When we reach the assembly hall, Rose and Eleanor break away from us to head over near the podium, where the other prefects are already standing. Molly steers me through the seats until we find Florence and Harriet, and we fill the empty spots they’ve saved for us.

People are staring at me, and my stomach drops when I realize what they’re looking at. I’m literally the only person I can see without the optional sweater, and you’d think I spat on the school flag or something. One girl whispers to her friend, who whirls around to look me up and down. Another girl wrinkles her nose and shakes her head a little. Another bunch burst out laughing and take turns telling each other off for looking at me so obviously. I shove my fists into my pockets and pretend I can’t see them, even though I know my fiery cheeks must be giving me away.

On the stage, the prefects gather into a line and a hush falls over the crowd.

The head girl, a senior named Clara, takes a step forward from the line, brandishing a wooden board above her head. On it is a coat of arms. Each half displays a design of an animal in black and gold: a stag on one side, a wolf on the other. In the background a black rose snakes up around the emblem, wrapping both the animals in a chokehold. Clara stalks the front of the group to make sure everyone gets a good look at it.

“It’s time to take the oath,” she announces, and the backs in the audience straighten. “Stand.”

I glance at Molly, lost. “Just copy us,” she whispers. “It’s simple enough.”

Clara holds up a hand like she’s conducting an orchestra. In unison, the girls around me chorus, “I vow.”

Raising the emblem higher, Clara roars, “To never break any school rules where I can get caught.”

Behind her the other prefects move in a rehearsed line. A redheaded girl steps forward to take the coat of arms from Clara. She holds up a hand of her own, and there’s another resounding, “I vow.”

“To study hard, but only when cheating isn’t easy,” the girl says with a solemn expression.

A new girl takes her place, this one with shoulder-length braids.

“I vow,” I murmur with the crowd as she takes the coat of arms. I’m catching on now.

“Not to pass first base until I have successfully snuck my partner past the residential assistant.”

I vow.

“That if I overhear a Bram Girl telling a falsehood to an outsider, I will, without prompting, corroborate her story.”

I vow.