I find myself staring at the crosshatch underside of Johnny's bunk. Bolting upright, I wake to three gaping faces by my bed. They aren't in school uniform but the hospital gowns we were wearing as we went into the examination.
That dreamscape really messed me up.
"Addi," snaps Johnny, more on edge than I'd ever seen him before. "What were you just dreaming about?"
"I was dreaming of Adam Driver," I say fluently. Look, I'd rather die than tell the truth. "He was very kind to me."
"Told ya," Johnny scoffs at the other two. "Just because our dreams are similar doesn't mean we had the same dream.
I rub my eyes, swinging my legs off my bunk. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I had a dream where I was Die Hard-ing at Porcupine Laughter Club, and these two said they shared a dream that they were fixing a wounded soldier."
"You had that part of the dream too," Ebony says, rolling her eyes.
"Well, Addi didn't dream of it, so your Inception theory is wrong."
"Well, I lied."
Johnny looks hurt. "Now why would you do that?!"
"Because it's weird that I had a whole adventure with you guys in my head."
"Then I think we should address the fact that we had the same dream," Thomas suggests. "How is it possible that we dreamt of the same thing?"
"How did we even fall asleep?" Ebony asks. What could induce instantaneous sleep between the four of us except those injections they'd given us last night? Unless—
I gasp. "Sleepy gas."
"Anaesthetics?"
Thomas isn't convinced. "Come on, Adelaide. How can you examine someone when they're sleeping?"
"I don't know," I admit. "But that doesn't mean it couldn't still happen."
"Oh man, this is like Inception," Johnny awes. He seems excited for a moment before another realisation strikes. "Do you think they can infiltrate my dreams now? Am I in a dream right now?"
Ebony slaps him in the face and he cries out. She wipes her germ-infested hand on my shoulder. "Awake now?"
Johnny grumbles a response, breaking the circle to sulk on his top bunk. Ebony grabs a set of clothes on her bed and heads for the bathroom. I meet Thomas' eyes and feel my allergies start acting up so I fall onto my mattress, cradling my head in my hands. I recall something Thomas had said to me in the dream—this is the test. And I realise that, if this is the test, then other people must've experienced it too. Other people must've been Inception'd too.
I leap up, rushing past an alarmed Thomas. "I'll be back in a tick," I say, one foot out of the door.
"Pack!" Ebony yells. I turn and barely catch my pack he tosses me. Literally, what would I do without them? Probably die.
***
I stand before 8J, fist ready to knock when someone opens it. I'm met by yet another face I haven't seen in forty-eight hours. "Addi!" cheers Lyra, going in for an unrequited hug. I'm amazed by her seeming positivity. "How did you find me? Never mind, come in!"
I'm dragged inside, where I find Dee and Ingerzfay, my sworn nemesis. I'm also introduced to Laurence who has a firm handshake and I make the mental reminder to break Johnny's hand if ever I am presented the opportunity to shake hands. I notice that they're all dressed in similar attire to me, which means they've probably had their exam too.
"We all just woke up. And you know what we just discovered?" Lyra asks. "We all had the same dream."
"No way!" I say with a very obvious persona shift. "My dorm had that theory too!!!"
"Was the setting of your dream Cringey Giraffe Society?" inquires Ingerzfay.
I glare at him before I can catch myself. "No. Why?"
He strokes his hairless chin like he's having a profound thought. But his performance is cut short by pounding at the door. Before Lyra can answer, a guard enters, hands planted on their hips.
"Adelaide Sh'adow Amnesia Jane Sandler," she says monotonously. "You are acting in open defiance of Rule 38 of Section 7 of the Manual: residents must not set foot in dorms to which they do not belong. Fraternising will be limited to the allocated recreational spaces. I must thereby put a strike beside your name and escort you back to your dorm."
Heat slaps across my cheeks. Awkwardly, I step forward under the confused and ashamed gazes of room 8J. Once I make it past the threshold and back into the corridor, the door is slammed shut behind me.
"Don't try to excuse your actions," the guard says as they shove my shoulder forward. I hadn't planned on it until they'd brought it up. Now, I'm on the verge of exploding. But I say nothing.
