Chapter Three:

Exploring Campus

At lunch, Kim found herself in the lunch line, sandwiched between Jesse and Owen. Well, at least this part was the same. Stand in line, get your food, sit down and eat. She could handle that. She reached for the metal serving spoon in an interestingly colored food item, when Jesse’s voice stopped her.

“You don’t want that. It’s casserole.”

Kim opened her mouth to speak.

“Trust me on this. You don’t want any,” he continued.

Kim withdrew her hand. And with Owen and Jesse as her cuisine guides, she was guaranteed no stomach issues. Eventually, all three had filled their trays. Kim stood, staring at the students already seated at the long tables, eating their lunches and conversing with their friends. She turned, feeling someone tap her on the shoulder. It was Owen.

“So where’re we sitting?” She asked.

“Not here. Are you kidding?” Jesse replied.

“We’ve got a spot in the Tower, near the Science Wing. C’mon,” Owen said, leading the group out of the cafeteria and down one of halls.

---

The Tower was indeed, a tower made of stone. It stood off the modern Science Wing, with three glass windowed walkways suspended between the two buildings.

“Two of these are public, one is not,” Owen explained as the made their way across the grassy Quad.

‘Quad, yeah right. Field is more like it.’ Kim thought, idly. She tuned back in just in time to catch what Owen had said. “Lemme guess, we’re eating in the locked one.”

“Bingo,” Jesse said. They had reached the stone stairs and began climbing. Seven flights of stone stairs later found the trio in front of a locked wooden door. Owen was balancing both his tray along with Jesse’s, while the blonde haired boy bent over the lock.

“So your guys’s lunch spot is in the private walkway..” Kim eyed the door, more than a hint of skepticism in her voice.

“ Yep,” Owen replied.

Jesse stood up and turned the handle of the now unlocked door. “But look at the view.”

Kim stepped into glass hallway and looked around. They were right. At this height, a person could see for miles. Now she could see the reason why they chose to eat here. She sat down, soon followed by the boys, one on each side. They passed the remainder of the lunch hour pointing out various interesting aspects of the school grounds to Kim, all of which could be seen from their vantage point.

---

Another distant cathedral bell could be heard ringing through the plexi-glass of the walkway, signaling the end of the lunch period. The trio stood, and left their empty trays stacked neatly in the corner. Jesse assured Kim that the brown plastic trays would be picked up when cleaners came through.

Kim moved towards the door that they had entered from, but stopped when she noticed that the door had no handle. ‘Other way then, Kim. ’

Kim followed the two boys down the small hallway to the top of an elegant carpeted staircase. The large staircase led downwards in a dizzying spiral.

“Miss Jaysen, I would like you to meet the Grand Flyer,” said Jesse with mock formality and a bow.

“Best rail for sliding in the whole school. It’s also the fastest way to get to the language labs,” Owen said a grin.

“What’s the room down there?” Kim couldn’t suppress her curiosity. ‘It’s pretty impossible...’

“That, is the ballroom,” said Owen, smiling again. “Don’t look so shocked,” he said to Kim’s expression. “This is a private boarding school. It’s expected,” he said with a shrug.

“So Kim, ready for a slide?” Jesse asked.

“First?” Kim looked a little worried.

“No. I’ll go first if you want.” Jesse said with a smile.

Kim expression changed. “Okay. Sure.”

Jesse vaulted himself onto the banister and steadied himself by holding onto the decorative knob at the top. “See you at the bottom.” He let go and disappeared from sight. They heard a loud whoop of joy from the blond boy as he descended the flights. After another moment, he called up. “Kay. I’m down. Kim, you’re next.”

Kim took a breath to steady herself and began to clamber up. She swung both legs over to one side and held onto the banister knob. “Here I go.” She released her grip and felt herself falling. The banister was steep and the redhead had not been expecting it. Her scream of fright set both boys laughing. Their laughter echoed in her ears as the air rushing past made them ring. Her speed picked up and she had to focus on breathing. The floors sped past in a blur and within only a few minutes the ride was over. Suddenly, the floor was jumping up to meet her.

Just before she went face first into the ballroom floor, a pair of arms reached out to grab her. In only a moment, Kim found herself in a completely different place then she had expected: Jesse’s arms. She felt her breath catch in her throat and time stopped for a second as her eyes met his. Time was still moving sluggishly when Owen reached the bottom, interrupting Kim’s thoughts about how Jesse’s eyes were such a pretty shade of green. He glanced at the two and cleared his throat. His friends started in surprise and Jesse set Kim down far too soon for her liking. They collected themselves in a matter of moments and tried to pretend that nothing had happened.