My stomach grumbled again as I stared into the refrigerated cabinets, trying to work out what I wanted to eat. I was too hungry; that was the issue. I should have grabbed something before that point because it was getting to the stage where even just the sight of food was making me feel more nauseous.

  Maybe I already had enough, I considered as I looked down at the eclectic selection I’d already picked up. There weren’t many options that I liked at the service station, but I’d found a weird salad thing with quinoa and nuts, a vegetable samosa, and a bag of crisps. The salad was small, though, and I was starving. I still wanted more.

  I started reaching out for a chocolate mousse pot before freezing. If I bought that too, Mom would say I had too much food. Then I’d have to put up with her snide comments about my eating all the way home, and I just wasn’t sure if it was worth it.

  But Mom would judge me for what I’ve already chosen. No matter what I ate, I was pretty sure she would say it was wrong, so it didn’t really matter. I’d have to deal with her comments anyway, so I might as well get the dessert, I decided.

  A smile pulled at my lips as my hand closed around it before something else caught my eye. A salted caramel milkshake. Even just reading the label made my stomach gurgle with desire. That sounded so good, and I wanted it. But surely, I couldn’t go for both. I didn’t really care that much about what Mom would say about me having a dessert, but having a dessert and a milkshake felt different. It would make her much worse.

  With a sigh, I slid the chocolate mousse back onto the shelf and gave it one last longing look before picking up the milkshake. That was the right choice. After all, I’d had chocolate mousse before, but I wasn’t sure whether I’d ever had a salted caramel milkshake.

  An idea crept into my mind as I wandered along the shelves, eyeing the food. Was there another world I could go to that was almost identical to my reality? Maybe in that one, I could choose the chocolate mousse rather than the milkshake, and then I’d get to try both.

  Giddiness pulled at me, and I started reaching out, searching for the right dizziness. I wasn’t sure how I’d know which one I was looking for. It needed to feel similar to my own world but slightly different. Not in any way that really mattered, though. It just needed to be a world where I was also on a trip to Scotland with my mom.

  The other worlds crowded around me as I moved through them. They offered themselves to me, trying to tempt me to tumble in, but they weren’t right. The world I was looking for wouldn’t be like that. I was almost sure of that. It was too plain, too ordinary. It wouldn’t try and pull me in. It would just… exist.

  My steps faltered ever so slightly as my mind found one, and my suspicions were confirmed. It barely even felt like another world. I’d almost overlooked it at first. It was so boring, so unobtrusive, that I hadn’t even felt it, but that was good. That was what I wanted.

  I leapt towards it, excited to have found a way to get everything I wanted, and held my breath as the shop began to dim and spin around me. Nausea rose in my stomach, but it was slight. I pressed my lips together just in case, but I knew I’d be fine. It wasn’t that bad.

  “Oh, wait,” I heard someone say faintly. “My bag.”

  Confusion washed over me, and I froze, trying to work out which world it had even come from. I recognised the voice, but that wasn’t right. I didn’t have anyone with me in real life, and I should have been alone in the world I was going to as well. If it was almost identical, there shouldn’t have been anyone there whose voice I recognised.

  The world clung to me as I pulled away. I could feel its barbs digging into my mind, trying to keep me there, and that just made me fight harder. I swiped at it, pushing the world back until, reluctantly, it relinquished its grip.

  I stumbled back away from the shelf of candy as my vision returned to normal, and the shop came back into focus. The sudden brightness from the cold lights overhead made my eyes water, and I blinked quickly, looking around to check whether anyone had noticed me.

  Luckily, no one had. There were a few people in the same aisle as me, but their attention was on the products on the shelves. They didn’t even glance in my direction, and I was so glad. I didn’t want to have to lie to anyone about what had just happened to me.

  But then, who was the voice? I looked around again, scanning the shop as subtly as I could, but I couldn’t see anyone who looked even vaguely familiar. That made sense. I was in some random service station somewhere around the Scottish border, so the chances of running into someone I knew were low, but I’d definitely heard someone speak. I knew I wasn’t imagining it.

  Seth, I realised slowly. Somehow, his voice had reached through the worlds. I was pretty sure it had happened before. I’d been in reality or in other worlds, and I’d heard someone talk before. That had pulled me back to their world, so it shouldn’t have surprised me, but it still did.

  He might have saved me. The other world, the one I was about to enter, could have been dangerous. It probably was dangerous. I barely hesitated before giving into the world and allowing myself to be pulled in, and that worried me. After all the horrible places I’d already been to on the journey, it felt wrong. I should have been more cautious, but I was so willing, so eager to find a way around my mom and have everything I wanted that I allowed it to trick me, and that scared me.

  A shiver slipped down my spine. What was that other world like, I couldn’t help but ask myself. How bad was it? It felt bad. The goosebumps on my arms that had yet to go away made me certain of that, and I wasn’t sure what exactly was wrong with it, but I didn’t want to find out.

  “Yeah, that makes sense,” I heard myself say, but my lips didn’t move. I was speaking in another world.

  I bit my lip, glancing around the store again before looking back at the candy before me. Should I go back to the Academy? I wanted to. I could feel myself being pulled there, but at the same time, reluctance bristled within me.

  Fear. That was what held me back. I was scared that something would go wrong or that the other world would strike at the perfect moment, and I would be dragged there. I wasn’t sure if that could happen, but it worried me nonetheless.

  But that wasn’t my only concern. I hadn’t paid yet. My arms were still full of snacks, and part of me was worried that if I left the world and allowed myself to function on autopilot, I’d just walk out of the store and go back to the car without paying.

  It hadn’t happened before, though. I’d gone to other worlds plenty of times, and I was pretty sure I’d never shoplifted anything, but then again, how would I know? Unless someone caught me, I would have probably gotten away with it, so it could have happened. Maybe it was just a matter of time before I was pulled back to my world by a police officer demanding I return everything I’d taken.

  Anxiety trembled in my stomach, and I looked down at the food. Surely, they wouldn’t get the police involved, would they? If it was just a small thing, a couple of little items, the shop would deal with it themselves. I’d just have to give the stuff back, and then they’d let me go. Maybe I’d be banned from the shop, but I doubted anything else would happen.

  Still, I wasn’t willing to risk it. Even just the thought of being questioned by a security officer terrified me, and I didn’t want to think about how my mom would respond if they called her to say I was a thief. It would be horrible. She’d never let me forget it. I’d be called a criminal, a disappointment.

  I spun on my heel and marched away from the shelf, weaving through the shop towards the tills. I’d just pay quickly, and then once I’d done that, I could go back to the Academy and find out what was happening there, I decided. It didn’t seem to be anything bad, anyway. Neither Seth nor I had sounded worried at all, so it was fine. It could wait a few minutes.

  A groan almost slipped out of my lips as I reached the end of the aisle and turned. There were already five people in the queue and only one person on the tills. They weren’t even scanning anything. They seemed to just be chatting with the person who was checking out, and judging from the annoyance on the faces of the people in the line, they had been doing so for a while.

  I glanced down at my food again, debating dumping it all on the nearest shelf and just going to the Subway next to the shop. That would be quicker. There had been a few people in line there when I’d entered, but surely they couldn’t take that long. Maybe it would be faster for me to just give up and go there?

  With a sigh, I joined the back of the queue. Subway was a terrible idea. If the one at the service station was anything like the shop in my home town, the sandwich would be awful, and I didn’t want that. The things I was holding would be much tastier, and surely, the cashier would finish his conversation soon. He had to realise there were other people waiting to pay before too long, didn’t he?

  “Oh, really?” I heard him say. “I had no idea!”

  “Me either!” the customer said enthusiastically. “And yet, here we are!”

  They both laughed, and I resisted the urge to groan again. I almost wished my mom was there in that moment. She would have said something to the cashier or sighed so loudly they both looked at her. I knew she would have, and part of me was tempted to do that myself, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. The mere thought of it made me want to burst into flames.

  “So… I guess it’ll be somewhere here?”

  Impatience grew within me as my voice reached through the worlds again, and I glanced towards the exit of the shop. Was it likely that I’d just leave if I went to that world? I was already in the queue, so surely, I’d just stay there until I had to pay, wouldn’t I?

  Chewing my lip, I glanced between the door and the people at the till again, trying to work out what to do, but it was hard. I knew what I wanted to do. The thought of staying in my reality repulsed me. I was so bored, and I hated it. It felt unbearable. My skin was itchy. I was restless, and the urge to run, or move, or do something was just growing.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  I despised being bored. I had always struggled to deal with it, even before I’d found the other worlds, but that had made it much worse. It had become almost impossible to withstand because I knew there was always another option, countless other options. I didn’t have to put up with it anymore because I could just close my eyes and go somewhere more exciting, but I was forcing myself to do so for some stupid reason.

  “I guess so,” Seth replied, his voice becoming slightly louder as the urge to escape grew. “Rodgers said to just look for the nameplate, right?”

  “Yeah,” I replied, feeling my lips move as I spoke.

  The corridor was starting to appear before me. It was reaching out to me, pulling me in, and I was letting it. I barely put up any fight, and I felt like I should have, but it was too hard. I was too intrigued by what was happening at the Academy, and I longed to know why I felt so weird there. I could feel the confusing mix of emotions leaching into real life, making me feel almost nauseous.

  I was anxious. And I felt strangely… uncomfortable, I noticed as my gaze roamed the corridor, taking in the names engraved on the small golden signs on the doors. I vaguely recognised some of them, but I’d yet to see the one I was looking for.

  A boy rounded the corner in front of us, and I stepped aside, smiling awkwardly as I let him pass. We were in the boys’ dorm, I realised, looking around again. My eyes flicked towards Seth before checking the names on the door as we passed it. My mind spun quickly as I caught up with what I’d missed whilst choosing my food.

  We were going to the roof, but we’d decided to find Seth’s room first so he could drop his bag off. It didn’t make sense to lug it all the way up there, and we still didn’t actually know how to get onto the roof, so we were planning on asking someone. We weren’t sure who yet, but we’d find them.

  That was why I felt nervous too. Being in the boys’ dorm was weird. It felt as though I shouldn’t have been there, even though no one had told me that. There weren’t even any signs warning girls to stay out, and I could hear a few higher-pitched voices floating through the doors towards me, so I knew I didn’t really have anything to worry about, but that didn’t stop me.

  “Oh! Here it is!” I cried as my eyes found Seth’s name.

  His head snapped around, and a grin appeared on his face.

  “Awesome!” he said, excitedly taking a step forward before hesitating. “Do I need a key or anything? I mean, I know there’s no keyhole, but…”

  “No,” I told him. “You can lock it from the other side, though.”

  “Oh, cool. Why is that nameplate empty?” he asked, pointing towards the one beneath his name.

  I glanced at it, the answer coming to me immediately.

  “It probably means you’ll have a roommate, but they’re still in the induction wing.”

  Seth’s eyes widened slightly as he looked up at me.

  “Really?” he asked, sounding hopeful.

  “Yeah. I have two on my door, so I think that means I’ll probably be rooming with Katie and Abbie once they get out,” I explained. “Or… at least, I hope it does.”

  “Oh, awesome. I hope this means I’ll be living with Scott,” he said. “I thought I’d hate having a roommate before, but now I think it’ll be weird to not have him there.”

  I laughed.

  “I know what you mean. I’m the same. It’s been really strange having the room to myself again.”

  “I bet,” he said before looking back at the door. “So… should we?”

  A smile pulled at my lips. There was a slight undercurrent of anxiety in his voice, and it made me want to hug him or do something to make him feel better, but I wasn’t sure what would help. I assumed he was just nervous about his room and didn’t know what to expect, so the best thing to do was just to get it over with.

  “After you,” I said, stepping out of the way and gesturing towards the door.

  Seth hesitated, his hands clenching into fists at his sides for just a moment before he reached towards the handle. His posture was tight as the door swung open, and I craned my head to see into the room behind him.

  “Oh, cool,” he muttered quietly.

  It looked pretty similar to my dorm room, but there were only two beds rather than three. Other than that, it was almost identical. They even had the same furniture, even down to the alarm clocks that rested on the bedside table seemed to match mine.

  I followed Seth as he padded into the room, staring around silently. He seemed to be soaking everything in, and I felt like I should remain quiet and let him continue to do so, but the urge to say something was rising within me.

  “There’s a mini fridge,” I blurted out, letting the impulse win.

  “What?” Seth asked, turning towards me.

  My cheeks started to heat up as he looked at me. I wasn’t sure why I felt so embarrassed. I hadn’t done anything that bad, but my stomach churned as self-consciousness pulled at me.

  “There should be one, anyway,” I explained quickly. “Or at least, I have one, so I assume you do too.”

  A nervous laugh clawed at my throat before escaping my lips, but luckily, Seth didn’t seem to pay too much attention to it. He was looking around the room in search of the fridge.

  “Oh, sweet. Where?”

  “Umm, in the bedside table, I think?” I said, my eyes flicking towards it.

  Seth immediately stepped towards the nearest one before stopping himself and glancing at the bed next to it. He paused for a few seconds, seeming to be thinking about something, before walking towards the other table.

  He dropped his bag on the floor next to the bed before glancing at me. His expression bordered on sheepish, and I felt intrigue flow through me.

  “I know I might not be living with Seth,” he explained in answer to my silent question. “But just in case.”

  That didn’t really help clarify anything, though.

  “Oh?” I said carefully, torn between not wanting to pry whilst also wanting to know more.

  “Yeah. I mean, even if it isn’t, I don’t want to look through his stuff, and I know he’ll want that bed,” Seth said as he picked up the alarm clock, looking at it with a confused expression before putting it back on the nightstand. “I’m not sure why, but he doesn’t like sleeping next to a window. He did when we first moved into the induction wing, and I’m pretty sure he barely slept until we switched beds.”

  “That makes sense,” I replied.

  A wince darted across Seth’s face.

  “Uhhh… do you mind not telling anyone about that?” he asked with an awkward laugh. “I realise he might not really want people to know.”

  “Oh, yeah. Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”

  Seth smiled, the expression reassured.

  “Thanks,” he said before crouching down and opening the nightstand. “Oh, shit. You were right!”

  A bolt of relief shot through me, and I took a step towards him.

  “I was?”

  “Yeah! Look at all this!” he said, leaning to one side so I could see into the mini fridge around him. “Coke, Dr Pepper, Peperamis, apples, crisps? Man, they have all my favourites!”

  My lips stretched into a grin at the happiness in his voice.

  “I know. Mine was filled with all my favourites too,” I told him. “There will be a store room somewhere around here so you can restock whenever you want.”

  “Oh, really? Awesome!” he said as he shoved a few things into his pockets. “Do you want anything?”

  He gestured towards the fridge and grinned up at me.

  “No, thanks. I’m good.”

  “Do you need a bag?” a voice that definitely wasn’t Seth’s asked.

  I hesitated as Seth turned back towards the fridge, grabbing another Peperami and slipping it into his pocket before letting myself fade from the world.

  “No, thanks,” I repeated.

  “Are you sure?” the cashier asked.

  “Yeah. I’m good,” I said, smiling politely at him.

  “Great. So, where are you off to today?” he asked.

  My eyes flicked towards the milkshake in his hands. He made no move to scan it. He was just holding it for some reason as he looked at me expectantly. I didn’t really want to answer him, though. I wasn’t sure why, but it felt weird. I was uncomfortable sharing stuff with people I knew, so sharing it with a complete stranger felt even worse.

  “Just going home,” I replied, hoping that would be the end of the conversation.

  “Ah, have you got far to go?”

  Dread rolled through me, and I glanced subtly at the queue. It had grown even larger since the last time I’d been in the world, and every single person looked irritated. The cashier must have been chatting with everyone he’d checked out, and that made me feel conflicted. I wanted to be quick, so I could get back to the Academy and the people still waiting wouldn’t be held up for any longer, but it felt so rude not to answer his question, regardless of how awkward it made me feel.

  “Yeah, pretty far,” I said.

  “Ah, that’s tough,” he sighed, finally scanning the milkshake. “At least the weather’s good.”

  “Yeah.”

  I hoped that would be the end of it. I’d let the conversation fizzle out without being rude, and surely, there was nothing more he could say. I would have just stayed silent if I were him. He could have just finished scanning the few items I’d bought without saying anything else, but he didn’t.

  “Has it rained much so far today? I’ve been working all day, so I’ve got no clue. Can’t even see out the window from here!”

  My smile became strained as I watched him search the back of the samosa packet for the bar code.

  “No, don’t think so.”

  “Ah, that’s great. We’ve had some awful weather lately,” he said with a shake of his head. “It rained four days last week. Four! Whatever happened to global warming?”

  He chuckled heartily, and I forced myself to join in despite how much I wanted to shout at him to hurry up. I felt bad. He seemed like a nice guy, and there was nothing wrong with being friendly, but I just wanted to leave.

  The scanner beeped as he finally found the bar code before looking up at me.

  “Anything else, lovey?” he asked.

  “No, thank you,” I replied.

  “Do you need any cutlery?”

  “Ummm,” I glanced at the salad, “yeah. Probably.”

  “It’s just over there, by the door.”

  “Oh, great.”

  There was a moment of silence, and I shuffled awkwardly, unsure if he was waiting for me to say something else.

  “Are you paying cash or card?” he asked.

  “Card, please,” I said, slipping my mom’s card out of my pocket.

  “Great. Just put that into the machine or tap it on the top of the scanner,” he told me. “I have no clue how this whole contactless thing works, you know? I know you young people love it, but it seems dangerous to me! I mean, anyone could walk past in the street and tap your card and bam! All your money is gone!”

  I was almost certain that was not how it worked, but I didn’t want to have to explain that to him. It didn’t seem worth it, and I was so close to being free.

  “Yeah,” was all I said.

  My eyes stayed on the card reader as I waited for the purchase to go through. The moment it did, I began grabbing my snacks.

  “Do you need a receipt?”

  “No, thanks,” I said, already starting to turn away from the man and reaching out towards the Academy.

  “Have a great day, and safe journey!”

  “You too!”

  The room came into focus just as Seth looked up at me, a wide grin on his lips.

  “So…” he said. “Shall we go find a way onto the roof?”