Nihma was yet another student admitted to the EU, yet another face with an obviously fake name but only one letter away from the real one; a dangerous choice, but she was a practiced liar. Oddly enough she was also quite practiced in her protection from the gentry, even if she did happen to occasionally disappear once or twice a month.
She was the student that many went to for emergencies; not enough candy, iron pieces are missing, or the textbook they had w Her dorm happened to be the one where things turned up most, sadly her roommate often didn’t. She cracked the door open and handed items off, seeming to know who was at the door and what they would need. It helped, coming from a family of psychics.
On the days her roommate was gone, Nihma would keep the lights on, ignoring the shadows outlined in the corner; blinking, never fading, always growing. Instead, she recited textbook after textbook and tossed candy and wrappers behind her after every chapter, listening to the telltale crunch and heaving breath like a cat chewing on a bone. It receded after the fifth chapter as always; no one really questioned how she knew the material so well.
It was often chaotic on the days she vanished, so she pushed all lost items out of the room and extra candy and iron when she knew she would be gone; sometimes she would get a couple waterbottles and extra salt packets in return, a quiet welcome back from the other students. Her feet ached. Her mind was tired. At least she was back. Her roommate would be returned for two months. Then the process began again. “I have the notes you missed last week,” Nihma murmured, her roommate smiled.
“I appreciate it.”
(I hope you don’t mind, I really like Elsewhere University, I had to word vomit XD)
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