The chaotic arrangement of boxes— “arrangement” was too kind a word for it, really—made pacing damnably hard. Every time Robert went to shift them into a more useful formation, though, he was halted by doubts. It made no sense to pile them along the wall next to the window; what if they ended up putting a desk there? It all depended on the furniture. And that depended on how this suite was to be divided.

He’d been waiting since yesterday, which didn’t help. All the freshmen were moved in, and the upperclassmen—those not helping with the process—would arrive tomorrow; everyone other than Robert himself was at orientation or supper. They’d timed it well, he had to allow: the grand arrival would occur when no one was looking.