I felt like a thief, sneaking into the E Hostel so late at night. I might be at the tail-end of the rebellious age, but I never had the chance to be one. Even so, I didn’t want to disappoint Henry. I mean, he’s the closest thing I’d ever had to a grandpa. If I could sneak in and get to my room without him noticing, I would play it off that I was taking a nap in my room the whole time.

Carefully, I eased the front door open. Or at least, I meant to do it carefully. What I didn’t plan on was how the door squealed high and horrible, the whole way open. I didn’t even have time to wince and step in before Henry’s head popped out from the kitchen at the end of the hall.

“Jyn, is that you? What took you so long, girl?” The short man came down the hall, wiping down a glass with a kitchen towel. A decade old injury caused him to limp, but didn’t affect the way his eyes turned into upside crescent moons behind his thick glasses when he smiled.

“Hey, Henry,” I said sheepishly. Man up, Jyn. I mentally kicked myself. I wasn’t a child anymore, I shouldn’t feel this guilty about coming home late. Yet here I was, trying not to turn into a tomato with shame. “I’m back.” I closed the door behind me and stepped to the left around the stairs to meet Henry in the hall.

“I see that,” he said slowly. “Everything okay?” He looked at me closely. It was a look I was used to. One of his hobbies was called, ‘Making sure Jyn was okay.’

“Yep.” I almost died again today. Fun, huh? “I ran into—” a dragon, then a tree, “a girl who needed help. That’s all.” Of course, if I said what I was really thinking, Henry might just have a heart attack. Personally, I wanted him to hang around a lot longer.

He bobbed his head and started to walk back to the kitchen. “I saved you a plate.”

“Food,” I practically sang as I floated down the hall.

The hall opened up to a U shaped kitchen with dark oak cabinets, white counters and tiled floor. To the left was a huge dining area that could fit all twenty-five inhabitants in the building when we actually ate together. Which was once in every third or fourth blue moon. Not that anyone regretted it. Right now there were a couple guys sitting apart from each other with headphones on, playing on their phones. A girl sat at the corner of one of the two tables, fidgeting on her laptop. No one bothered to look up when we entered.

Henry pulled a plate out of the fridge and put it in the microwave. He touched a couple buttons and it turned on with a loud hum. “Do you even remember how microwaves were before the energy crystals?” He glanced over at me.

The corner of my mouth hooked up and I shook my head. “I thought old people hated dating themselves.”

My favorite adopted grandpa tried to scowl at me, but the smile he attempted to hold back ruined the effect. “Young people nowadays have no respect.” He lifted his nose into the air.

I opened my eyes wide and covered my mouth with my hand. “I’m sorry. How could I call you old?” I clapped my hands together and gave a cheesy smile. “You’re the youngest, most handsome man in the entire world!” And the one who controls the food in the hostel.

He snorted flat out and pulled my food from the microwave. “Old, short and fat, you mean. And don’t you say otherwise.” He handed me the warm plate and shook his finger under my nose.

The smile died on my face when I looked down at the chicken, mashed potatoes,gravy, and green beans. My mouth watered and my stomach twisted painfully hard. Still, I handed the plate back. “I don’t have an energy crystal.” Without one, all I could eat was white rice and some vegetables.

Henry’s heavy lids lowered until his eyes were barely more than lines. He sighed and was silent for a second then scowled at me. “I already heated it up now, don’t waste food. I’ll lend you a crystal today, but don’t make it a daily habit.” His familiar words were harsh, but his eyes were kind.

I nodded, trying not to feel guilty. I heard that speech probably four times a month. Mostly, when he notices that I’d only eaten rice for a couple days in a row. Eating a good meal was important. Without the right amount of calories, it was hard to have enough energy the next day to stay safe in the Gate. It was a vicious cycle, between getting enough to eat and getting enough crystals. Once one side broke, it was hard to fix.

Henry was like Jonavon, where he worked full time as the property manager in the E Hostel and that paid for his housing and food, and very little more. That was probably one of the reasons why he was still alive. At sixty with a lame leg, it was a guarantee that he’d die in the Gate. He’d told me before that it didn’t matter if he died. At least he’d finally get to see his family again.

It made me feel guilty because I had extra crystals in my room upstairs. It’s just I couldn’t use them to buy myself food. There were more important things I needed to use them for than to fill my stomach. Yet Henry was using his own money on me.

Feeling touched and torn, I thanked him and sat down at the corner of the table to eat. Henry wasn’t an A ranked chef, but every bite filled me with tender emotion. Even when my small stomach was full, I still forced myself to finish all the food on the plate until the last crumb was gone. When Henry returned to take my plate, I dodged around him and washed it myself. Smiling, I waved goodnight and hurried up the stairs.

The second floor of the hostel was nothing but a long hall with a dozen doors lining it. Since I wasn’t male, I turned the corner and went up to the third floor. Halfway up the stairs, I felt a cool tingle from a barrier that prevented any man but Henry from entering the women’s living quarters. The third floor was just like the second floor, a long tan colored hall with doors lining it. Unlike downstairs, some of the entries were decorated with things like sparkling stars or hearts. Some had slogans of Guilds that the girl wished she could join. Unfortunately, like the second floor, there were only two bathrooms on this floor for all twelve girls to share. Needless to say, my shower was usually pretty cold.

I walked to the bare door at the end of the row. After the long day I’d had, I couldn’t wait to lay on my bed and just sleep it off. Tomorrow was already promising to be a busy day. I needed all the rest I could get. I unlocked the door and stepped inside the tiny room. Really, it was barely big enough for the twin sized bed, a small desk, and a small dresser next to the small closet. Aside from the two star pillows on the plain blue comforter and a couple family pictures on the dresser, there weren’t any more decorations. After all, decorations cost money. Absentmindedly, I pushed the door shut.

The last thing I expected was for it to bounce back open. The corner of the door hit the back of my head and I staggered forward. I could already feel the gooseegg growing as I rubbed my head. Scowling, I looked over my shoulder. I didn’t even get a chance to get a good look at the girl before she walked into my room. But I knew exactly who it was by the sickly sweet perfume and the sounds of her heeled boots clicking on the ground.

Leticia walked right up to my bed, reached out, and grabbed the comforter. With a flip of her hand, she ripped it right off my bed, spilling pillows all over the floor.

“What are you doing?” I demanded.

She looked at me nonchalantly, her purple and brown hair swinging behind her with the simple turn of her head. “It’s getting cold at night. I need another blanket.”

Cold, my butt. She just couldn’t let her favorite victim go twenty-four hours without a show of strength. My fingers in my hair curled into a fist. The tingle of pain helped remind me not to do something stupid. “There are plenty of blankets in the linen closet downstairs. Go get one of those.”

“I could. But I don’t want to.” Her glossy lips curled as her chin lifted up, her very air asking what I was going to do about it.

What could I do about it? The answer was a big, fat nothing. Leticia was an E, like me. The difference was, she was at the top of the spectrum. Honestly, she was good enough that she could join a small Guild and move out of here if she wanted to. But why would she? She was the strongest E in the Hostel and knew it. As pathetic as this little building was, she was a queen here. Why give it up to be the bottom dog in someone else’s Guild?

I glared at her. Really, the blanket didn’t actually belong to me. The only things I owned were the pillows, the pictures, and the handful of odds and ends in the closet with my clothes. The furniture and bedding were provided by the government. But that didn’t mean that I was just going to go belly up, and hand over everything to her. I reached out to take the blanket back.

She grabbed my wrist and swung me around, pulling me completely off the ground. I skidded across the twin bed before my back hit the wall with a thud. I swallowed the groan as pain radiated from my tailbone to my head. By the time I opened my eyes, she was at the door.

She sneered. “Thanks for the blanket.” Her two-tone hair whipped through the air as she turned. Gradually the clicking of her boots faded until I heard laughter and the sound of a door closing.

Frustrated, I scrubbed my hands over my face. Seriously, I give today an F, a complete failure. No, an F wasn’t bad enough. It was a huge Z. What more could go wrong? How much more shit was going to be piled on? Letting out a low snarl helped, but it wouldn’t get me a blanket.

Ignoring my aching back, I rolled off the bed and trekked all the way down to the first floor and stalked over to the linen closet under the stairs.

Henry paused in the action of turning off the lights in the kitchen. “Everything alright, Jyn girl?”

I took a breath to smooth my features before I turned and gave him a lopsided smile. “Yeah, everything is great. I’m just a little cold, that’s all.”

I could tell him about Leticia, but what’s the use? Nothing would change. I was weak. Meant to kneel to the strong. And what if she turned her sights on Henry if he reported her? For all he’d done for me, that was hardly the payback I wanted to give him.

Henry blinked his narrow eyes at me and scowled. “Cold? In the middle of June? I thought you girls were always complaining that the AC didn’t work good enough on the top floor.” He paused and reached out. “You’re not getting sick, are you?” His cool fingers touched my skin. “No? That’s good.”

I waved away his concern. “No, it’s all good. I just want an extra blanket. That’s all. Thanks anyway, Henry.” I retrieved a random blanket and bundled it into my arms. Since it was just a spare it wasn’t the same quality as my original blanket — as if they were that great to begin with — but it worked. “See you in the morning.” I hurried up the stairs, before any more crap happened.