It took forever to haul her suitcase to Audrey House, but she finally heaved it up to the fourth flour and into her new room. She was surprised to see Natalie putting clothes in the closet, and Lola lying on the bed.
“Guess what!” Natalie said. “We’re roommates this year!”
Emmy grinned. Spending the year with Natalie would be a lot better than spending it with Victoria, her stuck-up roommate from the year before.
“Who are you with?” Emmy asked Lola.
“Jaya,” she said without looking up from her phone. “That should be good.”
Emmy unzipped her suitcase. “I guess you unpacked a few days ago.”
“Yup,” Lola said. “I mean, I chucked my suitcase in the closet, which is pretty much the same thing.”
“How are you going to find anything?” Natalie asked.
“What’s there to find?” Lola said. “You grab something gray, you grab something green, get a fresh pair of knickers, and you’re ready for the day.”
Emmy looked at Natalie and they both rolled their eyes.
“Why don’t you go find Jack?” Emmy asked.
“Who do you think I’ve been talking to all afternoon?” Lola said as she punched something into her phone.
“Who’s his roommate this year?” Emmy asked warily. Jack had trouble with his first-year roommate. Brynn, who happened to be Lola’s cousin, had made Jack’s life miserable when he found out Jack wouldn’t be joining the Order like the rest of the boys in his family.
“Some new kid,” Lola said. “Sam something or other.”
Emmy tucked her hair behind her ear. Maybe Sam was the one she’d seen on the train.
“Jack got permission to take sixth- and seventh-year art classes this year,” Lola said.
“Seriously?”
Lola nodded. “He’s pretty chuffed.”
Emmy smiled. After a year in the United Kingdom, Emmy had figured out that chuffed meant excited, but it had taken her a while to get used to all the British slang.
“I bet his dad’s not so chuffed,” Emmy said. Mr. Galt was an art dealer, but he wanted Jack to be involved in the business side of art, not the actual creation of it.
“Who cares?” Lola said. “He’ll probably have to do some kind of directed study for art next year, ’cause he’s going to run out of classes soon.”
Emmy and Natalie spent the rest of the afternoon setting up their room, which Lola constantly told them was taking too long.
Emmy hung her last skirt in the closet. “There, done.”
Lola threw her head back and groaned. “Finally! I’m starving. Let’s grab Jack and get some food.”
“I’m meeting Jaya for supper,” Natalie said. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
Lola sent Jack another text, and she and Emmy met him in the common room.
“Hey!” Emmy gave him a hug. “You got new glasses!”
Jack touched the rims of his glasses, which were still square-shaped but were thinner and bright blue. “Yeah, I could barely see out of the other ones, they were so scratched up. Did you get a haircut?”
“Yeah, I—”
“Okay, okay,” Lola said, pushing them toward the door. “Everybody looks brilliant. Now get a move on.”
“Just wait.” He looked over his shoulder. “Oli, come meet Emmy.”
A boy ducked his head and shuffled toward them. “Hi.”
“Hi Oliver,” Emmy said. With his well-combed hair and round glasses, Oliver looked like a much neater version of Jack.
“You can sit with us at supper if you like,” Jack said, “but you might want to meet some of the other first years instead. You know, make some friends.”
Oliver nodded, but his eyes were so wide it was like Jack had said “meet the sharks” instead of “make some friends.”
The Hall was as loud as ever that night, with the sounds of clanking cutlery and shrill laughter bouncing off the old stone walls. It had been the Blacehol Abbey Cathedral once, but now it was basically just a fancy dining hall. Emmy breathed in all the familiar smells: buttery biscuits, garlicky mashed potatoes, spicy dal with naan bread. She couldn’t wait to dive into a flaky Cornish pasty.
When they were all stuffed, Emmy, Jack, and Lola made their way slowly back to their common room. The double-sided fireplace blazed in the middle of the room, cutting through the damp chill that leaked through the old windowsills. Madam Boyd was there; since she was the head of Audrey House, she must have been there to greet the new students. The other teacher in the room was a bit of a surprise, and seeing him again made Emmy squirm.
“What’s Larraby doing here?” Emmy asked. Master Larraby was in charge of Latin Society, which was like a recruiting ground for the Order. He had never threatened her, but he definitely made her uncomfortable.
“He’s head of Edmund House,” Jack said.
“I know, but he never comes in the common room.” She lowered her voice. “He doesn’t exactly go out of his way to help his students.”
Jack gave her a wry smile. “It’s a requirement. Everybody has a meeting with their heads of houses on the first night.”
“I keep forgetting that you missed the start of last year,” Lola said.
Most of the squashy chairs and couches were full, so they found seats at a table. Lola whipped a pack of cards out of her coat pocket. “Come on, we can squeeze in a game of Slap It before the meeting starts.”
It had taken Emmy a while to learn the game Lola had invented, but now she could steal cards and slap stacks almost as well as Lola. Natalie and Jaya joined in after the first round, but before they could deal the cards for the second, Madam Boyd stepped to the fireplace and cleared her throat.
“All right,” she said, “settle down now.”
The room got quiet pretty quickly, except for the corner where Master Larraby was talking with some of the boys from Latin Society. Larraby laughed loudly. He didn’t seem to have noticed Madam Boyd talking.
Her jaw went tight. “Master Larraby.” It seemed like she was trying not to grit her teeth. “Won’t you join me in welcoming our students back to school?”
He put up one finger as if to say “just a minute.” Madam Boyd’s lips were getting whiter and whiter. Her temper was almost as quick as Lola’s, and she definitely didn’t like to be kept waiting.
Finally, the boys all laughed—Larraby must have finished his story, because Master Larraby finally strolled over to the fireplace. “So sorry, Boyd, please, go ahead.”