’m going to have classes all day. That sucks.”
She bit her lip. “I’m sorry. But you can probably get the freshman and sophomore classes online so you can do them here in the morning. Or get your mentor and the headmaster to give you permission to test out of them.”
I rubbed a hand over my face. “Yeah. Thanks.”
Another thought jolted me. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep in anyway. I had weapons training again with Professor Cranky Ass. 6:00 a.m.
“And classes end at lunch time, so you’ll be done earlier,” Shiloh interrupted my inward groan.
“And we have to wear the uniforms?”
“Not the one you wore today. The gym uniforms. The classes are mostly weapons or fighting related.”
“Well, at least those should be more comfortable.”
She smiled. “Definitely. You should talk to the headmaster about getting your orientation scheduled.”
I glanced back at my frozen laptop screen. “Mm. Yeah.”
Hours of learning school policy and rules. No thanks.
Shiloh turned back to her schoolwork, so I went back to my show though my mind was on other things. School on the weekends—I was officially in hell.
Something startled me awake. My heart hammered as if I’d been running and my body was coated with sweat. I blinked against the darkness, my mind screaming.
Where am I? Where am I? This isn’t my room.
I sat up and threw the thick covers off me. Something rustled on the other side. A shudder of fear ran up my spine. I wasn’t alone.
Moonlight streamed in, lighting a path in the middle of the room. My head spun as my thoughts tried to catch up.
I wasn’t home. GRIMM. I was at GRIMM. And Shiloh was the one tossing over in her bed in the dark across from me. Right.
And Papi was dead.
My throat closed up, tears threatening to spill out. I drew my knees to my chest and took a steadying breath. I didn’t want to wake up my roommate with my sniffling. Sorrow pierced me, my chest aching. Funny how physical the grief could be and how randomly it could hit you.
Swiping at my eyes, I steadied my breathing as best as I could. I didn’t know if it was a nightmare that woke me or the strange noises I wasn’t used to, but it would be hard to go back to sleep now. A flash of silver caught my eye. My bracelet.
I frowned and turned it over, was that source of my middle of the night wake up? Was my tío messing with me? My fists clenched the sheets.
If it was him, he had a lot of nerve. But what would be the point? To disrupt my sleep would only make me an even worse student.
I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and looked at the time. 3:00 a.m. Great. Three hours before I had to be in the gym.
Shaking off the heavy emotions, I laid back down and stared up at the ceiling, trying to keep the memories out.
When my alarm went off, I was still exhausted. Gathering all my willpower, I got up and started getting ready for the day. I tried to do it as quietly as I could so I didn’t wake Shiloh. Thankfully, the bathroom was open despite it not being my designated time. Before heading to the gym, I made a pitstop for the biggest coffee I could carry and tried to sip it as I went.
Professor Cassiano was waiting for me at the gym. This time, he wore athletic clothes similar to mine. Instead of making me swing a bunch of swords around, he ran me through drill after drill of running, pull ups which I barely managed to do, and various routines of footwork that I could only assume were meant to go with sword fighting.
I left the gym sweaty and in no mood for more classes. I didn’t plan ahead and bring extra clothes, so I went back to the dorm only to find that it wasn’t ‘my time’ to shower. Shiloh led me down the hall to a public bathroom with a shower where I contemplated skipping the next classes.
After a shower, quick change, and quick breakfast grab from the cafeteria, the freshman class I was supposed to be in was halfway over. The professor let me sign up online and dismissed me. I took the time to grab another coffee and relax before my next one.
My body was still sore from gym and lunch felt so far away. I studied the school map on my tablet, trying to focus.
