The hall contained multiple doors spaced roughly fifteen feet away from each other. The walls were a light blue while the floor was carpeted. The room was illuminated by ceiling lights that appeared to be putting off natural light.

The woman in the vest continued forward confidently with the two boys in tow before arriving near the end of the hallway and stopping in front of a door numbered 156.

“You’ll be staying here for the year. Please let me know if there are any issues with the room. Also, the rooms in this part of the building are meant for three students which mean’s you’ll likely be gaining a roommate closer to the start of the semester.” She opened the door with a flourish and said, “Enjoy,” before leaving them to settle in.

They both moved into the room with Arthur going left and Tom going right. Arthur experienced a kitchen furnished with a dark gas powered stove along with wooden cabinets.

Tom whistled from the other room, saying, “Holy cow. This is the nicest apartment I’ve ever seen.”

Arthur grunted in agreement as he rubbed his finger along the granite counter.

Tom arrived in the kitchen saying, “You’ve got to check out these bedrooms. They even have TV’s with built in video game systems.”

Arthur followed Tom over to the bedrooms and saw three door with each containing an identical room.

Walking into the first door, Arthur initially noticed the sturdy wood frame beds followed by the hard wood furniture. A probing touch to the bed indicated he would likely sink into it easily.

“This seems too nice, “Arthur stated plainly.

“Well, look at it this way.” Tom said, turning and looking Arthur in the eyes.

“We’re about to train the magical animal powers that we’ve been hiding from the world out of fear for the last four years due to the fact we were found out by a man who also has magical animal powers and saved you from falling to your death. I’d say our room at the secret school buried underground being decked out is the least of our worries.”

“They’re not magical animal powers. We’ve been over this. It’s a spiritual bo…”

“Blah blah blah. Spiritual bond formed through the power of friendship and sparkles to let us transform. I’ve heard this story before. What I’m trying to get across is that we shouldn’t be worrying about the fine details.”

Tom spread out his arms and spun around saying, “This room shouldn’t make you suspicious. If anything, it’s a sign they care about our wellbeing and want us to be happy. If they wanted to hurt us, they likely would have done it already. Unless these beds have bedbugs, I can’t see how any of this is a trap.”

“I guess you’re right, “Arthur responded sitting onto the edge of the bed and sinking deeply into it.

He shrugged saying, “All of this is still just so foreign. I feel like we had a plan before we met Vincent and ever since then everything has gone off the rails.”

“You’re the one who told me that ‘Life changes constantly and it’s up to you to adapt’. We’ll get through this just like we’ve gotten through everything else.” Tom responded with a smile.

Arthur nodded before getting off the bed and wandering over to the desk where he took a seat. Looking inside the first drawer, he noticed a laptop, textbooks and writing utensils. He closed it and checked the next drawer only to see more school supplies.

Arthur asked, “Have you been through the desks yet?”

“Yeah! They gave us some really nice looking laptops and about everything we could need supplies wise.”

“I guess we won’t need to buy anything. I wonder how we get groceries? I think I saw we had a fridge in the kitchen…”

“A fridge you say?” Tom asked with an inquisitive smile before jumping off the bed and running out of the room.

Seconds later Arthur heard a gasp followed by a loud slam of what he assumed was the refrigerator closing.

Tom returned quickly with eyes full of wonder. “It’s completely stocked. There’s beef, pork, chicken, fish. Tons of fruit, vegetables, and even weird grains. Have you ever heard of cous cous?”

Arthur almost thought he could see a tear coming from the corner of Tom’s eye as he continued “They even put ice cream in the freezer. I think this is the happiest I have ever been in my life.”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “You act like we were living in the streets with nothing to eat.”

“We did live in the streets! And we barely had anything to eat some winters.”

“Ah you’ve stumbled upon the key difference between nothing and barely something. We fell into the second category.” Arthur replied with a grin.

“Just for that I’m spitting in the ice cream and making it my own.”

“You act like I care. That’s just extra protein if anything.” Arthur added by mock licking his lips.

“Disgusting” Tom replied before turning away to further investigate the fridge.

Arthur continued moving through the room trying to check if there was anything he would need that wasn’t there. It seemed like everything was present but he had the sinking feeling he was missing something.

Looking around the room again, his eyes fell upon the dresser and he promptly remembered that neither of them had their suitcases or gear.

“Tom dear. We seem to have a problem.”

Tom’s head appeared from the door frame. “What’s up?”

“We need to get our bags or else we won’t have any clothes.”

“Hmm. You’re not wrong. Good luck with that. I’m going to explore the building.” Before he disappeared and Arthur heard a series of clicks as the front door opened and closed.

Arthur sat in silence for a few second wondering if he was really gone but after the door didn’t reopen, he groaned realizing that Tom really had left.

He stood up from the desk chair and wandered over to the front door planning how he would get their bags back. The front desk worker would likely know how to find them or at least who to call.

“I’m totally spitting in the ice cream now” He mumbled under his breath while exiting the room.