Dragon Spire

Chapter three

I slowly open my eyes but quickly shut them again as the early morning sunlight is streaming into my room, falling right across my face. I roll over on my bed and bury my face in my pillow. I'm just about to fall asleep again when Brandy throws open my door and yells at me to get up. Okay, maybe she doesn't really yell but to me it sure seems like it. She walks into the room and my exhausted brain finally registers what she is saying.

 "C'mon Ivy get up! It is 6:50! The breakfast bell is going to ring in like ten minutes! You're gonna be late!" Brandy says urgently as she shakes my shoulder.

 I propel myself out of bed like a rocket, awake in an instant. Crap! I've only got ten minutes to be ready! I do not have time to come all the way up to the fifth floor then go back down again after breakfast. None of us do. We bring our tooth brushes and toothpaste down with us, brush our teeth in the first floor bathroom and take them up with us after school so that we don't have to climb up all the stairs after breakfast.

 I pull on a pair of jeans and a navy blue T-shirt. Not the fanciest outfit ever, I know, but I don't have time to be picky this morning. I tear a brush through my tangled hair and pull it into a simple pony tail and clip it up. I walk over to my nightstand. I open the drawer and look at the intricatly carved box. After thinking about it for a minute I open it but and take out the beautiful necklace. Against my better judgement, I undo the silver clasp and fasten it around my neck.  I finish applying a touch of black eyeliner and pink lip gloss just as the breakfast bell rings. I grab my tooth brush and tooth paste, run out my door and shut it behind me before running down the hallway and down the steps until I catch up with the other girls.

 Thankfully I just miss being the last one to the table, so I don't have to clear it. The cooks wheel out the breakfast. Mmm, it smells delicious! For breakfast we have scrambled eggs and toast. We are given loaves of bread and we have to toast it ourselves in the toaster in the corner of the dining room. During breakfast Brandy turns to me and asks,

 "Ivy are you okay?"

 "Sure I'm okay. A little tired maybe, but ya, I'm okay. Why?" I reply. I have no idea what she's talking about. You know, maybe she's talking about yesterday. I'm just about to ask her if that is what she's talking about when she asks,

 "Don't you remember last night?"

 That scares me. Sure I remember a bunch about last night, but nothing that she would know about. Maybe it was her that gave me the necklace, but why would she have written that note and broken my window? I don't say anything just in case it wasn't her so I say,

 "No... I don't remember anything, what are you talking about?"

 "You seriously don't remember waking up, screaming about a monster at like 2:00 in the morning?"

 Oh, goodness. I remember having nightmares all night long but I don't remember waking up screaming!

 "No I really don't know what your talking about!" I nervously tell her.

 Rolling her eyes, Brandy exclaims, "You only woke me up with your screaming and when I got to your room you were sitting bolt upright in bed pointing to the window and still screaming about a monster coming through the window. I had to sit down with you and reassure you that it was just a dream and that there was nothing coming through the window."

 "Really?" I ask her. Some of the other girls nod their heads in agreement and say that they heard me. Oh. My. Gosh. This is sooo embarrassing! I guess the thought of someone getting in my window and leaving me an expensive present just scared me just a bit. Ha more like a whole freaking lot!

 "Oh my goodness I am sooo sorry!" I tell the girls. I don't mention anything about the necklace because I don't want to freak any one else out. It would filter through to the wardens and cause a whole lot of problems.