"Mat, Mat, wake up."
Mat opened his eyes, trying to pull out of his dreams. Someone stood over him. He sat bolt upright, and the person jumped back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Charlie Newman's looking for you.
Mat jammed his glasses onto his face. In a moment, he recognized Reed standing just to the side of his bed. "What?"
"Charlie Newman? From Westwood House? He's in the common."
Mat tried to clear the fog from his brain. "What time is it?"
Twelve-thirty. He was supposed to be in the infimary half an hour ago. Even worse, Ms. Collins was teaching the infirmary kids how to make burn salve that morning. Matsias swore and jumped out of bed so quickly that he lost his balance. Reed caught him under his right arm and helped steady him.
"Thanks," Matsias muttered.
He dressed as quickly as he could. He didn't even bother to braid his hair. Instead, he finger-combed it and tied it back into a horsetail.
Charlie was in the common lounging on one of the sofas, chatting with Iteen, the student head from Westwood. He waved when Matsias walked into the room. "Hey! Slept in, huh?" He didn't seem angry, and Mat was relieved.
"I'm sorry," Mat told Charlie as they walked to infirmary. "I wasn't trying to..." he searched for the right words in his head. "skip... work."
"I didn't think you were. How long did you stay at the game last night?"
"I left shortly after you, actually. I just don't sleep well." It didn't help that Miriam was one step away from figuring out he'd been hiding his identity all year.
"Still haven't talked to Ms. Collins about it?"
"I'm working up to it." Mat hoped Charlie would drop the subject, and he fortunately did.
"Well, you might be happy you slept in. Someone threw up in the cafeteria this morning, so Ms. Collins had to postpone her lesson anyway. She sent me to get you while she handled it."
When they walked into the infirmary, several upperclassmen were gathered around the corner desk, where Ms. Collins sat. The desk itself was covered with what Mat assumed were the materials they needed.
He was worried she would chastise him for being last, but she nodded to the two of them, looked and the room, and said, "Let's get started."
The lesson was surprisingly short--only about half an hour--and then most of the upperclassmen trickled out, leaving Charlie, Mat, and a girl from Liberty House, who continued to work on making burn salve.
As they worked, Charlie told Mat about how he came to work in the infirmary by trying to follow the footsteps of his healer father. Faraday's infirmary had even adopted some of his dad's remedies. At some point, the girl from the morning left, and later the got two more patients--a student with a grass allergy and another who had smashed their hand in a door. At five, a boy from Providece House came by. He had an enormous blueberry muffin in one hand and three paper bags in the other. He handed one bag to the Liberty girl and the other two to Mat and Charlie. "I told Titchen you had another partner, but of course, he already knew."
Mat's stomach growled when he pulled his own muffin out of the bag. He hadn't eaten all day. "Does Mr. Titchen give food to you guys a lot?"
"He usually tries to send something when he knows students are working long shifts."
Mat scarfed down his muffin, though he was still hungry. Fortunately, the girl from Liberty House told him and Charlie they could leave first and she'd wait for the other shift replacement. Charlie looked at the empty bag in Mat's hand. "You want to get dinner?"
Even though Mat was headed to the cafeteria, he hesitated. He usually ate with the girls, but he also liked talking to Charlie. And he suspected Ms. Collins would want them to get to know each other better. "Okay."
Charlie led Mat to a back corner where Wince and his sister were sitting. "Hey Mat," Wince said as they sat down, "how's infirmary work going?"
"It's okay." He glanced around, a little nervous Antony might show up. Instead, a Westwood girl approached them. She dropped her tray on the table, slapped a notebook next to it, and plopped down into a seat. Wince tried to reach around her to grab the notebook, but she picked it up before he could.
"Storyteller eyes only!" She shook a finger in his face. "Or I'll kill you off again."
"Please don't. It's annoying."
"And you need to come early tonight, to make your new character."
"Ignore them," Lavone said to Mat, "It's a game."
"Hi!" The Westwood girl turned to Mat. "I'm Chloe." She offered her hand, and Mat noticed she had several bracelets dangling around her wrist.
"Um... Mat." He shook her hand to the sound of clinking metal.
"Mat... Are you Reed Gorrigbolid's roommate?"
"I... think so?" Mat didn't actually know Reed's last name. "Why?"
"Just curious." Without looking, she smacked Wince's hand away from her notebook again. "They play with us. You were in the infirmary earlier, right? Ms. Collins doesn't usually let freshmen in. You must have really impressed her."
Mat poked at his food. "Actually, it's a... service project."
Charlie changed the subject. "So, Wince, how'd the game go last night? I didn't stay for the whole thing."
Chloe jumped in before Wince could say anything. "Well, speaking of impressive freshmen..." Mat watched Wince and Charlie react to Chloe's recap without really listening. He couldn't help but think that even after all the mistakes he had made, the All-Powerful was still guarding him. And still trying to guide him. And he needed to start listening.
