Page 6 of Tethered to the World
Her mother moved them around a lot when they were younger, and Annora realized it was because of her…it was the only way her mother could protect her from other paranormals. Her mother gave her everything, taught her how to read and write, good from bad, but she also warned her while there was evil in the world, there was just as much goodness.
Annora wanted to believe it, but experience had taught her otherwise.
On her way toward the main office, she noted the split between humans and supernaturals appeared to be half and half, which surprised her. The chill in the air felt good, but being allowed to walk outside freely was both awe-inspiring and terrifying. It reminded her time with her mother. Of laughter and fun. Then the memories faded, the open space of the campus almost too much for her brain to process. Just imagining the number of people able to watch her without her knowledge had her hunching her shoulders and ducking her head.
When she entered the administration building, she located the admissions office within minutes. Since classes officially started in a couple of days, there wasn’t much of a line. Everyone already had their schedule and books except for a few stragglers like her.
“Are you Annora?” A perky young woman bounced up from a chair, snatching the bag resting at her feet, and shot toward her. “I’m Loulou, and I’m supposed to show you around campus.”
Annora backed up a step from the force of Loulou’s bubbly personality, but the girl didn’t seem to notice as she skipped toward the door and disappeared down the hall. Annora shook her head, blew out a puff of breath, then scrambled after the little bit of a thing.
The energy around the petite blonde indicated she was a supernatural of some sort, but not one Annora had run across before. The young girl dug around in her bag, pulling out a stack of crumpled papers. Her blonde hair was wispy and perfectly straight, and so pale it almost looked white. Her blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight, the size just a tad bit too large for her face, like she was wearing coke-bottle glasses that enlarged them. She was cute and harmless, if somewhat absent-minded.
“School official starts on Monday, though some live on campus and take classes all year round. Even though first-years are normally assigned dorms, it looks like they have you bunking in the Grady House.” The happy cheer on her face dimmed for a moment before she smiled brighter than ever, and it raised the hairs on the back of Annora’s neck.
“What’s wrong with Grady House?” The last thing she wanted was to walk into a situation blind.
“Oh, nothing.” The girl turned and began walking backwards without missing a beat. “The house itself is amazing. You’ll be at the very edge of the campus, next to the forest. It’s a prime spot.”
Then she turned and began to flip through the pages again. “It looks like you’re reporting to class tomorrow.”
Annora wasn’t fooled and stopped walking. The young blonde was halfway across the quad before she realized she was alone. Very reluctantly, she came back, her good cheer dulled a little. When Loulou came to a stop in front of her, she couldn’t seem to stay still, twitching and dancing around in one spot.
Annora blinked, allowing the shadows to fill her vision, and saw the girl was nothing more than a fluffy white rabbit. When she blinked again, her vision cleared, and she crossed her arms. “What’s wrong with Grady House?”
Loulou’s shoulders drooped, and she glanced down at the ground, digging the toe of her shoe into the dirt as if she would like to bury her head. “Your roommates.”
Annora relaxed, resisting the urge to smile, not wanting to offend her. Whatever it was about her new roommates obviously distressed the girl. After spending years being imprisoned and tortured by her uncle, Annora could easily deal with a couple of college girls. “I’m sure it will be okay. Don’t worry about it.”
Her big blue eyes flashed up in surprise, her mouth dropping open, but Annora ignored her distress and began walking again.
“B-but you don’t understand… every other roommate assigned to them has run screaming…well, only the one was actually screaming…right back to the administration office, demanding other accommodations.”
“Don’t worry. I’m made of sterner stuff.” Annora snorted, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She wouldn’t let her shot at going to school and escaping her uncle be ruined by a couple of spoiled, privileged girls. “Now why don’t you show me where I’m supposed to stay?”
Loulou blinked her innocent eyes up at her, then began to bob her head and smiled brightly, her good mood restored. “I think I’m going to enjoy having you around.”
Loulou skipped around her like a hyper puppy, babbling incessantly but not really saying anything, and Annora let her voice slip into the background. The people here were laughing. No one seemed under duress. None of them appeared to be beaten or starved.
They seemed free.
For the first time, she allowed a sliver of hope to pierce the painstakingly constructed bunker surrounding her heart and allowed herself to feel a tinge of hope.
She could make this work, and she wouldn’t let any supposedly scary roommates frighten her off. They could do what they wanted with her. She’d survived worse.
She would survive them.
Despite being only twenty, she felt older than most of the other students on campus. As she observed the others, she noticed more and more of the supernaturals were heading in the same direction. “Where are they going?”
The bunny paused in her meandering monologue and glanced up. “Oh, the trials have started!” She grabbed Annora’s elbow, then dragged her into the stream of people, towing her along. The little bit of a thing was a lot stronger than she looked. Annora tensed at the contact, doing her best to stay whole and not ghost away. If she wanted to fit in with the rest of the students, she needed to start acting like them.
They entered a large building, and the students’ excitement was catching as everyone picked up their pace, laughing and joking with each other as they headed along the cavernous hallway.
They emerged into a large, amphitheater-style stadium. While most of the students filtered up the stairs, the bunny dragged her along until they were standing at the railing. In the center of the stadium were a group of fifty kids, the majority of them looking bright and shiny and so incredibly young that Annora shook her head at their innocence.
When a group of older guys walked out onto the field, the kids quieted down and snapped to attention. Something about the men drew her gaze, and she couldn’t look away.
“Camden and his men are one of our most elite teams, tasked with training the freshman,” Loulou spoke in a loud whisper. “You don’t want to get on his bad side.”
