Justice: “Ugh! Vampires!…. They have no self control!…. Ahh, how does one even survive in this place?”

Zora goes to join Roman in the effort of returning all of the battered and mistreated books back to their places in the bookshelf.

Dot: “….Justice, you really are going to have to start looking at things from a different perspective, or else you’re just going to be unhappy. Plus, it would be so wonderful for you to finally be enlightened by the truth… That is vampires are wonderful individuals!….”

Justice: “Well, if there’s anything I’ve learned it's that vampires could very well cause grievous harm to me... Should I be happy about that, hmmm?”

As Justice stands, waving his hands in the air in aggravated accusation, Edwin walks into the room. He enters the lounge area, quick to notice the obvious mess of toppled books on the floor.

Edwin: “Oh dear…. Well, I can't say that I’m surprised… Ehem, Luke , Justice, I came to inform the two of you that your dorm room is ready. If you’d like, I can show you both there…”

Luke: “Ah, thank you Edwin. It's perfect timing too…. It's been a long day.”

I feel the sudden urge to yawn. It sounds insane to me, thinking about all the ways my life has changed today. I hope that I will be able to get some good rest. However, I have an inkling that vampire inspired thoughts might intrude into my mind and keep me up for a while. That’s alright though…. This gives me more time to annoy Justice with such exact issues!… Or even better…

Luke: “Oh! Sorry for asking so unashamedly, but may I have the library’s wifi password? You see, I’m a very serious gamer and I’d like to keep up with my streaks…. And well, I get the feeling that I won’t be getting very much sleep tonight so….I might as well stay up gaming into the wee hours, no?”

Edwin: “Huhuhu….Ahh, yes, I’ll let you in on the wifi password soon enough... But for now, will you both follow me? Your dorm room is just up this way…”

Edwin turns and makes a slow start towards the hallway where another staircase leads higher into the upper floors of the library’s tower. I look to my side and find Justice staring at me with a deep set, scathing frown on his face. He’s totally judging me right now.

Luke: “Gosh, don’t make that face, Justice. Even vampires don't look as scary as that…”

Justice: “Ugh, please…. Do you hear yourself? All you care about is—”

I cut off Justice’s whining despite how entertaining it is, and I grab him by the arm, pulling him to follow me.

Luke: “Come on Justice, you're making Edwin wait for us!”

We follow after Edwin, scampering up the stairs until we find ourselves in a long, narrow hallway. I note the lines of doors mirrored on either side. Edwin takes us all the way down to the end of the hallway, as the stone brick walls start to make a subtle curve to the left. Facing the inner wall, Edwin opens the door that's set there.

Edwin: “This is where you both will be staying… I hope it is suitable enough for you. I spent all afternoon making sure it was cleaned and ready…. John used it as storage before you arrived….”

Justice follows behind me as we enter our dorm room. Inside there are two beds at either of the side walls. There are two nightstands placed beside the beds, making the room plain, yet pleasant in its symmetry.

There is a window in the centre of the far wall through which I see the deep navy of the night sky.

Luke: “Oh, man…. This room is more than good enough for sure! Thanks again, Edwin!”

Edwin nods to us with an understanding smile, leaving me and Justice to get settled in our new room. I walk over to one of the beds and lay down on it. I put my arms behind my head ready to, at last, relax after the day’s wild occurrences. Justice stays near the door with his arms crossed in front of him. He opens his mouth to speak, but I interrupt him before he can do so.

Luke: “Before you start complaining about having to share a room with a vampire, remember that neither of us chose this, so don’t bother me about it. Alright?”

Justice sighs.

Justice: “….Urmmgh… I wasn’t about to start complaining…. I was just going to let you know that I have to sleep with the window open, or else I’ll get a dry throat….”

Luke: “Pfft…. Yeah, whatever, that’s fine…”

In a moment that is perfect in its sheer amount of awkward tension, Dot makes a convenient, uninvited entrance into our room.

Dot: “Hey you two! I hope you like your dorm room! I already know that the both of you are really going to like it here!”

Luke: “Uh…. Yeah, I’m used to living in places that aren’t really homes, so I’ll get used to it. My dad always sent me to fancy schools growing up, so this isn’t too different. It's probably better, actually!”

Dot: “That’s wonderful!... Oh! Why don’t I show you around a bit more?! I can show you where everyone else’s rooms are!”

We decide to flow with Dot’s unrivaled enthusiasm and let her show us around. It turns out that the Bibliotheca Vampiric is a lot bigger on the inside than it looks. The entire training facility is contained within the library’s tower. Dot explains that all of the students have their dorm rooms within two hallways on one of the tower’s floors.

Dot: “Alright!... This room over here… This is my room!”

Dot leads us towards another dorm room. It looks pretty much the same as mine and Justice, but this room is what I imagined a typical girl's room would be like. It's much more clean and organized than any room I’ve ever stayed in. Every object looks soft and the room is so bright, like a cloudy summer sky. There’s also the odd vampire themed item placed here and there in some places….. I assume that’s just a Dot thing though…

Dot: “Oooh! Why don’t you try and guess who my roommate is?! Come on! Guess!”

Justice: “Uuuh…. Do we really have to stay here any longer?…. This place is creeping me out….”

Luke: “What? Is all of the vampire merchandise making you uneasy?”

Justice: “….No, not that.. It's just...being in a girl’s room. I have an older sister who’d always yell at me if I went into her room…. It reminds me of…unsettling memories. That’s all…”

Dot moves to stand in between us, a beaten down sadness looming over her most often cheerful expression.

Dot: “Ugh… You guys are no fun… Anyway, I share my room with Ginger. She gets scared of the dark sometimes, so we leave a lamp on at night…. Uh… Don’t mention to her that I let you in on that… Okay?”

We move on and Dot takes us to another dorm room. Zora and Lilla’s room is right next to Dot and Ginger’s. Their room is almost split down the middle in two obvious differing aesthetics. Zora has a lot of sports memorabilia as well as various band posters on her side, while Lilla has many stuffed animals and pillows stacked neatly on her bed with other kinds of cute, small things displayed around her space.

Key and Green’s room looks to be filled with things that relate most to Green's interests. Green has two glass cases filled with all kinds of collectable action figures…. It pleases me to see that he isn't so intense or strict about this hobby that he at least takes some of the action figures out of their boxes…

Dot tells us that Link and Roman are another pair of trainees who share a dorm room. Theirs is packed full of items that from first glance look random as they are placed together. Link has a lot of music equipment on his side of the room, along with other things that I assume is garbage that hasn’t been cleared out yet. Roman’s side is equally as messy, but I notice many odd metal scrap parts and mechanical looking items that he has stored in many places. I wonder what he does with them…. Is he going to open his own mechanic shop or something?

Next, Dot stops us at Fern and Vanda’s room. Just as we walk up to the doorway, Vanda herself walks out and greets us.

Vanda: “Oh, hello everyone. It's getting late, what are you all doing?”

Dot: “I was just giving Justice and Luke a tour of the dorms. You wouldn’t mind if I showed them your room, would you?”

Vanda: “Ummm, Dot, are you sure you want to show them? You know what it's like in our room… I wouldn’t want anyone getting hurt.”

Dot: “Don’t worry! We’ll be careful!”

Vanda steps aside and Dot opens the door to the room, allowing us to look in. As soon as she opens the door, it's as if we have stepped into a jungle. Many rich, green vines wrap themselves around the room’s furniture, and tree branches hide most of the ceiling. There’s even little space on the floor for anyone to walk, it's all covered in dense, green foliage.

Justice and I are synchronized in our dramatic jaw dropping, as the sight has us awestruck.

Vanda: “Fern has….a lot of plants. I try telling her to get rid of some, but she always refuses. I would show you inside, but I’m afraid someone will get hurt…. I do….all of the time. But, I’m also just….really clumsy, hehe…”

Dot then takes us to the last dorm room. She speaks to us in a quiet voice.

Dot: “Here’s Ina’s room! She’s the only one who doesn’t share a dorm room. That’s alright though! She prefers her alone time. I think she’s in there right now. You two be quiet, okay? She wouldn’t like us spying on her…”

Inside Ina sits at a small wooden desk. In front of her there is paper and what looks like a tray with paint, along with a cup of water. She has long, waist-length hair that is as black as a starless night sky, and the same goes for the clothes she wears. She has short bangs that stick together in little points and wears a satiny headband with a bow tied in the middle. Her breathing and movement is slow with the extreme focus she expends on the painting out in front of her. I look up on the walls of her room. Many watercolour paintings are displayed there… Did she paint all of those?

Before Ina can notice our presence, Dot makes a swift move forward to close the door without making a sound.

Dot: “Ina keeps to herself a lot, but I promise she’s very friendly once you get to know her! Well, that’s it for the trainee dorms. It is getting late, so you should probably go to sleep soon… Anyway, I hope you’ll both like it here! I’m sure you will!”

Just as we begin to head back to our rooms, the three of us turn around, as we hear the floorboards shift behind us. It's Ina, standing poised right at our heels.

Justice: “Huh? Wait, how did she get there?”

Ina speaks in a clear and calm voice. The sound of subtle raindrops.

Ina: “You two are the new trainees…. Welcome…”

Dot: “Oh, Ina! So sorry to bother you. I was only showing them around. We didn’t mean to interrupt your painting.”

Ina: “….It’s okay… I’m finished, anyway.”

Dot: “Alright, well, maybe you can show us your painting sometime! Have a good night, Ina!”

With that, I once again learn to not question the odd things, when it comes to vampires. After all, this should become very familiar to me in no time, I’m sure. Justice on the other hand, I can’t say for certain what he must be thinking…. Maybe he’ll just be in a permanent state of bewilderment from now on…

After getting ready to end the night, Justice and I lay in each of our beds. I stare at the ceiling in complete darkness and let myself sink into the pleasant calm of silence.

Luke: “Justice. You’re not asleep yet, are you?”

Justice: “…No… What do you want?”

Luke: “Oh, nothing... I was just wondering….how are you going to explain staying here to your family. I mean, they can’t just be okay with you suddenly being gone and leaving your family’s school, can they?”

Justice: “You don’t need to worry about my family…. I already told you why I’m here…. My father likely won’t even notice that I’m gone….anyway.”

I haven’t known Justice for very long, but from what I can already tell, he’s the type of person that is very set on their wants and opinions. Even though he seems like a kid who’d always be ready to do what he is told, I get the feeling that there’s a lot more going on with him.

I turn in my bed so that I am lying on my side. I look over to Justice on the bed opposite to mine. I see him looking at the ceiling. Through the darkness I think I notice a slight smile curl on his lips however, I could be mistaken…