Leave What Was Found

2: Past & Present

Avery glanced down at the key Julian had thrown to her and noticed the number three hundred thirteen on it. She found the room and walked in. A girl was sitting on one of the beds. She looked up and offered a smile, clearly she had been waiting for Avery.

"You must be Avery Davidson," the girl said brightly as she walked over and greeted her. "I'm Nikki, your roommate."

Avery nodded and shook the girl's hand.

"So where are you from?" Nikki asked. "Headmaster Davidson didn't say much about you, just that you were his niece who joined the school, two months later than the rest of us might I add."

Avery shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, I was . . ." Avery paused. She did not feel like sharing her past whereabouts with this girl. "Busy," she finished.

Nikki frowned. She did not seem to like that answer. Like Julian, she seemed to want answers that Avery did not want to share.

"Well, where are you from?" she asked. "I'm from Seattle."

"Colorado," Avery decided.

Saying she was from here was easier than the real explanation for her whereabouts these past couple of years. Besides, Avery had technically lived here until she was fourteen.

"Oh, really?" she said, surprised. "There are not too many locals, maybe only a handful."

Avery was not sure how to feel about Nikki. The girl seemed nice enough, but she was just a little too happy for Avery's taste. It seemed unnatural, like a mask. Nikki walked over to the desk on the side of the room that appeared to be Avery's. She picked up a few papers and waved Avery over.

"These are some things Headmaster Davidson asked me to help you with," she explained. "Here is a schedule request," she said, handing it to her.

Avery stared at the form apprehensively. She hadn't been in school these past couple of years. Her dad had homeschooled her, but he hadn't really done much formally. She looked between the options and tried to decide which ones to pick. Nikki must have sensed her nerves.

"The classes aren't that hard, besides junior year is fun you get to pick from so many options," she said. "Did you like Chemistry, Biology, or were you going to take Physics?"

Avery's eyes widened. She had barely finished Biology. As she looked at the other classes, Avery grew even more anxious. She was severely behind. She quickly circled regular-paced classes and hoped she would just get by in them. Nikki then handed her a student handbook.

"We don't have too many rules, but the basics are in there. Essentially, you have to wear the uniform to class, but you can wear whatever after and before. Curfew is at ten, but that just means girls can't be in the boy's dorm and vice versa, we can still go to the library or gym and stuff. Don't leave campus without signing out at the office. Merriwether, who is the girl's dormitory monitor, is a real stickler for the rules. She's ancient too, real old-fashioned. I learned the hard way so I would give the handbook a glance at some point—."

Nikki paused. She must have realized Avery knew less than she initially thought.

"Wait, didn't your tour guide tell you most of this already?" she asked with a frown.

Avery's expression turned sour. Julian had not been the most helpful, but considering their history, she couldn't really expect much else.

"He seemed more interested in the blonde in the common room," Avery finally muttered.

Nikki's eyes narrowed. "Wait, who was your tour guide?" she asked.

"Julian?" Avery said in a deliberate manner that would make it seem as if she didn't know him before arriving here.