The cabin prepared for Olivia was incredibly cramped. Inside was a bunk bed, as well as a desk and chair. The room was obviously meant to be shared, but all the other female students had their own cabins, so Olivia had hers to herself as well. Students who were of high rank and hailed from houses of considerable influence—like Deirdre—were put up in more opulent staterooms.
Olivia was perfectly pleased with her accommodations, regardless of whether they were inferior to everyone else’s. She’d already covered the desk with piles of books she’d brought aboard; she’d spent the entire time since she’d boarded studying.
It feels like it’s been a long time since I could hunker down and study like this. For whatever reason, her pen seemed to glide effortlessly across the page as she jotted notes.
The other students were so absorbed in enjoying the rest of the ship—and preoccupied with Julius and Jilk’s absence—that none thought to bother with Olivia.
As she was lost deep in thought, a knock sounded at the door.
Olivia shot up in her seat. “Y-yes?!” Her voice came out as a squeak. She walked to the door and cracked it open cautiously.
Kyle was on the other side. He sighed at her, exasperated. “It’s dinnertime, and you still haven’t left your room. What’re you doing?” He was probably concerned that she’d been cooped up in the cabin studying the entire day without grabbing a single bite to eat. “There’s a buffet set up in the dining hall. You should come eat, Mistress.”
Olivia glanced longingly back at her desk. She still had so many books to read and so much studying to do. “Ah ha ha!” she laughed awkwardly. “Sorry, Mr. Kyle.”
“No need for that ‘mister’ business. I’m your personal servant. If you can’t behave more like a proper mistress, it’ll put me in an awkward position.”
She smiled uncomfortably. “I know. I’m not really used to this dynamic, though.”
Kyle shook his head, clearly fed up with her. “You’ll only hurt your own health if you skip a meal. You could eat at a restaurant later instead, but they’ll charge you.”
Most of the facilities on board were free, but still, there were a number that you had to pay for. Olivia was leery of such expenses, which was part of why she hadn’t ventured out to have fun.
“I’ll go eat, really. I just need a bit longer,” she said.
“Dinner ends in an hour. Please finish whatever you’re doing quickly and eat.”
“I will. Sorry for worrying you.”
“As I said, you don’t have to…” He stopped himself short and shook his head. “No, forget it.”
Giving up on urging Olivia to act like a proper mistress, Kyle turned on his heel and strode off. Olivia nudged the door shut. Her stomach rumbled, but she wasn’t in the mood to eat.
“I don’t want to go out there,” she muttered to herself.
Since Julius and Jilk were absent, she was worried that the students might be more inclined to pick on her if she went out to eat by herself. Her mere presence might ruin their moods and incite even more resentment. So many possible consequences popped into her head that her stomach twisted with anxiety, paralyzing her.
“I think I’d rather just focus on studying today…” Olivia turned to head back to her desk but barely finished her sentence before sneezing. “Achoo!” A chill ran through her. She pressed a hand to her forehead and found it much warmer than usual. “Why now? I need…to study…”