"Oh, you've met her," was the first thing I heard when I finally made it down to the ground floor, breathless and still clutching the railing for balance. "She's the only other occupant of the fourth floor."
Nyra, as if on cue, took off running—straight toward Matilda, who was coming from the opposite stairwell. My eyes widened. Matilda was dragging someone along the polished floor—a guy, slumped over and completely limp, by the scruff of his blazer like he weighed nothing. He had a black cap pulled low over his face, and while he didn't look dead, he was definitely out cold. Or... at least I hoped he was just asleep, because Matilda was yanking him along without a care in the world, like she was used to hauling around unconscious bodies.
She must've come down the other staircase on the far side of the building. It hit me then, the girls' dorm was on the left side, where Nyra and I had come from, and the boys' dorm—which was on the right.
"Wakey-wakey, Silas! Sun is down—it's time to wake up!" Nyra chirped, poking at the brim of the slumped boy's hat with one finger. Matilda, apparently done with her part, just let go of him without a word, leaving him to flop onto the floor like a ragdoll.
I glanced around, expecting to see someone else. But no. It was just us four. The whole place felt strangely empty.
"He's in class," Matilda said suddenly.
I whipped my head around, startled by her voice. She was standing calmly next to Nyra and Silas, watching them with a kind of bored detachment. Nyra was now poking relentlessly at Silas's hat, while Silas, now awake or at least awake enough, batted her hand away with a groggy scowl.
"Get off me, you banshee," he muttered, swatting at her fingers again.
I took a step forward, stammering, "I—I wasn't looking for him. I was just wondering where the other, uh… students are?"
Matilda blinked at me, completely unbothered. "They're in their classes," she said simply, as if it was obvious. "I told you, I'm just here to collect the waywards."
She pointed lazily at the two now locked in what looked like a full-on tug-of-war over Silas's cap. Nyra was giggling, Silas was cursing under his breath, and the whole scene felt so weirdly casual that for a second, I almost forgot how strange everything else had been up until now.
Waywards, huh? I had a feeling that word meant more than those two.
"We really need to get to class now, though," Matilda said, her tone sharp—not just addressing me, but clearly meant for the other two as well.
Nyra and Silas froze mid-tug, looking like kids caught stealing from the cookie jar.
I blinked. Right… class. I kept forgetting—I had classes at night now.
***
Somehow, without even breaking a sweat, Matilda managed to wrangle both Nyra and Silas, dragging them along like misbehaving pets. They kept trying to argue, tossing out every excuse they could think of.
"We're so close to the full moon!" Nyra whined.
"And the equinox is next month," Silas added, sounding utterly put out. "Come on, it's our first year. We should be making the most of it!"
Matilda didn't even flinch. "We have a strict monitor for attendance," she said coolly, as if that settled everything. And apparently, it did, because despite their grumbling, neither Nyra nor Silas actually broke free.
I trailed behind them, a little dazed and way out of my element, while Matilda shot me a glance over her shoulder.
"Remember—three steps behind," she reminded me, her voice clipped. "Don't touch anything. Don't wander off. Don't lose sight of us."
I nodded quickly, even though my eyes kept darting around, soaking everything in. Honestly? I kind of got it now. Watching her herd these two like it was just another Tuesday—completely unfazed, totally in control—I started to understand why her rules were so strict.
Yeah… I understood a little better now.
I wasn't just another student. I wasn't even just a transfer. I was part of the waywards now, wasn't I?
I couldn't stop the sigh of relief that slipped out when we finally made it to the elevator. The night walk from the West Wing back to the North side had been long—really long—but honestly? It was still better than that first walk I'd had with Matilda and Signos. At least this time, with Nyra and Silas tagging along, the atmosphere felt… lighter. A bit more normal. Or, well, as normal as it could get here.
Silas kept tugging his cap back onto his head, scowling as Nyra repeatedly tried to snatch it away, her giggles echoing off the stone walls. I quietly edged myself into the far corner of the elevator, trying to keep a polite distance, while Nyra stepped inside and carefully gathered up her hair.
I couldn't help staring a little. Now that I'd seen her hair trailing across the ground—through the open-air courtyards, across the stone paths, past trees and swirling night winds—I'd expected it to be at least a little messy. A leaf, a twig, some dust maybe. But no. Not a thing. Her hair still glinted like silk under the dim elevator lights, perfectly smooth and immaculate.
I hugged my bag tighter and stared at the floor, pretending not to be completely weirded out by it all.
When the elevator chimed, I glanced at the floor indicator and saw that we were on the sixth floor. We stepped out and walked down a corridor lined with rooms—oddly empty rooms. There was an unsettling quiet to them.
"Those are the Solar class rooms," Matilda said, her voice even and disinterested, not bothering to look back at me.
Nyra, however, was full of energy. "Right, you're new-new!" she exclaimed, practically bouncing. She said it with so much enthusiasm, as if it was some huge revelation—like we hadn't literally met for the first time not too long ago.
Silas, still half-asleep, glanced at me, blinking his droopy eyes as though seeing me for the first time. His wide gaze—well, as wide as his sleepy eyes could get—made me feel a little awkward. It was as if he was only just noticing I was there.
I couldn't help but feel like a ghost, standing there awkwardly while everyone else seemed to go about their own world with ease.