Page 17 of Stealing Embers
“It’s just a cafeteria,” Sable reminds me with a hand on my shoulder.
“Why are they all staring?” I whisper-yell.
Lifting her eyes, she regards the room as if for the first time.
She’s not fooling me. There’s no way she didn’t notice the shift when we entered. I heard the ruckus through the closed door. Now, all I can hear is their collective hive-mind working.
Oh no—itisa cult.
That’s why they all look the same. They’re going to flip when they figure out I can’t dye my hair to match theirs.
Where are the closest exits? Time to put my running skills to good use.
“Okay, everyone. You’ve looked your fill.” Sable’s raised voice jolts me out of my rabbit trail thoughts. “You’re making your new classmate uncomfortable.”
My breathing starts to slow a bit. Maybe this won’t be as bad as I thought.
I rub my heated palms against the material of the borrowed baggy jeans then tug at the hem of my oversized t-shirt. My underarms start to moisten.
Great, I’m going to start stinking soon.
“You’ll all have time to introduce yourselves later.”
Nope, back to panic mode.
Closest exit is the one we just entered through.
Pivoting on a heel, I rush back the way we came. Sable’s surprised “Emberly, wait!” doesn’t stop me from busting through the doors.
Experiment over. I’d rather sleep on the ground than be forced to interact with a group that large.
Sable’s hurried steps catch up to me before I reach the turn in the hallway. She jumps in front of me with her hands raised.
“What’s going on? Where are you going?”
I point a finger in the direction I just fled. “Nope. No way. I’m not doing that.”
Her eyebrows knit together in confusion. When I try to step around her, she moves with me, blocking my path.
“Hold on a second. I promise it won’t always be like that. You’re just new.”
“I can’t dye my hair,” I blurt.
“Um, we don’t expect you to?” The statement hangs in the air as a question. A clear sign my abruptness derailed her.
I rub my forehead. Darn headache.
“There’s no way I’m going to turn into a clone for you. So it’s probably best we just part ways now. I’m sure you’ll find another young girl to fill . . . ah . . . whatever sort of thing you’ve got going on here. Okay?”
Sable’s eyes grow a fraction before she bursts out laughing. A melodic sound that, given my current state of unease, is entirely vexing. I tap a foot while I wait for her to compose herself.
“I’m so sorry,” she finally says, “I’m not laughing at you.”
I have a hard time believing that.
“It’s just that I’ve gotten so used to it, it doesn’t even register with me anymore. I realize everyone looks the same at first glance, but I can assure you that’s not the case. I can also assure you that quite a few of the students would love to change their hair color if they could, but we can’t dye or lighten our hair. The color we’re born with is the color we keep throughout our lives.”
My breath catches. My hair is the same way. Down to the freaky tinted ends that don’t match the top.