Chatoyant College, Book 1: New Student Orientation

Chapter 6: Dreams

Thursday, August 28

Edie woke fuzzily to the gentle beep of an unfamiliar alarm. There was no light filtering into the room yet, despite the fact that she could see the blinds were opened, and she wondered vaguely what Myra was doing getting up so early. Before her mind cleared enough for her to realize where she was, though, the alarm went quiet and she fell back into sleep.

She woke properly when the room's fluorescent light went brilliantly on and a cheerful voice called, "Rise and shine!" She'd been having a strange dream, in which she was deep in a dark forest and an impossibly tall teacher demanded she produce her wand, which she didn't have. After a few moments, though, the wisps of dream cleared away and she realized where she was and identified the source of her dream elements. She groaned as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Classes haven't even started and I'm having anxiety dreams already."

Corrie laughed sympathetically. "I'm sure it will get better soon. You're in a new place--things are bound to feel weird. I had weird dreams too." She was going through a suitcase she'd opened in her bed. "I just left the showers and there's nobody else there--better head over there if you want some privacy."

Edie nodded and grabbed her towel. Privacy was nice, even though she was sure she wouldn't get much when the campus settled into its schedule. She hadn't gotten it often at home, anyway. When she got out of the bathroom, Corrie had dressed in jeans and a plain white T-shirt and was sitting cross-legged on her chair, reading a book. She dressed quickly, throwing on old clothes (who knew what kind of volunteer work they'd be doing) and Corrie looked up. "Ready to get some food? I could eat a horse."

"I bet you could, after running this morning," Edie said as they left the room and started down the five flights of steps. "No wonder you're so skinny." She didn't mean for it to come out as bitter as it did.

Corrie, thankfully, didn't seem to take offense. "It is pretty hard to gain weight when you're a running addict like I am," she said cheerfully. "You could join me if you want, you know. It really is a ton of fun."

Edie shook her head, surprised into smiling. "I don't think I could handle getting up that early every day."

"Oh, jeez, I didn't wake you up, did I?" Corrie asked quickly. "I wish I didn't need an alarm."

Edie shrugged noncommittally. "I woke up, but I didn't stay awake for more than a few seconds. Probably after a couple of days I'll be so used to it that I won't wake up at all."

The dining hall was much emptier than it had been for dinner the night before. Edie supposed not many people wanted to get up that early. For that matter, neither did she. But Corrie had wanted her to come, and that made her feel like she should--besides, she didn't want to alienate one of the two friends she had made. It amazed her a little that she had already made two friends, in fact. She didn't think she'd be able to keep up the frantic pace.