Soon I saw a guy in a cowboy hat approach from across the grassy field, and my heart sped up. When he turned toward me, I drew in a sharp breath. It was Ben.
I woke with a gasp, pulled up on my elbows, and looked across to Hannah who was fiddling with the alarm. “How’d you change your brother into Ben?”
Her hand flew to her chest. “It worked?”
“You did it on purpose?”
“Well, I didn’t want you to go and fall head over heels for my brother. That’s not going to help you with Ben. So I thought I’d surprise you.”
My mouth dropped. “You can do that? Change the dream on the fly.”
“Yep.” Hannah’s blue eyes gleamed with pride. “I made a quick revision last night. But don’t tell Mr. Robbins I went off script. I wasn’t sure if I’d be successful.”
I flopped back down on my bed and stared at the ceiling. “You make it sound so easy. Maybe I can be a professional dream receptor instead. Forget conveyance.” Really, it wouldn’t be so bad.
****
As I stuffed notebooks from my locker into my messenger bag, I peered at Ben, twenty feet away, doing the same. I’d felt on edge, in a good way, all day. Watching for him to pass in the hall. Anxiously awaiting the classes where we’d be together. I couldn’t get my mind off him. Or the dream. Nothing happened, but still, I spent a good part of last night alone with him.
I grabbed my heavy bag, moved over to him, and leaned against the wall of cold metal lockers. “How’s it going?”
“Hey.” He glanced at me for a second, his face radiating glee. “Robbins gave me the go ahead to send the second ski dream. Ryan liked the first the other night. When I told him it was your idea, he admitted it was his favorite. He’s going to love it when the skiing becomes extreme.”
“I’ll bet.”
“And get this. Robbins let me reserve several upcoming Sundays in the Dream Calendar Application to convey to Aditi.”
“Really? That’s great.” I was relieved Ben had official permission. I hadn’t thought through the logistics when I originally suggested the idea.
“Yeah. He thinks it’s admirable I want to push myself.” He shrugged. “But he admitted chances are slim I can learn to convey to a separate floor without the instruction we’ll get next year.”
I smiled. “Well, if anyone can do it, it’s you.”
Ben blushed and looked away. He had to know he was good but still couldn’t take a compliment. He shut his locker with a bang, and we walked toward the stairs. Few students lingered in the wide, tiled hallway.
“So how’s it going conveying with Hannah?”
I was in such a strangely contented mood his question didn’t even phase me. “Not great. I actually hit Hannah yesterday when it didn’t work.”
Ben’s face turned white.
I grinned. “I pegged her with a stuffed animal. Good thing I didn’t have anything heavier near my bed.”
He laughed. “What does Robbins say?”
I ran my hand along the lockers we passed. “Hang in there. Says it can take a little while to get used to someone new. But he’s satisfied with the other three’s progress. Good thing because it has to be a hassle for them.”
“You’ll get it.”
I nodded. “So did you have a dream last night?”
“Yeah. Ryan and I raced drones through the woods. It was pretty darn cool.”
“Sounds like fun.” I didn’t care much about drones, but I had to confirm something. “Any other dreams?”
He shrugged. “Not that I remember. Why?” His expression grew worried. “Did you get an academic dream?”
We started down the stairs. “Oh, no. Just a question.”
Logically, he couldn’t have been in Hannah’s dream, regardless of how realistic it felt. Was I supposed to be disappointed we hadn’t truly interacted? Or should I be elated I’d get to spend two more nights with his doppelganger without having to stress about saying or doing the wrong thing? I smiled to myself. Both options had their benefits.
Then, before I had time to think of the myriad of reasons why not, I blurted, “Any chance you’d like to go to the Winter Dance with me?”
If I could have sucked the words back into my throat and swallowed them forever, I would have. I was going to kill Hannah. It had to be her dream making me act this way. I wasn’t a spontaneous person. I was quiet and cautious. When the posters went up about the dance last week, I’d never thought for a moment of asking Ben, though I had hoped he might ask me.
Ben didn’t respond at first. I had more time to second-guess my question than I’d taken to form it—if I’d even consciously done so. He was probably as shocked by my proposal as I was.
But then he grinned and said, “Yes.”
I hugged my books to my chest to keep my body from exploding with happiness. Maybe I’d have to thank Hannah instead.
Chapter: 31
Hannah and I had moved our easels near the windows to capture the natural light. We were experimenting with oil paints to color our dream backgrounds. It took much longer to cover a large canvas with the tubes of thick paint compared with the thinner watercolors and acrylics. Students were scattered today working independently on their projects. I kept glancing at Caitlyn who stood at an easel across the room, near the cabinets.
Mr. Robbins had called off the dream partner switch yesterday, so last night Hannah conveyed to Caitlyn for the first time in over two weeks. She’d told me she found inconsistencies in Caitlyn’s answers during this morning’s dream review as well as the one she completed at the beginning of class. Hannah was now certain Caitlyn was lying. On top of that, Caitlyn had flat out told her she’d rather convey with Aditi.
“So are you going to talk to Mr. Robbins?” I whispered.
Hannah shrugged. “What can he do? It’s probably best to just hang in there. It’s only three and a half months ’til school’s out. I’m hardly in my room anyway.” My friend wore the saddest expression. Like she’d been beaten up, but her bruises were hidden beneath her clothes.
“He’s got to do something now that you have proof.” But could he? Mr. Robbins was only a teacher. Since Caitlyn’s parents had donated one million dollars, the administration was likely willing to turn a blind eye to their daughter’s infractions.
“Maybe it won’t be so bad. At least I’m not getting nightmares any longer.”
My gaze bounced back and forth between Hannah and Caitlyn. “But she’s going to screw up your grade.”
“Autumn,” Mr. Robbins called from his desk.
I leaned in close to Hannah. “We’ll talk later.”
She nodded. “Good luck.”
I wound my way to the front of the classroom, grabbing my notebook along the way. Time for my one-on-one session. No idea what he’d suggest today.
As I sat down, he gave a half-smile. “I’m sorry, I had to call off the experiment. But after five tries, I think we need to change course.”
“No biggie. It’s not your fault.”
“I honestly believed working with Hannah would be the key for you.” He pulled my file from his drawer and picked up a pen. “Let’s start by reviewing Monday’s conveyance.”
After going through my last failed attempt in painstaking detail, he said, “Here’s a suggestion you might find interesting. I’d like you to set aside Dream One and skip ahead to the simplest version of Dream Two.”
“But won’t that be harder? It has even more complicated components.”
“True. However in some cases, it’s not the difficulty of the skills involved, but some other obstacle. You need to learn unwavering focus. An alternate dream might be the ticket by giving your mind more steps to focus on so it doesn’t wander.” He shuffled through my papers. “Let’s see if I can find your Dream Two assignment. Off the top of my head, I can’t recall your plot.”
My teacher bowed his head and read from the script I’d submitted earlier. It had already been approved in language arts. “Oh, yes. The on
e where the child opens gifts under the tree.” That’s the dream I had planned to send to my cousins at Christmas when I thought I would have moved beyond Dream One. He sucked in his breath and glanced at me. “It’s against school policy to send a dream with religious undertones to someone of a different faith. I’m guessing Aditi isn’t Christian.”
“It’s okay. I discussed that with Ms. Jenson when it looked like I might have to send it to Aditi instead. Her family exchanges gifts on Christmas.”
“Oh, good. Then it should be fun for her.”
We spent the next five minutes discussing the dream, with Mr. Robbins offering me additional tips and suggestions.
“I printed out some new meditation exercises too.” He handed a sheet of paper to me. “I’d like you to spend at least fifteen minutes a day on them.”
He studied my face, which likely revealed my guilt, then frowned. “I know most students have become a bit lax with meditation by this time in the year. But trust me. The exercises should help.”
I nodded and uttered a quick “thanks” as I stood to leave. But then I hesitated and plopped back down.
“Something else, Autumn?”
“Um, yes. I mean no.” Do I say something or mind my own business? What would a true friend do? I glanced about the room. Everyone was still in the back of the art studio. “If I told you something about another student, would it remain confidential?”
“It depends.”
“Well, what if I told you about something going on between Hannah and Caitlyn? Would you tell either of them?”
He intertwined his fingers and leaned toward me. “Let’s say this. I’d never reveal you as the source. But, Autumn, if someone is being hurt or violating school rules, I need to know.”
My gut said to trust him. I took a deep breath. “I think Caitlyn is lying during the dream reviews and somehow messing with Hannah when conveying dreams.”
Mr. Robbins closed his eyes for a moment, as if to ready himself for an unpleasant discussion. “Why do you suspect this of Caitlyn?”
“Well, she’s never gotten along with Hannah and treats her terribly. She kept bringing up nightmares last semester. And Hannah says her dream review answers have been inconsistent. And then on the internet, I found out her parents donated a bunch of money to Dickensen…and I know her brother went here.” Now hearing myself cite the reasons, the evidence didn’t sound as compelling as it had in my mind.
“Her brother Tom was in my class five, maybe six years ago. He was an amazing dream-maker.” He smiled. “I was wondering when a student would stumble upon the library donation. It is public knowledge. But since I’ve never heard any mention of her family, I assumed Caitlyn didn’t want anyone to know—”
“Because she didn’t want kids to know she was getting special privileges.”
“Mm-hmm.” He caught my eye. “Do you think maybe that’s why she didn’t want her peers to know? Sometimes students like her have to work harder to prove they aren’t getting special privileges.”
“Oh.” He had a point.
“Furthermore, most students here do not come from wealthy families. Some students struggle to even pay for flights to and from school. Perhaps Caitlyn was simply trying to fit in.”
Point two for Mr. Robbins.
“But none of that changes the fact Hannah is miserable with Caitlyn as a roommate. I suspected it. But without a complaint from either girl…you did the right thing, coming to me. Tonight, I’ll read carefully through their dream reviews for anything illogical.”
A boulder lifted from my chest.
“What’ll you do if you find something?”
“That’s not something I can discuss with you. You’ve let me know there’s a potential problem. I’ll take it from here.”
****
Hannah burst into our room one afternoon as Aditi and I prepared to go to the library. “Y’all, guess what!”
“What?” we both said.
Hannah closed the door and lowered her voice. “I’m switching rooms.”
I raised my eyebrows, but a smile was already forming. “You’re kidding!”
“Nope.”
Aditi moved to the floor, leaned against her bed, and patted the spot next to her—the floor was the best place for the three of us to sit close and talk without worrying a neighbor was listening through the thin dormitory walls.
“When I was leaving Creative Core, Mr. Robbins slipped me a note saying to report to the office.”
“And?” I probed.
“Dean Rothchild accompanied me back to the principal’s office. He told me they’d had a couple discussions with Mr. Robbins about my partnership with Caitlyn and wished to hear my side.”
Aditi urged Hannah on with a quick nod.
“So I went through everything, including the nightmare where I ended up in your room.” She looked at me. “I even explained how I couldn’t convey with Caitlyn yet had no problem with you.”
“Good.”
“The dean and principal quizzed me about our relationship. I basically said she hated me from day one, but it got worse after I accused her of sending me a nightmare.”
“What’d they say?” Aditi asked.
“They said it wouldn’t help my education, or Caitlyn’s, to keep us together when we don’t get along.”
“Now what?” I asked.
“I’m getting there. They said freshmen aren’t allowed their own rooms, but they’re fixin’ to make arrangements for a switch.”
I bit my lip. “I wonder who.”
Hannah shrugged.
“Why don’t they ask Caitlyn what’s going on?” Aditi asked. “Seems like she’s getting off easy.”
“I’m sure she’s been talked to,” Hannah said. “But they won’t tell me anything.”
I began to breathe more easily—the administration could keep secrets.
“Well, I’d love to keep chatting, but I’ve got to pack. See y’all.”
Then she skipped off to her room.
****
Two hours later Hannah joined us at dinner, carrying a tray heaped with spaghetti and garlic bread. Her eyes danced with excitement.
“Did you hear anything?” Aditi asked when she sat down.
“Yep. Switching with Tessa, so Grace’ll be my new roommate.”
“She’s so much nicer,” I said.
Hannah sipped her milk then nodded. “She usually hangs with Lucy and Rachel and asked if they all could join us for meals. I can’t remember the last time I sat with Caitlyn.”
“Is Grace okay with all this?” I asked.
“She’s good but has to be relieved she’s not the one to move. Her side of the room is decorated all fancy with colored lights and mirrors and stuff. It’d be a pain to move all that.” Hannah swirled her noodles with her fork. “Grace gets along fine with Tessa, but it’s not like they’re super close or anything. But Tessa is Caitlyn’s best friend.”
“More like only.” I snickered.
“It sounds perfect,” Aditi said. “When do you move?”
“Tonight. Tessa’s packing up. Maybe y’all could help us move?”
I nodded. “Sure thing.”
Right after dinner, Aditi and I joined Hannah upstairs. With our help, Hannah and Tessa traded places in under fifteen minutes. Shockingly, Caitlyn helped too. She must’ve been as grateful as Hannah to get a new roommate because she was actually somewhat friendly for a few minutes. But would it last?
Chapter: 32
The day of the dance finally arrived. Aditi and I had decided to get ready in Hannah and Grace’s room. They’d set up a folding mirror on one of their desks with curling and flat irons heated and ready to go. Grace also had nail polish in every color of the rainbow—with a heavy concentration on the reds—and huge, professional-looking makeup trays.
“Where’d you get all of this?” I asked, a bit overwhelmed.
“I’ve been collecting it for years. I bought most of it, but my sister gives me her things when s
he buys new stuff.”
“So where do we start?” Aditi asked.
Hannah opened the closet. “Let’s find Autumn a dress.” Lucky for me, Hannah, who wore my size, had several. Seems I was the only one who didn’t have any dresses on hand—should’ve thought of that before I asked a guy on a date. After trying on a few, the consensus was a snug-fitting, jade green one, which brought out the color of my eyes and hit mid-thigh. Then Aditi dashed back to our room to retrieve what she deemed the perfect necklace to complement it from her vast collection. I had hoped Aditi would’ve also brought a sari from San Jose for our one semi-formal dance, but she claimed she only wore them to weddings.
While we painted our nails, we chatted about the guys in our grade and analyzed who should dance with whom. No one else had a date.
“You’ve got to dance with Will tonight,” I told Hannah. She’d had a huge crush on Ryan’s friend all year.
“I want to so bad.” Hannah blew on her nails. “I swear I’m going to ask him this time.”
“We’ll help,” Grace said. “What about you, Aditi? Still got your list?”
Aditi tapped her forehead. “Yep, right here. Four guys are on my must-dance-with list.”
I chuckled.
“But I’m thinking maybe I should move Quinn over from a maybe to a must.”
“What about Ryan?” Grace asked.
Aditi shook her head. “There’s no point.”
“The guy doesn’t know what he’s missing,” I said. Poor Aditi. She’d flirted with him for months, but she couldn’t get his attention away from sports. He needed to mature a bit. Make that a lot.
“There’s always next year,” Hannah said.
Aditi didn’t look too bothered. “Remember to keep an eye out for my hand signal. I don’t want to get stuck with anyone for too long.”
“So you think this might be the night?” Grace asked me. “You know, when Ben finally kisses you?”
I shrugged, feigning indifference, and continued to focus on my nails, but my cheeks warmed. “I don’t know…he’s such a good friend, it might be awkward. Besides, it’s not like he asked me.” Ben had said yes, but then everything between us had continued the way it’d been for months. Aditi and Hannah knew I was disappointed our relationship had stalled and were blown away I’d made the first move.
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