Fuck. If I tell Noah I saw him again, I will never hear the end of it.

I definitely shouldn't go to that party.

4. Claire

4

CLAIRE

I arrived in Thorn Falls three days ago, and in that time, I’ve only seen my roommate twice in passing, dropping off boxes so full of colorful clothing they were left open on her side of the room. The bright pinks and blues and yellows are surprising, as both times she was dressed in sensible navy and gray.

She seemed friendly enough from what I saw in the ten minutes we spent together, but I don’t think there’s any chance I’ll see her today. Both times we met were early morning; she’s disappeared the rest of the time. Her social life is clearly very active.

When I come back from the library, my backpack full of books, I’m surprised to see her hanging her stuff in her wardrobe.

Lily’s a pretty, tall girl with straight black hair and bangs. I am officially jealous. I’d look ridiculous with bangs, and my hair wouldn’t behave like that even right out of the hairdresser. She wears overly large, oval glasses that complete her sexy librarian look. She is truly pretty; a classical beauty.

“Oh, hi!” I say, feeling a little awkward.

Today, she’s in jeans and a cream button-down blouse with a large lace collar; the kind of clothing I could have worn, and I shop with my grandmother. Incongruously, she’s holding a piece of shiny fabric—PVC or latex, I think—in bright red.

“Hey!” she calls back. “How are you doing? Used to the madness yet?”

I shrug. “I can’t say it’s been all that crazy so far. I shopped for stationery, registered at the yoga studio, that kinda stuff.”

She spares me a glance. “New in town, huh? Don’t sweat it. That was me last year. You’ll fit in just fine. Only about a tenth of the students are local, given the insane admission requirements. I can introduce you to my friends, but fair warning: we’re all major geeks.”

“Oh, I’m a geek,” I assure her, unsure how that wasn’t clear.

At home, everyone seemed to know I was the kind of girl who could write full sentences in Sindarin. Maybe because I grew up in the same small town my whole life, so they’d all tried to talked to me and realized that I was weird by the time I turned twelve. Come to think of it, my general style might say proper young lady more than closet Star Wars fan. But then again, Lily isn’t all that weird.

“No, I mean, major geeks,” she repeats, tossing me a piece of fabric.

I catch it and lift it up, unsure what I’m looking at, at first. I tilt my head.