Bedlam Chapter Sampler

“So, we were fighting this giant spider, and I realised I’d forgotten to do the biology homework.” “You thought about biology when you were fighting a giant spider?” “Well, yeah,” said Never. “It just popped into my head – the module where we studied insects and arachnids – and then we had that chapter on the Children of the Spider and how we still don’t really know how they came to, like, be spiders.” “Yes,” said Omen, “I remember the lesson.” “Do you?” Omen hesitated. “No.” “Thought not. Anyway, I asked Auger about the homework.” “While you were fighting?” “Oh, wow, no. I’ve still got a long way to go before I can have light-hearted discussions while trying not to die. I just don’t have the stamina. I’m out of breath the entire time. So I waited until after. And you know what he said?” “He’d done the homework?” “Well, yes, but do you know how he’d done the homework?” “I would imagine by doing it in his spare time?” “Will you please stop spoiling my stories by knowing what I’m going to say?” “Sorry.” Never sighed, and continued. “He did it at night. The previous night, after we’d sneaked back to our dorm rooms. Four o’clock in the morning and he’s making sure his homework’s done. The same with Kase and Mahala.” “So... so why didn’t you do that?” Never frowned. “Because I was sleeping.” “But why didn’t you—?” “Because I was sleeping,” Never repeated. “I love my sleep, Omen. It’s one of the eight things that I do best. You can’t expect me to not sleep because of homework. We all have our limits, the lines in the sand we do not cross. That is mine.”

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