Vivian followed the signs pointing toward the D-Class residential block. She still hadn’t gotten used to how large everything was.
And apparently, even the dormitories were divided according to rank.
Everything in this place seemed to have a ranking attached to it.
She finally reached the room number printed on her keycard.
D-317.
Vivian stopped in front of the door, and knocked. Inside, she could hear loud music playing. She waited a few seconds, but nobody came to the door.
She knocked again. "Hello?"
Still nothing. The music just kept playing.
Vivian knocked a third time. Maybe they just can’t hear me over that volume, she thought. She rattled the handle and called out, "Hello? Is anyone there?"
Silence was her only answer.
She looked down at the keycard in her hand. "Well..."
Vivian pressed the card against the scanner. The little light flashed green, and the lock clicked open. She pushed the door open, stepping inside with her uniforms and student file clutched against her chest.
"Hi, I’m..."
The words froze in her throat.
There were two girls in the room. One had curly brown hair, and the other had short black hair. They were wrapped in each other’s arms, making out.
The door click made both girls pull apart at exactly the same time. Their eyes met Vivian’s, and widened.
"Oh," Vivian stammered, immediately taking a step back into the hallway. "Sorry! I didn’t mean to!"
She grabbed the handle and pulled the door shut, standing alone in the quiet hallway, covering her face with one hand.
"Oh my God," she whispered into her palm. "I just walked in on two people making out."
She looked down at the uniforms and the student file still in her arms.
First day at the academy and I’ve already embarrassed myself. I always make terrible first impressions. Why am I like this?
In her first life, she’d made plenty of bad first impressions. But somehow, five years of surviving a zombie apocalypse hadn’t taught her how to stop walking into awkward situations. She sighed, hoping her new roommate doesn’t hate her.
Then, the door clicked open behind her.
Vivian straightened her posture immediately, pulling her hands out of her face.
The curly hair girl stepped out into the hallway. Her dress was slightly wrinkled, and she smoothed the fabric down with her hands before offering Vivian a nervous smile.
Behind her, the girl with the short black hair quickly slipped out of the room, keeping her face down as she hurried past Vivian without saying a word.
Vivian watched her disappear, then looked back at her new roommate.
The girl awkwardly scratched the back of her neck, her face were all messy, with lipstick smudges. "I am so sorry."
Vivian saw how embarrassed the girl was, offering a soft smile. "It’s okay."
"No, seriously. I’m so sorry," the girl repeated, glancing nervously toward the empty hallway. "I didn’t know I was getting a roommate today." She covered her face with both hands, letting out a miserable groan. "God, I’m so embarrassed."
Vivian let out a soft laugh. "It’s really fine. Don’t worry about it." She waved her hand. "I probably should have knocked longer before opening the door."
The girl laughed awkwardly, pulling her hands away from her face.
Vivian smiled back warmly. "They just assigned me this room downstairs."
"Oh." The girl stepped aside, holding the door open. "Come in, please."
Vivian walked inside. The room was actually much nicer than she’d expected. It had two neatly made beds, two study desks, two wooden wardrobes, and a small private bathroom. It wasn’t luxurious compared to the rest of the campus, but to Vivian, it was a palace.
She walked over to the empty bed on the left and set her things down on the bare mattress.
"I’m Vivian," she said, turning around.
The girl smiled back. "I’m Rosa. Rosa Martinez. D-Class Guide."
Vivian looked at her. "Me too."
Rosa laughed out loud. "Well, that makes sense. Everyone in this block is D-Class."
Vivian looked around. "Everyone?"
"Yep." Rosa sat up, crossing her legs. She pointed toward the ceiling. "The higher your ranking, the better your dorm. If you saw where the S-Class students stay, you would gasp. It’s like a five-star luxury hotel. And we lower-ranked blocks are strictly forbidden from entering their territory. There are biometric scanners everywhere."
To Vivian, it was nothing. She had slept in abandoned houses, cars, in the bush, with a hunting knife always tucked under her pillow. She’s definitely not going to complain about this.
Vivian shrugged, completely unbothered. "Good for them."
Rosa stared at her, blinking in surprise at how casual she was. Vivian just picked up one of the academy uniforms and inspected the stitching
I’m not going to cry because an S-Class Guide has a nicer bedroom than me.
Rosa awkwardly scratched the back of her neck, as she looked at Vivian. "Um... about that girl I was with just now. Can you please do me a favor and not tell anyone about it? We really, really don’t want anyone to find out."
Vivian turned to look at her. "Why? Is it against the rules to date?"