Presumably, she was eating over at the other cafeteria, maybe with Eddie or Micah.
Kristin and Julia were friendly, chatting me up about how my first day had gone and imparting wisdom about certain teachers they’d had before. They were seniors like me, and we shared a couple classes. We spent most of lunch exchanging basic info, like where we were all from. It wasn’t until lunch was winding down that I began to get answers to some of the questions that had been bugging me all day. Although it required wading through still more questions first.
“So,” said Kristin, leaning across the table. “Does it just give you a super memory? Or does it like, I don’t know, actually change your brain and make you smarter?”
Julia rolled her eyes. “It can’t make you smarter. It’s gotta be memory. What I want to know is, how long does it last?”
I glanced back and forth between them, more confused than ever. “Whatever you’re talking about can’t be making me smarter, because I’m so lost right now.”
Kristin laughed at that. “Your tattoo. I heard you answering all the hardest questions in math. And a friend of mine is in your history class and said you were dominating there too. We’re trying to figure out how the tattoo helps you.”
“Helps me . . . answer questions?” I asked. Their faces confirmed as much. “It doesn’t. That stuff . . . that’s just, well, me. I just know the answers.”
“No one’s that smart,” argued Julia.
“It’s not that crazy. I’m no genius. I guess I’ve just learned a lot. I was homeschooled part of the time, and my dad was really . . . strict,” I added, thinking that might help.
“Oh,” said Kristin, toying with a long braid. I’d noticed she wore her dark hair in very practical ways while blond Julia’s was always teased and tousled. “I guess that could be it . . . but then, what does your tattoo do?”
“It doesn’t do anything,” I said. Yet even as I spoke the words, I felt a slight tingle in my flesh. The tattoo had a kind of magic in it that stopped me from speaking about anything Alchemist-related to those who weren’t part of the inner circle. This was the tattoo stopping me from saying too much, not that there was any need. “I just thought it was cool.”
“Oh,” said Julia. Both girls looked inexplicably disappointed.
“Why on earth would you think the tattoo is making me smart?” I asked.
The warning bell interrupted further conversation, reminding us all it was time to get to our next class. There was a pause as Kristin and Julia considered something. Kristin seemed to be the leader of the two because she was the one who gave a decisive nod. I had the distinct feeling I was being assessed.
“Okay,” she said finally, giving me a big smile. “We’ll fill you in more on everything later.”
We set up a time to hang out and study later, then parted ways. My impression was that more socialization than studying would go on, which was fine with me, but I made a mental note to get my homework done first. The rest of the day went quickly, and I received a note in one class from Molly the advisor. As expected, I’d passed out of all of my language courses, and she wanted me to come by and discuss matters during the last period, when I technically had no class. This meant that my school day would officially wrap up with PE.
I changed into my assigned gym clothes, shorts and an Amberwood T-shirt, and trekked outside into the hot sun with the others. I’d felt a little of the heat ducking between classes today, but it wasn’t until I actually had to stand outside for any length of time that I really and truly appreciated the fact that we were out in the desert. Glancing around at my classmates, who were guys and girls of all grades, I saw that I wasn’t the only one sweating. I rarely burned but reminded myself to pick up sunscreen to be safe. Jill would need it too.
Jill!
I peered around. I’d nearly forgotten that Jill was supposed to be in the same class. Except, where was she? There was no sign of her. When our instructor, Miss Carson, called attendance, she didn’t even say Jill’s name. I wondered if there’d been a last-minute schedule change.
Miss Carson believed in jumping right into the action. We were divided into teams for volleyball, and I found myself standing beside Micah. His fair, freckled complexion was growing pink, and I almost wanted to suggest sunscreen to him as well. He gave me one of his friendly smiles.
“Hey,” I said. “You haven’t seen my sister today, have you? Jill?”
“No,” he said. A slight frown crossed his forehead. “Eddie was looking for her at lunch. He figured she was eating with you over at your dorm.”
I shook my head, a queasy feeling welling in my stomach. What was going on? Nightmare scenarios flashed through my mind. I’d thought Eddie was overreacting with his vigilance, but had something happened to Jill? Was it possible that, despite all our planning, one of Jill’s enemies had slipped in and stolen her out from under us? Was I going to have to tell the Alchemists—and my father—that we’d lost Jill on the first day? Panic flashed through me. If I wasn’t about to be sent to a re-education center before, I definitely was on my way to one now.
“Are you okay?” Micah asked, studying me. “Is Jill okay?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Excuse me.” I broke out of my team formation and jogged over to where Miss Carson was supervising.
“Yes?” she asked me.
“I’m sorry to bother you, ma’am, but I’m worried about my sister. Jill Melrose. I’m Sydney. She’s supposed to be in here. Do you know if she changed classes?”
“Ah, yes. Melrose. I got a note from the office, just before class, that she wouldn’t be attending today.”
“Did they say why?”
Miss Carson shook her head apologetically and barked an order to some guy who was slacking off. I rejoined my team, mind spinning. Well, at least someone had seen Jill today, but why on earth would she not be attending?
“Is she okay?” Micah asked me.
“I . . . I guess. Miss Carson seemed to know she wouldn’t be in class but doesn’t know why.”
“Is there anything I can do?” he asked. “To help her? Er, you guys?”
“No, thanks. That’s nice of you to ask.” I wished there was a clock around. “I’ll check on her as soon as class is over.” A thought suddenly occurred to me. “But Micah? Don’t say anything to Eddie.”
Micah gave me a curious look. “Why not?”
“He’s overprotective. He’ll worry when it’s probably nothing.”
When class ended, I quickly showered and changed clothes before heading to the administrative building. I was desperate to run back to the dorm first to see if Jill was there, but I couldn’t be late for the appointment. As I walked down a hallway to Molly’s office, I passed by the main one—and an idea came to me. I stopped in to talk to the attendance secretary before going to my appointment.
“Jill Melrose,” the secretary said, nodding. “She was sent back to her dorm.”
“Sent back?” I exclaimed. “What does that mean?”
“I’m not at liberty to say.” Melodramatic much?
Annoyed and more confused than ever, I went to Molly’s office, taking comfort in the fact that even if Jill’s absence was mysterious, at least it was sanctioned by the school. Molly told me I could either take another elective or engage in some kind of independent study in place of a language, if I got a teacher to sponsor me. An idea popped into my head.
“Can I check in with you tomorrow?” I asked. “I need to talk to someone first.”
“Sure,” said Molly. “Just decide soon. You can go back to your dorm now, but we can’t have you wandering around every day during this time.”
I assured her she’d have an answer soon and headed back. The shuttle bus didn’t run very often during classes, so I just walked the mile back. It only took fifteen minutes but felt twice as long in the heat. When I finally reached the dorm room, relief flooded me. Hanging out in our room as if nothing strange had happened was Jill.
“You’re all right!”
Jill was lying on the bed, reading her book again. She looked up morosely. “Yeah. Kind of.”
I sat down on my own bed and kicked off my shoes. “What happened? I had a panic attack when you weren’t in class. If Eddie knew—”
