Paragon

Chapter 8

I wake up just before the sun does and find out that Morgana is still asleep. I must have dozed off last night because I totally forgot to change my clothes and end up carrying it while strolling around. So for the mean time, I've decided to explore the building in search for a bathroom with a functional water system.

After a minute of pacing back and fourth, I have finally found what I was looking for. A bathroom is situated down the narrow hallway; one for the girls and the other for the boys. It's neat and a slightly larger than I expected. Tidy white tiles stretch out across the entire flooring of the room which strangely matches the white walls. Although the paint starts to peel off in sheets, the bathroom is still conducive for hygienic sanitation.

Three showerheads are lined up along the walls with no stalls that can provide even a little privacy at all. Opposite of it is an array of wooden benches. It doesn't matter right now because all I want is to take a refreshing bath to feel rejuvenated again. I badly need it.

I set the clean pair of clothes down on the bench and take my dirty ones off my body including my underwear. For some weird reason, I feel so manly when I'm completely nude. My body isn't that bulky or ripped but it's not podgy as well, just a balanced combination of flesh and muscles.

Leisurely stepping into the shower, my feet flinches as they touch the chilled tiles. I cut the shower on and the pipes moan with a creaky sound before spitting out dribbles of cold water, so cold I almost cry out at first. Clutching my fists has helped me stop myself from buckling out. The stream thickens after a minute of being submerged to it, eventually trading the ice-cold temperature into steamy rivulets. The way it trickles down on my skin sends a very satisfying pleasure. Its warmth calms me down. The feeling has sent my mind into a trance and I don't want to get out of it. If only I can stay like this forever...

I snatch the soap from the corner and harshly rub away the stinky odor that has coated me for a week. I'm glad that it slides smoothly as the fragrance soak into my skin. I'm indeed having the best day of my life when suddenly, something has made me stop midway.

Footsteps, I hear footsteps, I say in my head. I pause in my spot, clueless of what should I do.

Is that Morgana? It can't be. Girls aren't allowed to go here, are they? Should I hide? But where?

Before I can even make an action, a man, about the same height like mine, enters the bathroom absent-mindedly. He didn't even notice that he's not alone in the bathroom. He simply walks towards the bench and strip himself instead, exposing his naked body in front of a stranger's pair of eyes. Not really a good way to meet a person for the first time.

The guy has a slender physique, thin but perfectly fit. You can tell that he's athletic, and if it isn't because of his ragged figure, he'll probably look lanky. With the way he's rubbing his eyes, I'm guessing that he just woke up a second ago and decides to head off here straightaway. He lazily scoots towards the shower beside mine and turns it on. His eyes remain closed as he allows the chilling water to gush out.