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cleared his throat and ignored the gibe. “There is a communal bathroom at the end of the hall. You’ll find a change of clothes in the closet."
    Julia walked into her worst nightmare. It was bad enough that she was in a strange city, but they put her in a room with pink flowers on the walls and frilly bedding. The goody-two-shoeness of it made her teeth ache. Worst yet, the room smelled like roses. She was a parrot in a fancy birdcage.
    Her academy instincts kicked in. She rummaged through the drawers and closets, looking for anything useful. All she found were clean undergarments and a plain white robe in the dresser. If these were the clothes Dr. Lawless spoke of, she’d stay in her stinky old leathers.
    “This is worse than the academy,” she spoke aloud to the empty room. “What I wouldn’t give for a cot and cold stone walls.” 
    "I don't know. . . I kind of like it," Valera chirped, poking her head in the door. “It reminds me of home.”
    "You would," Julia groaned. 
    Theo walked in behind Valera and cringed. "I'm with Julia on this one. It's over the top. Mine is pretty much the same except in yellow.”
    "I don't know why you are complaining. At least we are out of those nasty cells, and we’ve got all the necessities up here,” Valera huffed.
    Julia shook her head. "I don’t know about you, but all I need is a shower and sleep.” 
    She saluted the girls and marched to the communal bathroom. Copper pipes lined the sterile white tile walls between shower stalls. The room reminded her of the academy bathrooms. It seemed that ugly tile and tiny showers were a staple in all institutional dormitories – even the human high school had a similar looking locker room. Fresh white towels sat on shelves, so she took one and shed her clothes. She washed the last few days of grime from her body, spending a luxurious few extra minutes under the hot water. Wrapping the towel around herself, she went to get her clothes. The pile she’d left on the floor was gone.
    “Hello?”
    No one answered.
    “Damnit, who took my clothes?”
    Still no answer. She snuck out into the hall, wearing only the towel. Her own room was empty, so she knocked on Theo’s door.
    “She just went to have a shower,” a white-robed Valera called from her doorway.
    “Someone stole my clothes!” Julia growled.
    “No one stole them. A nice woman came by and collected all our clothes. She said she would clean them and bring them back.”
    Julia grumbled, “What am I supposed to wear then?”
    Valera gave her a dubious look. “They gave us robes.”
    Julia shook her head and grumbled, “No way! They’re trying to convert us, Valera. And you’re just going along with it?”
    Valera put her hands on her hips. “You can go around naked if you prefer, but I’m going to clean up and stay comfortable. So if you’ll excuse me.”
    Valera headed for the bathroom. Julia stood in the hallway wrapped in her now damp towel and shivered. A group of white robes walked past her hall and stared at her.
    “What?” she huffed.
    They whispered to each other and passed by laughing. Miffed, Julia slipped into her room and slammed her bedroom door.
    “What a bunch of jerks,” she said to herself.
    “You must be Julia,” a male voice said behind her.
    She screamed and spun around. Julia suddenly felt like she’d eaten a spoonful of peanut butter. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, and she couldn’t speak. A strange guy looked at her up and down, tilted his head, and smirked. She stared at his soft brown eyes unable to look away. He crossed his well-muscled arms across his chest, and leaned against the wall, a white robe slung over his shoulder.
    “Are… you… Julia?” he spoke very slowly, as if she didn’t understand English.
    His sarcastic tone lit her fuse. The spell withered. She broke eye contact with him and scowled.
    “Yes, I’m Julia. Who are you and what are you doing in here?”
    His smirk never faltered. In one smooth