Madam Boyd stared at him a moment longer and then turned to the group. “For those of you who are new to Wellsworth, welcome. I am Madam Boyd and I’m head of Audrey House.”
“And I’m Master Jameson Larraby,” Larraby said. “I am, of course, head of Edmund House, and I am also a graduate of Cambridge, chair of our school’s Latin Department, and head of the Latin Society. I hope to see some of the new Edmund lads join our Latin Society soon. We’re always looking for new blood.”
Emmy looked at Lola and rolled her eyes. Latin Society may not be able to have an official boys-only policy, but they made sure no girl wanted to stay very long.
“Your schedules will be in your mailboxes tomorrow morning,” Boyd said. “New students will have a consultation scheduled with either myself or Master Larraby sometime this week. Also, the Wellsworth Annual Charity Supper is coming up in a few weeks, and this year Audrey and Edmund House will be hosting. We will need a committee of volunteers, so I’ll leave a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board. If all the slots aren’t filled by tomorrow evening, I’ll start adding your names for you.”
“That’s democratic,” Lola scoffed in a voice that wasn’t very quiet.
Madam Boyd glared at her daughter. “Ah, I see we have our first volunteer. Miss Boyd, thank you for being our committee chairperson.”
Lola’s jaw dropped. “What?”
“Remember,” Boyd went on as if Lola hadn’t said anything, “at Wellsworth we expect nothing short of excellence, both in academics and in personal choices.”
“Wait,” Lola said. “I’m not—”
“If you are struggling in either of those areas,” Boyd said loudly, “come see one of us immediately so we can get things straightened out. I would wish you good luck, but with hard work and self-discipline you won’t need it. Have a good term.”
Chairs scraped on the floor as people stood up, and Madam Boyd walked toward a group of first years.
“Hang on, Mum,” Lola said. “I’m not chairing some committee.”
Madam Boyd put up her hand. “Save it, Lola. I’ll get you an access code for the student conference room and the notes from last year’s committee.” She smiled. “And maybe next time you’ll save your sass for someone else.”
Lola stomped her foot and groaned. “This is totally unfair.” She pointed her finger at Emmy and Jack. “You two had better be the first ones on that sign-up sheet.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll do it,” Jack said.
“Can I help?” someone said from behind them.
Emmy’s stomach fluttered. It was the boy from the train.
“Sure, that’d be great,” Jack said. “This is Sam, he’s my roommate. This is Emmy, and that’s Lola.”
“Hey.” He flashed them a grin and Emmy prayed no one would notice her cheeks getting hot.
Jack went over to the sign-up sheet. “Um, sorry Lola, but we won’t be the first ones signing up.”
“Why? Who else is on there?”
“Brynn.” Emmy’s chest got tight. Brynn was part of the Order, and he’d spent a lot of time trying to intimidate Emmy the year before. He couldn’t stand Jack or Lola either, even though Lola was his cousin.
“Why would a selfish git like Brynn want to help with a charity supper?” Lola asked.
“Maybe he needs volunteer hours,” Sam said.
“Not a chance,” Jack said. “He’s up to something.”
Emmy shuddered. If Brynn was up to something, that was never a good sign.
Chapter 4
New Friends and Old Enemies
Emmy’s alarm seemed to go off extra early the next morning. She’d pretty much gotten used to the time change when she was at Lucy’s, but she’d also gotten used to sleeping in. She pressed snooze on her phone and rolled over.
Somebody jiggled her shoulder.
“Come on, sleepy,” Natalie said, “we’ve got to figure out our schedules before first bell.”
Emmy yawned and sat up in bed. She’d been wondering who her teachers would be all summer. She still wanted Barlowe for humanities, but when it came to Latin, she’d be thrilled with anybody other than Larraby.
She threw on her uniform, brushed her hair and teeth, and hurried downstairs. The common room was filled with people pouring over slips of paper they’d grabbed out of their mailboxes.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” a sixth-year boy said. “I’m stuck with Wilbert again. His lectures put me straight to sleep. How am I supposed to pass chemistry?”
“Algebra in first block?” a seventh-year girl said. “I can’t do equations first thing in the morning.”
“Who’s Ms. Parker?” asked an anxious-looking first year. “Is she hard? I’ve never taken geography before.”
Emmy grabbed the schedule in her mailbox. Economics, earth and ocean science, art, design and technology, applied mathematics, Latin, and humanities. She looked at the teachers and held her breath: Barlowe for humanities, and Ellenby for Latin. She breathed out and smiled. Without Larraby, she’d be even further away from the Order’s orbit.
“WHAT?”
Emmy looked up. Lola was staring at her schedule like it had personally insulted her.
“I’ve got physics and chemistry in the same semester?” Lola said. “That’s just cruel!”
“Don’t complain,” Jack said as he walked over to them. “I’ve got to finish all of sixth-year history of art in one semester so I can do seventh-year in the spring.”
Lola rolled her eyes. “You’re the one who asked for advanced art classes, and it’s your favorite subject, so stop griping.”
“Let’s go eat,” Emmy said.
“Oh, um, I kind of told Sam I’d wait for him,” Jack said. “It’s okay if he sits with us, right?”
“Of course,” Lola said.
Emmy’s ears felt hot. It was definitely okay with her if Sam sat with them.
They waited another minute until Sam finally came down the stairs. Emmy tucked her hair behind her ear. Wellsworth’s gray and green sweater Sam wore made his hazel eyes seem even brighter.
“Hey,” he said, “it’s Lola and Emmy, right?”
Emmy nodded. Please don’t blush, Emmy, please don’t blush. Saying that in her head over and over seemed to make her face even hotter.