a question. “Sorry?”
“I asked how you were finding it. Your new school, I mean.”
“It’s fine.” Sentinel College was a good school; a state school but one generously funded and resourced by wealthy parents. I had wondered why they didn’t just send their little darlings to boarding schools elsewhere, but Hugo set me straight: when you’d been expelled three or four times and had come very close to getting a criminal conviction for drugs, your parents tended to want to a) stop wasting money on your education and b) keep you nearby. Guilt funded a lot in Port Sentinel, I was learning.
“Fine,” Will repeated, grinning. “Doing a good job on improving your vocabulary, anyway.”
He looked relaxed, I realized. The strain that had put shadows under his eyes had left him. I concentrated on pouring boiling water into the mugs. “Oh, come on, what do you want me to say? It’s not amazing. There are some nice people in my year. I quite like some of the teachers. I’m doing all right. Keeping up with my homework. Making friends.”
“Better than your old school?”
“In some ways,” I said carefully.
“So you’d say you’re settling in well.”
“When did I say that? With the whole Freya thing—”
“You started off with a reputation and you haven’t been able to shake it. You’d better do something to distract them. Give them something else to talk about.”
“Like what?” I didn’t know what he was getting at.
He didn’t answer me straight away, and when he did speak, his eyes were focused on the counter in front of him. “I got back last night. I saw you at the fireworks.”
I held myself very still, waiting. “Hugo told me.”
“I saw you with Ryan.”
“I didn’t think you’d be there.” Great. Now it sounded as if that was why I’d been happy to rub up against Ryan, with about as much dignity as Diogenes had shown earlier.
“I thought it was a good place to catch up with people. Find out what I’d missed while I was gone.” A flick of a look from eyes that were suddenly as dark as smoke. “And I was right.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Absolutely nothing.”
“Because you sound as if you’re jumping to conclusions.”
“Just saying what I saw.”
“What you saw was Ryan making sure I didn’t die of hypothermia. Someone stole my coat.”
“Stole it.”
“Took it. Dumped it in a ditch.”
“Why?”
“How should I know? I don’t even know who it was.”
He was looking straight at me now, and I couldn’t tell from his expression what he was thinking. “I thought you said you were making friends?”
“You know there are a lot of people in Port Sentinel who have a grudge against me because of what happened in the summer,” I said flatly. “Here’s the news: people can be mean-spirited.”
“Did you report it?”
“To the cops? No. Of course not.” I laughed. “It was from Fine Feathers. It cost about three quid. Anyway, I got it back.”
“From the ditch.”
“It’s hanging over the bath upstairs if you want to check. Probably still oozing scummy water. I should just throw it out. It needs a miracle worker, not a dry cleaner.” I crossed my arms tightly, holding onto myself, holding myself together. “All these questions. Anyone would think you didn’t believe me.”
Will was frowning, and he had gone back to studying the counter. “It’s none of my business.”
“I’m not trying to hide anything from you. You can ask whatever you like.”
One eyebrow lifted a millimeter. “Anything?”
“Within reason,” I said, feeling the color wash into my cheeks.
“How many questions do I get?”
“One.”
“But I want to ask two.”
“Well, I suppose you can ask. But I might not answer.”
“You have nothing to hide, remember?”
I lifted my chin. “Go on. Ask.”
“What’s going on between you and Ryan?”
“Nothing.” Will looked skeptical and I sighed. “He likes me. He wants to go out with me. I
“I asked how you were finding it. Your new school, I mean.”
“It’s fine.” Sentinel College was a good school; a state school but one generously funded and resourced by wealthy parents. I had wondered why they didn’t just send their little darlings to boarding schools elsewhere, but Hugo set me straight: when you’d been expelled three or four times and had come very close to getting a criminal conviction for drugs, your parents tended to want to a) stop wasting money on your education and b) keep you nearby. Guilt funded a lot in Port Sentinel, I was learning.
“Fine,” Will repeated, grinning. “Doing a good job on improving your vocabulary, anyway.”
He looked relaxed, I realized. The strain that had put shadows under his eyes had left him. I concentrated on pouring boiling water into the mugs. “Oh, come on, what do you want me to say? It’s not amazing. There are some nice people in my year. I quite like some of the teachers. I’m doing all right. Keeping up with my homework. Making friends.”
“Better than your old school?”
“In some ways,” I said carefully.
“So you’d say you’re settling in well.”
“When did I say that? With the whole Freya thing—”
“You started off with a reputation and you haven’t been able to shake it. You’d better do something to distract them. Give them something else to talk about.”
“Like what?” I didn’t know what he was getting at.
He didn’t answer me straight away, and when he did speak, his eyes were focused on the counter in front of him. “I got back last night. I saw you at the fireworks.”
I held myself very still, waiting. “Hugo told me.”
“I saw you with Ryan.”
“I didn’t think you’d be there.” Great. Now it sounded as if that was why I’d been happy to rub up against Ryan, with about as much dignity as Diogenes had shown earlier.
“I thought it was a good place to catch up with people. Find out what I’d missed while I was gone.” A flick of a look from eyes that were suddenly as dark as smoke. “And I was right.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Absolutely nothing.”
“Because you sound as if you’re jumping to conclusions.”
“Just saying what I saw.”
“What you saw was Ryan making sure I didn’t die of hypothermia. Someone stole my coat.”
“Stole it.”
“Took it. Dumped it in a ditch.”
“Why?”
“How should I know? I don’t even know who it was.”
He was looking straight at me now, and I couldn’t tell from his expression what he was thinking. “I thought you said you were making friends?”
“You know there are a lot of people in Port Sentinel who have a grudge against me because of what happened in the summer,” I said flatly. “Here’s the news: people can be mean-spirited.”
“Did you report it?”
“To the cops? No. Of course not.” I laughed. “It was from Fine Feathers. It cost about three quid. Anyway, I got it back.”
“From the ditch.”
“It’s hanging over the bath upstairs if you want to check. Probably still oozing scummy water. I should just throw it out. It needs a miracle worker, not a dry cleaner.” I crossed my arms tightly, holding onto myself, holding myself together. “All these questions. Anyone would think you didn’t believe me.”
Will was frowning, and he had gone back to studying the counter. “It’s none of my business.”
“I’m not trying to hide anything from you. You can ask whatever you like.”
One eyebrow lifted a millimeter. “Anything?”
“Within reason,” I said, feeling the color wash into my cheeks.
“How many questions do I get?”
“One.”
“But I want to ask two.”
“Well, I suppose you can ask. But I might not answer.”
“You have nothing to hide, remember?”
I lifted my chin. “Go on. Ask.”
“What’s going on between you and Ryan?”
“Nothing.” Will looked skeptical and I sighed. “He likes me. He wants to go out with me. I
Similar Books
