I sneak out of my bed and into the bathroom. It's been two nights since I had that conversation with Aria. She wasn't there last night.

I open up the door and look around. She's not here tonight either. I guess it's a good thing. It means at least one of us is getting sleep. But it feels lonely. I've enjoyed our late night conversations.

I sit down against the wall where I've sat with Aria. I pull my knees up to my chest and just sit there.

My whole life has changed in a week and a half. Two weeks ago, I was living a normal life. I had friends. Beth, Maddy, Joanne, Ashlyn and of course Tasha. I really do miss them.

"Amber?" a voice asks from the door of the bathroom.

I look up. "Tess? You aren't asleep?"

"No. I was worried about you. Are you okay?"

"Meh."

"What's up? Miss your family?"

"Yeah."

"Other problems?"

"Sorta."

"Like what?"

"Stuff."

"Amber. Really! A week ago, when we first got here we were like, best friends. Now you reply to me in one word sentences and can't even make eye contact with me. What's changed?" She asks, her voice breaking at the end.

Tess looks really sad. I feel bad for her.

"Tess, I- I just. I don't know!"

"Amber. Obviously something is wrong. What is it that's so terrible that you can't bear to tell me about?"

"When we first got here, we were roommates and best friends. We were telling each other everything."

Tess's face contorts when I say 'everything.'

What else was she keeping from me?

But I continue. "Then we started having little disagreements. You wouldn't let me borrow that navy shirt,-"

"So you hate me over a shirt? What the heck Amber! I didn't think you where that shallow!"

"It's not just the shirt thing Tess! Let me talk! Then when I saw Mitchel, we fought about that. All you cared was whether or not he was single, and I was overwhelmed by what was happening. Then I thought we made up that night. You opened up to me about your past, we talked. I thought things were getting better. And now we're here. I just don't know want to do or say Tess."

"We fix it," she says simply.

"But how?" I ask. "Why? Is it even worth it? I don't know what the point is Tess."

Tess sighs. "I guess it's for the better," she says, almost as if she never meant to fix this messed up friendship, and leaves the bathroom.

What have we done?

---

The clock beside my bedside now reads 3:39am. I haven't slept all night, and it'll catch up to me pretty quickly in this morning's classes. I know I need to sleep, but I can't. There's too much on my mind.

Why was the ADCCG created? That's all I wanted to know before. Now I've all but forgotten that goal. Why does the government need us? It's so confusing. This could be a movie. There's so much drama, it's basically just like we're at a small, rich, weird, boarding school.

I roll over and try, yet again, to get some sleep.

---

What feels like only five minutes later, the ADCCG alarm clock in our room rings. Turns out I actually got four hours of sleep, as its 7:40am now.

Tess and I silently get dressed and head out in to the common room. Tess is talking to Oliver and Daniel, so I go stand beside Tristan.

"Hey Amber," he says, his face brightening.

"Hey," I say with a smile.

"What's up?"

"Tess and I are fighting."

"Aw, that sucks. Anything can do to make it better?"

"Talking to you is making me feel better," I say shyly. This is as close as I come to flirting.

He smiles. "Good."

"I wonder what's for breakfast. I'm hungry."

"I don't know," Tristan says.

Just as he finishes speaking, the cafeteria doors open and the common room starts emptying.

"I guess we're going to find out," I say.

When we get into the cafeteria I can smell good breakfast food.

I grab a tray, and load it with apple juice, a bagel, watermelon and bacon. Tristan and I head to our group's usual table. It'll be a little awkward between me and Tess, but I have no where else to sit.

"You gonna be okay sitting over here?" Tristan asks me.

"Yeah. Thanks though."

We sit down and I end up between Tristan and Daniel. Great. Let's just confuse Amber some more.

While we eat, all of us are pretty quiet. But all of a sudden the whole cafeteria goes quiet. I look around, and see Ms Attary strutting into the cafeteria.

"Good morning. I'm sure you're all curious as to what I'm doing here. I have an announcement that I think will please you. We will be having a dance next week. For those of you that are new here, you can find out more information from your mentors and friends. Have a nice day." And with that, she leaves.

After the cafeteria door closes the room erupts into chatter.

"A dance?" Paige asks.

All of us girls are equally confused.

"Why do the give us dances?" I ask.

"If this place was torturous, they have people trying to break out left and right. By giving us fun things and education, it keeps us happy," Dave explains.

Oliver pipes up. "There you have it folks. The smart, Dave answer."

"It's not really complicated," Ethyn says.

"Nah, Oliver's just too stupid," Tristan says, laughing.

"Hey! Watch it!" Oliver says to Tristan, pretending to be mad, and failing.

Everyone starts laughing at Oliver's failed acting attempt.

"Weren't an actor back at home, were you?" Dawn asks.

"Maybe I was! Maybe I was destined for a Grammy award!" Oliver insists.

"You do realize that the Grammy's are for music, right?" I ask, through laughter. And with that, the whole table is in fits of laughter again.

Tristan holds out his hand for a high five. I smile and slap his hand.

"But really," Dave says. "To answer the dance question, their goal is to keep this place like a small, fancy, boarding school. Don't ask how I know that, because I can't tell you."

"Do you know why we're here?" I ask.

"No idea," Dave tells me. "That's one thing I haven't figured out."

I nod. Everyone starts guessing why we're here. I sit quietly, lost in thought.

---