Page 6 of Alamort

“Uh… yeah. That’s me.” Looking at her uniform paired with chunky black platform boots. They’re far from the stilettos Amber was wearing. Her big doe brown eyes lined with thick black eyeliner, the color of hot chocolate, comforting and warm after running inside to stave off the chilly air. It feels homey. A complete opposite to Amber’s soul sucking presence.

“Cool! I’m River Walton. Are you going up to 3 too?” I look up at the only lit up number on the elevator showing I indeed did press floor 3. “It’s only us up there. They usually give the biggest donors the best rooms. I would’ve been here sooner to greet you to our floor, but some black car was in flames at the front gate and everyone and their mother had to go see for themselves.” Her megawatt smile would be contagious if I wasn’t feeling so tense.

The elevator dings and we step out. She takes it upon herself to show me to my room, as Amber Astor should have. There are four doors, two on the left hallway and two on the right. I’m assuming hers is the door that’s personalized with an ombré rainbow of colors all the way at the end on the right side of the hallway that matches her bubbly personality, but not the gothic appearance.

She reaches for my hand. I suppress a flinch by clenching my teeth as she drags me to the door across from hers. Soft touches aren’t something I’m entirely used to aside from when my sister was being a mother hen and even that has been nine months since it happened.

“I saw them bringing luggage into this room. Do you have anyone to sit with for dinner?”

“Nope.” I pop the ‘P’ while trying to determine her intentions. “Amber gave me the lovely tour to the dorm and it pretty much ended there,” I tell her as if I don’t care and not like my anxiety is going to put me in a chokehold on the ground like a WWE fighter if I don’t figure out when and where I’m supposed to be.

“Okay, I’ll let you get settled and then we can meet out here to walk to dinner at 5:30? I’ll give you the rundown on everything. Oh, and after school hours and weekends, you can wear whatever you want.” Good thing I didn’t plan on changing.

Bouncing on her toes, I can tell she’s eager. She’s cute, in an “I want to squeeze you” kind of way. Her bubbly personality reminds me of Addi. A familiar ache forms in my chest whenever I think of her. Letting some of my appreciation show for her kindness, I softly smile.

“Sounds like a plan. See you in two hours, River.”

The RFID locking mechanism looks like the ones from hotels where you place a card on top to unlock the door. I assume the employees finished searching through my belongings and brought them up, leaving the door open. Time to see what my new jail cell holds.

Opening the door, I’m pleasantly surprised. It’s like a studio apartment. The interior of the bedroom looks like the inside of a magazine. It’s smaller than my room back at the estate, but it’s just as updated as the outside of the dorm. The expansive floor-to-ceiling windows on the back wall offer a panoramic view of the lush trees that encircle the dormitories. Off to the left is an en-suite bathroom, which I’m forever grateful for, so I don’t have to share with all the other students. Along the same wall is a kitchenette that seems to be stocked. To the right of the bedroom is another door, probably the closet and desk with papers stacked so high it could be its own book.

The bed is staged center to the bedroom, pulling me in like a magnet. On that note, two hours is plenty of time for a nap and I can freshen up after. Walking up to the bed, I face plant into the cream-colored duvet and grab a pillow to put over my head to filter out noise and light. A content sigh leaves me. This is nice. I could probably die right here, right now and be okay with it. Well, anywhere really. This school could be a new start. No one knows me. Maybe my family name and their success. But no one knows Priya Carter, the black sheep and hidden child of the Carters.

Bang. Bang. Bang.I jolt out of bed, causing myself to fall on the floor, knocking the wind out of myself. Gasping for air, my heart is thudding out of my chest, thinking of the last bad thing I did that could have upset him. Trying to take a lungful of air to catch my breath to calm my racing pulse, I go for whispering to myself.

“I’m not home. I haven’t done anything wrong.” Trying to self-soothe with words while digging my nails into my palms to ground myself.

I’m not at home.

I’m not at home.

I did nothing wrong.

The incessant sound continues. Huffing in irritation, I step to the door, ripping it open. River stands in the doorway bug eyed. She looks skittish. A frightened kitten ready to spook. I watch her mask her emotions with a pasted on smile.

“Ready?”

Looking at the clock, it’s 5:30 exactly. Shit, I should’ve set an alarm. Guilt stirs in my gut knowing I’ve frightened River with my misplaced anger.

“Shit, sorry River.” Throwing her a smile and pulling on my favorite boots and a hoodie to keep warm. I spot the white key card that locks and unlocks the room and put that in my bra. “Ready.” Pasting on my best friendly smile.

River loops her arm through mine and points out buildings, classes, the study hall and eventually where the dean’s office is at on the way to Theodore Hall.

“Tomorrow you should have your meeting with the dean for classes. Probably pretty early if you looked over the papers in your room.” She looks at me from the corner of her eyes, biting the corner of her cheek, suppressing a smile. I have a feeling she knows I slept the full two hours, considering how flustered I was when I answered the door. The second my head hit the pillow, I was out. The grimace on my face is a response to her assumption. Not the best start to getting ahead this semester.

“Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all served at the Hall. It stays open at night and you can still get food after. Causal clothes are all allowed after 5:00 and on weekends. You should have five school uniforms in your closet. Any black shoes will work, hence my choice of shoe.” Sticking her leg out to show me as if anyone could miss them. I chuckle continuing our walk until we reach the hall. It looks exactly like a high-end restaurant. I had to learn from my sister or when I was severely reprimanded by my parents. Since I was the black sheep, they only brought me out when it was necessary.

She leads me to a secluded table in the back corner, away from prying eyes. It eases some of my anxiety from being singled out. There are a few people scattered around, but most tables are empty. I’m sure they will start filling up as dinner approaches. I’ve never seen a school cafeteria laid out like a five-star restaurant. Tables with linen cloths on top, rolled and polished silverware.

She grabs the tablet lying on the center of the table and selects something before passing it to me. A variety of foods, desserts, and drinks are all on display.

“You have everything at your fingertips! It’s so cool! My freshman year, I was in awe of all the technology they use here.”

“I can easily say I’ve never ordered anything with this level of sophistication,” murmuring while mindlessly scrolling through the choices.

“Your figure is important. If you get something greasy, like you’re a heathen who is starving, you’ll be running it off in the gym for the rest of the night until you’ve thrown up every calorie you’ve eaten.”

My mother’s nagging voice is like nails on a chalkboard, making me feel disgusting for thinking of a piece of greasy pizza. When did I eat last? The plane, I think.

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