This Student Housing Slip is presented to Orion Calloway.

Room Number: 68.
Room Code: 5453.

"Okay," I exhale a slow breath as I slide the card from the receptionist into my pocket.

I move aside as he calls for the next person, my eyes glancing around the lobby of Maverick Hall.

The carpet is a deep grey, harmonizing the different shades of blue on the walls, each of them forming some kind of geometric pattern. Lighter blues form a hexagonal mosaic, while darker blues create a series of bold, chevron stripes. It's as if the walls are alive with kinetic energy, and I find myself kind of liking it.

Plush armchairs and sofas are scattered around the room, and the sound of deep laughter and friendly banter fills the space, creating an atmosphere that makes me feel a bit relaxed.

The carpet softens my footsteps as I head towards the stairs, deciding to be the odd ball that doesn't wait for the elevators, out of respect for my claustrophobia.

My eyes adjust to the dimmer lighting in the corridor as the stairs wind upward, a spiral of steel and concrete that seems to stretch on forever.

On the plain white walls here, there are framed photos of accomplished alumni and notable residents smiling down, each of them a whisper of a mix of encouragement and intimidation.

I'm out of breath as I finally reach the sixth floor, the stairs surrendering to a long, straight corridor.

The room numbers tick by in a steady rhythm, 60, 62, 64, until I finally reach 68, the door a blank slate with a small metal plate bearing my room number.

As I drop my bags to retrieve the card with my room code, I notice that the door to room 69 is wide open. Inside, there's a guy standing in front of the wall, his head tilted as if he's trying to figure something out.

He must feel my gaze on him because before I can even blink, he spins around. His deep brown eyes lock onto mine, curiosity flashing through them.

"Can I help you?" He asks with a raise of his pierced eyebrow.

"Uh, no, I was just... What's with the piercing?" It comes out before I can stop myself.

The guy raises his other pierce-free eyebrow, a hint of a smirk pulling the corner of his lips up.

"What's with the staring?" He counters.

"If you think about it, you were staring at the wall," I shrug. "Why?"

He sighs, running a hand through his dark hair as he takes a few steps forward.

I fight the urge to roll my eyes as I think about how my sister would absolutely love this guy.

She's always been the bad boy type.

"Do you answer every question with a question?" He quizzes, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

Now that he's standing a bit closer, I can't help but think about how familiar he looks. Like I've seen him somewhere else before.

My confusion probably shows on my face because he says, "The tour guide."

I raise a brow, not entirely sure what he means.

"She's my mom," he clarifies.

It makes sense. His skin looks just like hers did, and it's as if her face was morphed into a masculine one.

"The name's Carlos Garcia. Don't make the mistake of calling me Carl," he continues, extending a hand which I shake with a firm grip.

"I'm Orion. Orion Calloway."

"Orion? Like the constellation?" He calls over his shoulder as he begins to walk back into his room.

"Like the constellation," I mutter under my breath, turning to press my room code into the keypad on the door.

I nudge the door open with my foot, surprised when the only furniture I see in the room are a single king-sized bed, a desk with one chair, and a closet by the right.

My lips tug downwards. Everything is white and neat, almost too neat.

Thank God I brought my quantum mechanics posters.

"So, whose kid are you?"

The question makes me turn around to see Carlos leaning on my doorframe.

"Well?" He probes when I don't say anything.

"I don't understand what you mean."

"Your parents must have a big role in Apex if you're getting a VIP room. That's why you don't have a roomie. I don't either since my mom's a staff."

I don't bother mentioning how I already knew about that as I sidestep him to pull my bags inside the room.

"They're investors," I offer as I zip open one of my suitcases.

My hoodies burst out, angry from being confined in such a small space for too long.

"Investors, huh?" he says as he eyes my one too many hoodies.

Starting to feel a bit uncomfortable, my voice comes out harsh as I say, "Do you need anything else?"

Thankfully, Carlos doesn't seem to take offense. He just sighs, stands upright, and shoves his hands into the pockets of his worn jeans.

"See you around, Calloway." That's the last thing he says before he walks away.

I wait to hear his door close before I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding in.

Growing up, my parents' wealth was always a sore subject for me. I can't believe that even now, in my last year as a teenager, I'm still not fond of the topic.

My phone buzzes against my skin, and I pull it out of my back pocket to see two messages from my sister.

Ophelia: rion.

Ophelia: guess who i saw just now.

My brows crease as I type out a reply.

Me: who?

The three dots of her chat bubble appear and disappear, but she doesn't reply. Maybe it's our twin thing, but I can't shake the feeling that there's something wrong, so I send a follow-up message.

Me: are you okay?

For the next few minutes, I distract myself with the rest of my clothes, my eyes occasionally flitting to my phone on the floor.

I lunge for it when the screen finally lights up with a reply.

Ophelia: nevermind :)

My eyes narrow as I ask what she means by that.

Ophelia: i saw someone from highschool.

Ophelia: this girl i used to hang out with, emily saunders.

Ophelia: do you remember her?

It's hard to put a face to the name since, being the social butterfly that she is, my sister had an annoying number of friends in highschool. She'd make a fuss if I told her that, though, so I just send her a yeah, i think so.

Ophelia: well, she's here! just wanted you to know that.

I can tell she's hiding something, but I'm honestly too tired to care. I just react with a thumbs up, throw my phone onto my bed, then continue sorting out my clothes.

hey'all! long time, no see! is anyone still reading? lol! :)

i'm so sorry for the inconsistent updates. apart from being sick for a while, i had a really hard time writing this chapter. i don't know why, i just kept second-guessing everything i wrote. i low-key hate this end result, but i'm excited to see what y'all will think about it. please let me know in the comments!

i hope August was good to y'all, and i pray September is an even better month for all of us. i love y'all so much! thank you for reading, stay tuned for the next one! don't forget to vote, comment, and share! <3

xo, dara.