Briar Preparatory Academy

After Curfew

Celeste POV

I open my eyes and find myself sitting in the hidden room under the library. I look down to see Rory's journal on my lap. I glance at my watch to see the time. Its 20:30. I missed dinner. The events of today come flooding back to me. Rory's memorial. Finding her journal in her backpack, and falling asleep here. I rub my eyes and gather all my things. I slowly stand up and organize the room, turning off the lamp and folding the blanket. I let my mind run while I think about everything that has happened. It's almost too much to comprehend. It's like I am watching everything that has happened replay like a movie. I pack everything into Rory's backpack and throw it over my shoulder. I walk out of the room and down the tunnel. I climb out of the corridor and emerge from the fireplace. I push the book back into place and the wood slides back to its original position.

I walk through the ashes, looking down at my worn combat boots, now dusted with the white ash and dust from the library. I shiver and rub my arms inside my jacket. I shiver not because of the cold, but because of the recent events that will forever haunt me. I close my eyes and try to block out the thoughts and visions that come flashing back to me as I walk through the rubble.

"I'm so sorry Rory..." I whisper to the ashes. She will never know how much responsibility I feel for what happened. She will never know how hard I tried to save her. I pause where I am and look around. I swallow a lump in my throat and look around. The majority of what was the library is gone, disintegrated to ash. A few stray books and shelves are straggled here and there. All that remains is the underground floor of the library.

My mind reaches back to Rory's entries. There was so much I didn't know about her, that I never cared to ask about. I feel guilt overwhelm me as I remember what she said about wanting to be like me, to understand what I felt like to be confident. The problem is, I never felt confident about myself in the first place. At least, not the majority of the time. And what she felt for Seth...

All I hear in response is the wind, howling through the ruins of the library. I turn and start walking back to the dorms. I know curfew is 21:00, so I have plenty of time to get back on time. I walk quickly, dusk falling and darkness beginning to encompass the grounds of Briar. I cut through the woods, hearing the quiet rustling of leaves under my thick soled combat boots. I run through the old paths, taking any shortcuts that I can think of. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I dismiss my paranoia as the fear of the fire being too fresh.

I finally emerge from the thin line trees at the back of the dorms. I walk around the front of the building and head up the stairs. I walk down the corridor and head into our room. I hear a loud shuffling sound and a BANG as I quietly swing the door open. I look to see Kate leaning awkwardly against the closet door, when I notice Seth's familiar beanie sitting on my bed.

"Celeste! Where have you been?" Kate says, swinging open the door to the closet, where an uncomfortable looking Seth comes tumbling out with a loud grunt.

I respond with silence and avoid the question. "Why is Seth in a closet?" I ask dryly. Seth lets out an awkward laugh while he runs his fingers through his hair.

"Well, we thought you were a teacher, and the closet was the only place to hide someone of his stature, so I kinda just... crammed him in there." Kate says, shrugging.

"Well, don't worry... I'm not a teacher." I say with a weak laugh. I walk over to my bed and toss Seth his beanie.

The rules of BPA obviously state that boys aren't allowed in girls dorms and vice versa, but ever since freshman year, we've been smuggling Seth into our dorm to get some time to hang out together without being surrounded by people. Besides, if any of the teachers found out about it, how we've been doing it, and for how long we've been doing it, I would argue that they would say we deserve extra credit in Cove Ops, not demerits.