“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her around before.”

“She’s usually out here only at night. All the students running around here scare her.” Noelle absentmindedly tickled Muffin’s chin.

I couldn’t decide what was more precious, the copper-furred cat or Noelle, who made little kissy noises at her.

When I reached out and gingerly petted her head, Muffin’s eyes opened just a slit wide to look at me as she purred.

“God, I wish I had a cat,” Noelle whispered under her breath. She continued petting Muffin for a few more moments before the cat suddenly took off and disappeared around the corner.

With a shrug, Noelle grabbed her crutches and pushed herself up. “So, Mrs. Whitworth told me you were allowed to go out with the boys?” she asked as we crossed the entrance hall.

She was whispering even though the clicking of her crutches on the stone was probably loud enough to wake up the entire castle. “How was it and why aren’t you drunk? I expected more from you, Greene.”

“It was nice,” I said. “And we did drink, but tipsy is enough for me after what happened at the Welcome Back Party.”

Noelle chuckled. “Pity.”

A moment later we made it to the east wing. There, Noelle led the way to the administration office and motioned for me to open the door with her crutch.

I did, surprised to find it unlocked. The office was completely dark, but Noelle found the light switch within seconds.

She pushed her way past me without any explanation and walked around the abandoned desk. “Come here and pick this up for me, will you?”

I went to stand next to her to find her pointing at a large parcel on the floor. Picking it up, I asked, “Are we stealing right now?”

She clicked her tongue. “So much mistrust. This is mine.”

She wasn’t lying; once I got a closer look at the parcel I saw that it had her name written on it in neat cursive.

“Who sent you this?” I asked as we left the office.

“My mom. She sends me one every month.”

Now I really couldn’t wait to open it and see what was inside, so I quickly followed her as she led the way to the gym and had me open the door for her.

I blinked into the sudden brightness when she flipped the switch and the ceiling lights flickered to life with a soft whir.

Even hours after the game, the hall still smelled faintly of rubber and sweat.

“Why are we here?”

Noelle shrugged. “It’s the only quiet place I could think of that doesn’t require climbing any stairs.”

I nodded, silently following her over to the same bench from where we had watched the last minutes of the game earlier.

Where she had been tense and fidgety then, she now seemed completely relaxed as she sank down and took the parcel I handed her. Inside was a huge amount of sweets, but a lot of them were things I didn’t know, like tiny plastic bottles filled with some kind of vibrantly colored liquid and a can labeled Boiled Peanuts.