Chatoyant College Book 6: In the Orchard

Chapter 1: Waking Slowly

Wednesday, October 8

Edie seemed to wake slowly from a heavy sleep. She blinked hard at the sunlight coming in her window and slapped at her alarm. The alarm stopped, but the sunlight didn't go away. She sat up and yawned hugely. The sleep still hung over her. She'd had a dream... hadn't she? She reached for it, but it was gone.

Well, it would be time to get breakfast soon. Yawning some more, she picked out clothes and dragged them on. Her limbs were heavy. Maybe some food would wake her up. She needed to be awake before it was time for French class, certainly.

Corrie came in the room, a towel wrapped turban-style around her head. "Good morning!" she said cheerfully.

"Morning," Edie grunted. At least, she meant to say that. It came out more like "mm."

"You're up early," Corrie said while she got dressed.

"Am I?" Edie looked at the clock, and while she could register the time, she couldn't figure out whether it was actually earlier than she usually got up or not. Her brain was still too fuzzy. "I guess that explains it. I feel like I didn't get any sleep." She must have set her alarm for a Tuesday instead of a Wednesday. Well, that wasn't so very strange. And now she wouldn't have to reset it for tomorrow.

Corrie leaned over and squeezed the water out of her hair. "Well, while you're up, do you want to get breakfast with me and Dawn?"

Edie nodded. "Sounds good." She sat down on her bed and stretched her arms while Corrie finished her preparations, tying her hair into a ponytail and putting her shoes on. Then they went into the hall and Corrie knocked on Dawn's door.

"Just a minute," came Dawn's voice from inside, slightly muffled by the closed door. They waited, and after a moment she appeared. She grinned at them. "Hi, Edie! Did you miss us so much that you decided to have breakfast with us?"

Edie smiled a little hesitantly at her. "Actually, I think I just set my alarm wrong."

Dawn laughed. "Well, we're glad to have you along anyway." They started off toward the other end of the hall, where Roe came out of her room before they had quite reached her. The group made their way down the stairs of Gilkey.

Last night, after Edie had read the note Corrie had left for her, they'd gone to their pagan study group together. There, she'd gotten similar apologies from Dawn, Annie, and Roe. Naomi hadn't apologized, but she didn't know Edie very well, and anyway, Edie hadn't seen her since Sunday. She felt much better now that she and her friends had made up, though. She still thought they were ridiculous for being so overprotective as to try to protect her from her own girlfriend, but she supposed she could forgive them for that. It was just because they cared about her, after all. And she cared about them, so she couldn't really stay mad at them for very long.

When they reached the dining hall, Edie got herself a big pile of eggs and a cup of hot chocolate. She couldn't stand the taste of coffee, but she needed something to wake herself up. "Chocolate has caffeine in it, right?" she asked Dawn when she sat down.

Dawn nodded. "It does. Of course, the question is how much actual chocolate is in the dining hall hot chocolate!"

Edie took a sip and wrinkled her nose. Dawn was right. It did seem to be mostly hot water. Well, it was better than nothing, and maybe the protein in her eggs would help too.

Corrie and Roe soon joined them, talking about Professor Lal. "...assigns really tough papers," Roe was saying. "But I don't think there's a single paper on our syllabus. Just a midterm exam and a final exam."

Corrie nodded, sliding into her seat across from Edie. "Maybe it's for other classes. I mean, there are only like four or five teachers in the magic department, right? She must teach a lot of other classes."

"I guess so." Roe poked at her mushy oatmeal. "I'm just afraid she's going to spring one on us."

"I don't think that's something she does. She likes surprising us with questions, but the syllabus is pretty clear and detailed." Corrie took a gulp of milk, then added, "I'm more worried about the fact that there are only two exams."

"Me too," said Dawn. "Where did you hear she assigns tough papers?"

Roe shrugged. "Someone in my English class was talking about it. Not anyone I know."

"If you guys really want me to take magic next semester, you probably shouldn't talk about how tough and scary the class is," Edie grinned.

Dawn laughed. "Maybe you'll get an easier professor. I think they alternate semesters to teach it."