Rowan [NaNoWriMo 2018]

Nine

"It is strange how new and unexpected conditions bring out unguessed ability to meet them."-Edgar Rice Burroughs

Rowan walked onto the elevator with Laurel. She had so many things she needed to ask her but knew that she needed to wait until they were in her room. When the elevator came to a stop, Laurel turned left and walked down four doors to room 357. When she unlocked the door, Laurel motioned Rowan inside first. Rowan glanced around at her surroundings. There was a door on her left which led into a bathroom. Straight ahead was a large, open room. There was a full-size bed in the corner, a desk in front of the wall to wall window, a TV hanging on the wall in front of the bed as well as a dresser and mini fridge and microwave.

"Well, what do you think?" Laurel asked.

"It's much larger than I pictured a dorm room," Rowan replied.

"It used to be a hotel room," Laurel stated.

"That makes sense. I knew the layout seemed familiar to me," Rowan said.

"Icamera treats its students very well," Laurel intoned.

Rowan raised her eyebrow. "Yes, so it would seem."

"Hopefully you'll pass the Testing and will get to attend here as well," said Laurel wistfully.

"How did you know that I was accepted," Rowan questioned, sounding irritated.

"Mom told me. She was so excited, and she knew I'd be exceptionally proud of you, "Laurel remarked.

Rowan stared at her sister like she'd grown an extra head. Laurel crossed the room to her desk. She bent over and appeared to be writing something. She walked over to Rowan and handed her the notepad.

"We are not sure if this room is bugged. Speak well of Icamera, even though it will be difficult for you. It's good practice at least. We can talk about everything else this way. Then I will flush the evidence."

Rowan nodded and stuck her hand out for the ink pen.

"Gotcha. The writing was how Matthew communicated with me on the airplane. Thanks for working out that seating arrangement Sis. I know you're proud of yourself. I'm glad you said, well, wrote something down before I asked if you had lost your damn mind. Matthew also flushed his note; I guess he has taught you well."

Laurel read what Rowan had written and motioned for the ink pen.

"I AM proud of that thank you very much. For the record, writing and flushing was my brilliant idea. Some rules when writing: one, do not use names. The second thing is to tear the note up in as many pieces as possible. Third, flush as soon as possible."

Rowan gave Laurel thumbs up. Laurel tore the note off of the pad and began ripping it into shreds.

"How is your job at the library?" Rowan inquired.

"It's great; it helps me to get out of my comfort zone by making me talk to people. The only major downside is that I have to work Christmas this year," Laurel replied.

"I'd have to agree with that one," Rowan said, frowning.

"I shouldn't have to work Christmas every year. I'm a freshman, so I'm stuck with what the upperclassmen don't want," said Laurel, rolling her eyes.

"That's understandable. You have to pay your dues and all," Rowan giggled.

"Yeah, something like that," retorted Laurel. "What would you like to do with your first night here in Seattle?"

Rowan shrugged. "Could we order in food and watch TV? I would just kind of prefer a sister night."

"Yes, Queen," remarked Laurel doing a little joyful dance. "This is just what we need. I know a great pizza place as well as a great Chinese place."

Rowan's eyes lit up. "Chinese, please. You're the only other person in the family who eats it so, and I haven't had it in a while."

"Done and done. Also, I have Oreos and milk," Laurel said.

After the food had been ordered and delivered and a television show picked out to binge watch, Rowan and Laurel settled into bed. Laurel wrote on her notepad while slowly eating her General Tso's chicken.

"I'm so glad you're here. I have to work from 10 am to 6 pm tomorrow. I will take you to the library with me. I will give you a train pass and directions to where you're going. When you arrive at your last stop M will be meeting you. He will take you to his apartment as it is the one place (for now) that we can speak freely. M routinely checks for any listening devices and has not found anything suspicious yet. I ask you to be open-minded to what he has to say. I think the first thing that he will be working with you on is how to beat the lie detector test."

Rowan read it over a couple of times to commit it to memory. She flipped to the next blank page and wrote a reply.

"Thank you for setting this up. I will do my best to listen and learn as much as possible. I know that this is dangerous for all of us and I don't want to do anything to put us in danger. Well, more than we already are. Also, do Mom and Dad know anything about this? Or the conversations we had when you were home for graduation?"

Rowan tapped on the pad to signal to Laurel that she was finished writing. Laurel leaned over and read her response. When she finished, she pointed to the last few questions and shook her head. Rowan breathed a sigh of relief. That's two fewer people we're putting in danger.

As Laurel stuck her hand out for the notepad, there was a loud knock on the door. In a panic, Laurel shoved the paper to Rowan and walked to the door.

"Yes?" Laurel asked as she cracked open the door.

"Officials Thomas and Nickels, we're here for a random inspection," said the man flashing his badge.