The Normals | ✓

T W E N T Y - F O U R

A R D E N

I unfold my manual, finding the map on the back, and get out of my seat along with the others. We're led back down the stairs of the big room we're in and out the door, the masked guy leading us and explaining everything as we go. I keep careful track of where we are on the map so I don't get lost, and make note of interesting-looking rooms as I pass them.

We exit the building, stepping into a large cleared area outside. I check it on my map and find it marked as the courtyard, although it's the most depressing courtyard I've ever seen. The faint glow of light spills onto the ground from the buildings around us, and a big fountain in the middle trickles a thin stream of water. Apart from that, there isn't much else to see -- this area is in definite need of a touch up.

It's dark by now and I can see the moon dipping in and out of view behind the clouds as we cross the courtyard, our feet tapping on the cracked concrete. The night is so still that it seems like everything is holding its breath. The grass, the clouds, even the trees lining a small pathway off to the right.

We go down a pathway with a big 3 painted on the ground and enter a building at the end. As we walk, I check out the other areas of the manual. There's a section on rules, guidelines, and expected behaviour, one on curfew and dress code, and various other things. I scan over the guidelines section but don't get much time to read it before the group stops. I look up, taking in my surroundings. We're in a long, bright hallway lined with open doors.

"This is where you'll be staying," the guy says, gesturing down the hall. "Everyone in the same sector and region stays in the same area, so if you have friends that came here with you, you won't be too far apart. This is also so that we can keep track of who is where. Now--" He pulls out the tablet he was holding earlier-- "I'm going to assign each of you a room. Since you are transfers, you won't be staying here as long as the abnormis who have been here since birth. That means you'll be sharing a room with one other person so we can save space and resources. Into a line, please."

We shuffle into a line in the quiet hallway and names start getting read out. My name is called about halfway through, when at least half of the rooms have gotten people assigned to them. I'm paired with a smug-looking boy who marches off into the room without waiting for me. I flinch when the door closes behind him and look to the masked guy, but he just tips his head toward the door to tell me to get going.

I sigh, fold up my manual, and follow in the footsteps of my new roommate, having to stop for a second to actually locate the door as it's so well-camouflaged in the hallway.

My roommate and I don't speak to each other while we set up our stuff. Mostly because he looked so annoyed by everything in the room that I didn't want to make him even more annoyed by talking to him. So I unpack my bag and hang up my clothes and set up my things as quietly as I can.

I'm on my bed -- thankfully we don't have to share one -- when he finally speaks. "What's your name?"

I look up. "Oh, it's Arden. Viotto."

He nods. "Okay."

There's a moment of quiet where he goes back to folding some shirts. I shift in my spot, uneasy. "And you are...?"

"Angelo Lau," he says without looking up.

I smile as best as I can and go back to reading my manual, trying to ignore the tense air in the room. I'm ninety percent sure it's mostly radiating from me, since he seems unbothered. Maybe he's used to thick silence.

"Are we just supposed to sleep now?" he asks suddenly, startling me. "Like, no food, no further instructions?"

I shrug. "Dunno."

"Well, I'm sleeping now. And turning off the lights too," he announces, placing the folded clothes in his side of the closet and moving toward the door to turn off the light. He's at the door when it opens, causing us both to jump.

Standing at the door is another masked person. She's holding a paper bag, which she holds out to Angelo. "Some food. Tomorrow you'll be eating in a proper room but since it's too late now, we have to bring it to your rooms instead. Lights are to be out in half an hour."

The woman leaves, taking another paper bag from the satchel slung over her shoulder. Closing the door, Angelo opens the bag and inspects its contents. He plops down on his bed, which is across from mine, and gives me the bag. "You choose what you want first. I'm not really hungry."

We eat, exchanging few words as we do so, and then sit awkwardly as I try to figure out how I'm supposed to change into the sleeping clothes given to me while we're sharing a room. I eventually resort to asking him to turn around while I do so, and change as quickly as I can into the loose-fitting shirt and pants. Lights out comes and goes and we settle into our beds in the dark, still knowing nothing about each other.

"So uh, what happened to get you here?" I ask, hesitating a little. I know it's dark, but I don't want to lie down. I sit on my bed, hoping it makes me seem more in control, more authoritative. He unsettles me, just like Arthemis, and I think my response to that is to try to appear casual and on top of things, even if I'm really not.

"You can lie down properly, you know," he says. "We're sharing a room so we might as well relax a little around each other."

Sheepishly, I do, retreating under the blankets and curling up into somewhat of a ball. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize; there's no reason to." I hear him shift under his blankets and one of his arms slips into a patch of faint light from outside. "I'm here because a few weeks ago, I got diagnosed with a really rare disease. They called it cancer. I don't know what it will do to me, but it was serious enough to get me sent here."

Cancer. The word sounds vaguely familiar. Something from Gwen's medical books maybe? Or Mom's studies on eradicating diseases? "What does it do, if you don't mind me asking?"

He sighs. "I don't know much about it, but they told me some of the cells in my body aren't functioning as they should be. They're multiplying too fast or something. And that if I don't get it treated then it could possibly kill me."

"I'm sorry," I say quietly. "That must be difficult."

"It hasn't really affected me much so far," he replies, "although it probably will soon. I'm just going to make the most of my life while I still can and hope that whatever this place has in mind for me will fix it." I notice he speaks a bit differently. Like he wasn't always raised in this part of the world. There's a pause and then he turns to me, the light from outside illuminating part of his face now too. "Anyway, enough about me and my depressing story. How did you get here?"

I hesitate. I want to tell him about Arthemis, but I feel like I'm constantly being listened to or watched here, and I don't want her to get into more trouble. So I shorten the story as much as I can. "I, uh, beat up one of my Instructors. And a bunch of other smaller things. But yeah, I beat some people up."

"I'm not surprised," he chuckles. "You look like the type of person who would beat someone up for getting too close to you."

I scoff. "Well, you're not much better. You probably think you're so superior to everyone else. You certainly have that look about you."

"I try, I try," he says, smiling. "It was nice to meet you, roommate. Sleep well." And then he rolls over, and is snoring within a few minutes.