The Girl in the Boys' Dorms

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Seven billion people on this planet, and I'm here with you.

(for @Vessela,who made the lovely cover above!)

The Girl in the Boys' Dorms - Chapter Twenty-Nine: Seven billion people on this planet, and I'm here with you.

It was safe to say that by the time Andrea and I got back to the boys' building, I was in no mood to go anywhere near Ashton Chambliss's stupid birthday party. Apparently bursting with enthusiasm, she had spent the past fifteen minutes blabbering aggressively about strategies for the pageant. Even as I dawdled outside the main entrance, hoping fiercely that she would get the hint and go back to her own room, she continued to lecture me on tactics for the second round.

" - remember, they're not going to ask you questions anymore, so you won't be able to win by personality. Monday night is the talent portion of the competition - "

"And today is Friday, Andrea, so we can worry about that later." I interrupted her swiftly, using whatever energy I had left to suppress the irritation threatening to seep into my voice.

Andrea nodded in agreement, but her brows furrowed together on her forehead, casting a shadow of disbelief over her glimmering hazel irises. "Good point. We should focus on Chambliss for now."

I cringed. "Do I have to - ?"

"Yes." She seethed, her expression shifting into something rather menacing. It was becoming quite obvious just how much more Andrea was invested in my potential victory than I was. As if to prove my point, she added, "We have to win, Bailey. We have to." She stared at me for a beat, almost mentally pleading with me. Then, "Go change, Chambliss isn't going to give you a second glance if you burst in wearing a wrinkled uniform. Kathleen and I will meet you out here again in half an hour."

Without so much as a goodbye, she spun on her heels and began to jog in the opposite direction, toward the girls' dormitories. I watched her for a moment, listened as dead leaves and frost crunched under her pounding footsteps, mulled over her desperate tone in my mind. There was something oddly disturbing about her obsession with the pageant, the way she acted like it was far more important to her even though she wasn't competing. She'd told me about her anger issues, about how she'd been receiving psychiatric treatment to control her emotions, but they seemed to be getting the better of her again. I hadn't known Andrea for long, but I really didn't want to know what sorts of beasts she was hiding.

Deliberately shoving aside any thoughts of Andrea, I pushed through the front doors of the boys' building, flashing my I.D. card at the guard briefly. A warm gust of air greeted me in the lobby, along with a flurry of whistles and shouts as I passed the gym, which seemed to always be packed. Once in the elevator, I slumped against the wall, ripping off my mittens and pressing my cold fingertips against my flushed cheeks.

"Fuck this." I muttered, fury rising inside of me suddenly.

I had not a shred of desire to go to Ashton's room. And yet, Andrea and Kathleen expected me to make a grand entrance, to strut through and put on an animated act of flirting with Ashton Chambliss. Two months ago, I wouldn't have ever dreamt that I'd even be attending a high school party, and now I was supposed to be the center of attention at one.

The lift stalled for a minute at the second floor, the two metal halves spreading apart to reveal an empty hallway. I was about to press close when a hand shot out to stop me, and then there was another person standing beside me, harried and incredibly frustrated. Amir Patel, dressed in a fashionable pair of jeans and a polo shirt, his black hair damp but combed. Without even looking at me, he reached forward and mashed a finger on the fourth button.

Finally, seeming to have noticed me, he said, "You're Bailey, right?" Without waiting for a response, he continued, "You must be going to Ashton's room, too. Evelyn's going to be there - it'll just be another opportunity for him to hook-up with a bunch of desperate idiots who want to win a plastic crown."