“You were trying to get back before anybody noticed you were gone?” suggested Madra.
Chena bit her lip. “Yes, Aunt.”
The woman’s smile broadened and she shook Chena’s shoulder gently. “It’s just Madra, and you’re already too late.” She gestured Chena to come on and started walking down the path.
Because there was nothing else to do, Chena fell into step alongside Madra, glad that the woman did not insist on keeping a hand on her shoulder or anything. She was a round woman, Chena now saw. Strong, but not a hard-body. She looked like she might actually be okay.
Madra pushed open the dormitory doors and led Chena through a dim room that looked to her just like the sleeping room, except it had chairs, tables, and pillows in it.
“Common room,” said Madra when she saw Chena looking around. “Someplace to relax in the evenings.”
Down the inner corridor, the sleeping room had transformed itself into a hive of activity. Women and girls busied themselves around pallets and cupboards. Some of them, obviously more used to this than others, moved quickly and efficiently—rolling up their beds, stowing their blankets in the lockers, getting out bags and buckets of bathing supplies, and herding the smallest children out the door. Others just yawned and stretched and scratched, blinking stupidly around them, as if they weren’t sure where they were. Some burrowed farther under their blankets, searching for a few more minutes of sleep. Chena, coming in from the fresh air, couldn’t help noticing the strong scent of un-washed people.
Mom and Teal stood still in the middle of all the activity. Mom was saying something that Chena couldn’t hear. Teal must have caught sight of the movement in the doorway, because she touched Mom’s hand and pointed. Mom’s gaze fastened on Chena, and Chena, figuring there was no getting out of this, picked her way between the strangers in their miscellaneous assortment of nightclothes.
“There,” a stringy pale woman wearing a blue shirt and nothing else said to Mom. “I told you she’d be back as soon as the bell sounded.”
“Thank you,” said Mom to her in a tone that meant anything but. She immediately turned on Chena, her face filled with fury. “Where have you been?”
Then Mom saw Madra following right behind Chena, and her mouth shut like a trap.
Chena dropped her gaze to the floor. She’d been right. Witnesses or no, Mom was ready to kill her. “I woke up. I wanted to look around. I lost track of time. Sorry.”
“Don’t worry, Helice,” said Madra. “The village is fenced and monitored. There’s nothing she could get into that would hurt her.”
“Thank you, Madra,” said Mom in her most polite voice. “I appreciate you looking out for her.” She gave Madra a salute.
“It’s part of my job,” said Madra cheerfully. “Well, I have to make my speech now.”
Chena saw the tips of Madra’s shoes moving away. Mom was silent for a moment, and Chena risked a look up. Mom still looked angry, but her face was softening. Chena shot a glance at Teal, who returned a look that plainly said, You’re so lucky.
For what? Getting out, or not getting killed?
“All right.” Mom sighed and ran a hand through her sleep-rumpled hair. “Nothing happened this time. But this is not the station, Chena.” She held up a hand. “I know, you’ve noticed. What I’m saying is, we don’t know all the rules here yet. We need to be careful for a while until we’re all settled in. You understand me?”
Chena nodded, relieved that the talking-to was no worse. “Yes. I won’t do it again. Sorry.”
Mom looked dubious, but she didn’t scold anymore. “And what did you see while you looked around?”
Chena opened her mouth, uncertain what she would say. But she never got a chance to speak.
“Good morning,” announced Madra, taking up a position in the doorway. Chena had to peer through a forest of shoulders to see her. “Mornings are a little chaotic, so I thought I’d come by and give you the basic rundown on where you should be.”
“Thank you,” murmured Mom under her breath. A chorus of similar murmurs rippled around the room. Chena suppressed a smile.
“First I’m sure you’ll all want to get cleaned up. Then we’ll be having breakfast. After that, you can report to me for your shift assignments. You’ll find towels and soap in your locker.” Madra gestured toward the wall of tiny wooden lockers. None of them, Chena noticed, actually had locks. “If you get your things and come with me, I’ll show you the baths and facilities.”
“Bless you,” breathed the woman who had reassured Mom about Chena’s inevitable reappearance. “I’m coated, just coated.”