Silver didn't answer the text at first.
She sat on her narrow dormitory bed, phone clutched in her hand like a lifeline she wasn't sure she wanted to grab. The device felt warm against her palm, almost burning with the weight of Carroway's message. Around her, the evening routine of their Gothic tower dorm played out in familiar rhythms. Americus hummed loudly in their shared bathroom, something pop and upbeat that didn't match Silver's mood, as she reapplied glitter eyeliner for the second time. The sound echoed off the old tile walls, mixing with the distant chatter from other rooms and the radiator's persistent clanking.
Riley was sprawled across the worn hardwood floor with her International Relations textbook cracked open, pretending to study but mostly watching TikToks on silent. Every few seconds, her face would flicker with amusement at whatever dance or meme was playing on her screen, a stark contrast to the dense political theory she was supposed to be absorbing.
