School Reds and Blues by CE Dalton

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CHAPTER ONE. Present Day

The new class walked down the halls, all the first years looking around at the tapestries hanging off the stone walls. There were muttered rumors being spread around the mostly female student body about what the school had once been. A girl in the back of the crowd caught a few snippets every now and then.

"Used to be a church for real," one girl was telling what looked like her little sister. "Then these guys bought it from the Catholics."

"Used to be a Lord's manor," one of the few boys in the group told a girl. "Might have even been in my family. We lost our lands during the Wars you know."

"My mother said I wasn't to get too close to anybody here," another girl said, looking disdainfully at the rest of the group. "She said I was to get an education but not to make friends. There's too many *weird* things here for those like us." This girl stopped and looked at the girl walking toward the end of the group. "Oh, look, one of our good deeds," she sneered.

The girl frowned but didn't say anything. She absently pushed her golden bronze tail behind her shoulder and continued on to the first day assembly. She knew about people like that, she could even be one of them, but that didn't mean that she had to like or associate with them.

"And what an *interesting* dye job," another girl in the crowd said, pointing at the young girl's head. "What shade is that? Royal screw-up?" A few of the girls laughed.

"Enough!" a deep, male voice echoed around them. "To the assembly now or get detention." A male teacher walked out to look at the knot of girls, then at the girl who was trying to ignore them. "I'll tell you this once," he hissed at the ring leader, the girl who had said she wasn't to make friends, "the only reason *you're* here is to get an education. The reason she's here is to become a better person than you are. Do *not* let me hear you belittling another student again this year, Marna." He walked away, striding through the students to make sure they all got to the cafeteria. "All first years against the wall," he called as he got to the door.

"We've already done that," a female voice from inside hissed. "What happened?"

"Marna Tomer."

"Ah." The female teacher stuck her head out the open door and looked down the hall at the short haired girl that was walking toward them. "Is that her?"

"Yes, and that's the one Marna chose to pick on right away too."

"Oohh, poor dear." She smiled as the girl walked past her. "Hello, Catherine. Over here if you wouldn't mind." She patted the wall beside her. "We're trying to sort out the students by potential classes." She pointed at a few of the other girls and one of the boys, motioning them over. "Over here, you five. This side is for the more advanced students."

"Me?" Catherine asked, looking at the teacher funny. "I'm here on academic scholarship but I'm not that bright."

"Oh, don't worry, dear, everything here is done at your own pace in my part of the program. I think you'll do just fine once you settle in and find out what's expected of you." She glared at Marna as she walked in. "You, over there against the east wall," she said coldly. "Where your mother stood."

Marna lifted her chin a little more and led her group over to the appointed wall, taking a spot by pushing a young man out of the way.

At the front of the school, an ageless woman stepped up behind the podium. "Excuse me," she called. "Settle down now or be expelled." Everyone shut up. "Good. Thank you." She smiled at the teachers and her strict persona fell away. "Welcome to the next year at St. Laurel. As you can see, another group is standing behind you older students. This year, I'll expect you to help them, not tell them stories about the dungeons." She looked at one of the younger teachers before going back to the group. "As this is your first day, I'll give you some advice. Pick your advisors well. Not only the teachers that you'll go to for help and guidance, but also the other students that you'll go to for information that you won't feel like getting from the teachers." She smiled at the students grouped on the walls.

"As you can see, we've got a bumper crop of first years this time. Hopefully we'll keep most of them until they graduate. First years, let me remind you that mine, and all the teacher's doors, are always open to you. If you're having problems in your personal life or in your school work, we'd like to know about it so we can help you with it." She looked to her right, where a plaque was hung. "On this plaque, at the end of the year, a name will be added, as it is every year. It holds the names of the students who couldn't or didn't come to us soon enough and they met with tragic ends." There was a light gasp from a few of the first years. "Your parents know of this, it was in the school's information. While here, you have less of a chance of getting into trouble than you do at home, but it has been known to happen."

She smiled, trying to ease the tension. "Usually it happens around finals when someone sneaks off to go have a romp at the local pub. I wouldn't recommend any of the seniors trying that this year, you'll be arrested on sight, we've arranged for it this time." She shifted her stance some. "In a few moments, your room assignments will be made and you will be shown up to them. This afternoon, all the first years are due in the amphitheater on this floor for placement testing. This will determine which group you will be put into and which classes you will have access to. For those of you that end up in the Blue group, please stand Melody," she ordered quietly.

A young woman in a blue and black uniform stood up and looked around. "For those of you in my group," she said clearly but loudly, "I'll expect to be seeing you this evening in here, right after supper. We'll get you set up with uniforms then." She nodded at the Headmistress and sat back down.

"Thank you, dear. I knew you'd have it well in hand by now." She looked out at the first years again. "I will tell you this now, I heard what was going on out in the hall as you were led in and I will not allow anyone's social or economic status to interfere with their lives here. If any of you have a problem studying beside students of a different class or group, then we'll talk to you tonight and you will be released from your time here. Your last names are not used in this school so that you do not differentiate between social classes. It is expected that all students will follow this rule." She stepped back. "Melody, if you wouldn't mind handing out the housing arrangements?" she asked, waving a hand.

Melody stood up and grabbed a pile of papers off the edge of the dias. "All right. All those that know where their rooms are, go to them now." She waited until the upperclassmen had left to do anything else. "All those with 'A' names, step forward," she called. A few people stepped forward and she handed them out papers, pointing at certain teachers. "'B'?" Marna watched as two of her group left, then glared at the girl across the room from her. "'C'?" The girl stepped forward.

"Ah, Catherine CeBrelliay," Melody said, handing her a piece of paper with something stapled to the back of it. "Go back to the teacher you were beside, she'll lead you up to your room. You don't mind a male dorm officer, correct?"

Catherine shook her head. "That's fine, as long as..."

Melody nodded. "He wouldn't want to touch you, dear, he's in a committed relationship. You're on the edge of his territory though."

Catherine walked back over to the teacher she had been standing beside and handed her the paper. "She told me to see you."

"Yup. We're in the West Hall, up on the fourth floor. You're the second girl to go up there actually. It's an odd arrangement, but we didn't think that you'd mind."

Catherine shrugged. "I like boys, I've never been fond of other girls really."

"Good. Then you should fit in just fine, dear." She patted her on the shoulder and looked at the other girls coming toward her. "West Hall, third floor?" she asked them. All but one of them nodded. "Where are you going, Michelle?"

"Um, fifth floor?" she squeaked, then covered her mouth. "Sorry," she mumbled.

The teacher smiled. "That's not a problem either. You have quite an astronomy bent if we've heard right." The girl nodded. "Your room's at the top of that hall, you'll be able to work all you want to when your telescope arrives." She looked over at Melody, who held up two fingers. As soon as the two other students were with her, she began walking the group up to the West Hall. "All right, girls, this is where you life begins," she said cheerfully, opening a wide oak door to show steps. "I'm Ms. Pierson and I teach the higher maths. Some of you may end up in some of my classes soon. I'm the hall officer for the third floor West group. Catherine, Michelle, and Stephanie, once she gets here, will all answer to the man that showed you in. That's Mr. Rayne."

Catherine raised her hand. "Why didn't our lists ask us to bring our things today?"

"Because everyone bringing their things today would have caused a mess. Tomorrow, and the next few days usually, will be full of gathering your things and decorating your space. Can you imagine towing everything that you'd ever need up here if you didn't know where you were going?"

Catherine smiled. "Yeah. My sister did that at college."

"Oh, yes, I went through that myself. What a dreadful thing." She opened a door on the landing. "This is the Second floor. This is where most of the math and science classes are held." She stopped and gave them all keys. "This is to the doors on your floors. Only people with a key can get onto your floor, unless you let someone up. This is to protect you as much as it is to protect everyone on your floor. All right?" Everyone nodded so they continued up the stairs. "We've arranged it so that each first year will be rooming in a suite with an older student. Usually, they're fourth years and when they graduate in a few years, you'll be ready to take on a first year yourselves. Most often, unless there's a problem, you stay in the same room. Some even choose to leave their things in there over the vacation months so they don't have to carry things home. This is totally acceptable to us." She smiled as she opened the next door with the key. "Wait here, please, Catherine and Michelle. I'll be right back." She led the rest of the girls down the hall, pointing out rooms.

Catherine looked at the other girl. "So, you're into the stars?"

She nodded. "Very much so. I'd like to study them professionally." She glanced around. "Are you really living on the boy's floor?"

"Probably on this end of it," Catherine agreed. "It won't be that bad, I really don't like hanging with girls most of the time. I almost didn't come here because it was predominantly girls."

Michelle nodded. "I can understand that. My mother didn't like the idea of me coming over from the Midwest but she got over it when she heard that they offer some advanced classes for college credits and I got the scholarship."

"Me too," Catherine said. "About the scholarship. My mother wasn't very sure about my coming to Europe for school, but it got me out of the house so my sister could be better pampered." She grimaced as she looked up. "I hope there's no spiders."

"No, there's not," Ms. Pierson said as she walked back out. "Come along, girls, let's get you settled in. I assure you, your rooms are very comfortable." She led them up the stairs to the next floor and unlocked it, handing Catherine the key. "That's for the outer door, the first was to your room. The second door there is yours," she said with a smile.

Catherine headed for it as the hall door shut, tapping briefly before opening it. She stopped when she saw the old, worn, comfortable looking furniture littering the common area. "Hello?" she called as she walked in and shut the door.

"Lock it," a voice drifted out from the door on the right. "This first week is prank week."

Catherine turned and locked the door then walked over to where the voice had come from, tapping on it before opening it. "Hi, I'm Catherine."

"Yup. I was told." She shut the folder she had been reading from and sat up. "So, you're a first year?" Catherine nodded. "I remember those days. Where you from?"

"Upstate New York. You?"

"Just outside of London, my parents moved from Kentucky when I was six." She pulled her feet up and brought a pillow over into her lap. "Okay, so what questions can I answer for you?"

"How about ones about things like the bathroom?"

"It's the door with the blue handle."

Catherine looked over her shoulder. "Then I sleep in here?" she asked, looking for a bed. That was the only other handle in the common room.

"Nope, your handle broke last night while Mr. Rayne was trying to fix it. Someone had super glued it shut before we left last term. Probably Celine, the cunt." She shrugged at the shocked look. "You'd have to know Celine, trust me on that." She got up and her skirt fell over her bare body. "Okay, let's get you settled. We'll deal with things like sheets, laundry, and food schedules in a few minutes." She led the way to what looked like a closet door, but when it opened, it was another room. A very nice old wooden bed stood in the middle of the room. A dresser was beside the door and a vanity was next to the window. "You can move around the furniture, but watch out for the bed. Celine used to throw out her back doing it all the time." She considered her new roommate. "Don't play your music too loud, have crying jags, or let the bathtub overflow and we'll be fine," she said with a smile.

"Okay," Catherine said, shrugging. "I like headphones." She looked around. "No room for a computer?"

"There's a desk hidden under the bed in chunks, you'll be getting a new one tonight. That's another thing that got broken before Celine left. Her parents had to pay a hefty damage bill most years, but last year must have been the worst yet, they canceled her quarterly shopping trip in Paris." She grinned. "It's good to have a nice, normal girl in here for a change." She waved and went back to her room. "Expect Rayne in a few minutes. He likes to come check on us often this first week." Her door closed.

"All right," Catherine said, looking around her room again. She put her small duffel bag on the dresser and considered the furniture she had. She walked over to the closet and opened it, pulling out the broken pieces of wood lying in the bottom and taking them out into the common room to get rid of them.

***

Catherine walked into the amphitheater with calm assurance. She knew she was good academically, that's why she had won her scholarship to this school. She took a seat in the front row and examined her nails while she waited. She had broken one and chipped another moving that bed, but it was in the perfect spot now, right beside the window but not under it. She glanced up as she heard cold laughter, rolling her eyes as Marna walked in with her group of girls. Apparently someone couldn't take their mother's advice.

"Oh, look at who's here already," Marna said, stopping in front of her. "What's wrong? I heard you were on the boy's floor. Don't you like it up there?"

"Yes, but I got tired of looking out the window. All my books are coming so I was bored. I thought I'd come down here and beat you into the advanced placement program," Catherine said back, sounding very bored. She went back to examining her nails. "Hopefully, there's a decent selection in the library."

Marna glared at her. "You have no idea what you're doing here," she hissed. "You should ask to be excused from the school, before you get the comeuppance you deserve, girl." She walked away, Catherine giving her a saccharine smile and wiggling her fingers.

Mr. Rayne and another teacher walked in and they glared at her. "Sorry," she murmured, going back to trying to clean up her nails by picking at them.

Mr. Rayne looked at the assembled students. "Where's the West hall students?"

One girl raised her hand. "I live up there and I think a few of them are taking naps. I told Ms. Pierson as I ran past her." She looked down at Catherine's back and then smiled at him. "Why don't you send her?"

"That won't be necessary. They can do this tonight instead of having free time." He nodded at the other teacher to pass out the booklets. "This test," Mr. Rayne said, his voice easily reaching the back of the room, "will determine which class you're put in. Fill out all of it that you can and hand it back in. For those of you lucky enough to make it into the Advanced program, you'll be seeing me in the morning, right after breakfast." He smiled at a girl who started to fan herself. "The rest of you will be meeting with the Headmistress after breakfast to plan out your classes." Someone raised their hands. "Yes?"

"When will we know where we placed?" she asked.

"You'll know tonight. Envelopes will come to your room with your placement in it. That way, you don't have to share if you don't want to."

"What other classes are there?" another girl asked.

"There's the Advanced, that has the college courses built in. There's the Standard, that's for those of you who need the education, especially to go on and do something else like college. There's the Blue group, they're the ones that are here for religious training with the order that runs this place." He patted a wall and a few people snickered. "There's the Red group, which actually is not a class placement, it's a group that you belong to if you already know about it. It's for the progeny of former members. More of a sorority really." He looked at the girl who asked. "Tisha, right?" She nodded. "Well, then there's the remedial group. That's for those that have been admitted but they don't quite make standards. Usually, you stay in those for one or two classes to bring up your proficiency levels. We've even had people in the Advanced program that were in a few remedial classes." He looked around. "Any other questions?"

"I've heard that there was another group," Marna said. "What about them?"

"They're an offshoot of the Blue group and you're not going to be part of them. That's also like the Red group, if you're in it, you already know about it." He glanced around. "Anything else?" No one said anything so the booklets were handed out, along with pencils and pieces of paper.

***

Catherine tapped on Ms. Pierson's door, handing over her envelope. "I don't think this is right," she said quietly. "I'm here on academic scholarship, why am I in remedial classes?"

Ms. Pierson let her inside and read the letter. "Oh, no, this isn't a real one." She handed over a letter from the pile. "This is yours, I was almost finished folding them up. I have no idea where this came from." She tossed it into a chair, looking at the young girl. "Catherine, are you all right?" she asked when the girl hadn't said anything.

"I'm in the Advanced program?" she asked, looking shocked.

Ms. Pierson nodded. "Yes, dear. That's why you were chosen to come here. Your school work is excellent and you did fairly well on the test. As for the other things, the part at the bottom, we'll get you settled with that tomorrow. All right, dear?"

Catherine nodded and walked out of the room, almost running into the room's door because she was rereading the letter.

"Ooh, she's got her letter," a boy called as she walked back onto her floor. It was taken from her hand and read, then she was given a hug. "Congrats, girl, you did *good*." He smiled and winked as he gave it back. "Primo placement."

She grinned. "Yeah, I guess. What's that stuff about the scarlet?"

The boys all whooped and hugged her again, knocking the letter out of her hand but taking off down the hall at the sound of a whistle. Mr. Rayne walked down the hall, smiling at her. "You went down to get it early?" he asked as he picked the letter up off the floor.

"No, I got a fake one delivered that said I was in remedial classes so I went down to ask." She took her letter back. "What's this stuff about the scarlet uniforms?"

"Well, that's a special designation. That means that you're going to be in some special classes with a few of the upperclassmen." She nodded eagerly. "Don't worry, it's not much harder than all the other stuff you'll be doing. Why don't you go back to your room now, Catherine?"

"Um, I still need a desk. I found the pieces in the closet and I put them in the living room. The chairs are all broken too."

"I know. They'll be fixed tomorrow. Go back to your room, Catherine, before the boys start getting more anxious."

She grinned. "About me? But I really only like them as friends." She smiled at one head that was sticking out a doorway. "Really, guys, I don't like to hang with girls. I only want to be friends."

"Ah, shoot," a male voice said from down the hall.

Catherine grinned brighter at the teacher. "It's okay, really."

"I know, but this hallway is a mass of hormones and practical jokes. It's just safer this first week for you and Celia to stay inside."

She nodded. "That's her name?"

Mr. Rayne laughed. "Yes, that's her name. I figured that she told you everything but that. Go spend some quiet time, Catherine, you'll want it later tonight when the fireworks start." He turned and walked back down the hall. "Back into your rooms," he called out and the heads sticking out of the doorways disappeared.

"Celia," Catherine said as she walked into their room, "I got in the Advanced program. With scarlet uniforms."

Her roommate came to her door. "You did?" She took the letter the younger girl was holding. "Wow, congratulations, girl." She handed it back. "If you need help altering your uniform, let me know. I had to raise my skirt twice this year." She winked and went back into her room.

Catherine went into her room and flopped down on her bed. She was content, for now. She'd send her mother a letter tomorrow and give her the good news.

A few minutes later, she jumped as an explosion started down the hall. "I thought he was kidding," she muttered, snickering at the screaming going on. "Someone burned their fingers I bet." She got up and went to her dresser, pulling out her shorts set so she could go to bed.

***

Catherine looked down at the skirts lying on her bed, shaking her head. They had been told they'd get their first set of jackets here, but that they should bring black skirts and pants. She had only found those accordion pleated skirts at home and a few pairs of pants, and she didn't want to start off her first day in pants; it was a tradition that she wore a dress to the first day each year. "Black and scarlet. What a fun combination, if you're goth." She picked up her first outfit and held it up in front of her, looking at herself in the mirror. "Okay, I look good," she told herself. She looked down again. "No shoes though. Knew I forgot something. Guess I'm going back to the black tights and boots look then." She picked up the rest of the outfits and carried them to her closet, stopping when she saw the scarlet garment bag hanging in there already. She hung up her clothes and then opened it, staring at the scarlet gown sitting in there. "Oh, wow," she said, pulling it out to look at it. "Celia," she called. "Someone gave me expensive clothes."

Her roommate leaned in through the doorway. "Yeah, we all get one of those. It's for the formal event next month. Mine's blue."

"You're in the Blue program?" Catherine asked, looking at her. "Gee, you don't look like you want to be a nun."

Celia smiled. "Nope, not a nun, one of the people who helps the order. My mom's one. I'm going to be a lawyer for the order when I grow up." She winked. "At least you look good in the scarlet. Oh, and don't wear flats. You'll look even more like a little schoolgirl." She laughed at the held up boots. "Yeah, those'll do. Very butch and don't-mess-with-me." She waved and headed back out to the main room. "My TV will be here soon," she called. "We have cable, including Showtime."

"Coolness," Catherine said, putting the gown back. She could try it on later. She still had to unpack all her things from home.

***

Catherine walked into her first class and looked around at the empty seats. She picked one in the front row, in the far corner, and checked to make sure she could see the board. When she found that a map blocked half of her view, she got up and switched to the other side, groaning as she had to get up and do it again, ending up pretty much in the middle of the second row. She pulled out her notebook and her pen, starting to doodle until the rest of the class showed up.

Pretty soon, a group of talking girls walked in and checked the room out, most of them heading for the back.

"Oh, look, she got *scarlet*," a familiar voice said icily from the doorway. "Is that the color they give to remedial students?"

"No, it's a color that they give to students in the Advanced program," Catherine said without looking up. Someone tried to grab her notebook so she kicked them in the shin. "Get off, your parents can afford to buy you your own notebook." She looked up and saw Ms. Pierson standing there. "Sorry," she said, handing over the notebook.

"That wasn't me," she said, handing it back. "You got scarlet after all," she said happily. She looked up at Marna. "For your information, dear, the Remedial students don't get a different color, they're the same as yours." She headed for the front of the classroom, counting heads as she went. "The usual six students have already gotten lost but I'll start with the explanation now. This is Standard and Advanced Calculus. For those of you who don't know what Calculus is, you'll hate it within a week. For those of you who do, you'll hate it within a week." She smiled at the three girls sneaking through the door. "Don't worry, we all get lost sometime. Did you see anyone else wandering around out there?" One of the girls nodded so the teacher walked out to go straighten them out, coming back with another of the missing students. "I guess this is all we're getting today. Good enough. When I call your name, come up and get your books." She walked behind the lectern and pulled out a stack of books. "Amber?" she called, holding one up. A blonde girl walked down and grabbed it. "Catherine?" She stood up and caught it, sitting back down to flip through it.

The door opened and Mr. Rayne walked in. "I believe a few of these are yours?" he said dryly, handing over two boys. "They were running a bit late this morning." He smiled at the other students. "Have fun, I hated Calculus." He left them alone.

The teacher held out two books. "Good, that makes all of you. Take these and go sit down." The boys took the books and left, going to find a seat. One sat near Catherine, flipping through his book too.

Ms. Pierson finished calling the names and then paced in front of the classroom. "Today, we're going to start with an algebra review." She picked up a piece of chalk and wrote an equation on the board. "What's that?"

"Quadratic formula," a girl in the back said.

"Good. Now, let's plug in number to make sure that can do formulas quickly." She wrote some more, associating numbers to the letters in the formula. "Okay, who's got the answer?"

Catherine raised her hand. "Plus or minus four?" She shook her head. "Four point six, sorry."

"Good. And without a calculator, which I applaud." She looked around. "Anyone else get anything different?" Marna raised her hand. "What did you get?"

"Negative four and a half?"

"Use a calculator, Marna, it only gets more difficult." She wrote another formula on the board, an unfamiliar one. "This is calculus. Who wants to take a stab at it?"

The boy next to Catherine slowly raised his hand while looking at his book. "The answer's three, right?"

"Almost," Ms. Pierson said, giving him a smile. "Very good job. Which page are you on?"

"Sixteen. There's one almost like it on there."

"Okay. Everyone turn to page sixteen." The books flipped open and everyone stared at the page. "Now, what's the answer?"

"Negative three," a girl in the back said a few minutes later.

"Yes that's right." She smiled at her too. "Very good. Tonight, we're going to practice doing this type of formula. Those of you who have it, start on the exercises on page twenty, part B. Those of you that don't, raise your hand and I'll come help you." She walked up to the back where seven hands had just went up.

Catherine flipped a few pages over, one finger holding the old page's place while she wrote down the first equation.

***

Catherine walked into her science class with the rest of the class, trying hard not to burp back up lunch. She sat down in the middle of the second row and got comfortable until the teacher came in. She had managed to run back upstairs during lunch to put up her other books so all she had with her was her notebook and a pen. She sat up straighter when an old man hobbled in, watching as he went to write on the board. Everyone else in the class got very quiet, apparently most of them knew this teacher already.

"This is Advanced Physics. All those that aren't scarlet or red wearing, go across the hall." A girl in red raised her hand. "Yes?"

"Sir, this isn't just for reds and scarlets, this is also for Blue members. There's one of us missing, she went up to her room to get an antacid. Her schedule says she has you."

"She does, but she has it across the hall with the blue group." He pulled up a screen, showing a stack of books. "Take three books, one of each type, and then sit and read the first chapter. You get lecture from me every other day. The other group gets the same one the other days, that's the way some idiot scheduled it so don't ask questions." He glared at the girl in the back. "Anything else, young lady?"

"Yes, sir, how are you doing tests this year? I've heard stories of you doing multiple choice and true/false, but I've also heard stories of really hard essay tests."

"Good," he said, giving her a scary smile. "Yes, you'll be getting those." He smiled and walked out, heading for the other room.

Catherine got up and went for the books, grabbing one of each and going back to her seat. No one else got one and she looked back at the other girls. "What? Did I do something wrong?" she asked when someone started to laugh.

"No, we were just wondering if the boots were a fashion statement or what you brought," she said lightly.

"It's what's comfortable to me." Catherine turned back around, opening the book to flip through the first chapters.

The teacher came back in a few minutes later and looked at the other students. "I know I told you to get books," he said coldly and quietly. "I'd do it now. I'm not in the mood to be teaching this class."

Catherine raised her hand. "Sir, why is so much of one book on aerodynamics?"

"Because it's an important study and part of Physics. Did you want to study water theories instead?"

She nodded. "I'd like an overview of it all actually. This is my first physics class."

"Ah." He smiled at her. "Don't worry, you'll get an overview. The aerodynamics are just a specialization of mine." He pointed at the books. "Now," he ordered. Everyone got up and grabbed their books, most forgetting to get the thinnest one on aerodynamics. He picked up that stack and walked up to the back, tossing them at anyone who didn't seem to have one. He came back down and counted people. "Did someone leave?"

"No, sir, we're all here," the same girl said.

He glared at her. "Jessie, just because I'm old doesn't mean I'm senile. Please remember that in the future as your grade depends partially on your attitude." He opened a copy of the book and tossed it aside, grabbing another one to look through. "Since Catherine asked so nicely, let's start with the basics of aerodynamics. The shape." He held up his book. "Who thinks this will fly?" Catherine and one other girl raised her hand. "You do?"

"With the right stream of air under it," Catherine justified. "Bernoulli's Theorem doesn't account for shape, sir."

"Very good answer. It will fly, under the right conditions, though it's more suited for gliding." He tossed it like a frisbee, watching as it landed on a desk across the room. "Hey, my aim's getting better." He looked at the students. "What else can we say about that book?"

"It's been relocated?" a girl in the back row suggested.

"Also very true. Why?"

She shrugged. "I don't know why, sir."

"Then let's find out, shall we?" He picked up his pointer and turned on his overhead projector. "This is why things coast," he announced, pointing at the theory on the screen.

Catherine took notes, looking up every so often to make sure that she didn't miss anything.

***

Catherine flopped down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"First day too tough for ya?" Celia said from the doorway. She leaned against the jam as she watched the young girl contemplate the ceiling. "Supper's in an hour, you could nap."

"Everyone decided I was to be hated," Catherine said as she rolled onto her side to look at the older girl. "It was a constant thing: my boots, how I was wearing my skirt. Even what my hair looked like."

"Yeah, some of the older scarlet girls can be kinda catty," she said with a grin. "But that doesn't make them intelligent or more than the breeder of the next generation."

Catherine grinned. "Even that came into question today. Apparently, they only stick lesbians up here."

Celia snorted. "Bet me. I've had *lots* of fun with some of the senior guys on this floor." She chuckled as her roommate's mouth fell open. "Yeah, me. Rampant empowerment of hormones right here in this tasty package." She tipped her head to the side. "Matter of fact, it's not really frowned on around here, unless you get caught in the halls or you're overtly dating." Catherine started to splutter. "Honey, *relax*, I'm not going to bring a guy in here and *share*." She winked and strolled away.

Catherine flipped onto her stomach with a groan. "Great, just what I didn't need to hear at night." She put her head down and slowly fell asleep.

***

Catherine woke up and looked at her watch, then groaned. "Missed supper," she told herself, going for the top drawer in her dresser. She always kept a snack handy, she usually needed one. She grabbed the bag of popcorn and headed to the desk that had magically appeared while she had been asleep. She pulled her calculus book over and flipped it open, starting on her homework. She could email her mother later, when she had the energy to put her computer together.

A few hours later, she looked up as someone tapped on her door. "Yeah?" she called, flipping her books closed. She got up and gave her roommate a hug. "Bless you, I'll ignore all strange noises from your room for feeding me tonight."

Celia laughed as she let go of the hot plate of food, walking over to sit on the bed. "So, no computer yet?"

"It's in a box in the closet," Catherine said between bites. "Oh, good, but spicy."

"Our new cook is Peruvian. She apprenticed in Brazil so we always get spicy stuff when she cooks." Celia laid back on the mattress and smiled. "Hey, they gave you a new one."

"I had to request it, I have problems with my back," Catherine said, looking at the older girl. "How did you make friends?"

"I've got a few in my section of the program, and one in the other section. She calls herself a spy."

"Ah, so there are more people like Marna, good to know."

"Yup, lots of people like Marna here, including her older sister." She grinned. "But don't let them worry you, you're in a better place than they are and they don't even know it." She sat back up. "So, what do you do for fun at home?"

"I read."

"And?"

"I read."

"Oh, you're kinda stiff then, huh?" She shrugged. "I was going to invite you into the town the next time we go, but if you don't want to I won't push."

"Actually, I could use some more stockings and things." She saw the eye roll and sighed. "Sorry, but I'm not ready for a guy yet. There's a lot I've got to get done before I lower myself near a man's level other than in the name of friendship."

Celia stood up and patted her on the shoulder. "You're still way better than Celine. I'll make sure you keep eating. Oh, you might want to hide snacks from the housekeepers, they occasionally sneak nibbles." She waved and walked out, closing the door behind her.

Catherine listened and heard giggling from the other room, but it didn't bother her. She had more important things to worry about than the opinions of the older girls. She scraped the plate to get more of the gravy, eventually picking up some of the popcorn to help her sop it up.

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