“All day I’ve been wondering, what is inside of me

Who can i blame for it? I say it runs in the family”

- Amanda Palmer, Runs in the Family

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We left the office and walked down the path into another building. All the way at the end of the hall was another room where a blue light flickered. There was the muffled sound of boys laughing. I could see a bunch of guys circling around a card game. Blaze noted my curiosity.

“Leisure room,” he whispered, leaning close to my ear. His breath was hot against my ear, and it sent a shudder down my neck, raising goose bumps on my arm. He stood straight, seeing the reaction, before continuing:

“You’ll be bunking with me and three others: Dan, Geraldt, and Samson. Quick heads up: Dan has a strong nut allergy, so try not to eat anything with nuts in the room or near him in general. Inspections are done once a week, so make sure to keep your space clean. There are three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Any issues with your food, or any dietary laws or guidelines, would’ve been handled with your form. We try to have breakfast before sunrise, or at least as close as we can, to help with some of the kids who fast here. So, keep that in mind,” he explained, taking small breaths as he tried to keep up with his own words.

“Classes here are from seven until three. You are to report back to your board then and do your tasks assigned by Richard, the dorm captain. Once you’re done, you have the rest of the time until lights out for your own affairs. Some kids here do extra-murals, so you can keep an eye out for those.”

We stopped in front of a door, and he knocked twice before walking in and looking around.

"Cover up, lads; we have new flesh."

Upon entering the room, I could see three other boys. The one closest to us was a taller boy with his feet up on the desk and a book settled against his thighs. He looked athletic, with bulk on his arms and legs. He looked to be the most athletic out of the group, with hair on his legs and arms and a shadow over his face. He didn't look up from his book when we came in.

On the bunk behind him was another boy, paler than the first. He had curly hair, which covered his face. His arm was over his eyes as he tried to block out the light. He was the only one who looked up at us when we came in.

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Finally, there was a taller boy—skeletal, for lack of a better word. When he turned over and saw me, he nodded before turning back to the magazine he had with him.

"Hey, Jer, doesn't that look like your type?" The boy with the curly hair chuckled, reaching out with his leg to kick Gerald's chair. The latter turned around, flipping him off, but turned to look at me, his eyes running over my body before he winked. He turned back to his own book, and I think the curly-haired boy saw my face because he let out a small chuckle. He sat upright in the bed, reaching out to shake my hand.

"Samson's the name. You can call me an'thing from Sam to Sammy."

"Aaron," I responded, taking his hand in mine and shaking it.

"And that's Jer, and over there is Skelly," he said, pointing to the lanky boy on the top bunk. "The normies call him Dan."

"Some call him 'Danny-boy'," added Geraldt with a crooked smirk.

"Hate it," Danny said, jumping down from his bunk. He came forward from the shadowy parts of the room. He was right in front of me. His lips twitched as he reached behind him, the heat of his body radiating against mine. My breath got stuck halfway in my lungs, and I heard him let out a soft, teasing grunt as he withdrew.

In his hand was a towel, and he had pulled it from the shelf behind me.

"Cute lad," he commented before leaving the room. There was an awkward silence in the room until Blaze finally spoke up,

"Right, so just dump your bag anywhere and choose one of the empty bunks."

"You told him about the washing?" Samson asked, resuming his reclined position on the bed. Blake shook his head.

"Right, so you'll have to wash your bedding at least once every two weeks. You can also use that time to wash your own clothes. Take my advice: if you get your hands on a spare bit of cash, go down to town and get yourself washing soap. It works much better than what they got here."

"I can drive you if you need it," Geraldt said, not looking up from his book.

"Yeah, you'll just need to pay him with 'cash, gas, grass, or ass'. Ain't that right, Jer?"

"I'll beat you with this book; I swear on my life."

"Yeah, yeah, but you still love me. Right, also inspections are done -"

"I already told him that," Dan interrupted, flopping down on his bed with a sigh.

"Speaking of inspections, d'you smoke, newbie?"