SOUL DORM

49

Outta line...

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CHAPTER 49:

ACCELERATED CARNIVAL PREP 

Time in this realm didn't tick the same way as in the living world. I clocked that the moment I first stepped into the Dorm. But ever since I arrived, I hadn't had a week where the hours dragged so slowly, where days stretched this long, where time just crawled. It felt like the carnival wasn't getting any closer but was drifting further away with each new day.

Maybe I felt this way because my soul and mind were still stuck on that bold and frankly ridiculous stunt I had pulled in the cafeteria. I was carrying the weight of that impulsive decision like a heavy sack on my back. It was tough to take another step. It was tough to act like nothing had changed in my life. It was tough to wait for the weekend. I just couldn't do it.

The most annoying part? I had pulled that dumb stunt just to tick off a guy. And had it worked? No, of course not. Mars didn't mention Bong again in the following days and during our classes together. I waited for him to throw shade, clash with me, and mock me. He didn't. It was like we had reset to square one. He was attending classes just because he had to, ignoring me as much as he could.

On the other side, my friends were thoroughly shaken by my actions. Ursa hailed me as her idol, Diego expressed his pride, Helene praised my rationale, and Lark showed deep respect. How brave it was to chase what one desires. How daring and assertive I was! If only Ursa could be like me. No matter how many times I told them I didn't want Bong, that I had just asked someone casually so I wouldn't go alone—my standing in their eyes remained unaltered.

I fear my actions may have also swayed Ursa and Diego's choice of partners. The very next day, Ursa said yes to the first guy who asked her out, proudly proclaiming she was taking control of her life. As for Diego, he invited a girl he met in dance class to the carnival, rationalizing that at least she could dance—which meant they were bound to have fun, right?

So there I was, swept up in Ursa's Carnival Prep Program that had gone mad over the last week. The agenda was packed: night masks, afternoon teas, costume fittings, hair trials, makeup sessions, and even dance lessons. While I dodged a few, I wasn't so lucky with others. Like Helene, Lark, and Diego, I turned into one of Ursa's dolls—dressed up, made up, and endlessly fussed over. Ursa was clearly having the time of her life, playing dress-up with us as her willing mannequins.

When the big day dawned, Ursa sent us a message to gather at her workshop before sunrise. Despite my icy shower, I stumbled in half-asleep, with my hair in disarray. Unlike me, Trouble was ecstatic, vanishing into the piles of fabric as soon as we entered. As others arrived, we plunged into Ursa's Accelerated Carnival Prep Routine. We applied under-eye masks, moisturized with lotion, sprayed on shimmer, treated our nails to cream, and nourished our hair with oil.

Hours later, just as I was struggling to peel off my eye mask, Ursa burst out, "Oh! It's time for our appointment already!"

Immediately after, I was sprinting down the corridor after her. While we were busy in the workshop, the other Dorm residents had woken up too. The corridors were a battlefield: every door open, all souls in sight. A frenetic exchange was happening between rooms, people extending hairbrushes, swapping shoes for bags, looking for mascara, and trading jewelry. We left them behind and went downstairs. Although there were no classes, this floor was as busy as the others today. Especially certain rooms had long lines in front. We stopped at the end of one of these lines.