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perpendicular to the door were the closets, one on each side of the room. In between the closets was a door leading to a small bathroom. On what I could assume was my side of the room, there was nothing but the bed, neatly made, without any adornments from home. I hadn ' t expected to be staying at the University and had nothing to add to the room, not even an extra energy suit to hang in the closet. At least I had the side with the windows. I stared out toward the food science building and the hydroponic farms. Two bulbous water towers rose from the farms, reminding me of planets set atop stilts, the way their graceful arms held them toward the sky as if an offering to the heavens.
    My head swam with questions — who was my roommate? Was she a fellow Athlete? Would I be allowed to go home and get my things? But I held my tongue and stared out the window, silently searching for answers, when I heard voices in the hall. Ajax was blocking the doorway but I could hear several Students out there.
    "Is she in there?"
    "Can we meet her?"
    "Did she take off her glasses?" They fired questions at Ajax or whispered them to each other. I couldn ' t tell how many were out there, not too many I guessed, but still, a bit of panic blossomed in my chest. I had never been alone or unaccompanied before, had never been around other Students who were not fellow Athletes unless I was carefully guarded. I ' d always had my brother or coach to escort me, shield me, even speak for me at times, and now I felt vulnerable. Who could I turn to now? Certainly not the surly boy who pretended he didn ' t remember being my friend.
    To quell my panic, I quickly reached into the minds populating the hallway, finding only an excited curiosity and a hope of seeing one of the most famous and most sequestered Athletes on the planet. The pressure of such a sentiment did little to ease my anxious heart; I feared they would find me nothing more than ordinary.
    "Move back!" Ajax ordered authoritatively, his deep voice stronger than all the rest.
    I crossed the room to stand behind him. "I ' ll go out," I told him quietly. I was going to have to face them sometime and I might as well get used to it. I didn ' t have Tiergan to hide behind, and it was time for me to step from the shadows in any case. I pushed the glasses on top of my head so there would be no secrets.
    "Put them back on," he ordered softly, keeping his voice firm but not disrespectful. My hand flew up to place them back on my face, an ever-present weight upon my features.
    Ajax made a gesture to someone out in the hall, and a loud booming voice called out, "Move aside people!" Then Ajax allowed another Student to enter the room, closing the door behind him, but not before warning the flock outside they ' d better not be there when the door opened again. You could hear their feet scurrying off before the door clicked shut.
    I tried not to show surprise on my face as the boy, bulging with muscles and huge in every direction, stepped in front of me as solid as a mountain. He bowed to me and kept his head lowered out of respect. I touched his shoulder and as he raised his head to meet my eyes, I lowered my own out of respect for him.
    "I ' m Balor Marc," he introduced himself. His grin was lopsided and his teeth were slightly crooked. Overall, he reminded me of the pictures of old fist fighters back in the pre-war times. His face looked like it had been smashed a time or two, and I hated to think what the fool who picked a fight with him looked like after the dust settled.
    "I ' m Kaia Robi," I replied, "What ' s happening out there?"
    "Just a lot of curious Students. Don ' t worry about it. They know not to bother you."
    "It ' s no bother," I shrugged , unsure exactly what was expected of me in this regard.
    "You should only be socializing with the members of your team," Ajax spoke up, "Balor is one of them. Keep your interactions with other Students to a minimum and I will accompany you wherever you