|07| Misunderstandings & Friendships

I was somewhere green when the bed shifted beneath me.

Not the soft green of school lawns or polished hedges, but the kind that only exists in dreams. Rolling hills. Endless sky. The handsome stranger lay beside me, warm and familiar. His fingers laced loosely through mine. The air smelled like rain and something sweet I could not name. He leaned closer, his mouth brushing my ear. He whispered something into my ear.

"Repeat what you said, oh my gorgeous prince.” I murmured, smiling.”

“Get out of bed!”

The hills dissolved.

The handsome stranger vanished with the wind. So did the sky.

I gasped and clawed my way back to consciousness just as my blanket was tugged off my shoulders. Light poured in through the slatted windows, sharp and unforgiving. I squeezed my eyes shut, heart racing, disappointment clinging to me like fog. 

“Annalise,” a voice said gently. “Wake up. We are already late.”

I blinked.

The room swam into focus slowly. Pale walls. Polished floor. Sunlight catching dust motes midair. And standing beside my bed, fully visible and painfully real, was Penny, my luggage thief.

My body reacted before my brain caught up.

“You!” I croaked. “You stole my luggage.”

She froze.

“What?” Her eyes widened. “No, I did not steal your luggage.”

I pushed myself upright, the heel of my injured foot throbbing faintly as it hit the floor. The events of yesterday rushed back in pieces. The airport. The bathroom. The child. The empty spot where Penny should have been.

“You disappeared with my luggage. Isn't that theft?” I fumed as my sleepiness slowly waned.

She paced around my room like she owned it, and I was the trespasser. 

I frowned, "Before you explain why you stole my luggage, do you mind telling me why you are in my room.

"I'm your roommate," She bit her lips.

 Did fate have anything against me? I squinted against the sunlight spilling through the open window. My head throbbed lightly.

"I told you I was also enrolled at Newton Prep, remember?" 

As a matter of fact, I remembered all too well. I rubbed my eyes, carrying my heavy self from my prostrate position.

"I'm so sorry, Annalise. I know I have no excuse. I looked for you everywhere when the bus came, but couldn't find you." she apologized. 

“And my luggage?” I asked, quieter this time.

Her shoulders relaxed. “I brought it along with me.”

She stepped aside and rolled my suitcase into view.

For a moment, I just stared at it. Then relief hit me so hard my knees weakened.

“Oh thank you, thank you!”

I launched myself out of bed and wrapped my arms around her before she could react. The hug surprised us both. She laughed softly and patted my back.

“I really am sorry,” she said. “I tried to make them wait. But they were more worried about schedules and timelines than people.”

I couldn't believe my suitcase was right before me, innocent and whole with everything intact. I brushed my fingers through the photo album and the snow globe my dad got me on my ninth birthday. It felt like I'd brought a part of him with me.

Penny smiled. “Everything is safe.”

I nodded, swallowing past the tightness in my throat.

“We should hurry,” she added. “Classes start soon.”

I made a sound somewhere between a gasp and a shriek and stumbled toward the door. “Where is the bathroom?”

“That way,” she called after me, pointing.

I ran.

The bathroom was pristine and cold and smelled faintly of lavender. I stripped out of my sleep shirt and splashed water on my face, trying to shake off the lingering dream. The voice of the handsome stranger echoed faintly in my head. I ignored it. 

Focus Annalise. This wasn't the time for daydreaming. After Andy Kane, I officially took myself off the love market. I couldn't risk thinking about a man I was probably never going to meet again.

I managed to get soap in my mouth and coughed violently.

“So dignified,” I muttered to myself.

By the time I stumbled back into the room, Penny had laid my uniform neatly across my bed.

“I just picked it up from the Admin office.” she said. 

The fabric felt expensive beneath my fingers. The skirt was dark red, checkered, smooth as silk. The white shirt crisp and cool. When I slipped it on, it fit perfectly. Too perfectly.

I studied myself in the mirror.

No curves. No drama. Just me.

“That looks really good on you,” Penny said, handing me the blazer.

I huffed softly. “I was expecting silly.”

“No,” she said firmly. “You look adorable.”

“Thank you.” I mumbled.

I gathered my hair into a ponytail, then hesitated. I didn't know what to expect once I walked out of the room.

Penny watched me with an amused smile. She looked effortlessly put together. Her uniform hugged her in ways mine never would.

We stepped into the hallway together.

The dorm was louder now. Doors opening and closing. Voices overlapping. Perfume and confidence lingering in the air. We nearly collided with a girl standing directly outside our door, her hand raised mid-knock.

“Oh,” she said, startled. “Hello.”

She was round-faced, with almond-shaped eyes. She had a clipboard clutched to her chest like a shield.

“I am Shirley Norton. The dorm captain,” she said briskly. “I have been assigned to help you settle in. You may ask questions if necessary.”

Her eyes flicked over us quickly.

“I am Penny,” Penny said smoothly. “And this is Annalise.”

Shirley nodded once. “Follow me.”

As we walked, I glanced back at the door to our room.

I had woken up dreaming of love and safety.

I was stepping into a school that ran on legacy and silence and rules no one bothered to explain.

I tightened my grip on my blazer and followed anyway.