I gave her a small smile. “Well, that’s comforting. Thanks for letting me know. And I’m sorry for asking so many questions.”
“It’s fine. That’s what I’m here for,” Ms. Flores replied. “Anyway, here we are.”
She led me up to the fourth floor of Blair Hall. The interior was lined with dark wooden panels, bronze light sconces, and beautiful oil paintings.
“You mentioned something about an interest in the astronomy club?” Ms. Flores asked, turning back to look at me.
“Yes.”
“Well, you’re in luck,” she said. “There’s a little observatory in this building, just down the hall from your dorm.”
“Oh, wow. That’s cool.”
“This is your room.” She gestured to a polished oak door on our right. “Only your keycard can open it, so you’re guaranteed safety and privacy.”
I fished the keycard she gave me earlier out of my blazer pocket and swiped it in the lock. There was a clicking sound, and then Ms. Flores was able to open the door for me.
“Oh my god,” I said, marveling at the sight before me. “This is really all for me?”
The room washuge. Practically the size of my house back in Silvercreek. It was stunning, too, with cream-colored crown moldings, a marble fireplace on one side, and hardwood floors. A chandelier hung overhead, and the crystals spotted the pale gray walls in colorful fractals as the sun filtered through and hit them at the right angle.
There was a soft entry rug beneath my feet, patterned with rosettes, and on my left, a huge four-poster bed stood between two nightstands with Tiffany lamps. An eggshell white desk stood under one of the mullioned windows on the other side, and two doors a few feet away from that led to what I could only assume was a walk-in closet and a private bathroom.
All in all, I could probably finish college a dozen times over with the money it took to furnish this place.
“All yours,” Ms. Flores replied with a wide grin. “Except that fireplace doesn’t actually work, because the school doesn’t want to risk any accidents with the boarding students.”
“That’s fine,” I said. “There’s central heating anyway, isn’t there?”
“Of course. We can’t have our students freezing to death,” she said with a wink. “Also, just so you know, the dorm bathrooms have keycard locks on the doors, just like the main doors. That way, if you ever need to leave your main door open for some reason—while you’re moving things in or out of the dorm, for instance—no one can sneak in and steal anything you might have in the bathroom. Like important medications.”
“Wow, they’ve really thought of everything here, haven’t they?”
She gave me a rueful smile. “They had to implement the system after an incident a few years ago. Some students stole ADHD medication from their peers on orientation day and tried to sell it to others as study aids.”
“Yikes.”
She glanced at her watch. “Anyway, you can unpack your things later. I’ve arranged for another student to show you around the rest of the school, and she should be here any minute. She’s very nice.”
“Sounds good.”
“I’d do it myself, but I figured it would be helpful for you to have a current student explain things to you. Class layouts, the cafeteria, and so on. Probably better than having some crusty old adult do it.”
I laughed. “You aren’t crusty.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but a knock at the door cut her off. “That must be her now.”
She opened the door to reveal a tall girl with tanned skin and dark hair. She was attractive with high cheekbones and thick, dark eye makeup.
“Hi, Katrina!” Ms. Flores said, standing aside to let her in. “Thanks so much for doing this for me.”
“No problem.” The girl stepped inside and smiled at me. “You must be Delaney Collins.”
I returned her smile. “Yes. But everyone calls me Laney.”
“Nice. I’m Katrina Seaborne, but everyone calls me Trina. Or T.”
“See? You two already have something in common. You both shorten your names!” Ms. Flores said, as if it wasn’t a totally ordinary thing for people to do. “Anyway, I have a ton of paperwork to do, so I’ll leave you to it. And Katrina—seeing as you’re doing me this big favor, I’ll choose to ignore your not-so-tasteful makeup. Be careful around your teachers, though. They might not be so generous.”