ADROITS: CHAPTER 5

Instructions

As I left the dorm building and walked through the dreary skies, I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me. I looked around, but as far as I saw, there was no one there. I tried to shrug it off. It only came back to me once I entered the dining hall. I hopped on the line with Mandy, making sure I stayed close to her at all times. Once we got to the end of the line, though, we had to separate. "Sorry, Aiko, but we have to sit with our grade levels. I'm in 10th grade and your in 9th. Go find table 3. That's your grade table." With that, she turned on a heel and headed towards her table. I sighed and wandered around the dining hall until I saw the cluster of blue shirts at table three. I sat down next to a girl with fiery red hair that completely contrasted her baby blue uniform. She turned when I sat down. Her eyes were an icy blue and freckles were splattered all across her face like stars in the sky. She smiled widely at me. "Hi there! I'm Talulah Tandera, but everyone just calls me Lulu. What's your name? You're probably new, otherwise I would know your name. See, that's Jerry, that's Chris, that's the other Chris (the girl), that's Anna-" she said, pointing everyone out. I interrupted her, barely able to get a word in as it was. "Lulu!" I said loudly. She turned to me again. "I'm Aiko." She looked at me expectantly. "Aiko..." she prompted. "Oh! Aiko Hatchsmith." "Right. Nice to meet you! Anyways, like I was saying, you must be new here, since I know just about everyone here. When did you get in? It must've been pretty recent, since you weren't at lunch. Tell me your story, I'll tell you mine after!" For once, she actually paused. Her hair definitely set the record straight. She was fired up. Although I doubted I could get through the whole story without her interrupting me at least 10 times, I started repeating back my story. Lulu was fascinated, only stopping me 4 or 5 times, cutting my prediction down by half. Once I finished, I spooned a portion of food into my mouth, taking the first real bite of my dinner all night. It seemed that Lulu never took a bite, but nonetheless, she began her story. Lulu explained that before she had been kidnapped, she lived on a farm in the countryside with her parents and little brother. One day, she was out getting a bale of hay for her horse, Jacob. She had just turned around to bring the hay to the stable when she felt a hand on her back. Her parents had taught her how to fight, should the need ever arise - which it had - so she put her lessons to good use. In defense, she did a back kick, nailing the man right in the gut. This struck him off balance. She then swung the hay around hitting him hard in the arm, knocking him to the ground. Still holding the hay bale, she bashed it on his head twice, knocking him out. She wasn't expecting more men to come through the barn doors behind her. She whirled around to get her parents to witness five armed men blocking her only exit. She slowly put her hands up to surrender when she was knocked out from behind her. From there, Lulu had basically the same experience that I had had, from the car trip, to the office, to the lab, till finally waking up in a dorm room. "Wow," I breathed when she finally finished. Another bell rang, my guess concluding the dinner period. I watched people gather things and start to leave, some grabbing some last few rolls for the road. I grabbed some myself. "Welp, I guess I'll see you during announcements tomorrow?" Lulu said hopefully. "Announcements?" I asked. Lulu's brow furrowed. "Haven't you read through your welcome packet?" I shook my head. Her eyes widened. "Go read it. You're in for a treat!" She said sarcastically and walked away. I sighed and went to find Mandy. I had no clue where our dorm room was.