Between Heaven and Hell (PA #2)

Chapter Three

After making a promise I won't keep, Eli and I go our separate ways. I head into my new bedroom, the first I've had to share since I was in diapers.

Hopefully, Cassie is a decent roommate. What if she snores? Satan, what if I snore? It's not as though I've had bed partners to let me know either way.

Cassie is perched on the edge of a neatly-made, narrow bed on the right side of the room. Her long legs are tucked close to her body, and her chin rests on her knees. She's also...asleep? Her eyes are closed, but who could possibly sleep in such an uncomfortable position?

While she naps, I scan the rest of our room. It doesn't take long. There are two identical beds pushed against opposite walls, perfectly suited for a single person.

I guess PA doesn't want to encourage sleepovers—no wonder students are having sex in more public areas. The beds are also covered in light grey sheets and plain grey comforters. I'm sensing a theme here.

Between the beds are two wooden desks which must double as nightstands. Cassie has books, papers, pens, and various school materials, as well as a glass of water and an old-fashioned clock on hers. Tucked between the end of the beds and the wall closest to the door are two oversized wardrobes. Oversized because they jut out further than the beds themselves.

When I pull the handles on both of the wardrobe's doors, I'm met with empty shelves and drawers on the left and a rod for hanging clothes on the right. Several wire hangers hold the school uniform, which is—you guessed it—grey. Well, mostly grey.

The starched button-up shirts are white, the blazers are grey, and the plaid skirts are black and grey. The skirt is the most unwelcome item of clothing in the school uniform. Now I'll actually have to shave my legs every day, and who has the time for that?

Closing the wardrobe doors with a soft click, I turn back towards the rest of the dorm room. The whole thing is so symmetrical it might as well be Wes Anderson's wet dream.

Although, he'd hate the varied shades of grey that fill most of the space. The bedspread, the walls, the carpet—all grey. Cassie, at least, made an effort to decorate the place with colorful paintings and pictures on her side of the room.

Speaking of...

"Cassie," I call out quietly, not wanting to frighten her out of her slumber.

Gasping, she yells, "I fell asleep!" before her eyes rapidly blink open.

"I noticed," I tease.

She unfolds her body and places her feet flat on the floor. "Sorry about that," she says, standing up and stretching. "I have been so eager to meet you that I have not been able to sleep much. But now that you are here, I am sure I will be back to normal and right as rain!"

Now I definitely don't want to bring up my reservations about having a roommate. An angel roommate, no less. I suppose it's not her fault that my fate is held in the hands of her kind.

Perhaps not all angels are as bad as Michael. It's also not her fault that we have to room together in the first place. It's an official school policy that angels have to live with demons.

In theory, Purgatory Academy exists as a neutral zone where demons and angels can send their children to learn more about themselves and the world around them. The Treaty of the Realms created the academy with the intention of forging better relationships between the residents of Heaven and Hell through forced cohabitation.

In reality, the attendants of the school divide themselves according to their respective realms. The lines are drawn, and good luck to you if you actually try to befriend someone on the other side.