The details of my dreams grew fuzzy as I awoke from heavy sleep, but left me shaken and homesick in the worst way, and there was nothing I could do about it. According to what my father had said as he lifted my trunk onto the wagon, the only time during the school year that I could see my parents was during midsummer break, when they were allowed to visit the school grounds. It would be an entire year before I’d see them again and, given their current state of popularity among the current administration, I wasn’t even sure if I’d get to see them then. My heart sank. After watching my walls turn pink, then gold with the sunrise, I slid out of bed with my usual morning grace and stubbed my big toe on my trunk, which had been placed at the foot of the massive bed during the night. Apparently, I’d been so out of it that I hadn’t even noticed the mysterious delivery person. Swearing loudly, I threw open the trunk’s lid and grabbed a purple shirt and black leggings, and a handful of other things I’d need to make myself presentable.
