“Maybe she’s at the hospital with Ransom,” Ollie suggests. “From the look of things, there aren’t any teachers around.”

He’s right. I don’t see any of the teachers who usually sprinkle the grounds on the weekends, keeping students in line. Is that how all these kids got on campus? Is someone stationed at the gate, temporarily holding it open?

“You need to study,” I tell Ollie, steering him away from the spectacle of Archer and his fans, toward the dorms. “I won’t let you fall behind on my watch. NYU is waiting for you,” I add. “Film school’s been your dream since you were ten and you made your first documentary about the fourth-grade snack program.”

“I still can’t believe they switched out Oreos for Ritz Crackers. But dreams change, don’t they? I don’t know if my parents want me so far from home. I don’t know if I want to be so far from home. And…you,” he adds quietly. My heart skips about twelve beats. Is he going to say something now, about his feelings for me? “Have you thought about where you’re gonna apply? Because I’m thinking maybe California’s my best bet. You know, USC. I’d only be a one-hour plane ride from my parents…”

I breathe out, relieved he’s still talking about colleges and nothing more…personal. Still, I don’t know how to answer him. Up until the start of school, college was the absolute last thing on my mind. Now, I have thought about it a little, if only because it’s something I simply can’t avoid. Oxford is on my list, and so are a dozen schools all over the country. I know Oxford’s a long shot. From what I’ve read online, the university doesn’t accept many American students straight out of high school, since the British and U.S. curricula are so different. Of course, the Similars will have no trouble getting into any college they choose, thanks to Gravelle’s rigorous academics on Castor Island.

We round a corner, heading down the narrow path that will take us back to our dorms. Someone’s in our way, though—or two someones, I should say. They’re so entangled in each other, hooking up under an awning of low-hanging tree branches, that they’re completely oblivious to us, and the fact that we need to walk past them. It’s not a wide walkway, and there are trees on either side. We have no place to go.