Shades of Darkness by A. R. Kahler Read Free Book Online Page B

stomach dropped a few inches. I’d always looked forward to Advanced Painting; it was my one chance to really zone out and focus on my work. But knowing Chris was interested in something beyond friendship? It made my stomach twist. How was I going to focus now ? Especially since tomorrow was crits.
    I gave her a quick hug and jogged up the steps to my dorm. The lobby was filled with girls in pajamas and sweaters and slippers, some with tea, others with books and soda. A few of them glanced at me and smiled or said hello, but to be completely honest, I didn’t really get along with anyone in the dorm save for Elisa. Okay, that sounds harsh—it wasn’t that I didn’t get along with them, more that I just never really gave anyone the opportunity to test out the waters. When I wasn’t with Ethan or Elisa, I was pretty much a hermit.
    Which wasn’t a problem at Islington, really. Everyone here was a hermit in some way, even the theatre kids. We just liked to call it “focused.”
    After initialing next to my name on the sign-in sheet, I went upstairs to my hall. For all the appearance of Islington being quaint and rustic, there was something almost clinical about the dorm halls—harsh fluorescent lighting, generic blue carpet, cinderblock walls, and wooden doors. But even in here the arts had pushed their roots through the cracks. No matter how many times they vacuumed, there were still traces of glitter in the carpet from the epic glitter fight we’d had the second week of term (and nearly all gotten detention for); every door was plastered with posters and pictures and magazine cutouts, and a few of the lights were decorated with (fireproof) plastic flowers and wilting balloons. My door was halfway down the hall, overlooking the woods that engulfed all sides of campus.
    Elisa was already in her pjs, holding a bowl of popcorn that filled the room with the deliciously intoxicating scent of butter.
    â€œI was wondering when you’d get back,” she said.
    â€œSorry,” I replied, slinging my coat over my chair. “Got a bit carried away with thesis work.”
    â€œIt’s okay. I found a really terrible zombie flick online involving pterodactyls. It is queued and ready.” Terrible horror movies were Elisa’s forte—she relished them as eagerly and excitedly as other people experienced five-course meals.
    â€œGimme a moment to clean up and I’m all yours, baby.”
    She patted the bed beside her and blew me a kiss.
    Yeah, I stopped wondering why people thought she and I were lesbian lovers a long time ago.
    I remember when I first stepped foot in a dorm room here, thinking they were huge. But I think that’s just the freshness of new things—everything is vast and impressive at first glance. The moment Elisa and I had really started unpacking and settling in, listening to boy bands and singing at the top of our lungs in what would be the first of many such afternoons, I realized just how compact the space actually was. The rectangular room was split down the middle, a mirror image of itself with a twin bed on either side, shelving underneath, and two desks opposite each other. The only break in the symmetry was the hall leading in, which had a closet on one side and a door to our tiny bathroom and shower on the other. The one perk of dorm life here: Every room had its own bathroom. No foot fungus for us classy artists.
    I wiped off my makeup and washed my face before heading in to slip into pjs. Technically speaking, lights-out was in an hour, but our RA barely checked. The last time Maria came in to break up our late-night movie, she ended up staying to watch the rest of Vampire Hedgehogs and ate all our popcorn.
    â€œHow was your night?” Elisa asked when I flopped down on the bed beside her.
    â€œAll right,” I said. I snuggled deeper into the covers and grabbed her plush oversize piece of toast, aptly named Toastie. My mind was