Whitethorn Academy

Chapter Nine

I let myself cry as I showered, washing away the oatmeal that stuck itself to my hair.

When I finally stepped out of the bathroom, I forced myself to dry my tears. I would not spend all my time here crying my eyes out.

My high school back home had it's fair share of mean girls, but I'd never seen one of them physically assault someone. They hurt with words and snide looks. But the mean girls here were a different breed. Naomi, and everyone else, had seemed terrified of the blonde girl with the ice blue eyes.

I was drowning in an unfamiliar sea, unable to keep my head above water.

A small scratching noise at the door pulled me out of my thoughts. I didn't really want to see anyone right now, but I moved to the door anyway. There was a small peep hole, and I had to stand on my tiptoes to look out it.

But the hallway beyond was empty. Had someone been playing a trick on me?

When I was about to walk away from the door, the small scratching came again. My heart beat nervously in my chest, but I carefully unlocked the door, opening it slowly.

A small tabby cat with green eyes blinked up at me. The red collar around it's neck told me that this was the same cat from last night. It had watched me on the porch before disappearing into the night.

Without waiting for me to do anything, the cat moved past my legs, brushing up against my pant leg. It mewed lightly.

I shut the door and watched the cat. It seemed mildly interested in the room, casually sniffing at the corner of the bed before hopping up.

It mewed again and I reached out to brush my fingers through its soft gray and black fur.

"Hey little guy," I said as the cat purred against my touch. A tag hung from its collar. "Loki. Is that your name, little guy?"

The car made no response, just rubbed his head against my fingers, the purr still vibrating through him.

A knock sounded on my door and I wanted to groan. Hoping it wasn't Naomi, who I wasn't ready to face, I looked through the peep hole. Ms. Rose stood on the other side.

I bit my lip. Did she want to talk to me about what happened? Had the other girl said something? She definitely seemed the type to try and get someone else in trouble.

The knock came again, louder this time. With a sigh, I opened the door.

Ms. Rose held a small bag in her hand. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." I stepped aside to allow her to enter.

"I see you've made a friend," Ms. Rose said when she saw Loki, who was still sitting on the bed, watching Ms. Rose with curious green eyes.

The dorm mother sat the bag down on the desk before turning back to look at me. "Naomi told me what happened in the dining hall this morning."

Dread sank into my stomach like a ball of lead. "Oh?"

"I know settling into a new place can be difficult sometimes," Ms. Rose said. "Learning how to navigate is hard. And some students don't like it when their environment changes."

"Like the blonde girl?" I retorted before I could stop myself.

Ms. Rose let out a small laugh. "Marisol can be a bit much sometimes. She's a little dramatic, much like her mother used to be."

A little dramatic? She'd dumped her friend's breakfast on me because I'd accidentally spilled hers. I didn't see how that qualified as only being a little dramatic. It felt more like overkill to me.