Page 27 of Beyond The Maples
The tall buildings have tiny windows stacked all on top of each other.
"Well, that concludes our tour. We'll see you tomorrow morning for assessments. Men on the right, woman on the left. Good luck with your new bunkmates."
Wesley then nods and scurries back through the hallway towards the other buildings.
Leo waves. "Good luck! Hope your roommate is as hot as you. I'll be visiting often either way!" He gives me the goofiest smile while saluting me, and wanders through the main doors of the men's building with the others.
I smile, shaking my head, hoping whoever he ends up with is kind. I take a deep breath and walk toward my temporary home.
Silently I curse, looking at the winding staircase, realizing I've got to huff up all the stairs. My feet slap the smooth steps, echoing up the hollow stairwell, along with the few others finding their own rooms.
I make it to my room and knock once, feeling awkward. Do I just go in? It's my room too, but I don't know the procedure here.
I hear a "Come in," so I push through.
The dorms are tiny, with the familiar worn greys and greens I'm used to. Two single beds line the walls with a small bathroom off to the right. I glance around and see my roommate lounging on her bed, reading a book.
"Hi, I'm Maple," I say cheerfully, dropping my stuff down on the empty bed.
The stranger sits up as I turn to her.
Of course,I think. The girl across from me is blindingly beautiful. Her dark olive skin offsets her light green eyes, her face framed by silky brown hair cropped just above her shoulders.
The girl nods, not giving away an ounce of emotion, friendliness or otherwise.
"I'm Farra."
I return her nod. "Nice to meet you. Did you just get in today?"
I unpack my things into the small dresser by the end of my bed, noticing she has one too.
"No, last night," she replies.
"Oh, so have you already started assessments?" I ask.
She lets out a breath, like she's exhausted from this bit of interaction. "No, we all start tomorrow. They do it in cohorts, and I guess your group was the last to arrive."
"Oh I gotcha, makes sense... Where are you from?" I ask, hoping the more I know, the easier it will be in close quarters like this.
Farra hesitates, a frown passing over her perfect face. "Look, I'm not really here to make friends. It's less complicated that way. I'll be cordial, but I'm not here to braid your hair, you know?"
I snort. Okay, beautiful and rude it is. What a surprise.
"Noted," I cluck, "and probably for the best. I have very thick hair and it's hard for other people to braid."
Farra considers this for a second.
"Sorry, that came off wrong. I just meant it's easier if we just look out for ourselves." She gives herself a nod, a silent conversation going on in her head. She flops back down on her bed and doesn't offer me any other conversation for the rest of the night.
I lie awake all night, deciding not to be offended by Farra's declaration. It's probably for the best. I doubt she goes unnoticed long looking like that. Better to keep my distance. And she's right––I'm not here to make friends either.
Farra and I walk beside each other out to the courtyard in awkward silence the next morning.
A large group of fresh cadets wait with us, and I wonder what today is going to look like. I hope the physical training is first. I feel a desperate need to move my body and rid myself of some of the tension building beneath my skin.
We're all wearing the tan jumpsuits I found tucked away in the dresser. I had to roll the legs of mine up several times, but it otherwise fit okay. I'm thankful I'm not as small as Farra, who is swimming in hers.
The suits have adjustable sewn-in black belts cinching the middle that go up around our shoulders and back down. Huge pockets down the legs, two more on the breasts. The black belts have loops which I assume will hold weapons or water bottles or something. Whoever designed these is clever.
