“Amazing how he does that, isn’t it?” the girl beside me asked.
Amazing? How about freaky? “I guess you could call it that,” I muttered.
“It’s Violet, right?”
“Yep.” I nodded, realizing I had no idea what her name was. It had gone in one ear and out the other.
“I guess you’re Cece’s new roommate? She’s been moping around since Allison left.”
“Allison was her old roommate?”
She nodded.
I couldn’t stanch my curiosity. “Why’d she leave?”
She looked around, as if to make sure no one was listening.
“Last spring, she told. Her parents, I mean. You know, about the school.”
“Told what?” I asked.
“Put it this way — they think she’s nuts. Locked her up somewhere, from what I heard. I mean, c’mon, everyone knows that’s why you don’t tell.
Anyway, let me see your schedule or we’ll both be late.”
Totally confused, I handed her the piece of paper. Her eyes quickly scanned it, and then she grinned. “Feminism in British Lit. Same as me.
C’mon, let’s go. Ackerman’s great; you’ll like her.”
With an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, I followed her down a long corridor, out a set of double doors, and into a wide stone courtyard.
There was a fountain in the center, complete with gargoyles and a spray of water rising high in the air. Gray stone arches framed the courtyard on all four sides, and double doors just like the ones we’d come from led toward corridors in every direction.
I whistled in appreciation, all my doubts forgotten. “Wow! It’s like. like something out of Harry Potter.”
“I know. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? What was your school in Atlanta like?”
“Nothing like this,” I answered, shaking my head in amazement. “It was just a day school, anyway.”
“So this is your first time at boarding school?”
“Yeah.” I followed her through the arch directly opposite the one we’d come from.
“So, how do you feel about it? Boarding school, I mean?”
I shrugged. “It seemed like a good idea.”
“Well, Winterhaven has a way of finding us, doesn’t it?” She paused as the crowd pushed by.
Sophie. That was her name. Sophie Patterson. It popped into my head, just like that. “The rules seem a little. outdated, though, don’t they?” I asked, trying to ignore the curious stares as I fell back into step beside Sophie. “I mean, no cell phones?”
“Well, they like to call the rules ‘traditional.’ Have you met Dr. Blackwell yet? The headmaster?”
“Yep, last night. He seemed okay.”
“A little odd, yeah, but he’s cool. Everyone likes him.”
I couldn’t resist. “Speaking of odd, what’s the deal with Aidan Gray?”
Sophie sighed dramatically. “He’s pretty hot, isn’t he?”
That was an understatement. “I guess,” I lied, not wanting to be too obvious. “What’s he, like, the star quarterback or something?”
“No way! Aidan’s an intellectual — the smartest kid at Winterhaven, and that’s saying a lot. He was definitely checking you out, though, wasn’t he?
Weird.”
I shrugged, trying not to look too offended.
“Oh, I didn’t mean it like that!” she said, reaching out to give my hand a friendly squeeze. “It’s only. well, he doesn’t really pay much attention to anyone. Kind of a loner, you know? Some people think he’s gay, but I’m not sure. ” She trailed off, shaking her head.
“He’s definitely not gay,” I said with absolute assurance, though I couldn’t say how I knew.
“You think?” she asked, sounding hopeful.
“Pretty sure,” I murmured. Because freak that I was, my instincts were usually right.
“Here,” Sophie said, motioning to her left. “It’s right down this hall. So, what is it you do?”
That same question again. I guess extracurriculars were pretty important at Winterhaven. “I, uh, I’m a fencer. You know, fencing team and all that.”
For a moment Sophie looked puzzled. “I think we have a pretty good fencing program here,” she finally said with a shrug.
“That’s what they keep telling me. I guess I’ll find out sixth period.”
“It doesn’t bother your shoulder?”
“My. my shoulder?” I stuttered. How did she know about my shoulder? Had I been rubbing it?
“Yeah, when I touched your hand. well, never mind. At least it’s healing nicely.”
I could only nod. It was healing pretty well, but how did she know that? My nerves on edge, I silently followed Sophie into a classroom similar to the one we were in before. Everyone turned to stare as we walked in and made our way to two empty seats in the third row.
Steeling myself with a deep breath, I followed the crowd into the cafeteria — the dining hall, they called it — and scanned the room for a familiar face.
Cece had promised to save me a seat, and so had Sophie, before we’d parted after second period. I figured I’d take up whomever I happened to see first.