Thankfully, I had no more dreams. There had been nothing but a peaceful blackness.

I felt more rested than before, but not rested enough. My limbs still felt heavy, as if they still clung to sleep. Rolling over, the clock on my bedside table showed it was a little after seven in the morning.

With a sigh, I stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling, wondering how long I could stay in this bed until I was forced to get out of it.

Ms. Rose had told me I wouldn't start classes until Monday, which left me with nearly a week, alone in this dorm, contemplating my existence. The disappointing texts with Hanna and my mother still made my heart ache.

They'd snuffed themselves out of my life, permanently. I had nothing left. A tear slid down my cheek and I sniffled. Crying wouldn't solve any of my problems, but after finally letting the tears free last night, I wasn't sure I was able to stop them any longer.

A soft knock at the door had me hastily wiping the tears from my cheeks with the back of my hand.

Throwing the blankets off myself, I stood and headed for the door. Another knock sounded, just before I unlocked it and pulled it open.

A girl, my age, stood outside, a smile plastered on her freckle-covered face. Her bright red hair frizzed around her head in a halo of curls.

"Hi, I'm Naomi," she said, her smile growing wider. "Inara sent me to make sure you could find your way to the dining hall okay. And then maybe I could give you a tour of the campus?"

"Oh," I said awkwardly. "I'm not dressed yet."

Naomi's smile never faltered. "That's okay. I don't mind waiting."

For a second, I thought about sending her away. I could claim I was sick or too tired. But my stomach growled and I realized that I hadn't eaten since before the bonfire. Nearly two days ago.

"Do... do you want to come in while you wait?"

Naomi tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "Sure."

I opened the door wide, stepping aside so Naomi could enter. She said nothing as she walked in, her curls bouncing with every step she took. She wore her school uniform in navy blue, with a black skirt and dark tights.

"Isn't it too cold outside for skirts?" I asked as I closed the door to my room.

"The tights are fur-lined," Naomi said as she took a seat at the desk. "You should have several pairs of your own in your dresser."

"I'm not big on skirts," I admitted. "Am I expected to wear the uniform today?"

Naomi shook her head. "No, you can wear something else if you'd like. The uniform is required when you're attending classes. On weekends or after classes, you can change into normal clothes."

In my closet, my suitcase from home waited. My mother had handed it to me on the front steps of the police station, before she'd sent me away. Trying to keep my nerves steady, I pulled it out and threw it onto the bed.

"Have you seen much of the campus so far?" Naomi asked as I unzipped the suitcase and dug through the clothes inside.

I shook my head. "Not really. I arrived late last night. Inara showed me Whitethorn Hall and where the dining hall was. Then she led me here. She pointed out a few buildings, but it was too dark to see much of anything."

"Do you have your class schedule? I can help you find your classrooms so that it's not as confusing on your first official day of school. I know new places can be so disorienting."

"Thank you," I murmured as I grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweater out of my suitcase. "It means a lot to me."

Without saying anything else, I disappeared into the bathroom to change. Once the door was shut behind me, I took a few deep breaths. I could make it through this one day.

I changed quickly, shedding the unfamiliar pajamas in favor of my own clothes. They smelled of my mother's favorite laundry soap, lilac breeze and crisp rain. Inhaling the scent made me sad, but I wrapped my arms tightly around myself and held back the tears.

Sniffing hard, I moved to wash my face with cold water. I would be strong today. No more tears.

After brushing my teeth and hair, I stepped out of the bathroom. Naomi sat exactly where I'd left her, staring at the blank walls of my room.

"Are you ready to head out?"

"I just need my shoes."

I'd kicked off my shoes next to the bed when I'd crawled in last night. I picked them up, then sat on the bed to pull them on.

When I was ready, I stood. Naomi got up from her chair, a smile on her face.

Then we headed out the door together. There weren't many people around the dorm. I assumed most of them were getting breakfast before heading to class.

Ms. Rose wasn't at her desk, but I assumed with most of the girls away, she was probably getting some other work done.

When we stepped outside, the icy cold immediately sent goosebumps across my skin. My sweater and the jacket I'd grabbed were not enough to chase away the winter cold.

"Are you not used to the cold?" Naomi asked when she noticed I was shivering.

"The weather can get very cold where I'm from," I told her. "But it was summer when I left. I didn't think to pack a winter coat."

It was a lie, but I didn't want Naomi to know I was an outcast here.

Naomi shot me a curious look, but said nothing. The dormitories that Inara had shown me last night were visible today. They were all made of the same dark stone as Whitethorn Hall.

The buildings for classes were made of that same stone as well. All of them centered around the large expanse of frozen grass, lined with sidewalks. A fountain sat in the middle, devoid of water for the winter.

The statue in the middle of the fountain was a warrior, with enormous wings that flared out behind his back. An angel, maybe? I wasn't sure.

"This is the quad," Naomi informed me, gesturing at the expanse of grass and the fountain. "Most of the traffic for classes funnels through here. It can get crowded at times."

I nodded, tucking the information away for later. We approached Whitethorn Hall and a few students emerged, all wearing variations of the same uniform. The most common color was gray, others wore black or navy.

Naomi led me past the students and into Whitethorn Hall. Just like the night before, the warmth of the building soothed me instantly. More students stood in the entrance, chatting idly with each other.

We moved through them and into the hallway Inara had shown me last night. It was well-lit today, with no shadows that lingered along the walls.

The archway at the end of the hall led into a packed dining hall. Too many voices spoke at once, leaving a wave of noise that overwhelmed me.

I hadn't realized I'd stopped moving until Naomi tugged me out of the way of a group of students trying to leave.

"Sorry," I murmured as I averted my gaze.

"The line starts over here," Naomi said. Her hand didn't leave my sleeve as she guided me away from the archway and into the line of people waiting for food.

A few rowdy boys stood in front of us, pushing each other harder and harder. The harder they pushed their friends, the louder their laughter became.

"They're super irritating today," Naomi said with a frown. "They aren't normally this wild so early in the morning. Normally they wait until after breakfast."

I gave a small laugh.

Naomi and I fell silent as we continued to wait in line, the boys in front of us as rowdy as ever. I grew more irritated as they continued with their wild game, continually pushing and shoving.

Finally, their game came to a halt when one boy pushed another too hard. He came flailing backward, crashing into me. The breath heaved out of my lungs as I fell into a passerby.

A loud screeching filled my eardrums. Everything else seemed to fall silent.

The passerby I'd crashed into stared at me, her blue eyes narrowed. For a second, I could have sworn they glowed a vicious, icy blue. But then I blinked and they were normal again.

The girl's blazer was open, and a large clump of oatmeal sliding down the white shirt underneath.

Her tray of food lay on the floor, the rest of her breakfast splattered on her shoes.

"You stupid klutz," the girl seethed, her face pinched with anger. "You've ruined my shirt."

"It was an accident," I said. "I was shoved into you."

The boys who'd shoved me had disappeared. Probably for good reason, since this girl seemed like she wasn't a person to be interacted with.

"This is a silk shirt. This stain will never come out."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that.

Naomi still stood behind me, but for once, she was also silent. I spared a single glance back at her and noticed her eyes were wide, but cast down to the floor. Was Naomi scared of this girl?

When I turned back to the blonde in front of me, she'd reached behind her to one of her friends and grabbed a bowl off their tray. With a smirk, she took a step forward.

She dumped the bowl onto my head and instantly warm, sticky oatmeal glooped down my hair before falling onto the floor with a wet smacking noise.

"This will be your only warning, newbie," the blonde spat at me. "Mess with me again and I'll make your life hell."

The blonde girl's friend, a pretty brunette with an upturned nose, snickered as she looked at me. Then they both stalked out of the dining hall.

Heat flooded my cheeks when I noticed that everyone in the dining hall had stopped what they were doing to watch what had happened. Now they continued to stare, but their whispers and laughter echoed in my head.

"Selene—"

I ran. My shoulders slammed into people, but I didn't care. Tears blurred my vision as I sprinted across the quad, the icy air burning my lungs and throat.

I stumbled up the stairs to Gamma Hall, slamming one of my knees into the stone steps. Ignoring the pain, I pulled out my key, my hand shaking as I fumbled with the lock.

Inside, Ms. Rose looked up at me, alarmed. "Selene? What's happened?"

But I said nothing. I hurried down the hall and up the flight of stairs. I didn't stop running until I was in the safety of my own room.

Then, and only then, did I break the promise I'd made to myself barely an hour ago. I cried.