Page 5 of Daughter of Garnet

He raises an eyebrow at me, but if he felt that strange warmth, he says nothing. “And you. What’s your name?”

“Zoe. I’m Warren’s best friend.”

“Well, Zoe, Warren’s best friend, it was a pleasure. Now, I’m going to go back to sleep. I was up late.” He flops back down on his bed and pulls a mask over his eyes. In moments, he’s snoring.

“Interesting guy,” Warren mutters, backing out of the room. “I’ll unpack later. Let’s go check out your space.”

I’m only four doors down from him, and though my room is considerably smaller, it is my own. I don’t think I’m at risk of anyone getting added to it next year, either, because there is no room for another bed. It’s not a uniform square; instead, it’s something more akin to a trapezoid. A single window facing the chapel looks out over the courtyard, and the walls and floor are grey stone. A small desk is pushed up against one wall, and a rod is wedged in the corner of the smallest side. A few empty hangers let me know it’s the ‘closet’.

Warren flops onto my bed and kicks off his shoes. “Home sweet home, huh?”

“I wish. It feels like our whole lives revolve around schooling. I wish I could go back home and start my life.”

“Not me. I’m glad we have four more years of freedom. Once we’re done here, that’s it. We’ll be expected to marry, have kids, and work until the day we die.” His eyes slip closed as I sink onto the bed beside him. “I know I’m twenty-three, but I really don’t want to grow up yet.”

“Well, we’ll be nearly thirty when we’re done with schooling. Eventually, you’ll have to grow up.”

He scoffs. “Twenty-seven is not nearly thirty.”

With his eyes closed, I’m free to admire the ways my best friend has changed. There’s a trail of blond hair that runs from his navel into the top of his pants, and though I saw where it goes at the ceremony, seeing it here, in my room, as it peeks out of the top of his pants, feels different.

Almost taboo.

“Are you hungry?” His question startles me out of my perusal of his body, and when I meet his eyes, they glint knowingly. Things feel different with Warren now that we've seen each other naked, even though it was in the context of the ceremony.

“I could eat.”

“Then let’s go see what the food situation here looks like.”

*

The food situation is miles better than it was at university. When we walked in, we were handed a menu with several choices. At the university, it was a buffet, and you took what was available.

We place our orders with a Beta at the counter and move to collect our drinks and wait for our food.

“They do on-campus work placement for Betas once we hit third year,” Warren tells me. “It’s to get us ready for our future careers. They evaluate our skills in loads of different areas to put together this list of jobs that suit us best.”

“Where did you learn all of this?” I grab a glass of water and take a large gulp.

“I paid attention in school. It's a good thing one of us did."

I was a mediocre student at best, and I’m okay with that. I have never been particularly motivated to stand out amongst a crowd. I prefer quiet anonymity.

We collect our meals and grab a seat at a table to the side when I hear my name called.

“Hey Zoe, Warren!” Viv slides into the seat next to me, her plate clattering on the table top. “I was hoping I’d meet you here. I want to compare schedules. Did you bring yours?”

Warren pulls both of ours out of his pants pocket. He must've grabbed mine for me. I didn’t even bother to check mine yet. Classes don’t start for another three days. I’ll worry about it then.

“Oh, that’s awesome.” Viv’s eyes dart between the pages as she reads. “We’ve all got the first class together. It looks like it’s going to be mixed designations, too.”

“Why would you assume that?” I pull the papers from her and read the class name off the first line: Designation Hierarchy and Responsibilities.

It does make sense that they’d have all the designations together for that.

“Do you think all new students are in it together or are we split up?” Warren chews on an apple as he talks, and it’s not as unappealing as it should be. “It’d be a big class.”

“I wonder if we'll be split up like we were for the ceremonies. Maybe not by name, but in groups.” Viv continues to read over our schedules before passing them back. “Looks like we’re going to be seeing a lot of each other. We’ve got three other classes together.”