Gloria Oliver Read Online Free PDF Page A

up two of the available drawers on the first dresser. With the two beds and the extra dresser, she wondered if she’d be sharing the room with someone. As far as she could tell, however, there was no indication this would be the case.
    After she finished, she noticed a bronze plaque set into the back of the room’s door as well as a place for another wooden bar. Embossed on the plaque were the times for the serving of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which were at seven, noon, and six. It seemed cold and impersonal.
    A pang of longing for her parents and home cut through her. Everything seemed to be so different from what she was used to. Nothing felt familiar anymore. She sighed, suddenly tired. Moving toward the balcony to glance at the sun outside, she made herself stop and looked at the clock beside her instead.
    She saw it was only three o’clock. That was three hours before dinner, three hours on her own. Her stomach took this as its cue to remind her she’d not eaten lunch. With another sigh, she lay down on the lower bed and was almost swallowed by the soft, thick mattress.
    She glanced up and didn’t see the familiar sight of her room’s low rafters or the gentle sloping of the roof.
    Instead she found the carved and scarred surface of the bottom of the bed above her.
    Someone had scratched in rough sketches of the school’s floor plan on the wood. Each floor was there, even the location of the Administrator’s office. It also showed her other important things like the location of the kitchens and the dining hall. Other students looked to have added other bits of information—class names and times, things she wasn’t sure applied to her. Others seemed to have been content just to add their own names or initials almost as if to make sure those who came after would know they’d been there.
    As her eyes closed on their own, she wondered where they all were now.
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Chapter Two
    THE CHIRPING SINGSONG of a bird startled Talia awake. Abruptly realizing she’d inadvertently fell asleep, she scampered out of bed in a panic. What time was it? Did she miss dinner? She glanced at the clock, once she remembered it was there, and saw it was only a quarter past five. Her speeding heart slowed as she realized she hadn’t missed another meal after all.
    Without slipping back into the bed, lest it lull her back to sleep, she leaned over it and looked up to study the map scrawled there again. Having time, she decided it might not hurt to make sure of where the Administrator’s office was as well as where she’d have to go for dinner.
    After she made sure their locations were set in her mind, she braved herself to leave.
    The hallway outside was as deserted as it’d been hours ago. If she listened, though, she could still hear the soft hum of voices below her. With quiet steps, she turned right and moved to the stairwell at the far end of the hall. According to the map, a major stairwell filled up each of the building’s four corners. This one was only slightly smaller than the one she’d used earlier to come up. On the landing to the third floor, she saw the tiles there were of a black marble. When she reached the landing for the fourth and final floor, she saw those were colored a sparkling white.
    Heading off to the right again, Talia spotted the Administrator’s golden door long before she reached it.
    The door was tall, almost as high as the ceiling. When she got there, she stared up at it. The feeling of being small and insignificant washed over her again. She shivered. Did her parents feel this way when they went for their apprenticeships? She mentally kicked herself, realizing she should have spent her time before coming here asking questions rather than brooding on her unfair fate.
    Two other doors filled the hallway where the Administrator’s office was located. They stood as tall as the Administrator’s, but one was made of silver and the other of bronze. As she wondered what they