Free Independent Study by Joelle Charbonneau Page A

the staircase, probably light from the first floor, makes it easy to navigate the path to the steps. Aside from my own, no doors are open. Banging and the sounds of muffled cries tell me my fellow female students are still working to pass this Induction.
    I stop at the second floor and glance up and down the hall. Two doors open. The rest are closed—although, judging by the sound of cracking wood, one more will be open soon. Not sure how much time remains before the deadline, I make my way to the brightly lit first floor. A fire still crackles in the hearth of the hangout room, but no one is there to enjoy the warmth. Rain pelts the windows, and for an instant, lightning brightens the world outside. A clock over the mantel tells me I have arrived with ten minutes to spare. I take a minute to run my fingers through my hair and smooth down my shirt before straightening my shoulders and walking to the dining room. When my feet hit the threshold, dozens of people applaud.
    Near the back, Ian is standing and gesturing me toward him. I weave around tables while looking for familiar faces. Will is not here. Neither is Rawson. But I spot two faces I recognize from the meeting where we were assigned our guides: the first-year student with no hair named Griffin, who watches me with a fierce intensity, and the slight, curly-haired boy named Enzo. His face is thin and narrow. His smile warm and angelic. Trustworthy. Since both he and Griffin finished this test before me, I plan on keeping a close eye on both of them. Just in case.
    Ian tells me to take a seat between him and a pretty girl with a sleek braid running down her back. When I’m seated, the room falls quiet and all eyes shift from me to the door as they await the next successful first year.
    All eyes but Ian’s. His are stilled fixed on me. Leaning close he whispers, “Thank you.”
    “For what?” I whisper back.
    “I bet Jenny you’d be the first female student to arrive.” Ian grins over my head at the girl seated beside me. “She’s got to do my laundry for the next two weeks.”
    “I suck at laundry,” Jenny says under her breath. “He’ll be lucky if his underwear comes back in one piece.”
    “As long as I don’t have to clean them, it doesn’t matter to me.” Ian looks at the clock. “Seven minutes left. I have to think at least one or two more first years will make it downstairs before the limit.”
    Jenny smiles. “You want to go double or nothing on that?”
    Before Ian can take her up on the offer, a red-faced blond boy appears in the entrance, and the room breaks out in applause. From the hulking girth of the boy and the way sweat pours down his face, I’m guessing he was the one using brute force, not guile, to get through his door. Just before time expires, two more first years make it through the door—one boy, one girl. They come in together, both looking winded and disheveled.
    A buzzer goes off as the clock strikes noon. The first challenge is over.
    “What happens to the first years who didn’t make it out of their rooms?” Ten are missing, including Will and Rawson. Too many to warrant an extreme punishment. I hope.
    “We starve them,” Ian says with a serious expression as the kitchen staff bring out platters of food. The smell of roasted meat fills the air, making my stomach yearn for sustenance even as it swirls with anxiety. The concern I feel must show in my face, because Ian laughs and says, “Don’t worry—it isn’t for very long. As soon as everyone down here is served, the locks on their doors will open.” Ian stabs at a chicken leg and passes the platter to me.
    “So, they just have to wait for us to start eating?” Not such a bad punishment, I think as I put a slice of meat in front of me.
    “They also have to clean the dishes after everyone is done.” This from Jenny, who takes the plate of chicken. “You should be glad you got here before time was out. When motivated, we can make quite a mess.”
    The other