Privacy in Dorm Room 210

Privacy in Dorm Room 210: A Familiar Road

*Trigger warning: mentions of miscarriage*

Chapter 6

A Familiar Road

Returning back to campus meant Justin had the time to think. Usually thoughts never jarred him; he knew the difference between logical and irrational, knew what to say because of the reasonings he had behind him. But his thoughts led nowhere.

There was a conversation brewing with Aubrey that he had yet done, but it was a conversation neither wanted to participate in, he knew as much. The hurt turned into a scab, but the inflammation had been left untreated. It was time to heal completely.

He had to set everything in motion first.

Setting straight to the administration office, he took a right where it all smelt like dry paint, following the off-blue and patterned carpet that led upstairs. He stopped once he reached the top.

As Justin scanned the offices and their allocated name tags, he wondered if spotting Tracey would be easier this time than last. He knew the likelihood of finding her at the Head Guide's office this time around was as rare as fire burning inside water, but he had to start at the only place he knew.

Not surprising enough, when he reached K. S Greta's office and noticed no one was inside, he knew he found a dead-end.  

"Are you looking for Kieran?"

Justin turned to the sound of a familiar voice.

"He doesn't come in on weekends. You're best leaving an email—"

"I don't need your help, Todd."

"Hey, now, don't be like that." Todd gave a little laugh as he came from the kitchen to stand beside Justin. He wore the Guide's uniform, the golden P stitched in the pollo white shirt. "I know I left you to wait around for a while last time, but to be fair, Kieran started it. You did the right thing leaving because I stayed there for a while. Did you manage to find the library?"

"Yeah," he said. "In the end."

Todd patted him on the shoulder. "Very good. I'm glad I could help out. Now, you know why Kieran isn't here, but is there anything else you need that I could be of an assistance?"

"Uh..." Justin debated in the quiet seconds he had about whether he should ask Todd. "I'm not looking for Kieran exactly."

Todd nodded slowly. "So you're looking for someone else who hangs around Kieran's office a lot. Okay, then. Are they are a teacher, or a Guide?"

He sighed. May as well, he thought. "A Guide named Tracey."

"Tracey...?"

"Bell," he finished. 

Todd's eyes widened. "Oh. Miss Bell. Right. Well, to tell you the truth kid, she's not here either. Sunday's are family days, and from what I've heard, she's been cutting down some of her hours. She leaves at three, on the dot, every day. Not sure you'll get to see her during the weekdays either, if your classes work around those times."

Justin wanted to argue that he saw her last week, but then realised he hadn't started classes yet. 

"Is there a phone number I can take?" he asked.

Todd shook his head. "Not from Guides. We have standard staff emails, but if there's an issue or complaint regarding a Guide, you need to discuss that with Kieran."

"Right." He shuffled on his feet. 

"Is there anything I can pass along?"

Unless you can ask her what's happening with my dormitory like she said she'd help sort out...