Akarnae by Lynette Noni

know you felt that way about me,” he said, winking at her.
    She glared back at him. He was way too chirpy in the morning.
    “I said,” she repeated, ignoring his attempt to embarrass her, “what are you doing in my room?”
    He shrugged and took another mouthful of cereal. Crunch, crunch, crunch. “I was bored.”
    Alex looked at the clock beside her bed and groaned again. “Can’t you be bored somewhere else? It’s Saturday!”
    “I know, but you missed breakfast,” he told her, like it really mattered. “Caring friend that I am, I brought you some.”
    Jordan handed her the half-eaten bowl of cereal like it was a prized treasure. She scrunched her nose up at it and shook her head, so he moved the spoon to his mouth once more.
    “Your loss,” he said.
    Alex sat up and leaned against the headboard. “How did you get in here? I thought you said only D.C. or I could open our door?”
    “Yep,” he said, scooping up more cereal. “But you forget what my gift is.”
    Jordan wiggled his eyebrows and she remembered that he could move through solid objects while invisible.
    “How long have you been sitting here?” she asked, slightly creeped out by the idea that he’d been watching her sleep.
    “Not long,” he said. Something about the twinkling of his eyes warned her that she shouldn’t have asked. “But long enough to know that you talk in your sleep.”
    “I do not!” she spluttered, her face growing warm.
    “Yeah, you do.” He grinned knowingly and scraped the last of the cereal from the bowl.
    Alex desperately wanted to ask what he’d heard, but most of her dignity had already flown out the window. She was determined to keep the little that was left, so she pushed Jordan aside and headed to the bathroom. After washing her face and cleaning her teeth, she wandered back into the room to find her friend exactly where she’d left him.
    “Tell me something,” she said, sitting down again. “Do you sneak into all the girls’ dorm rooms?”
    He laughed. “I don’t need to sneak in, Alex.”
    Seeing the face she pulled, he laughed again.
    “Okay, okay,” he said, relenting. “I can tell that you’re going to freak out about me being some kind of pervert now, but there’s no need since I can’t transcend through these doors. The security features protect against any gift-related tampering. Ata school for people with special skills—not to mention teenage hormones—I guess they figured it was better to be safe than sorry. I have to get in and out like every other person.”
    “Then how did you get in here?” Alex asked again.
    He looked at her like it should have been obvious. “D.C. let me in.”
    “What?” she asked, bewildered. Why would her malevolent roommate have let Jordan into the room? That would have been considered nice .
    “D.C.,” Jordan repeated. “Also known as the grumpy redhead with terrible people-skills.”
    “How unexpected,” Alex muttered, accepting that miracles apparently did happen. “Right, moving on. What are we doing today?” It was her first weekend in this strange new place and she was excited to see what sort of things they could get up to.
    “About that…” Jordan fiddled uncomfortably with a fraying thread on her blanket. “I got a message last night reminding me about my detention with Finn this weekend.”
    Alex had forgotten all about the punishment Karter had given him when she’d first arrived at the academy. How annoying. “That sucks, Jordan. But you don’t have to look so worried—I’m sure Bear will keep me entertained until you’re free again. Where is he, anyway?”
    Jordan looked even more uncomfortable. “Actually, Bear’s doing some extra credit Chemistry project with Fitzy. He only found out last night after you went to bed early, but he’s going to be locked away in a lab all of today, and probably tomorrow too.”
    “Oh.” Alex tried not to show how disappointed she felt. “Well, maybe Connor and Mel will be free to