The Dreamer Trilogy: Book One

Chapter 17

“Then sure, but you have to explain to me what this is for, you know” Callista2 says, smiling and waiting for me to exit so she can follow. “I will on the way, let’s just go so we can get to class on time” I say, smiling back at her. I walk out of the room, on my way to the elevator, with Callista2 following closely behind. “So tell me, why exactly do we need to go to those floors?” She says from behind me. “Because I need to check and see if there are vents on the ceiling.” I reply, trying to avoid telling her the whole truth. “Why do you need to check the vents though?” She asks again, walking faster than me and then stands in front of me smiling, and not allowing me to pass. “Because I saw this thing on television and I want to see if my assumptions are correct.” I reply, again not stating the whole truth. “What assumptions?” She asks, her eyebrows pushed together again and her head tilted to the right, showing off the blue streak in her hair. “You ask a lot of questions” I say, before attempting to maneuver past her. We’re in a hallway, and despite her height she takes up most of the narrow space. She side-steps and blocks me, and then adds, “I’m not letting you through until you tell me what’s going on” “It’s not a big deal, I just saw this number on the television and it matched the number on my badge. 52737. On the video feed there was a hallway with vents on the ceilings, and I want to find out what floor the video is streaming from.” I reply, getting a little frustrated with Callista2’s bossiness. “That’s all you had to say.” She turns around and then leads the way to the elevator. “Alright” I mutter, following quietly behind her. We approach the Main Living Space and I notice her wave to a few friends. So I guess I am stuck with a socialite roommate after all. They all wave back and even gesture her over, but she shakes her head and points at me. Her friends look at me like I’ve robbed them of their leader, which I guess I kind of have. I speed up and grab Callista2’s arm, pulling her back. “What?” She says, stumbling back and then facing me. She looks angry at first, but her face softens. “If you want to go and hang out with your friends you can. I don’t mind going up there myself” I say to her, trying to make her more comfortable with me. “If I wanted to hang out with those idiots, I would.” She says, smiling. “Okay,” I say, smiling back. “Let’s go find those vents, shall we?” I add. “We shall” She replies, puffing out her chest to look strong and smiling admirably. We both laugh and make our way over to the elevator. She clicks the “Up” button and it illuminates, while the numbers on the elevator count down from 4. I take a chance to look at all the people in the Main Living Space, and notice a few familiar Serpents. I don’t know who they are exactly, but I see them a lot around here and they’re always the center of attention. Why do they get special treatment just for scoring high on the tests? I hear the elevator doors slide open, and I turn around to get in. Callista2 is already making her way inside the crowded elevator, and I start to walk in as well. Just as I’m about to step inside, a man from the back yells out, “You won’t fit! Just wait for the next one!” I agree in my head, seeing that I could possibly be crushed by the doors if I did step inside. I back away from the doors, and wave a small goodbye to Callista2 as she smiles at me, and makes her way to the Skilled Level.