Beyond City Limits (Under Revisions)

Chapter 13: CASKET

"Class will be in the East Wing, and meals will be served in the West Wing. If you have any questions, our main office is in the North Wing. Just leave any concerns with my secretary Miss Land." The headmaster's words are as fast as his feet, ignoring my heavy panting behind him. My arms struggle under my suitcase and the OTF pamphlets, the ones the headmaster threw at me the moment I stepped foot into the underlit lobby. I barely had time to glance at them before Headmaster Bulldozer started his rampage.

The inside of the OTF is like another planet. The walls are cement blocks lining the hallways, and the ceilings are a plain white with their tiles bulging with water stains. The doors look plastic, cheap. This building's prime has come and gone. All that's left is an outdated infrastructure begging for repairs or to be put out of its own misery. Each City oversees funding for their own Training Facility, but the Outercity must have other interests besides investing in their next generation's future.

No wonder the Outercity has the most poverty.

"Where are all the students?" I ask, my words echoing against the empty hall.

"They are taking their class. You can settle in and join them when you're ready."

"Are you going to give me a course schedule?" I ask, stopping for a breath, my calves crying out against the extra weight of my suitcase.

Headmaster Asher furrows his brow before his face relaxes with understanding, like he was remembering where I was from. "Your class is from seven in the morning until three. You will be taking the course with the other students."

"You mean one class? As in, everyone in one room?" My voice climbs.

"Is there a problem?" Headmaster Asher throws me a look that tells me my answer should be "no".

"That just makes everything less confusing, that's all. No problem." I try again to smile through my teeth and not talk back.

Did this oversized lemon think he could threaten me?

Just keep smiling.

Headmaster raises a confused eyebrow at my forced smile. "The dorms are in the South Wing. Just pick a vacant bed, and you'll be set."

The dorms. Where Andrew's been staying.

I wait for the headmaster to say anything else. When the headmaster doesn't do anything, I decide to take his hint and leave. My grip tightens on my suitcase, and I turn to wobble to the dorms.

"Miss Goodwill," I look back at the headmaster. His hands hide in his pockets and a dark look crosses his face.

"Yes?"

"I might not know all the details to why you came to the Outercity, and I'll just pretend its because you failed a retake. But maybe you should think about your new life here as an opportunity to reinvent yourself."

My eyebrows pull together as I try to follow what he is saying. Headmaster Asher's shoulders slump. His fingers rub the space between his eyes.

"I don't know if the Outercity needs a Cassandra Goodwill."

His words make me flinch, but it's nothing I didn't suspect before. At least now, I know he won't go advertising that a Goodwill is in the OTF. I straighten my back, holding my chin up, "I don't think so either, Headmaster Asher."

Headmaster Asher nods before turning away and leaving me alone.

I head down the hallway before running into stairs. The stairwell circles up and up until it comes a sudden stop on the sixth floor. I peer around the empty space and around the hallway, but there is no elevator to be found. My calves give a pitiful scream, anticipating.