Part of me is grateful she’s considerate of my privacy, but the other part wonders why it’s needed. What’s wrong?

We enter a lit-up space with a large desk, but she doesn’t make her way to it. Wasting no time in enlightening me, the woman tells me, “Ms. Fairmont, did you read your renewed agreement this morning?”

I blink. “Kinda? I mean, yes; it said my enrollment and scholarships were reinstated. I didn’t…” I flush. “…read every word, this time. I assumed it said the same thing as my first lot of paperwork.”

“Ah, well, not quite.” She moves to the chairs in front of the desk, tapping one before sitting on the one next to it.

I follow, taking the designated seat.

“It’s fairly similar, but, erm—well, while your housing grant is intact, the board does not seem to feel like you’re a good fit for the student dorms here. You see, the specific circumstances of this weekend’s expulsion were about student privacy. And while it’s my understanding that the school council has vouched for you, the board is still concerned about the privacy of its students in their own living spaces.”

I stare at her, speechless.

“In other words, the school will pay you the equivalent of the dorm fees, but you will need to find alternative accommodations.”

Fuck.

My heart sinks. I should have known it was too good to be true.

I liked the dorms. I had the best roommate. We already got along, she introduced me to her friends, and took me under her wing.

I shake myself.

Okay, okay. It’s not that bad, right? They’re still giving me money for a place; just not at the dorms.

“Right. Erm—how does it work, exactly?”

She tells me how to request the housing stipend, and pats my hands.

It’s not that bad. It could be worse.

* * *

“I’m fucked,” I say categorically.

I am back at the dorm, but as Lily’s guest, packing my bags with tears in my eyes.

I spent most of the day and some of the afternoon scouring the internet for rentals in Thorn Falls.

Campus aside, the town is divided in three: the riverside, on a hill; the west side, which is much cheaper, but also a lot farther; and southie.

Let’s put it this way: if I save the dorm stipend for ten years, maybe I can afford one month of rent on the hill.

West side, I could possibly afford a shoe box, but it’s an hour and a half walk—or endless bus trips with two changes of buses to get to campus.