None of the teachers told her or Shelby anything. Whatever caused their absence only happened two days ago and yet all three were missing from class. From the tiny amount that they were told, Juliana wasn’t even there when their room was trashed.
Again.
Whatever happened was always right next door.
Two break-ins and two fights before the first year was through. Nothing led Irene to believe that this fight had been any less deadly than Juliana’s encounter with the flesh golems. More so if any of them actually were injured, as the rumor-mill believed.
Room three-thirteen was cursed.
And room three-fifteen shared a cursed wall.
Irene didn’t know what to do if this pattern kept up. What if whoever attacked them next got the wrong room number. Or they got the wrong window. What then?
A white robe nun patrolled around the room, catching Irene’s attentions. Their numbers had dropped since January. The one in the cafeteria was the only one she’d seen all day.
Would they be able to protect her?
Not likely. They hadn’t saved Juliana in November and they didn’t even show up the other day.
Irene gave a drawn out sigh as she played with her haggis. The food looked revolting but the other option for the day was hot dogs. Something was just off about hot dogs.
Shelby didn’t even pick up a meal. She sat next to Jordan as they talked about their combat class. Or exercise class, as the case was.
Twins who ate similar foods and had similar habits tended to look similar, even if they were fraternal twins. They still had the same parents, after all. Yet Irene couldn’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy at the slightly slimmed Shelby.
Unlike Eva, Shelby didn’t offer a word of complaint when Professor Kines switched them over to an exercise program. She didn’t stress over grades and essays either. Her twin didn’t even seem bothered by all the goings on in Rickenbacker three-thirteen.
Irene often wondered what it might be like to simply not care about anything.
Stifling those thoughts turned into a constant chore for Irene. One little slip and she’d be back to how she was before. She did
“You going to eat that?”
Irene glanced up to Max. His plate had been scraped clean. She shrugged and slid her haggis over to him. “Knock yourself out.”
“That doesn’t sound like fun.”
Rolling her eyes, Irene said, “it’s an expression.”
“Just a joke,” he said with a nudge to her side.
Irene bristled at that. She turned away as her face heated up. Anger at herself for not realizing it was a joke, not something silly like embarrassment or shyness around the boy.
Despite them spending evenings studying while everyone else was at exercise class, Irene didn’t think she got along with Max very well.
He was too much like Shelby. Perhaps more dedicated in his studies, but otherwise carefree.
A heavy thud outside rattled the glass of the large cafeteria window.
Irene stood with a gasp. Shelby and the boys weren’t far behind her.
“That’s Eva’s bull.”
None of them responded except to gape at the massive animal. Just like the other time she saw it, it stared into the window. Its head slowly drifted back and forth over the students. The massive wings folded up to a fraction of their size as it just stood there.
The rest of the formerly eating students simply stared out the windows. Forks and spoons hung frozen in their hands. Silence settled around the cafeteria.
Until someone screamed.
Panic and chaos overtook the room. Those closest to the window climbed over each other to get away. Max and Shelby both took off towards the exit. Irene started to follow.
Jordan stayed rooted to the spot.
Irene nibbled on her lip. “Jordan,” she said, grabbing his shoulder, “we need to get out of here.”
“Why?” He glanced back at her. With just the slightest hint of a grin, he turned back to the window. “It is just standing there.”
A crack echoed through the room, louder than all the panicked students put together. Lightning crashed into the window.
Everything froze. All the students left in the room stopped and stared. The nun stood alone in the center of the room, her arm outstretched towards the window. The glass absorbed the lightning.
For a moment.
Shattering glass flew in every direction.
Irene grabbed Jordan and threw both of them down under the table. A second lightning bolt flew through the broken window just before she disappeared from view. She landed on top, her knee crushed into his stomach which elicited a sudden gasp of air from the dark-haired boy.
