If Anastasia Salvestro is a villain then Khloe Anne Mira is some kind of follower or minion. All throughout the orientation she followed me like some tiny ghost, not speaking and hardly looking around. Then again, maybe she was just shy and I was the only person she knew?

Orientation somehow took up most of the day. We followed Iker through the three buildings and ended the tour in the room we started in, in the Administrative building. From there we were provided some fruit and small sandwiches before being forced to endure another lecture from Iker.

He looked so proud of himself, addressing the room at large and making loud and confident hand gestures but whatever the point of the lecture, I retained none of it. I watched Khloe making notes in a notebook but I never saw where she got it from which is weird because the maids were no longer in the room when we got back from the tour. Maybe she had it on her? Did the robes have pockets? I tried to stealthily check and indeed, the robes had pockets but nowhere near big enough to hide an entire notebook. The smirk I heard from Night, however, let me know that I had not been as sneaky as I hoped. The hours passed slowly.

By the time Khloe tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to the door, I had been about to fall asleep or at least pretend to. I could not wait to see Iker get mad about that too. The hours of boredom ended with just leaving the room and heading for the dormitories to sleep. I noticed that although Khloe followed behind me all the way there, she did not say anything and maybe I imagined it but Night was subtly whispering into her ear. That worried me a little, there was something that I could not quite put my finger on that made Night a very unsettling person to be around and for some reason I was sure it had little to do with him being related to the king. No, it was something that I knew Leanne was aware of too but of course, it’s not like I asked her. There was just something off about the suspicion in her eyes every time she was forced to interact with him. 

Maybe that was why he was ignoring her now?

So, the dormitories! They had two different entrances that looked like the same door but guys entering would only be able to enter their own dormitory and the same with girls? Yet, I saw guys walk in with their maids with no issue so I assumed it was less of a gendered issue and more to do with students staying away from each other? It could also have something to do with two people walking in together or the fact that the maids were not students. I really should have listened to the orientation…

It’s not like I ignored it on principle, I just didn’t want to learn anything from Iker. Just as we were about to reach the door someone put out an arm to block my way. Very annoying but I guess acceptable since the prince was the one who did it? I’m not sure what kind of sh*t royalty can get away with in this world. He’s shorter than me and doing his best to make a serious face but all I can think is that some kid is getting in my way. 

For the briefest moment I thought he might even have something to tell me until I saw the blurry shape out of the corner of my eye. Erin tried to tackle me again. She only missed because the prince guy stopped me. 

“How… nice of you,” I began but any further words of thanks were lost when I could not even decide what the best way to address him would be.

“You can just call him Arsenio, or Price Arsenio if you feel like being polite.” Night said as he helped Erin get back to her feet. 

That had to be proof! That had to prove that Night could read minds or at least my mind? Just another way in which he was weird as f*ck, I shook my head slightly. 

“I don’t think such an introduction is necessary, who would not know Prince Arsenio?” How nice, Laila was there too. I noticed Khloe took a step closer to me, and maybe away from Laila. 

I also noticed the completely neutral look on Prince Arsenio’s face. He was not looking at me but at Khloe if I had to guess. 

“How was orientation? I bet it was a total bore thanks to Iker.” I noticed Erin raised her voice when Iker was passing by the small group I was suddenly in the middle of. He didn’t say anything, merely walked a bit faster inside the building. The maid next to him however paused just long enough to glare at Erin before following the boy. 

Really, all I got out of that was that I began to wonder where my own maid was. There were no maids around during the orientation but they seemed to be walking around behind students near the dormitories. Hopefully they didn’t have to walk everywhere with their students because the fact that Larissa, or Leanne rather, did not have a personal maid might be bad for our cover story. 

Way too late, I noticed that the prince was no longer blocking my way. He was behind Laila once more talking very quickly with Leanne. They had to know each other somehow. 

How would they know each other?! Something was going on and I had the feeling that this is not how the story is supposed to go. The headache started almost immediately but I ignored it. It was not that bad, merely a warning. Someone tapped me on the shoulder and my head cleared up. I turned and found Khloe giving me a small smile. Okay, so maybe the fact that Night had stopped the headache with a touch was not suspicious after all if Khloe can do it too. It must just be because the touch focuses my mind on the story again which is what the gods want me to be doing in the first place. 

Just in front of me, Erin and Night were smiling and joking around. Laila was not so subtly trying to eavesdrop on the prince’s conversation with Leanne. Meanwhile, I felt separate from them in a way I could not put into words. It was as if I were in a group but not part of the group. No, that was ridiculous, that was probably because I was standing in the center making no effort to talk to anyone. 

“How are you liking the school so far?” I asked Khloe. Really the only person apart from Night and Leanne that I would have wanted to talk to.

I watched her cast a quick look at Laila before shaking her head. That was odd. Maybe she didn’t feel comfortable around Laila?

“Anyways ladies,” Night’s voice interrupted my non conversation and Leanne’s discussion with the prince, thankfully. “Prince Arsenio and I must go in a different direction. We don’t stay at the dormitories, you see. The king does not think it’s safe. Come on, your highness.”

And with an over the top bow, Night turned and started to walk away followed rather reluctantly by Prince Arsenio. I guess it became socially acceptable to just leave because Erin half-heartedly mentioned an early class and walked into the dormitory followed by Laila who I assumed went to the same classes as her. That just left Leanne, Khloe and I.

I took Khloe’s hand, mostly to stop her from walking behind me again. 

Inside the dormitory building was another obscenely long hallway with a bunch of doors. These had small wooden plates with names on them. The students had also apparently taken it upon themselves to decorate their doors because the closest name to me, which interestingly enough was Angela Salvestro, had glued seashells all over her door. Next to that was some Sehar Clover who covered the door in flower petals. I wonder if Angela Salvestro is related to me, maybe like a cousin or something. 

We walked down the hall quietly. Leanne was giving Khloe a rather sharp glare but Leanne being unnecessarily weary of others was starting to seem common. Khloe on the other hand was staring from door to door with barely disguised enthusiasm. 

“There’s your name.” She pointed out and then frowned. “You have a roommate, that’s rare. Usually everyone gets their own room.”

Sure enough, Leanne Brown was sharing a room with me.

“Yeah, uh…” I paused. I really should have thought about what to say before opening my mouth.

“I am currently staying with Anna’s family since the unfortunate accident and loss of mine. Also we are sharing a maid right now so it was convenient.” Leanne was lying. It was so flawless and I found it concerning. I guess with her being the main character and all I had a lot of preconceived notions about her, yeah that had to be it. Also, since when do I have a nickname? 

“Where is your door?” I asked Khloe. Maybe if I focused less on Leanne I would feel less anxious. Khloe looked around. 

“It’s probably a bit further down the hall.”She began before pointing. “It’s right over there, three doors away.”

“Great,” I said, still holding her hand. “Let’s walk over there. I’ll meet you at our room later then.” 

I half waved at Leanne before speed walking away. 

“You’re concerned about not knowing her fake backstory right?” Khloe asked when she was sure Leanne had entered the room. She opened the door to her own room and stared at me expectantly. An older woman dressed like a maid was sitting on a sofa. She left the room when Khloe vaguely motioned towards the door. I barely noticed though.