The response to the explosion was swift, more coordinated and disciplined than the startled reaction to the event outside the quarantined area. These guards were practiced and effective; not that anyone put up much of a fight. The explosion had surprised them all.
Sunita's ears continued to ring as she watched the redhead girl escorted away and her victim carried out. She was directed with the others towards their dormitories, their welcome cut short. At this rate they'd all be under indefinite lock-down if the others didn't learn some self-control.
Sunita hurried down the hallway behind the guard, eager to be reunited with her few possessions. They were waiting for her on a small desk in one of the last rooms the man gestured to while attempting to say her family name.
She didn't bother correcting him, instead rushing towards the sticker-ed bag, wallet, and most importantly, her journals.
Except there were only two in what should have been a stack of three. Sunita shuffled between the two notebooks in disbelief before rifling through the other belongings- but the bag was too small and stuffed with clothes to contain anything else. Without any regard for the potential room-mate that had followed her, Sunita pushed her way out of back out to the hallways and began chasing down the security that had guided them.
"There's been a mistake!" She called after him, jogging to catch up. All prior worries of drawing attention had evaporated.
"My book," She said more quietly, with the smile and tone typically reserved for her teachers and elder relatives "One of them is missing, I had three coming in. Simple journals, nothing malicious."
"Approved materials have all been returned. Anything else needs to be taken up with the director." He made a point of leaning down to peer at her. "Nothing will come of it of course. But that's the official channel." And with a stupidly satisfied smile the man returned to his egress.
It shouldn't have mattered really. A dozen people must have read through them already. It would all be fine- she would be fine. But even as she grasped for them, the memories of the pages she'd been reading that morning only drifted further. The excitement of arriving, and all the new people, it had been too distracting for her to have fully memorized. Sunita covered her face with her hands, forcing herself to breathe deeply while willing her heart-rate to subside. A practiced method of falling into a meditative trance, freeing her mind of stresses for a precious few seconds.
When she was ready, her hands pushed back through her hair as she took a final breath and looked up to the ceiling. She would be okay. The worry persisted, but it was clear and focused rather than the panicked anxiety of before. She'd been shown where to find what she was looking for, even if the convenience of means had been taken. It hadn't been so long since she was 15. The memories wouldn't all be beyond reach. She could work to remember. She'd meditate, recall every detail she could of that year, commit it all to perfect memory, and find what she'd missed the first time around.
But that would have to wait, she realized, hearing laughter from the room on her right. Two girls were settling into their new accommodation while she'd once again been standing outside like a silent idiot. Without acknowledging them, Sunita returned to her own room again.
"Oh, hello again." She said, only registering the blonde she'd pushed passed to leave upon her reentry. It was the very same girl she'd interrupted reading- before being interrupted in turn.
"I guess I get a second chance at an introduction." She said with a smile she hoped wasn't too forced as she offered a hand. "I'm Sunita, looks like we'll be roommates."
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