The rest of the welcoming ceremony was a blur - a lot of names I didn't care enough to learn, warnings about how tough this process was going to be, and more muffled comments about Theodore coming from the girls around me.
"And with that, I will ask all of you to make your way to the dining hall," Elena called out as I fought my urge to run straight out of the room.
As soon as I was outside the door I saw Cedric.
"Little Miss, how was it?" he whispered with a hint of alcohol on his breath as usual.
Cedric was the one who took care of me and my sister ever since I could remember. He was well in his fifties, but he always had snow-white hair that we loved to braid as kids. The faint smell of alcohol wasn't uncommon around him - he claimed that the tiniest bit of whiskey a day kept you sane. And he was the smartest man I knew, so I never questioned his methods.
"Just as I imagined it would be," I sighed, looking at him, "The worst place on Earth."
"There, there," he smiled, "At least you can have something to eat now!"
"Cedric," I looked around, making sure no one saw me, "Do you think it's okay if I skip the dinner?"
His eyes widened for a second, but I quickly spoke up again, "Just this once! I'm really tired and I've eaten so much this morning..."
"Little Miss, you know what your parents would say," he continued.
"But they're not here!" I exclaimed, "This tiny bit of caged freedom is the least I can get for having to come to this place."
Cedric sighed, and gave me the tiniest nod.
"Oh thank you, Cedric!" I squealed quietly, giving him a small squeeze on his arm.
"Shhh," he looked at me sternly, then gave a quick look around us at the people walking towards the dining hall, "I'll tell everyone you weren't rested enough for the dinner if they ask. In the meantime, go to the nearest bathroom until the crowd clears out, we don't want people asking too many questions."
After giving him a nod of gratitude, I did as I was told. I saw one of the bathroom doors close to the hallway we were approaching, so I hurried inside, trying to be as quick as possible.
There was a small corner I had to turn to get around to the stalls, but as soon as I did, I bumped into something hard.
Something that caught me mid-fall.
"Shit," I muttered, coming face to face with a guy I'd been hearing about all evening. Theodore.
He looked confused, as we both realized I was in the men's bathroom, and I took the opportunity to get out of his hold.
"You did not see me," I blurted out as I turned around and got out of the bathroom faster than I got inside it.
At that point, there were some people that could definitely see me go to my room, but nobody said anything as I practically ran upstairs, hoping I wouldn't enter another area that wasn't meant for me.
Luckily, my brain was kind enough to make me recognize the familiar hallway; allowing me to get to my room and lock the door behind me.
