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a large dome encircling the whole campus.  To protect us.  Basically, it’s a force field.  A very strong force field.  Everyone knows about it.”
    I frowned.  “Well, how come nobody told me?”
    “I did tell you,” he patiently reminded me.  “Obviously, you didn’t listen.”
    Ignoring his scolding, I tried to prop myself up.  I wanted to get a better look at my surroundings.
    “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Dustin warned.
    He said this a little too late.  My chest did not agree with what I was trying to do.  Although it wasn’t as bad, the pain was still there.  Coughing, I fell back in the bed.
    “You might have cracked a rib or two,” Dustin informed me.
    With a groan, I closed my eyes.  This could not be happening.  “They have a force field around this whole place that’s strong enough to crack someone’s ribs, and you think it’s to keep us safe?  You are one messed-up kid.” My eyes snapped open to glower at him.
    He didn’t looked fazed by my insult in the least.  In fact, he seemed to be kind of amused.  “Lily, of course it’s there to protect us.  Why else would it be there?”
    Not having the energy to argue, I simply shrugged my shoulders, and then winced from the sudden shock of pain.  Now that I was more awake, a whole bunch of different aches and pains had started to become very evident.  
    “I want you to leave now,” I said through gritted teeth, trying and failing to hide the agony in my voice.
    “Do you need me to call a nurse?” Dustin asked quietly, his amused expression turning into one of pity.
    I shook my head.  “Please, just go away.” I couldn’t stand him looking at me like that.
    He nodded, starting to get up.  “OK, if that’s what you want.  Don’t worry.  You’ll be out of here in no time.”
    I simply stared up at the ceiling and continued to do so until he left.  As I listened to the sound of his shoes smacking against the floor, I fought the urge to cry.  Was I ever going to get out of this place?

The Other Girl
    In addition to my two cracked ribs, my body was riddled with cuts and bruises.  It took me several weeks to fully heal, but I was eventually released from the campus hospital.  Almost immediately after my release, I was measured, weighed, and put through multiple fitness tests.  I also took testing on school stuff like English, social studies, math, science, and decision-making.  Some of the decision-making questions were weird, like “If you were stuck in a metal box, what would you do?  Explain in full detail.”
    After the testing, I had a brief meeting with each teacher, where they explained to me what the curriculum would be like for the semester.  They all seemed nice enough, some more than others.  Like Dustin had said, I was able to choose my curriculum.  Since I’ve always loved a challenge, I chose just about everything that was available: home ec, the normal subjects, Japanese, Latin, dance, martial arts, as well as a few unusual classes, like Hand-to-Hand Combat and Poison 101.  
    I was enrolled right away.  The students I met ranged from six to seventeen.  To my surprise, many of them were happy with their current situation.  Of course, not everyone was just fine and dandy.  Some seemed bitter and angry and kept to themselves.  You could see the hatred burning in their eyes every time they would walk past.  I didn’t blame them, because that was exactly how I felt.  Many of them looked at me with pity and hopelessness, like every new kid that came added to their despair.  So not everyone had fallen for the trick.  They knew something was very wrong.
    There was one girl that I especially liked.  She was kind of in the middle.  She seemed to have come to terms with the fact that there was no escape and had decided to live day by day.  She was totally cool.  All the kids respected her and came to her for advice.  Even the older ones.  She would always sit and listen patiently, and