The Boarding School Experiment (13 page)

“What do you mean? Outdoors are prohibited right now because of the bear.” Her cheeks leached of color and her eyes took on a distant look. “Did you know people are blaming us?”

“Yeah, I heard.” I lay back on my pillow. “Did you read your note from home?”

“They mixed mine up with someone else’s. It said,
Your little sister got an ‘A’ on her paper, so we went out to a movie to celebrate
. I don’t have a sister. I went to ask and at least four other people got the same message. The coordinator said they were working on the Internet connection.”

“Declan got that email too.”

The glowing lamp reminded me of all the nights my sister let me keep the light on, and I swallowed the lump in my throat. I didn’t even know if my message came from my family, not with all the mess-ups lately. I’d have to find out who transcribed these. When I found him, he’d lose dryer sheets privileges until he got them straightened out.

I flicked a finger at the blanket and my stomach felt hollow. “I didn’t get much for dinner. Do you have any more of those cupcakes?”

“No. I gave the blueberry ones to Thane. I’ll bring you one tomorrow.” She sounded pleased I’d asked.

“Thanks.” I flipped to my other side. “I think I’ll go find something. You want anything?”

“No, thanks.” Kaitlin sounded sleepy.

I threw on the sweatshirt and went back to the corridor. We didn’t have lights out or curfews, so I didn’t worry about getting caught. I wandered, exploring like I often did at night. All the closed doors gave me an idea. I knew what I could do, but I needed the keycard to make the plan work.

Chapter Eight

I tapped on Thane’s door. “Thane,” I whispered at the seam and tried the knob. He roomed with Declan, and I wondered, not for the first time, if their sharing caused Declan’s random placement to our team. Their dorm room was configured the same as ours even though the space held only two guys. Instead of mango, their room smelled like cologne, and everything was suspiciously neat. I bet one of their girlfriends cleaned for them.

Both guys were inside, though they didn’t get up at my knock. Thane lay across his blankets, tossing a soccer ball between his hands. He wore black sweat pants and an olive T-shirt stretched tight over his chest. With blue eyes, he shouldn’t have looked so good in green, but he did.

Declan stood going through a chest. He wore navy sweats, like me, and turned at my entrance. I didn’t care how he looked.

A cocky grin crossed Declan’s face and he abandoned the chest. “What do you want? It’s midnight.”

“It's not even ten.” I stepped inside, hoping my next words would make it clear that I had no intention of playing his Cinderella fantasy. “Thane has something I need for one of our projects.”

“Sure,” Declan said. “What, did you want to hang out?”

“Um, no. Got to work on that thing. Right, Thane?”

Thane didn’t respond. I moved closer to his bed. I’d do more than short sheet his extra-long twin if he kept the badge from me, maybe dry his sheet with salt.

The ball thumped between his hands and his eyes flicked to the lamp on this nightstand.

Please, I have siblings, the eye flick gave him away. I backed over to the nightstand, trying to look casual, and perched on the edge. Thane bent a knee and pushed up straighter. I knew he could see my hands going for the base. I felt underneath, searching, and touched a laminated corner. With a small motion, I eased my prize forward.

“Whatever, I’m going out.” The second Declan cleared the door I secured my hold and moved to jerk away, but Thane had great reflexes. He snared an arm around my waist and pulled.

Oomph. I landed on his hard chest and slid to the side of the bed. “The keycard is mine.”

“I’m not ready to let your card go just yet.” His voice softened. “Are you going to see Geneva?”

My cheeks heated at his kind question, forcing honesty out of me. “No, I’m going kind of cabin-fever crazy. I thought maybe I’d take a short walk—outside.”

Thane’s head tilted and his eyes widened with blue intentness. “Outside?”

I spoke in a rush. “Not far, near the perimeter, or maybe I’ll hike up to the airfield.”

Thane bounced out of bed with unflattering speed and grabbed hiking boots from the back of his closet. “Let’s go.”

“Uh, okay.” His enthusiasm stirred mine higher and my idea went from possible to probable. “The grate in the laundry room vents outside. If we go through there, we won’t have to risk the monitored exits. I only want the badge as a precaution.”

“Yeah,” he said and followed me, sticking by my side, throwing an arm over my shoulders. If we caught the gaze of any late night wanderer, we looked like any other couple out for a stroll.

The first week here, no one wandered but me, but lately people moved around at will. The end of the midnight sun was messing with everyone’s sleep patterns.

We reached the laundry room and I turned on the light. Thane flipped the switch back off and I froze. “I need the light to see the way out,” I said in a strangled tone.

The overheads buzzed back on and I breathed again, moving toward the grate. “Steam exits through here and out.”

Thane nodded. “At home, our laundry room vents through the bricks, but the opening’s the size of a piece of paper. Neither of us would fit.”

“Industrial-sized drums, industrial-sized vents.” I didn’t describe the utility room at our trailer. Its ventilation system consisted of a thin silver hose hanging out a window. The foil tore regularly and we repaired the rips with duct tape to stop the little fuzzies from escaping and flying around the singlewide. And we were the lucky ones. More than one trailer let their unmentionables dry on an outside line, and several carried baskets to their cars, which meant a Laundromat.

Two years ago, at my old house, I didn’t even know vents existed. I took the utility room for granted. Back then, I took everything for granted. I breathed out the memory and reached for the bolts. I pried at one. It didn’t budge. “Hmm,”

“Got any tools for this escape plan?”

“I didn’t plan this. Do you know where they keep the tools? What’s your job?”

“I sort the library.”

I stopped twisting and examined his big body: broad shoulders, muscled arms—what a waste of his strength. “You’re kidding? I cart heavy loads of sheets out of these dryers and you alphabetize books?”

“Within subgenre of course.”

I blew out a breath. “Well, that’ll really help us.”

Thane twisted the bottom bolt. “That’s not going to come off without tools.”

I thrummed a finger against the cold metal. During the day, the surface warmed with heat from the dryers. But at night, it cooled to match the outside air. My heart jolted at the possibility. “Let’s go back up.” I pointed to the ceiling. “Utility closet.”

“Okay.”

We sailed through the ascension, and handled the tube drop like circus pros. Though cautious once our feet hit the restricted room, I still clicked on the overhead light. Bingo. Several tools hung off the side of the cart. Thane sorted through them. He snagged a wrench and a pair of pliers. I grabbed another flashlight and lay a mop against the side, so it would seem as if it had fallen into the tools.

“Okay, let’s go,” Thane said.

I hesitated a moment, looking at the door to the hallway. “We should check on Geneva.”

He nodded. “First, let’s stow these.” He lifted me, and I shoved the tools through the chute. They landed with a loud clang. I winced and held my next breath, but no one came running.

Thane eased me down and we went out into the hallway. One careless step onto the plastic runner and my hiking boots clung to the plastic. It was like the time my sister microwaved a frozen chicken too long. We had to throw it out because the plastic wouldn’t come off.

I kicked to get free. The rip threatened to reach both sides of the wall.

“Hold still.” Thane bent and undid my laces, then his own.

I wiggled out of my shoes, and we threw them into the utility room. Jogging back with quieter feet, we made our way down the dark corridor.

Nighttime running lights edged the carpet like at the movie theater, lighting our way to Geneva’s sickbed. The room lay dark and empty. My gaze flew up to Thane. His jaw tightened, and his eyes narrowed.

A footstep sounded on the tile.

Thane grabbed my arm and we ran, retracing our steps.

A male voice echoed toward us, distorted by the distance. “I’m telling you, it’s not working.”

The intersection lay another ten feet away. Top speed wouldn’t be enough. If they looked up, they’d spot us in the mirror.

I slapped the badge on a sensor. We fell into the nearest room, and the door closed with a soft
snick
. Squatting low, I struggled to keep quiet. My gaze glued to the light under the door, watching for shadows that would indicate movement.

I recognized the thin nasal tones of The Scientist. “We’re not on schedule.”

I recognized the other voice too, Coordinator Steele. “You don’t know that. We don’t have all the results yet.”

“Maybe there’s more we could do: their food, their drinks. Something.”

“Later, but not yet. We don’t want to have negative side effects.”

“You don’t understand science. A negative effect is still an effect.”

Every muscle rigid, I held my breath. The light under the door wavered, revealing their passing shadows. Thane tensed and rose, his usual nonchalant stance gone. He stood as tight as a freshman facing the principal’s office for the first time.

“Coordinator Steele’s better.” I looked up at him from my squatting position. “What do you think they’re talking about?”

Thane took my elbow and raised me. Now that my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, I could see the room better. The space was bigger than I’d thought. Labeled vats lined the walls.

Thane tore one of the white labels off.

“I—”

Thane pocketed it and shook his head. “Shh. Not now. Let’s get out of here.”

We snuck back out and thankfully didn’t run into anyone else on our way to the utility room. After grabbing our shoes, we jumped through the chute. Sitting on the platform, my shaking fingers had problems with the ties, and I had to do the loops twice. I sank back to the plateau floor, and concentrated on deep even breaths, trying to calm down.

Thane handed me the torn label and I clicked on the flashlight. Bolded words read,
Capable Tech Pharmaceuticals
,
CT-8180503. Lot 45682. Expiration March 2020. For experimental use only
.

“I don’t get this.”

“Don’t you? They cut us off from the outside world, and now they’re experimenting on us with a vitamin regimen.”

“Maybe vitamins are something you have to take living in Alaska. Frozen winters. Nothing to do. I don’t know.” My voice took on a shrill edge and I cupped my palms over my eyes as if not seeing would help. “Maybe they’re for some future science experiment, or—”

“It’s not tragic, just stop taking the vitamins.” Thane drummed his fingers on the side of the tube. “I’m headed back down.”

He crawled away two steps before I voiced what we were both were thinking. “Where do you think Geneva is?”

Thane didn’t look back and he didn’t sound convincing when he said, “Probably airlifted home to recuperate, like the director said.”

“Maybe. Leave the tools.”

“No.”

“Yeah, I’ll work on the bolts during my shift. We’ll get out on the next sunny day, and we’ll hike to the nearest town. Check in at home, then call Geneva’s family in Seattle.”

Thane nodded. “We could hike to the airstrip. There has to be communication there. For now, lay low and don’t lose your temper.”

“I’ll try.” I didn’t say anything else as he dropped the tools and left. I scooted to the other end of the platform near the dome, and lay back, staring at the night stars.

***

I had a simple plan: loosen the bolts, remove the grate, and explore outside. But other students kept coming into the laundry room, wanting to chat about the upcoming competition, or their soul mates, or some other random topic. They’d never bothered me until I needed them to be gone.

At the end of my shift, I’d made progress with one bolt. I hated to admit it, but I needed Thane’s strength, or cooking oil from the kitchen. I hid the tools behind the dryer and headed out.

Kaitlin caught me in the hall. “Hey.”

Sometimes I felt guilty about not telling her about Geneva, but the only thing I could say would upset her and get us in trouble. I didn’t want Kaitlin dragged down with us. Right now, she could truthfully deny all knowledge of my wrongdoings.

Kaitlin said, “Declan’s been looking for you. I think it’s about the dance tonight.”

My mouth twitched to the side in instinctual revulsion. I’d rather be on a blind date than go out with Declan. “I’m not really feeling it with Declan.” I paused. “And maybe you shouldn’t have so much faith in these soul mate statistics. Love’s not a statistic.”