Danny watched me with a quiet smile. Suddenly, Waldheim turned on him and took a step forward. He loomed over Danny. His spine seemed longer than before and it was no longer straight. His head hung down over Danny on its now overly-long neck. That neck looked like a flower stalk and his head looked like a huge blossom that weighed so much it had bent the stalk over. I thought Mr. Waldheim might suddenly open his growing, triangular mouth and snatch off Danny’s startled face.
“And what are you smiling about? Is this all very funny to you, boy?” demanded Waldheim. He was hissing out his “S” sounds now. When he spoke, I could see that his mouth, which had turned lipless now, contained far too much tongue for a human.
“No. Not funny sir,” said Danny. He stood still like a soldier at attention and looked away from the Dean. “I apologize, sir.”
Waldheim paused for a moment. His tongue flicked out. The forked tip of it lightly brushed Danny’s hair with two pink, fleshy tines. Danny winced, but didn’t jump back. Wrenched by the sticky tongue, a few strands stood up from his head as straight and stiffly as Danny himself.
I noticed Beth had her eyes closed. But she hadn’t broken and run.
Waldheim swung back to me. Those eyes were completely yellow now, and the pupils had drawn into black slits. “So,” he said to me, and I felt his odd, warm, moist breath washing over me. “What do you say?”
“I’m sorry as well, sir,” I said quickly. “Won’t happen again.”
He blew more hot breath over my head for a moment. I noticed his hands were scaly, greenish-black and they now terminated in curved, wicked-looking claws.
Finally, he nodded. His hands turned pink again. The claws shrank into fingernails. “Very well. See that it doesn’t.”
His body shortened and thickened and we all relaxed a few notches. Beth even opened her eyes.
“I’m sorry, children,” Waldheim said. “If I seem easily angered, I apologize. We are all anxious, because tonight is a very special night.”
“Sir,” said Beth.
Waldheim eyed her with some surprise. “What is it, Miss Hatter?”
“Will we all meet Vater? What is he like?”
Waldheim had completed his transition back into a human being. His eyes were blue again, and they looked down on her with something approaching kindness.
“Count yourself lucky, girl,” he said, “if you never find out.”
Beth opened her mouth to ask something else, but thought the better of it. I was very relieved that she stopped herself. Normally, no one dared to speak directly about Vater.
“Now off with you,” said Waldheim. “Back downstairs, everyone. First it’s time for lunch, then an afternoon of Hussades. I dare say none of you deserve such a treat. But perhaps you can work out some of your excess energies on the obstacle course. I understand it’s a mean one this time.”
Chapter Fifteen
We slipped past Waldheim and trotted out of the room. Passing through the study, we saw books, globes, and even a suit of armor, but none of us had time to look around. We rushed down the wide stairs with thumping steps. I kept my distance from Danny, just in case he considered giving me a push.
Danny and Thomas quickly left us behind and raced down the steps.
“Out of the way, losers,” said Danny as he rushed down. Thomas’ laughter floated back up to our ears.
I slapped myself on the back of my head.
“What?” asked Beth.
“They are already thinking of it as a race. We are heading to the Hussades and all I could think of was my own safety. That will never win the race.”
“Why do they call it Hussades anyway?” asked Beth.
“It’s an old-country thing. You are supposed to shout ‘huzzah, huzzah,’ to cheer for people. Over time, that kind of warped into the name, we call each race a Hussade. When we team-up and have a lot of races, we call it Hussades.”
She nodded and we joined the mass of kids heading down a wide hallway that led past the kitchens to the dining hall. We got into line behind all the other kids. Danny and Thomas ran forward and found some friends who let them cut into the line. The rest of us grumbled, but no one did anything.
“Why do you all let them get away with stuff like that?” asked Beth.
“Do you want me to start a fight?” I asked.
“No, silly. You could just tell on them. Like back there in the study, with that man or dean or thing, Mr. Waldheim. You could have just told him what was really going on. And another thing, was he about to eat our heads off or what?”
“Probably not,” I laughed. “He makes a good dean because he’s scary, but I’ve never heard any real proof that he’s eaten any of us.”
“Okay, so what about speaking up?”
“We would have gotten into trouble too.”
“Sure, but it would have been worth it, they were out to kill us or something.”
“Well,” I said slowly, not sure how to begin. “We aren’t quite like the kids from other schools.”
“I certainly know that by now!”
“No. I mean, not just because we change our shapes. We have some different ideas about honor and solving our own problems.”
“You mean the adults wouldn’t have helped us?”
“They wouldn’t have been happy to help. They teach us to be self-reliant. There is an unwritten rule here against tattling.”
“Okay,” said Beth slowly. “But why exactly?”
“Beth, you might think we are just cool and interesting, but most normal people are scared of us. We’re different, and if the rest of the world ever finds out about us, they might come to hunt for us.”
Beth nodded. “I see,” she said soberly. “So I’m actually a danger to you all.”
I looked at her in surprise. She was a fast thinker.
“I know your secrets, and if I told people about them…”
“Fortunately, you’re just a kid,” I told her with a smile. “No one believes a kid who tells crazy stories.”
She grinned back. “Good thing.”
Jake joined us. He didn’t have to cut in line because we were the last ones. He came up at a trot, huffing. He was a bit overweight and usually huffed a lot after even a short run.
“Where have you guys been?” he asked, grabbing us both by the shoulders. “I’ve been looking everywhere. You almost made me miss my lunch.”
We told him all about the Forever Room and our crawling escape on the roof and being caught by Danny and Thomas, and finally meeting up with Mr. Waldheim. His eyes just kept getting bigger as we went. By the time we’d finished talking, we had trays in our hands and had almost made it to the food.
“You mean he almost changed completely?” exclaimed Jake. “Wow, you must have really ticked him off. You’ve a knack for upsetting people, Connor. I’ve always said it.”
I had to admit he was right.
Lunch was better than the standard fare. I wondered if Vater’s coming had made them break out the good stuff. Instead of soy-burgers and previously-frozen veggies, we had roast chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy. The gravy was real too, not that cheap stuff that tastes like salted library paste. There were beans and peas, and even a salad on the side with really good dressing.
“I’m sooo hungry,” said Jake, digging into his heaping plate.
“I’m looking forward to the Hussades,” said Beth.
