The route had been thoroughly planned. Bus stops, times and pen-drawn street maps scribbled on notepaper, scrunched in Raven sweaty hand as she still managed to arrive late to her college open day. It would have been convenient to blame her tardiness on Alissa’s unplanned visit, but Raven had left with hours to spare. Late buses, badly drawn instructions and lack of spatial awareness were the real culprit here.
She stuck as quietly as possible into the lecture room, with its loud, clunky door, feeling every pair of eyes turn to her as she slipped into a chair at the back of the room.
The multimedia lecturer—a sandy-haired man wearing a paisley shirt—was holding up samples of work; paintings, sculptures and jewellery created by current students. He had one of those neck tattoos, ea
