“Well then, I’m glad I’m going home soon,” I say.

“Home?” Felix asks.

“For the holidays,” I say.

Aarya and Felix share a subtle look, and I get the feeling they’ve just made some sort of assessment. I glance down the long table at Layla and wonder if I should leave them and join her.

“It’s hard when you first arrive here,” Aarya says. “It was an adjustment for all of us. Granted, we’ve all been here awhile now. But you, you’re what, seventeen?”

I brush off her question with a shrug. “Which for here seems to be wicked old.”

Felix dips a piece of bread in tomato sauce and shakes his head. “It’s not that, it’s that you’re the first student we’ve ever heard of who came in this late. How did you swing it? Must have been enormously expensive.” His intonation and posture make me examine him more closely. I’ve never met anyone with all the awkwardness of a debate club nerd and yet the physical appearance of an attractive pirate.

Aarya nods.

“I…” If I tell them that we never had much money, I’ll be telling them something about my family. And if I say I don’t know, then I’m revealing how truly ignorant I am of my situation. Damn it. Conversation in this place is like navigating around land mines.

I laugh to distract them from my silence. “Secrets are secrets,” I say. From the corner of my eye I catch an almost imperceptible smile from the girl with the dreads. “But enough about me. What about you, Felix? By the way you emphasize the e in your name, I’m guessing you’re British?” I pause. “Did you know your name means ‘lucky’ or ‘successful’? And Aarya, your name is actually Sanskrit for the goddess Durga, but it’s a common name in lots of countries.” I drum my fingers on the table as I dredge up what I recall about her name’s etymology. “But Sanskrit is a dead language, not to mention that Aarya is a name given to both boys and girls. It’s funny how your name is changeable, almost like your accent. Maybe it’s even an alias?”

Aarya claps her hands together with exaggerated slowness and guffaws, earning her more hard looks from nearby students. “Game on! I like this girl.”

I take a bite of lasagna.

“November,” a male voice says behind me. I turn around to find Ash, whose posture is relaxed but whose eyes are focused. His black hair is neat and his eyelashes are longer than mine.

“Oh, go away, Ash,” Aarya says. “We were just starting to have some fun.” She smacks her hands on the tablecloth, rattling a few plates. The girl with the dreads looks up. “If you take November away, I’ll be stuck with this church mouse”—she waves her hand at the girl—“and Eeyore,” she adds, inclining her head toward Felix.

“As much as I regret spoiling your game—I mean fun,” Ash says in a voice that would be charming if his demeanor weren’t so piercing, “November has a lot to cover on her tour and it would be better to get a head start before lunch is over.”