The Score (Sequel to The Exchange)

Chapter 6- Room 208

"And if you look over there, you'll see the library. I've only been in there three times, though, so don't ask any questions about it," Viktor said as we walked through Winterview's campus to the dorms.

I had visited before, of course, but Viktor was way too excited to be my tour guide, since he finally knew somewhere better than I did.

"I actually do have a question about it," I said, carrying only a third of my stuff with me. The rest was still in the car.

"Um, there's a Starbucks in there, and you have to be quiet. That's about all I can tell you about it."

I laughed. "I'll explore it for myself, then."

"That's probably the best thing you can do. It's better for remembering that way. And if you look up there," he pointed to a building a few hundred feet in front of us, "that's our dorm. It's really nice in there, and the people are the best part."

"But I don't like people," I said.

"You'll like everyone there. They're all really nice."

"Well, that sounds fantastic. Nice people are one hundred percent my cup of tea."

He looked at me. "I'm sure you'll find someone you like. What about your roommate?"

My roommate. Shit. They were randomly assigned, and as much as I wanted to believe that she and I would be mega best friends right off the bat, I knew damn well that wasn't going to happen. But I was willing to have a little faith that we'd maybe not hate each other.

"I'll try my best to not to screw everything up right away, so I think we'll have a chance," I said.

Viktor smiled. "That's positive of you."

He opened up the door, and we both walked into the lobby-like room of the dorm. There was a short line at the front desk, and a girl in line turned around and waved to Viktor.

Viktor set his bag down and gave her a hug. "Hey Julia. How was your summer?"

She smiled. "It was good! My grandma's getting better, thanks to her physical therapy. How was yours?'

"I'm glad to hear that. My summer was okay. It got cut short, but it was good while it lasted."

"Oh, what happened?" the girl asked. I had already forgotten her name.

"Oh, well, this is Amanda, the oldest girl from my American family, and her mother passed away."

The girl turned to me. "I'm so sorry. What happened?"

Viktor continued to talk. "It was a sudden thing, sadly."

I bit my cheek and crossed my arms.

The girl got to the front of the line, and the woman at the desk handed her a clipboard. She turned around, giving Viktor a sad smile. "It was good talking to you again. We'll catch up later, okay? And nice to meet you, Amanda."

I turned the corners of my mouth upward. "You too."

She went back to the clipboard, filling out forms.

I rolled my eyes, and my sight landed on the wall. "This paint color is atrocious."

"And negative Amanda is back. I was just beginning to worry." He smiled down at me.

"Yeah, well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't go talking about Mom to everyone, okay? It's not something the entire world needs to know."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."