“You want something to do?” she asked. “I have a tablet in here if you want to borrow it. I was just gonna mess with my phone.”
Roman looked over curiously. “You have any games?”
She turned it on and flipped to a page full of them.
“Knock yourself out.” She dangled the tablet over the back of his seat. He looked up at her hopefully but still didn’t reach for it.
“Play anything you want,” she said. “For real. There’s nothing you can mess up on there. I promise.”
With a grin, Roman took the tablet and started looking through the games.
Sam wasn’t excited about sitting behind the two love birds, but she didn’t feel like sitting close to Mackenzie either. In the end, she sat two rows behind Kaitlyn, opening her bag and pulling out a tablet of her own.
Rush boarded last, walking all the way to the back. The row behind Sam was a whole row of five seats at the very rear of the bus, and he slid into the seat farthest from Sam’s, farthest from everyone, tossing his backpack on the seat next to him like a barricade, crossing his arms over his chest, leaning into the corner, and closing his eyes.
“That’s everyone,” Miss Williams said to the driver, and she took the front window seat, directly in front of Kaitlyn, who smiled at her warmly.
The driver closed the door, and they were on their way.
? ? ?
Rush pulled out his phone, tempted to check in with his team, but he didn’t have the heart for it. He knew he couldn’t bear the long pauses, waiting for them to reach a break between games to answer his messages, knowing they were playing without him.
Just a couple of weeks ago, he was ready to grab his future in both hands, and now here he was, watching it slip through his fingers. He wanted to throw the phone as hard as he could against the wall of the bus, to feel the primal satisfaction of watching it shatter into a thousand pieces, but he fought to control the impulse, crossing his arms back across his chest and waiting for the urge to pass.
He must have let the temptation show because the Sam girl glanced up at him as though he had startled her. Their eyes met for a long moment before she turned away, obviously embarrassed. It was too bad, really. She had a cute, gamer girl kind of look about her, with the blue streaks in her hair and her big, bluish-green anime eyes. It was the kind of look he would have been into if he wasn’t dead set against having anything to do with this stupid program.
Besides, if he really let his guard down with anyone they might figure out that he didn’t belong here at all—that he had just filled in the blanks randomly on that stupid test—and if he got sent home, his father would sell his whole gaming setup for real. His only hope was that his mother might still try to interfere for him. Uncrossing his arms, he woke his phone up and sent her a text.
Please talk to Dad. I miss you. I want to come home.
It was only a few moments before he received her reply.
Not tonight. He had a terrible day at the office. Give him a few days to cool down. I’ll talk to him then. Love you.
It was a long shot, but it was the best he could do.
Thanks, Mom. Love you, too.
He slipped the phone back into his backpack, grabbed a spare sweatshirt, stuffed it behind his head, and closed his eyes again. All he could do now was wait.
? ? ?
When he woke up, the sky outside was dark, and the bus was turning into a long driveway. The building up ahead looked like the five-star resort version of a log cabin, the exterior lights arranged artfully to show off tall windows, timber framing, and a high, steep roofline that soared above them.
“Wow!” Kaitlyn said, stretching and craning her neck around Miss Williams to see it better as they drove up. “Is that for us?”
“It is!” Miss Williams confirmed. “Welcome to the ICIC. Check your seats for your things, but don’t worry if you forget something. The bus belongs to the program, so it will be here on site.”
The students gathered their belongings, Roman returning the tablet to Mackenzie with a shy look of gratitude and Sam packing hers back in her own bag. One by one they filed off the bus, locating the rest of their luggage by the curb and then grouping up by the entrance.
“OK, everyone,” Miss Williams said, “follow me.”
They walked through the front doors into a large gathering room, complete with tables and chairs for eating, several couches for lounging, and a huge, round fireplace in the center. An inviting fire leaped cheerfully behind its curved glass.
“I’m sure you’re all tired,” she continued. “Let’s get you up to your rooms, so you can settle in. There will be plenty of time tomorrow to explore.”
They followed her up a wide, curving staircase to the left of the front doors. Both the stairs and the upstairs hallway were covered in a plush, burgundy carpet of which Mackenzie Gray wholeheartedly approved. As they walked down the hall, they passed an ornate wooden door on their right.
“I’ll be staying in this suite if you need anything,” Miss Williams said. “Don’t bother knocking on that first door. Just walk right in. My room is the middle one. The other rooms are empty, so you needn’t worry about disturbing anyone else. You’ll see what I mean in a minute.”
They continued down the hall until they reached another door, also on the right. This time Miss Williams opened it, and she ushered everyone into a kind of living room.
It had a flat-screen television on the wall next to the door, with a console table underneath it and a couch and coffee table across from it. To the left was a small kitchen—differentiated from the living room by a countertop and a pricey tile floor. To the right was a laundry area with sheets, towels, and blankets stacked neatly on the shelves. Three bedrooms opened off the common space: one from the kitchen, one from the laundry, and one from the living room.
“This suite is just like mine. Each of you will have his or her own bedroom, and you’ll share these common spaces. Each bedroom has its own bath. Meals will be downstairs in the main hall, but there are plenty of drinks and snacks here in the suite kitchens. Help yourselves to anything. It’s all free as part of the program. This suite is for the girls. Feel free to settle in while I show the boys to theirs, which is the next one down the hall.”
Miss Williams and the boys all filed out, leaving the girls to unpack.
Kaitlyn immediately started rummaging through the suite, opening all the cabinet doors and looking into every nook and cubbyhole she could find.
“Look! Blu-rays!” she said, opening one of the console table doors. “Hey, there are some good ones in here… mostly rom-coms. They must have known this would be the girls’ suite, right? Oh! And a Blu-ray player! That’s convenient…” She closed the console and headed for the kitchen.