Boarding School 101

Chapter 3 - SynchroClaire

    Fighting to remain casual, I inched over to the offending underwear and with one smooth motion, grabbed them and threw them behind my desk. I drew in a breath, preparing to apologize for my messy room, when a gorgeous sound stopped me.

    It was like the tinkling of bells—sweet, soft, and delicate. Sang had one hand pressed to her mouth, stifling her enchanting giggles. I heaved a small sigh of relief. As embarrassing as it was that she saw those awful boxers, they did do a magnificent job at breaking the tension.

    Now to find out why she was here. "What brings you to the Academy?" I asked. I was careful to keep my tone light, but even so her shoulders tensed at my question. I gestured for her to step into my room, and with great reluctance she obliged. Progress.

    "I'm a new student." She pointed to the room across the hall, still visible through the open door. "We're neighbors, so I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

    I stiffened. She was in 310? Nobody had lived there since my brothers and I moved to the hallway two years ago, so it had become our unofficial meeting room. How did she end up in the graduate dorm, though? And why did Kota not tell us someone new was moving in?

After realizing the silence was stretching out to awkward lengths, I shoved those concerns aside. Kota was obviously okay with it, and I trusted him to do what was best for my family. "That's great!" I exclaimed. My voice was a bit shrill, and I realized that I should probably turn it down a notch. It was hard not to get excited though, staring at this beautiful girl who was apparently my new neighbor. "Am I supposed to give you a tour of the building or something?"

Sang shrugged. A few more hairs escaped her ponytail. They framed her face, drawing my attention to her stunning green eyes. Green like grass, sprinkled with dew from a light summer shower. No, greener than that. Green like... wilted spinach. Only brighter, with specks of light. Like garlic spinach! Yuck. I couldn't in good conscience compare Sang's wonderful eyes to a dreaded vegetable. A flash of white drew my eyes to her perfectly straight teeth. Had she had braces? Maybe her teeth were naturally perfect, just like her.

"Luke!" Sang snapped. My head jerked back as I was brutally ripped out of my daydream. Her spinach-green eyes narrowed on me.

"Huh?"

"You weren't listening to what I was saying. Kota said that you're supposed to show me the classroom block and the rest of this dorm." Sang stood up taller as she rebuked me, but after her anger faded, her gaze dropped back to the floor.

Her stomach rumbled, making me wonder—when had she last eaten? She acted like she didn't even notice it, but her arms hugged her torso tighter. Lunch was hours ago, and it was still a while before the dining hall would open for dinner.

    I perked up. Looked like we would be visiting my favorite place on campus! "What about if we stop at the dining hall first? It's on the way to the classrooms anyway. We can make a loop and finish with a tour of the dorm. Some of the other people on this floor might be back by then and you could meet them."

    Sang pushed one finger to her lip. It was kind of cute, but it also made me sad that she was so nervous. "Are we allowed to be there? It doesn't seem like they would be open right now."

    I smirked. "I have a friend in the kitchen," was all I said to explain. Sang tilted her head slightly to the side, but didn't ask for elaboration. I rubbed my hands together gleefully. She was in for a treat!

***

    "Lucian Taylor, you were just here an hour ago. How can you possibly be hungry again?" Miss Lori asked with a scowl. One hand was perched on her hip while the other held a mixing bowl full of dough. Kitchen workers rushed around us as they prepared for the dinner rush. I was used to the bustling kitchen, but Sang next to me had stiffened as soon as we entered the room. Her eyes bounced around as she took in all the preparation stations. The kitchen was a few degrees warmer than the rest of the dining hall due to several large ovens, and a drop of sweat rolled down her face.