Free Minds

Chapter 41.

   Talise decided to make the tweaks on Destiny Omaha's profile alone. Afterwards, she was going to work on the malware file that would contain our profile's details and hack into Zavlon's system to control the visitor selecting algorithm. The time consuming nature of the latter made her leave for her home back in Ridgeton sooner than I'd liked.

   After Rav kept us in his room (the first room we'd booked) for a two hour romantic comedy—his terrible choice, Dorian decided to call it a night, with Camila following suit a few minutes later.

   Maybe it was the sugar Rav kept stuffing his face throughout the movie or just, you know, him being Rav, but he was nowhere close to sleepy.

   As Camila retired to her room, I felt inclined to follow her since she was my roommate for the night and I'd never joined her and Dorian when they booked their rooms and dropped off their luggage to locate hers.

   Also, it would be weird if I came in later. Or should I say weirder. This whole roommate situation was already a thing on its own as it is.

   Even though it seemed like we should both be way past that by now, it was hard to overlook the fact that I was spending the night with Camilla. She was, after all, the best friend of Viola Quill, my Zavolonian torturer (currently on a mind-control influenced hiatus, of course) and had taken a few digs at me herself.

   Camila and I's walk to her room was even uncomfortable. Knowing well that I couldn't walk directly beside her unless I wanted to birth awkward small talk neither of us could handle, I was torn between taking steps that were too far ahead of her and the slow kinds that made me come off as a stalker to any passerby.

   Needless to say, it was a long walk to her room.

   I got a full glimpse of the room immediately I entered after Camila since it wasn't large. In fact, it was quite similar to Rav's current room.

   The only differences were that this room was painted purple, the medium-sized bed was situated at the right side of the room against the wall, instead of the centre, with a desk that carried a lamp beside it. The position of the closet, bathroom and couch, however, was just like in Rav's room.

   I noticed Camila hadn't made any touches to make the room seem more personal aside the colourful bed sheets and pillows she probably purchased back at Ridgeton.

"You'll be sharing the closet and bathroom with me permanently," Camila said as she eyed the suitcase in my hand. "So you don't have to worry about having to split your clothes with Rav and Dorian's rooms or anything."

   Considering the fact that everyone had their respective rooms because of the money I'd contributed, I didn't think I'd have to worry at all. But okay.

"Thanks." I blinked.

"I can help you unpack, if you'd like."

"Yeah, sure. Thank you...Wait, now?" I frowned as she pried the suitcase from my grip. "Okay, then."

   As Camila opened one of the zips of my small suitcase, I had to stifle a laugh at the startled leap she gave when comic books burst out of the area she'd unzipped. It was like watching a person who'd opened a 3D jack-in-the-box for the first time. The comics showed no signs of being oppressed as she struggled to push the ones that hadn't fallen to the floor (yet) back into the suitcase opening.

   I had to thank Tali again for packing my stuff.

"You know what?" I bent over to help her on the floor. "Let me take it from here."

"Thank you." She heaved out a sigh of relief as she faced me with flushed cheeks.

   Camila proceeded to leave me to it by taking what I assumed to be her night clothes from her side of the closet and going into the bathroom.