“Yeah, okay,” said Chance. “Listen ladies, I have to go. I might see you tomorrow, though.”
“Well, definitely you’ll see us at lunch, won’t you?” Liesl said, smiling shyly.
“Oh, yeah, right. Lunch. See you then,” Chance said, grinning and waving as he left with his friend.
“That was weird,” said Liesl. “It was almost as if he were trying to avoid your question.”
“Yeah,” I said, distracted. “Hey, ha ha ha! You like him, don’t you?”
“What do you mean?” Liesl said.
“I mean, you likkkkeeeeee himmmmm, don’tttttt youuuuu?” I grinned.
Liesl blushed furiously, her face bright red.
“Ha ha ha ha ha!” I laughed.
“Oh, shut up,” said Liesl, shoving me playfully.
“Ha ha ha ha!”
We returned to the dorm with our familiars, joking back and forth the whole way.
The other girls had not returned when we entered our dorm and sat on our beds. My wolves sat down between Liesl’s bed and mine; her ermine curled up on her lap and promptly fell asleep.
“He is utterly adorable, Liesl. Seriously adorable.” I said.
“Thanks,” she smiled, petting the sleek white little animal softly snoring on her lap. “Your wolves are fantastic!”
I grinned, petting each wolf with one of my hands.
They sat upright and looked very regal. I could not believe they were mine, and I said as much to Liesl.
She shrugged with a smile, “Or you’re theirs.”
“Ha!” I lean and kissed each wolf on the head. “I hope I am.”
“It’s nearly nine. Lights out will be soon. I wonder where the others ...” Liesl never got a chance to finish, because the five other girls entered the room and went to their respective beds.
“Oh, Holly,” Jessica came to stand at the foot of my bed. “They’re so wonderful! Aren’t you lucky? I heard it’s very rare to get two!”
Friendliness? Weird, but I’ll go along with it.
“Thanks! Yeah, I heard it was rare.” I looked at the bandage on her nose. It was white, and stood out against her tan skin. “Hey, listen. I’m sorry about your nose.”
Jessica shrugged and smiled. “Water under the bridge. Let’s just move forward.”
I smiled.
Something isn’t right, but I can play along.
“Your duck is so beautiful, Jessica!”
“Thanks!” Jessica hugged her large, white duck. It was quite big for a duck. “I love her, I lived on a farm before coming to the Academy. I love ducks!”
I smiled and nodded.
It was a very handsome duck.
The lights flickered off and on.
“Oh!” Jessica turned and returned to her bunk. “I’d better get into my PJs!”
“Me, too,” I said as I rummaged in my drawer for them.
I waited and then took a turn in the bathroom, changing into my sleepwear and brushing my teeth.
I was in love with my new toothbrush. I hadn’t had one in years. It was a luxury I appreciated.
A few minutes passed after I returned to my bunk, then the lights flickered off and on again, then turned off for the night.
Moonlight filtered in from the window. There was a nightlight in the far corner, and what illumination entered the room lit up my arctic wolves as if they had been painted with fluorescent lights.
I lay down in my bed with one hand in the fur of one of the wolves.
We all tucked ourselves into bed, and Liesl and I whispered way into the night.
Other than the fight I was in, it was a good first day.
I lay on my side, watching my familiars. Both wolves had moved to the space in between Liesl’s bed and mine and were fast asleep next to each other. But they had not disappeared, and I was curious.
The moonlight coming through the window made everything appear ethereal.
Liesl lay there too, waiting.
I watched as Liesl’s eyes got drowsier and drowsier, and finally shut. As she fell into a sound sleep, her ermine, cuddled in the crook of her arm, shimmered and then disappeared entirely.
Amazing.
My wolf familiars were huge and an intimidating sight, but to me they were perfect. And adorable when they slept.
I heard a low, gentle snoring coming from them, and smiled. I reached down and plunged my fingers into their fur. It was warm and comforting.
I fell asleep like that.
“Holly, wake up sleepyhead.”
My mind wandered up from the dream I’d been having.
I’d been down in the underground again, and sleeping in Aunt Clare’s old cubby. Echoes of some kind of commotion above had been filtering down to me, traveling on the metal pipes and plates that lined the abandoned subway corridor. There had been a menacing noise, and I was listening against the door.
There’d been a growl, then a shriek.
Suddenly, something had kicked in the door, something huge.
The metal door had been latched, the barrier secure. It would have taken something very strong to push it open, breaking the latch and coming in.
I screamed as a huge alligator pushed its snout into the cubby. My heartbeat was fast; I knew this thing wanted to eat me. I was terrified.
I was backed up to the far wall, trying to avoid those massive jaws and sharp teeth.
Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, two arctic wolves had leaped at the alligator, snarling viciously as they bit down on the monster’s head. The wolves, their white coats flying, had attacked the alligator, and forced it to back out of the cubby we were trapped in, and had followed it out and onto the ledge.
“Wake up, Holly,” a voice whispered.
I opened my eyes.
“Wha? What’s going on?” I said in a groggy voice.
“You were having a nightmare,” Liesl said.
I sat up in bed. The sun was just coming up, its first light creeping into the room. My two wolf familiars were there, by my side, looking up at me. One of them whined uncertainly.
“Wow,” I said, rubbing my eyes. “Have they been here all night?”
“I don’t know. I was asleep,” said Liesl.
I put my arms around the wolves. “I’m okay, I promise. It was just a dream.”
“They must appear when you’re scared or something, huh?” said Liesl.
“I guess so. Real or imaginary dangers. That is good to know,” I said.
“So,” Liesl said, rubbing her eyes and yawning. “I guess my ermine is still in the fae forest.”
“Guess so,” I looked at my two wolf familiars. “I don’t know how to send mine there. I hope we’ll learn that soon.”
“I heard there’s a class on magical creatures, and that we’ll learn all that in the class,” Liesl said.
“You would have thought they’d have told us a useful thing like that when we got the familiars,” I said.
“Yeah, ha ha! That would’ve been useful,” Liesl said.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Around six, I think.” Liesl yawned again.
“Breakfast is at seven. So we still have almost an hour to wait.” I looked around.
Most of the room was still in dim light, the sun was barely rising. I looked over at the other girls. They were still asleep.
I thought of something. “Hey, did I wake you? When I had the nightmare?”
“Uh huh. I heard you moaning in your sleep. Then the wolves appeared, and one tried to get into bed with you.” Liesl smiled. “They’re so big, though.”
I looked down at the wolves. “I wonder if we should name them?”
“That sounds like a good idea. Or,” said Liesl. “They might already have names.”
“Huh, that actually sounds more likely.” I leaned over and buried my face in one of my wolves’ fur.
It smelled of pine forest and wind.
Later, at breakfast, Sarah, the dorm supervisor, came around and handed out our s
chedules.
Liesl and I studied the papers.
“Hi, ladies,” Chance walked past. “I can’t stay, but wanted to say, have a great Saturday! Two more days until classes start!”
“Hi, Chance. Bye Chance,” I said, chuckling.
“He’s so dreamy,” Liesl said in a soft voice.
“I knew it! Ha ha ha!” I said.
“Oh, look: at the bottom of the page. The spell to make your familiar return to the forest,” said Liesl. “Holly, you should practice it. Something tells me you’re going to be using it the most, because of how big the wolves are.”
“And there are two of them, don’t forget,” I said.
“How could I forget?” Liesl giggled.
We hurriedly finished, then returned to our dorm room to practice the first spell.
It took me two hours, but I finally got the intonations right.
The two familiar wolves popped out of sight.
“You did it!” Liesl clapped her hands.
Something caught my attention at the corner of my eye.
It was Jessica, Naomi, and the other girls. They were whispering on the far corner bunk. Whispering and glancing my way.
Liesl came onto my bunk and crouched, whispering in my ear. “Pay no attention to them.”
I turned to look at her. “But last night, I thought everything was okay?” I whispered.
Liesl just stared at me and shook her head no.
Then movement and sound, and I turned back to the far bunk. They were getting down and walking over.
“Holly, Liesl, we’re going to a bonfire celebration tonight. Want to come too?” Naomi said. Her thick French accent sounded exotic and special.
I just stared at her.
Jessica tossed her long blonde hair to the side. “Come on, you should join us. It’ll be so much fun!”
“No thanks,” said Liesl. “We have other plans.”
I turned to stare at her.
We did?
She gave me a significant look.
“Oh, yes. Um, we have other plans,” I said.
“What other plans?” Naomi asked, an innocent expression on her face.
I thought for a second, unable to come up with something to say.
“We’re meeting our friend Chance. He’s an upperclassman,” Liesl said, sounding casual.
I raised my eyebrows and looked at Liesl again.
She studiously ignored my gaze, and instead focused on Naomi.
“Well, that’s too bad. If you change your mind, we’ll be on the west lawn, near the lake,” Jessica said as she walked away. “Oh, it’ll be at 8 p.m., by the way. You should really come.”
They all walked out.
The door shut behind them.
Liesl swung around. “What do you think that was all about?”
“No idea,” I said.
Chapter Fifteen
Bonfire
Liesl and I spent the rest of the weekend wandering about the school, familiarizing ourselves where all our classes were.
We didn’t have any more encounters with Chance; he seemed to have gone off on some errands, or at least that’s what Sarah told us when we asked her.
At one point, Sunday afternoon, Liesl and I were hiking along the northern boundary of the school when she tripped and tumbled over a ledge. It was about an eight-foot drop, and she rolled all the way down.
She wasn’t hurt, except for some bruises and scrapes, but by the time she came to a stop at the bottom, her ermine familiar had appeared: It hopped onto her shoulder, and was licking her cheek.
I jumped down beside her. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think so,” she laughed, pushing the sleek white creature away. “Stop! You’re tickling me!”
“Liesl, you’ve got a scrape on your forehead,” I said. “It’s bleeding.”
“Oh!” Liesl touched her head, and her fingers came away bloody. “Oh, man.”
“Want to go to the nurse?” I asked.
“No, I just want to go back to the dorm room. I can wash up there.”
I reached out a hand and helped her up.
Her ermine familiar rode on her shoulder as we walked up to the school.
Halfway there, I could hear voices and laughter.
“I wonder what that is?” I asked.
“Let’s go see!” Liesl said.
“But you’re bleeding!”
“It’s stopped,” said Liesl. “Look.” she held out the napkin she’d been pressing against her forehead.
The bleeding had indeed stopped.
I shrugged. “It’s your decision.”
“I vote we go peek, at the very least.” She grinned.
I was discovering just how curious my new friend was.
We crept across the lawn, crossing in front of the stairs and over to the bushes. The sound was coming from the north lawn.
“Right here, come on,” Liesl whispered.
We crouched against the bushes and looked around the stone wall of the school.
It was another of Jessica’s bonfires. The five girls and a number of boys were milling about a large fire, talking and laughing.
“They look like they’re having fun,” I mumbled.
“Didn’t they have one yesterday, too?” Liesl whispered.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Do you want to join them?”
I made a face. “No. Not at all.”
Liesl seemed torn.
“What?” I asked.
She looked around the stone wall again, watching them for a minute.
I finally looked, too.
“What?” I repeated.
Liesl sighed. “What if Chance is there?”
I peeked again. “Do you see him?”
“No.”
“Then he’s probably not there.”
“But he could be. I can’t see some of their faces.”
“Liesl, Chance is in second year. He’s probably not interested in them, they’re first years,” I said. “Haven’t you noticed the upperclassmen seem to stick together?”
Liesl looked at me, stricken.
Her face crumpled up and she rose and walked toward the front steps of the school.
“Liesl, wait,” I called, hurrying after her. “I didn’t mean ...”
Nice going, Holly.
I ran to catch up to her.
“Liesl! Liesl wait up!” I called.
She reached the top of the stairs and stopped, waiting but not turning around.
I caught up to her.
“Listen, I didn’t mean he wouldn’t be interested in you.”
Liesl shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. You’re right. And I should just concentrate on my classes, instead of worrying about ...” She sniffed.
“Come on, let’s get you washed up.” I put my arm around her, and we went inside.
Up in our room, Liesl washed her face and arms.
I sat with her on her bed, examining her face in the room’s bright lights.
“Hmmm. Well, you’ve got the scrape on your forehead. That one’s not too bad,” I said. “Not sure why it even bled.”
She turned her arms up, and I looked them over.
“Eh, you’ve got a few bruises, and this elbow’s scratched a bit, but nothing too bad at all.”
Liesl looked down at her elbow.
“I’d say it was a brave tumble, and an honest fall. You came out well, all things considered.” I grinned.
“And my familiar appeared.” Liesl kissed the top of the ermine’s head and snuggle him. He began to purr.
“What a sweetie,” I murmured, running my finger down the creature’s silky back. “Maybe this is a good time for you to practice the spell to send him back to the forest?”
Liesl nodded. “Good idea.” She sniffled and blew her nose in a tissue, then turned to me. “Holly, you know him better than I do: Do you think Chance is interested in me at all?”
“Oh, I have no idea,” I put my hands up, palms up. �
��I really have no idea. Don’t forget, until just a few days ago, I was living on the streets. I have no idea how any of that is supposed to happen.”
Just then, Jessica, Naomi, and the others came into the room.
“What a fun bonfire! WOOP!” Jessica said.
“You were totally flirting with that guy. Ha ha ha!” Naomi said.
“Oh! Sorry, we didn’t see you there,” said Jessica. “I have to go wash up anyway,” she skipped out of the room with enthusiasm.
Naomi turned to us. “You two missed another great party.”
I shrugged.
“Maybe next time,” Liesl said.
“Definitely next time,” Naomi said with a grin.
We all sat in our bunks reading until bedtime.
I caught Liesl doodling. It looked like her and Chance holding hands.
“Nice drawing,” I said.
Liesl flipped the notebook up to her, hiding the doodle.
I smiled.
“Liesl,” I whispered. “You awake?”
We had been in bed, and the lights had been shut off for a while.
“Yeah, I’m awake,” came Liesl’s voice. “What’s up?”
“I’m thinking of going to the next bonfire,” I whispered. “Do you want to go?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” Liesl whispered.
“Maybe we could even get Chance to go with us.”
“Then definitely count me in!”
I chuckled.
The next day was Monday. We were ridiculously busy all day, learning things I had no idea existed.
“Have you done okay?” I asked Liesl as she came into the lunch room.
“I guess.” she rubbed her forehead. “I had no idea it would be so hard.”
“Yeah, my classes are tough, too.” I saw Chance approaching. “Hey. Here he is,” I whispered to Liesl.
She swung her head around, nearly bumping into Chance.
“Oh, um. Hi,” Liesl said, blushing.
“Busy day, huh ladies?” Chance said.
“Beyond busy,” I said.
We all sat down to eat.
It was fried fish and corn muffins, and I ate so fast I got the hiccoughs.
“Easy, easy,” Chance chuckled, patting me on the back.
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