Free The Other Side of Nowhere by JN Chaney

disappeared into the back room.
    “What kind of tests?” Terry asked.
    “Easy, honey,” she said. “We do it for every new student.”
    “But why?” he asked.
    “Because we just do ,” the nurse said plainly. “Now why don’t you go tell the boys in the hall that you’re ready, okay? We’re all done here.”
    Terry nodded and went to the door. He opened it to find the same two men who brought him here still standing in silence. Had they been waiting for him this entire time?
    “Finished?” one of them asked.
    “I think so,” Terry said.
    When it was time for sleep, they led him to a room with two beds. “This is your room,” one of the men said.
    “When can I go home?” Terry asked.
    But there was no answer, only a closed door. They had left him alone. All alone for the first time since he awoke that morning and saw his sister and—
    Janice. She must be so confused right now, wondering where he was, why he never came home. She’ll cry , he thought. Cry and plead with Mother until she falls asleep or passes out because that’s how she is. She’s so little, and now she’s alone. Sure, she’s got Mother, but when was that ever enough?
    Suddenly there was a loud flushing sound. It came from the other side of the room, behind a wall with an open door where a light shone. Terry walked to the door, staring at the knob, waiting. After a moment, the knob turned and another boy stepped through.
    He was taller than Terry, his chin a little thicker. He had short black hair and looked as surprised as Terry to find another person on the other side of the door. “Uh, hi,” he muttered. “What are you doing in my room?”
    Terry looked around at the two beds. He felt like an idiot for not seeing them both before. One had a bag at the end of it, with the sheets and blanket already laid out. Of course somebody was already there. How could he not have noticed? “They told me this was my room.”
    “Oh, I thought it was all for me.”
    “Sorry,” said Terry.
    “That’s okay,” said the boy as he walked to the side of his bed and sat. “To be honest, I was getting kind of bored. All the other kids got roommates, but they stuck me in here all by myself with nothing to do.”
    “What other kids?” asked Terry.
    “You know, the other students. Didn’t you see them?”
    Terry sat on his bed directly across the room from John’s. “No, you’re the first kid I’ve seen all day.”
    “Really?” asked John. “There’s about twenty of us, I think. Most got here early this morning. You’re kinda late.”
    “Am I the last one?” asked Terry. He didn’t like being late.
    “Dunno,” said the boy, shrugging. “They stuck me in here hours ago, and sent the rest to their own rooms. Anyway, I’m John.”
    “I’m Terry,” he said. “How long do we have to stay here? They told me it was ten years. Is it for real?”
    John nodded. “Until you’re seventeen.”
    Terry stared at the floor.
    “How long did you think it was?”
    “I thought I’d be back by the end of the day.”
    John didn’t say anything.
    “Why didn’t my mother tell me?”
    “Maybe she didn’t want to,” John said.
    Terry gripped the edge of his bed with his hand, squeezing it. “Well, she should’ve said something. Now my sister thinks I’m coming back, and I’m not. She’s going to think I left her alone.”
    “You have a sister?”
    “Yeah,” nodded Terry. “Janice. She’s four.”
    “I never had a sister,” said John. “Just an older brother. He graduated from the academy last year. When he came home, I got to meet him for the first time, and he told me all about this place.”
    “You’re lucky,” muttered Terry.
    “Lucky?”
    “Yeah, you knew before you got here.”
    “I guess,” said John, his voice a little softer. “But I only got to know my brother for a year. I won’t see him again until I’m seventeen. You got to spend four whole years with your sister. That’s lucky.”
    “Sorry,” said