Bloodcurse

Home Away From Home

I wonder if I've gone completely blind upon waking up and finding my vision obscured by something... bright yellow? Breathing a sigh of relief as I feel it's just a note, I peel the piece of paper off of my forehead and focus my tired eye as much as I can to read what's written on it.

'Meet me in the cafeteria. -M.'

Blinking my eyes to adjust to the light, I lay the post-it on the bed as I struggle into an upright position. I have no idea how long I slept, and I don't think I want to know. Cafeteria. I'm pretty sure I saw a map of the campus layout by the entrance, hopefully it can tell me where I'm supposed to go - though I'm not holding out much hope to find my roommate still there, judging by how high the sun is standing outside the window.

A quick glance at my phone confirms that it is twenty past ten in the morning, and I send up a quiet prayer of thanks that it's Saturday. I can't imagine being late to class on my first day would put me in anyone's good graces here. I consult the note again to make sure I didn't miss anything, but it's still as vague as I remember it.

The other side of the room looks undisturbed, the only thing different being that there's a pad of yellow sticky notes and a pen laying on the desk. Trudging over to the wardrobe, I grab my toothbrush and toothpaste before I head outside to find the bathroom.

It isn't too difficult to locate it. A blue sign on the door tells me I've found the lavatory, and I step inside. Nobody else is here, which shouldn't be a surprise considering my late start. There's a row of sinks, and I rinse my face with water before brushing my teeth while trying very hard to keep my eyes open. I'm suddenly even more glad that I'm alone when I notice how disheveled I look. Apart from the obvious, I look terrible. Brushing my hands through my hair to make it less unruly, I realize that I've done a terrifically bad job cutting it this time around. I think I should've followed Grayson's advice and just asked Caden to help me out, but I didn't want him to feel like I'm taking advantage of him in any way.

With the grim realization that this is the face I'm greeting the world with, I hurry back to the room and roam through the suitcase another time to find clothes that don't feel like airplane, dust and sleep. Once I'm dressed, I take one last look in the mirror that's fastened inside one of the wardrobe doors and take a deep breath.

I've practiced this. Every night, I spend a few minutes acclimatizing myself to the way things are now. The pale eye, the scars, the slight ache in my back that probably won't go away. It calms me down to know that some parts of me haven't changed. My hair, my ears, my teeth... even my left eye. Maybe it's shallow of me to be so affected by how I look, but I don't think it's because I have a huge problem with the aesthetics of it all - it just reminds me of what I've been through, and that hasn't become easier to come to terms with.

Wondering if the cafeteria can supply me with my much needed dose of caffeine, I slink out of the room and pull the door shut behind me. Smiling at the few people I come across, and doing my best to ignore their stares, I make my way down to the ground floor and walk straight towards the map by the doors.

Coolidge Secondary is a lot more isolated than I thought. I noticed the iron gates all around the premises yesterday, but I didn't realize how compact everything was. There are the dorm building, the main building where most of the classes seem to take place, a gymnasium, and a sports field... within a perimeter that isn't exactly sizable. It feels cramped and uncomfortably intimate, but I suppose that's part of the whole elite boarding school deal.

The cafeteria is in the main building, and I slowly start to make my way over there. Even if Max has already left, it's still a good idea to explore everything before classes start again on Monday. Everything is connected through pathways adorned with spiky-leafed plants and flowers that bloom orange and red. It isn't notably warm, but still a lot warmer than what I'm used to from autumn back home.