Starting Off Wrong [𝐠𝐱𝐠]

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟒: 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝

"Hey, girls," Magnolia says, losing her upbeat attitude as she reaches us along with Suri. Her normal smile is replaced with a frown of the unknowing future.

While we were racing out of the building, we caught a hold of Karina. We were just going to look for Magnolia and Suri as we reached the courtyard.

"Any idea what's going on?" I ask, glancing back at the dorm rooms nervously.

Suri shakes her head and quietly says, "Nothing." Magnolia nods in agreement. "I'm assuming it's a drill, but we don't ever have any drills." That's the same thing Aurelia said earlier. Magnolia crosses her arms, uncomfortable.

As we made our way out, I didn't feel any excess heat or smell any smoke, but I certainly could smell the tension in the air.

It has to be a mere coincidence. Every time I think about it though, I start feeling the hair on my arms raise. If it is a coincidence, it chose terrible timing to occur.

Aurelia believes me. At least that's what she told me. I eye her, not wanting her to see me staring. She notices anyways. She offers me a comforting smile before reaching for my hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I wonder if the guys are having a drill too," Karina thinks, her finger in her lips.

"Whatever it is, it's horrible timing," Magnolia grumbles. She can say that again. "I have a Latin test tomorrow and I really need this extra time to study."

"I'm sure it'll be over quickly," Aurelia says, trying to comfort her.

I look back at the exit as more and more girls flood through the doors. It's like a never-ending cycle.

I slowly spin around in place, looking at all the girls filling up the quad. I have never seen all the girls in one place before. It's definitely a lot more than I thought it would be.

"So ... " Magnolia carefully says, wanting to start a conversation. She's a talker, I've noticed. Not that it's a bad thing. Though, I have to admit, silence is just making the situation even more scarier.

"I heard there's a new thrift store opening downtown, dedicated to—" Magnolia stops speaking as the girls standing next to us all point and gasp.

We look towards their direction to see a woman, I have never seen before and assuming is a professor, try to speak to the crowd. I shift a bit to the side, getting a better look at her through the empty slits in the group.

"I can't hear a thing," Aurelia says, her eyebrows scrunching in annoyance.

I struggle to listen. As more of the crowd notices the professor, they stop talking and turn their attention to her. Through her voice is faint, I can now properly make out the words she is saying.