Chapter Nine: Beauty

A yawn forced its way out of my lungs as I rolled my suitcase through the student-packed gym to the name tag table. I scanned the array of name tags, searching down the alphabetical-ordered list of students' names until I found Roschèr.

I had downed at least three cups of coffee this morning to try to wake myself up, but sadly, it seemed to have had no effect on me. My eyelids still had dumbells tied to them on a string, weighing them down and making them nearly impossible to keep open.

Once I found my name, I peeled the sticker off of its paper and smoothed it onto the front side of my suitcase.

"You all set, Leys?" My dad asked as he smiled at me through my phone screen. "Do you need anything before I head out?"

Dad had always insisted we do a FaceTime call whenever I would go on a trip. I guess he just wanted to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything and that I would get to my transportation safely.

I nodded and gave him what was supposed to be a smile. "Yeah, I'm all good. I d