Star-Crossed

Part 28

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I'm jolted awake by the piercing sound of an alarm clock buzzing in my ears. I reach over and slam the clock to shut it up. It's 7am. Ugh, I'm exhausted.

I roll over, groggy, and pull the covers back over my head.

"Karina," snaps Eva. "The bus leaves in twenty minutes."

She huffs out of the bedroom and slams the door shut behind her.

I take a deep breath. In and out.

I roll out of bed and stumble into the bathroom, hoping a shower will wake me up. The hot water is refreshing, and the smell of lavender soap is soothing.

After showering and brushing my teeth, I slip into my jumpsuit and grab a banana and some almonds and put them in my new bag.

When we first arrived to the apartment, there were two, black backpacks sitting on each of our beds. Our names are embroidered inside. They are gifts for the Squad's newbies.

I decide to stick my headphones in the bag as well.

"Eva?" I shout. "Are you still hear?"

No answer.

"Eva?" I say one last time.

I pause and do one more mental check that I have everything and then leave the apartment and head toward the elevator.

"K-Nigma!" yells Rex. "How was the rest of your night? How was meeting Iggy??!"

"Hey Rex," I answer. "It was cool."

For a fleeting moment, the thought flashes across my mind that maybe I should tell Rex the truth about Iggy. I just want someone to confide in - it feels heavy to keep it all to myself. But then the feeling passes, and I realize how silly it would be to tell her anything - I barely even know her.

"Iggy is really cool," I add. "How was your night with that, uh, boy?"

"He's dreamy," she responds. "I had so much fun. Thanks again for inviting me."

"Of course," I reply.

We are both silent for a moment, thinking about our adventures from the previous night.

"So, no juicy secrets about Iggy?" Rex pipes up again, laughing. "I thought maybe you'd get some interesting deets on her, you know, snooping around her dressing room and whatnot."

"Like...IS she dating JJ or not?!" Rex adds.

JJ is one of the more popular male pop stars at the moment. He's around Iggy's age, and apparently there have been rumors about him and Iggy floating around for a while now. I can't believe I forgot to ask her about that. Next time, I guess.

I laugh, "No Rex, we didn't talk about Iggy's love life."

"Lame," teases Rex.

"I was just with her for ten minutes anyway," I lie. "I have to go though. First day of training!"

"Right!" she exclaims. "Good luck. The first day is fun!"

"Oh by the way," she adds. "My brother Ro is having a party tonight after the closing ceremony. He's super-rich and his place is awesome. It'll be sick. You gotta come."

"Sure," I respond. "Sounds fun."

"Great," Rex says. "I'll have to introduce you to his anorexic biatch of a girlfriend, Pia."

"Can't wait for that," I respond, sarcastically.

The elevator arrives and I hop in, waving to Rex, "See ya!"