Friday night passed in a fog of sleep and nonsleep. If Harper was around, she didn’t make a single noise. The dorm remained dark and quiet. Lauren laid in bed, tossing and turning, burying her face into her own tear-stained pillow and passing out for brief stretches, until it was once again light outside.

  She had no intention of getting up just because a new day had started. There was no point, other than to visit Lucy and Thalia. But they could be asleep for hours longer. And she didn’t want to run into anyone going to breakfast or starting their day. Better to let people filter out of the dorms, then slink off on her own. So, Lauren remained in her tangle of sheets, her stomach knotted and pathetic sobs occasionally bubbling up.

  Then there was a knock on the front door.

  It was faint, but there wasn’t anything else to hear. Lauren chose not to hear it. She wasn’t anybody today. Just a self-pitying blob with no outward face. There was nothing to say to anyone.

  Another knock. And then, maybe, a woman’s voice calling her name.

  They weren’t going away. Lauren wanted quiet again. So she reluctantly oozed out of bed, barefoot, a complete mess, and tottered her way to the front door. She’d say she was fine and close the door again.

  She opened it to find a woman standing there, holding a styrofoam container and a small carton of milk. She looked owlish, with her big coat and scarf and round glasses that magnified her eyes. Her hair was straight and neat, going to her shoulders.

  It was Headmaster Knapp, Lauren realized. From the welcoming speech. And watching over them in the first gym class. And here Lauren stood, in her pajamas, no bra, probably with snot crusted around her nose. She might’ve been embarrassed if she wasn’t so drained.

  The headmaster’s eyes immediately looked concerned seeing Lauren. She must’ve looked even worse than she felt.

  She held out the food as an offering.

  “Hi Lauren. I thought you could use some breakfast. And I was hoping we could have a quick chat.”

  Great. Another conversation. But Lauren did want the food. So she took it and went inside, leaving the door open.

  She plopped down on the couch and dug into the food with her bare hands as Headmaster Knapp removed her beige overcoat and shoes in the entryway after shutting the door.

  “Chilly morning out there.” The headmaster unwound her scarf and held it in her hands.

  Lauren hadn’t noticed before in the gym, but the headmaster’s accent had an undercurrent of some other dialect. Not that she had much of an ear for such things.

  Lauren watched her as she stuffed a pancake into her mouth. Knapp took a seat in the recliner Lauren did last night. She held herself upright, composed, but seemed more relaxed than the other adults Lauren had talked to recently. Her eyes roamed curiously over the dorm, taking in the plants that Lucy had hung and the framed picture of Grace receiving some prize in a dress on the side table.

  “I like seeing how you each make this place your own,” Knapp said, noticing Lauren’s eyes on her.

  Lauren opened her milk and downed it in three gulps. A sausage patty disappeared in two bites. She had about as much patience for this visit as breakfast left, which wasn’t much. She hadn’t realized just how hungry she was until she started eating.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you and your friends yesterday, Lauren. I should have been the one to welcome you back to safety.”

  She seemed genuinely regretful. But instead they got Agent Dodds.

  “So why weren’t you?” Lauren asked, mouth partially full.

  Knapp clasped her hands together. “I can’t speak on that, unfortunately. But it was important. Trish is a capable agent, but she can be, well, about as personable as a plank of wood sometimes.”

  Knapp smiled in a way like she was being mischievous by slightly badmouthing the agent. Like her and Lauren were peers. Lauren stared, expressionless.

  “I regret the way your discipline was communicated to you.”

  Lauren picked at the scrambled eggs in front of her, but they were already cold mush.

  “You don’t disagree with it, though.”

  It was a statement and a question.

  “No, Lauren, I’m not here to take away your punishment. I know you advocated for caution and were only trying to help when no one listened to you. And now this all seems like complete bullshit.”

  Lauren couldn’t help but scoff out a chuckle despite herself at the sudden change in tone. The headmaster grinned, happy to have found a crack in Lauren’s sulking.

  “It is, it’s bullshit,” the headmaster insisted.

  Lauren tried to stay upset, but it was hard on a full stomach and talking to someone who was finally being frank with her.

  “So why is it happening?”

  Knapp thought about it. “Well, for a few reasons I suppose. There’s this psychology lesson you’d probably find quite boring about collective punishment on individuals who are working together as a unit. When everyone is at risk of punishment, it forces the individual into acting with a greater sense of responsibility and encourages unity.”

  Psychology. It probably took someone who knew a lot of psychology to manage a school full of superpowered teens. Lauren considered what she had said. She grew indignant once she parsed the words.

  “Wait, you’re punishing me so Grace feels like a piece of shit and learns to think about other people?”

  Knapp held up a finger. “Not how I’d phrase it. But here’s another reason: I’m worried about you, Lauren. This is a very dangerous city, and I know what you’re looking for, and I know how far you’re willing to go to find it. The Dust Devils? They were small. Are you going to stumble from one small situation to another until one of them kills you? Does that sound like it helps anyone?”

  Lauren shifted in her seat, not meeting her eyes.

  “No.”

  “So does it make sense to bench you for a few weeks and give you some useful skills? Some coordination?”

  “I guess,” she said tersely.

  “I’m glad you can see some sense in it. Agent Hogan is working night and day to find your sister. I’d be surprised if he didn’t deliver her to you before your two weeks are up. He’s the best at what he does.”

  Lauren didn't say anything to that.

  The headmaster rose. “Is there anything else you’d like to discuss before I leave?”

  “No. Thanks for breakfast,” Lauren said. She was frustrated that she was no longer as frustrated.

  Knapp nodded. “You’re welcome. I hope you socialize with your other classmates this weekend. I heard some of them are planning a fire tonight. Your friends should be released this afternoon. I can always make time if you’d like to talk more.”

  Lauren saw the headmaster to the door. After she was gone, the dorm was dark and quiet again. It suddenly felt cloying. Lauren felt stupid wallowing in misery for so long. She was better than that. So she turned the lights on. She went to her room and took a shower to wash the crust and sweat off herself. She felt better after soaking in the hot steam. Hair still wet, she threw some clothes on and put on her jacket and boots. She now wanted to wander.

  She spent the next few hours meandering around campus with no particular destination in mind. She wandered in and out of doors, through trails in the woods, past empty classrooms. The day was inconsistently sunny, but not particularly warm. She ran into some classmates as she walked. Danielle taking a jog through the woods. Troy and Luis transporting firewood to some clearing. Ingrid in the library. Everyone asked how she and the others were doing. They gave well wishes, each in their own ways. Maybe talking to people did help her feel better, even if Lauren didn’t admit it.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  At 1, Lauren returned to the medical wing. At the end of the hall, Adam and Abigail had brought over chairs to wait in front of the doors. Adam was reading on a tablet. He looked up as Lauren approached.

  “Hey,” he said. “The doctor said it should just be a little while longer.”

  Lauren waited with them. In another half hour, the doors opened, and Dr. Yeoh invited them in.

  Thalia, Cleo, Benedict, and Grace were all stretching and exiting their rooms, dressed in fresh clothes. Thalia’s arm was in a sling. Lucy’s was the only curtain still closed.

  Adam went up and carefully hugged Thalia.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help.”

  “I’m glad you weren’t. All you would’ve been able to do is see me make a complete ass of myself,” Thalia said.

  “Well, that never gets old,” Adam said.

  She pushed him away with her good arm.

  Lauren walked past them. Grace was blocking the way to Lucy’s curtain. The blonde-haired girl stretched wide as she yawned, looking fresh and perky despite having just spent the better part of the day in the hospital.

  “Did you miss me?” Grace asked. Not a single regret troubled her cheery face.

  “I have a major bone to pick with you,” Lauren said.

  Grace grew annoyed. “Look, I told you not to—”

  “Shut up.” Lauren brushed past her. She truly didn’t care to get into it right now.

  Lauren opened Lucy’s curtain, concerned she wasn’t awake. But Lucy was sitting up, looking much better than she had last night.

  “Hi.” Her voice was better, but still husky.

  “Hey. Why aren’t you getting up?”

  Lucy shrugged, looking a little embarrassed.

  “I’m a bit dizzy still.”

  “I’ll go ask for a wheelchair,” Lauren suggested.

  “Wait!” Lucy stopped her. She shrunk into herself, blushing. “This is dumb, but… do you think Ike would come carry me back to my dorm?”

  Lauren barked a laugh. The sudden audacity after one brush with danger.

  “Does widdle Lucy want to be princess carried back to her dorm?” she teased.

  “Hey!” Lucy croaked. “I’ll throw a pillow at you.”

  Lauren held up her hands. “I’ll go see if I can find him. It might take me a minute. You might want to put some real clothes on, unless you’re really trying to get his attention.”

  Lucy looked mortified. “Butt flap. Right. Thanks. Will you make it sound like it’s your idea?”

  Lauren left back outside. She didn’t have to look long. A group of students were walking up. Danielle, Troy, Ike, and Reuben.

  “Hey,” Troy said. “We were getting the hang-out spot ready and saw Benedict leave. Are the others doing alright? Need any help?”

  Lauren pointed to Ike. “You. Follow me.”

  He stepped forward without hesitation. “Yes ma’am.”

  Lauren led him back inside. He did look pretty strapping in jeans and a tight t-shirt. A few pine needles were caught in his curly locks.

  “Lucy needs help getting back to our dorm, and a wheelchair just isn’t gonna work for her,” Lauren explained.

  “I’ll carry her,” Ike volunteered with the gravity of going on a special-ops mission.

  “Good man.”

  Thalia and Adam were leaving. Thalia raised an eyebrow as they passed, but didn’t say anything.

  Cleo and Grace were inside chatting, not in any rush to leave the ward. They watched as Lauren led Ike to Lucy, now dressed and sitting on the edge of her bed. In one smooth motion, Ike scooped her up into his arms.

  “Thank you,” Lucy said, weak voice dripping with gratitude. She wrapped an arm around his neck. “I hope I’m not too much of a burden.”

  “Not at all,” Ike said, smiling. Oh yeah. He was the kind of guy to enjoy being a knight in shining armor.

  Grace stepped forward, mouth agape as Lucy was carried away.

  “What gives? I want a guy to carry me home,” she complained petulantly.

  “Then go find one,” Lauren snapped.

  They went back to the dorm, Lauren leading Ike inside. He gently laid Lucy down on the couch.

  “Do you need anything else?” Ike asked, kneeling beside her. He cupped her hand in his.

  Lucy’s eyes widened. She wanted to need something else.

  “Oh, I don’t know…”

  Shaking her head, Lauren gave the two some space and went outside. Adam was climbing the steps.

  “Hey,” he called over to her. “I was just about to come find you.”

  Lauren leaned her back against the railing.

  “What’s up?”

  Adam stopped beside her.

  “The boys were telling me they’re making a bonfire tonight. Whole class is invited. They want to hear the story of the first crime bust of the year.”

  “Crime bust?” That isn’t exactly what Lauren would call it.

  Adam shrugged. “They want to hear about it. We don’t have a football team, so kicking ass is gonna be like our school sport. C’mon, you gotta come. Thalia and Lucy are probably out. You really want Grace to be in control of the narrative?”

  “Will you be there?”

  Adam nodded. “Of course I’ll be there.”

  “Okay.” It sounded better than moping in her room more, letting the dark thoughts in. Headmaster Knapp said she should socialize more, and she seemed reasonable.

  “I’ll swing by later.” Adam sighed and knocked on the metal railing. It seemed something heavy was on his mind. Lauren remembered him mentioning something he wanted to tell Thalia.

  “Everything good with you?” Lauren checked.

  He nodded as he walked off.

  “I’m fine. The world just changes underneath your feet sometimes…”

  Wasn’t that true.

  Lauren spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with Lucy chilling. Grace came in and out of her room, in a sulking mood. About what, Lauren didn’t know and didn’t care.

  “Has Harper been around?” Lucy asked from the couch during a commercial break.

  “I haven’t seen her since I got back,” Lauren said.

  “Weird.”

  “Did you get the grounding talk?” Lauren asked.

  “Ooooh yeah. Headmaster Knapp came around this morning and told us. She was pretty nice about it though. And she told my parents.”

  Oh right. Parents. That thing other teenagers still had.

  “How’d they react?”

  “I called them this morning, after the headmaster left. They were concerned, but I think they’re proud of me. Honestly, I could probably get out of punishment just by going home and staying with them except for class. I think I’ll go see them tomorrow, if I’m well enough. I miss them.”

  Missing parents. Yeah.

  Lucy twisted around, looking mortified.

  “Lauren, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about it. I’ve only not seen them for a few days…”

  Lauren waved her apology away.

  “Don’t apologize Lucy. Everyone misses their parents. It’s not a competition.”

  Lucy settled back down.

  “…Can I ask what they were like?”

  What Lauren’s parents were like? God, it hurt to remember. She wished she had some perfect picture book memories of her childhood. They were poor. They lived in the middle of nowhere in a one-and-a-half-bedroom house. They had two more children than they could afford. They worked weekends, trading shifts on and off, while Lauren and Rachel played in a dirt lot, poking bugs with sticks. They saved what money they could for Rachel’s testing and treatment. The sisters howled with the coyotes at night while dad sat in front of the square television and drank beer and mom slept or talked on the phone. They were normal, boring, unambitious desert rednecks.

  But god, Lauren missed them.

  “…They were good people. Hard workers.”

  “They must have been good people. They made you.”

  After everything she’d been through, Lauren wasn’t sure how much of herself today was the same person as that little girl they raised. But she appreciated the thought.

  Around 6, Lauren went and grabbed dinner for her and Lucy, bringing it back to the dorm. Lucy still wasn’t feeling like going out by the time there was a knock on the door around 8. Lauren put on her jacket and shoes and found Adam waiting outside.

  He offered his arm as Lauren shut the door.

  “May I escort you?”

  She pushed him and started walking. He kept up beside her.

  “Still immune to my charms, huh?”

  “Some one has to be,” Lauren said. “Speaking of which, where’s Abigail?”

  Adam rolled his eyes. “I’ve been tripping over her since yesterday. I told her to walk ahead.”

  They crossed the field and walked to the woods. Already, Lauren could see the flickering glow of a fire in the depths of the trees. Smoke wafted on the chill breeze.

  “Thalia’s being such a little baby today. She’s really milking it. I’m glad she’s gonna be okay though. How’s Lucy?”

  Lauren told him she’d be fine. A trail led them deeper into the woods, to a clearing ahead with a large fire burning in the center. Chairs and tables were set up, with people milling about in the half-darkness.

  A teenage girl stood at the end of trail, off to the side. She bowed and waved people through as they passed. The girl was dressed in a twin-tailed ringmaster’s outfit, with fishnet stockings on her legs, and boots. She removed her tall hat from her long, dark locks and flourished it dramatically as Lauren and Adam passed.

  “Welcome, fine guests, to Rosewell Academy’s first fireside gathering! May your night be filled with enchantment and fun!”

  She clutched her hat and smiled at Lauren with wide blue eyes. Her slender face was covered in pale makeup, lips glossy red around her perfect white teeth. Lauren had never seen her before.

  “Adam, who was that?” Lauren whispered to him as they joined the gathering.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably just Annabelle doing a character.”

  The two of them spent a while mingling as the night grew darker. Half an hour in, it seemed most of the class had shown up. People grabbed sodas from coolers. Vic the RA kept quiet watch from the edge of the clearing.

  Lauren claimed a green camping chair near the fire. It became her throne for people to come up and ask her about yesterday. She ended up repeating the same story probably a dozen times. There was a sudden gas attack. Everyone rushed in at their own pace and ended up getting disoriented. Grace and Thalia were the only ones who managed to hit anybody. She kept it as factual as possible, but her classmates still seemed excited by it. Surprisingly, it looked like Lauren was the only one from yesterday’s chaos to actually show up, including Grace.

  Eventually, enough people heard the story that Lauren was left alone for a bit. She sipped a peach sparkling water and watched the logs crackle.

  Adam came back around and crouched beside her.

  “I’ve told enough people at this point, so I might as well tell you. Yesterday my dad put me in charge of the Atlas Foundation for the foreseeable future.”

  “Oh.” That didn’t mean much to Lauren.

  He shrugged. “Just a big responsibility, I guess. But it should be fine.”

  “I’m sure you’ll do good.”

  That seemed like something helpful to say. Lauren was trying out having a helpful attitude.

  “Thanks,” he said. He brushed off his hands and stood. “I’m gonna head back soon. You wanna walk with me, or are you good?”

  She was good, so he wandered back to the forest path, now lit up with string lights.

  Lauren sat alone and watched the fire. Two weeks. Two weeks sitting still. Ignoring her feeling. Trusting Hogan and his team. She could go two weeks without doing something stupid. All it took was being patient.

  Just over a day later, Lauren was in a hospital bed again.