To Build a Home

Chapter 2

Walking into the massive bathroom was definitely humbling. Everything was marble.

Bath? Marble.

Sink? Marble.

Floor? Tiles engraved with slivers of marble.

There was marble on the walls. I felt like I was in a quarry.

But I digress. I had spent a good five minutes sifting through my largest suitcase, desperately searching for a decent outfit. But, I didn't really bring many nice clothes.

My mother hadn't been sure if I would be going to church or not during my stay, so she had sent me here with a nice sweater and some dress slacks, as well as a nice pair of shoes, but I didn't feel like wearing them.

Instead, I settled on a denim blue sweatshirt with white embroidered details, paired with black, very loose jeans.

No shoes, as I was inside obviously. I was wearing thick black socks though. It was pretty chilly inside, as it was mid November, and all the floors outside of the room appeared to be wooden. No cold feet here, no thank you.

After splashing some cool water on my face, taking extra precautions to ensure that none got on my clothes, I returned to the main portion of my room.

I yawned, eyes drooping as I looked around. After pinpointing a small digital clock on the bedside table, I concluded that I had around forty minutes before dinner started.

Running across the room, I flopped onto the bed with a thump. I practically sank into the mattress.

Okay, maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

Before allowing myself to take a nap, I set an alarm for five-forty. Slipping my earbuds into my ears, I hit shuffle on my playlist. I finally drifted off, listening to the opening chords of "Old Man."

• • •

I was jolted awake by a gentle knock on the door. For a brief moment, I didn't recognize where I was, and my drowsy brain wasn't doing very well at registering the room I was in. I glanced around the room, before my eyes landed on a clock. Five-fifty-five.

Ah, that's right. An institution. I was in an institution, and I was supposed to be heading down to dinner right now.

Groaning, I rolled over and grabbed my phone. I let out a huff of annoyance.

Great. My alarm didn't go off. How swell.

I glanced up as another knock sounded on the door, this time accompanied by a voice.

"Hello? Are you up?"

The voice was gentle. It wasn't deep, but it wasn't high either. It sounded familiar.

I rolled out of bed, my socked feet padding across the floor. I creaked the door open and peaked out of the room, running a hand through my hair. Hopefully, it wasn't too messed up.

On the other side of the door stood Arthur, which made sense. I opened the door further, straightening my rumpled sweatshirt.

Arthur grinned at me, his eyes scanning my rather messy room. "Dozed off while packing?" he asked, but he didn't sound like he was mocking me.

I nodded, cheeks burning a bit. First impressions truly were going out the window, it appeared.

The tall boy laughed. "Don't worry about it dude," he said. "All of us were the same. Not much time to organize when you're tired, homesick, and nervous."