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A chair scraped next to me and I looked over to see Julie, my third roommate, flopping dramatically down in the empty seat. I scooted over to give her some space.
“I’m completely exhausted, and school hasn’t even started yet,” she complained. “They messed up my schedule and I spent the whole afternoon at admissions trying to get it straightened out.”
I half expected her to put the back of her hand over her forehead and swoon, but instead she groaned and slumped further into her chair. “They had me signed up for organic chem, can you believe that?”
“What’s wrong with that?” I asked. I was signed up for organic chemistry.
The look she shot me was horrified, but Frank just snorted. “Julie here has an image to maintain.”
“Guys don’t like smart girls, Camilla,” Julie informed me. “I can’t be seen in an advanced science class.”
I was almost completely sure that wasn’t true, at least among normal high school students, but Nora shot me an amused glance across the table. “I know,” she said, answering my unspoken question. “But it’s been working for her for the past three years. Don’t question it.”
Frank tossed her braids over her shoulder and tipped her head to peer at Julie. “But aren’t you off the market anyway? What happened to Drew?”
Julie lifted one perfectly sculpted eyebrow and looked pointedly at Frank. “Sure, but I still have to maintain my image. Drew might not be around forever. Besides, that’s the girl he fell in love with.”
Good lord, I thought. I shouldn’t be surprised though; this was exactly what I’d expected from the students here.
“Oh, here he is now. Babe, pull up a chair,” Julie called, scooting closer to me to leave room between herself and Nora.
“Good evening, ladies,” came a deep voice, and a tall figure slid into the chair that appeared in the empty space. But when I raised my head to echo the greetings of my roommates, the words seemed to evaporate.
It was the guy from earlier, the blond who had careened past me on the path by the art building to crash into Garrett Silver, deliberately knocking him over and shattering his phone.
“How was everyone’s summer?” he asked, then caught sight of me. His brows rose as he looked me up and down. “And who’s this?”
I met his gaze with a level one of my own. “Camilla. Camilla Kaplan.”
His smile was broad, his eyes gleaming. “Ah. It’s so nice to formally meet you, Camilla Kaplan.”
Julie’s eyes narrowed, and Nora looked between us. “Formally? Have you two met?”
He turned his charming smile on her. “Oh, I was in a hurry earlier, and I nearly ran her over on my way past G-B Arts. Fortunately, nobody got hurt.” He extended a hand my way. “Andrew Zoellner the Third. Friends call me Drew.”
My head ached with the effort of not rolling my eyes. Seriously? The third? Who actually introduced themself that way? And no one had gotten hurt, huh? Well, not me or him, anyway. I shook his outstretched hand in an effort not to be rude, feeling Julie’s gaze on me the whole time.
I wasn’t sure why he hadn’t just told everyone what really happened. No one seemed to like the mystery guys at the other table anyway, and it didn’t seem like a secret. But if he wasn’t going to bring it up, I sure wasn’t either.
Drew held my hand a beat longer than strictly necessary, and when he released it I pretended not to notice the wink he cast my way before he turned his attention back to the rest of the table.
“So, everyone tell me about your summers.”
Conversation resumed, and I chanced a glance back across the room. Garrett’s face was expressionless as he tilted his head, listening to one of his friends. But his eyes were on me again.
5
It seemed that while the student supply list hadn’t said anything about bringing your own room furnishings, it was common knowledge that students could furnish their rooms with pretty much anything they might want. Which meant that while my room held nothing more than a bed, dresser, desk, and mirror on the wall, the other girls’ rooms looked like they’d been lived in for years.
Nora had plastered her walls with posters until none of the original paint showed, and had colored lights framing her window and door. The effect was a little more ‘fun house’ than a place I would choose to sleep, but she seemed happy with the results. Frank had set up a reading nook in her room, complete with a comfy-looking armchair and extra bookshelves. And Julie, who had disappeared with Drew again after dinner, had gone so far as to furnish her room with what seemed like an entire coffee bar, with everything from what looked like an industrial coffee grinder to a high-end espresso machine.
Despite my lack of decoration or extra furniture, I still clearly had the best choice of rooms, if for no other reason than the panoramic view of the lake from my window. In the light of the moon, it was breathtaking, and I opened my window to let the cool air flow in, bringing with it the nighttime sounds of frogs and insects and wind rustling through the leaves. It wasn’t California. But it was a start.
I sat by the window ledge, staring out over the reflective surface, long after the moon had risen high above the treetops. Long after the sounds of my roommates quieted to silence. I listened to the hooting of an owl in the distance and tried to let the soothing sound mute out the phantom screams in my head. Tried to let the cool night air wash away the remembered heat of fire on my skin. Tried not to think, tried not to feel. And waited for morning.
* * *
Morning brought with it the first day of classes, which, according to my schedule, consisted of advanced drawing, pre-calculus, English literature, and organic chemistry.
