The Mating School

Chapter 2

Lily didn't make it back to her room that night. It was unfortunate, not just because of her injuries from the fight with Jessica, but because she wasn't able to be there for Genevieve on her first night. She wanted to be there. And as the oldest orphan, she should have been there... she would have been there.

Her arm seemed to be broken. Today was her day for dusting and vacuuming. She wondered how much longer it would take with a broken arm. It was almost 7 already. If she had any hope of finishing before evening, she better get going. Especially since she still had to stop by her room for clean clothes.

Lily peeled away the medical stickies monitoring her heart rate. The machine sounded an alarm, but she breathed a sigh of relief when no one came racing in. Granted, she didn't expect it. She had never been much of a priority in this pack. And she didn't really blame them. She couldn't even shift. What was she doing in a pack?

She thought about joining the last remaining human city. She had made plans, dreamt of it. To be accepted as an equal. To be valued...

But change was hard. Hard to work up the nerve. Hard without money. It wasn't paid work here. She was paid with a bed, and some food, and...

"And that's something to be grateful for," she finished in her mind, peering through the door to see if there was anyone outside who might see her leave. But the hallway was deserted.

Lily followed the hallway to the south before it opened up to a larger corridor. There were a few turns before she could make it to a secret passageway. She could get to her room this way without anyone but lower-ranking pack members seeing her. They were all so busy with remedial tasks that they didn't have time to bother her.

She made it to her room by 7:30, but when she scanned her ID bracelet to get in, the door wouldn't open.

Lily walked to the notice board around the corner, near the other orphan rooms, to see if anything new had been posted. But it was the same as yesterday. The schedule for chores, a trading list... without money, they needed to trade with each other for new things. That's how she got her journal.

At the top of the list, Stephan wrote that he had a stuffed pig he was hoping to trade for a bouncy ball or toy car.

What a sad situation. A bouncy ball or toy car. Such a small trinket. Such a modest thing for a young kid to desire. Lily had a strong urge to give him both somehow. And he could keep the pig! ...if only she were able to do so.

She tried her door again, but it remained locked. She checked her watch. Another five minutes had elapsed. She felt uneasy. She worried about getting behind on her chores. She knocked, but she knew that the others would have left by 6 to get their work done.

What was she going to do?

"I thought I might find you here," said Jeffry. He was an older shifter, kinder than most others, but also loyal only to the Alpha. Lily wondered if he had been an orphan too once.

She felt panic, as if he might call her out for not doing her work. It didn't help that the hallway with the orphan's rooms was a dead end.

"Hello, sir," she said, bowing her head in respect.

"They told me you'd be in the infirmary."

"I'm sorry," Lily said, "I thought I should get to my chores."

"You don't have work today," he said. "You were meant to go to the Alpha's office once you were released from the infirmary... but I guess you've gone ahead and released yourself."

She bit her lip to stop herself from apologizing again. "But what about my chores?"

"They've been reassigned. Now follow me."

And she did... even though she didn't want to. Reassigned? She didn't want any of the other orphans to have to pick up her slack. And what about her? Was she moving to a different part of the pack? Would she be kicked out for defending herself when Jessica attacked her last night?

Lily was relieved he took her back to the infirmary so she could shower and change. But, though she did feel better, it didn't help much with her nerves.

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