“Ellie, are you okay?”
“Yeah, what? I’m fine.” Ellie pulled the sailor top over her head, immediately getting tangled in it.
“You wanna talk about it?”
“No,” Ellie snapped, her head popping out abruptly. “I mean, sorry, no. I’m all good, really. Just first-day nerves.”
Lottie’s lips curved in a less-than-convinced smile, but she didn’t push it. “We’ll be fine.”
Ellie smiled back, though she couldn’t help feeling that Lottie worrying about her was exactly what had gotten her best friend into this mess in the first place.
Making their way to the rest of the group, it was clear to everyone that Ellie was miserably uncomfortable in the uniform, constantly tugging on the skirt hem as though it might sting her.
“I hate this stupid uniform,” she grumbled as they reached their meeting spot by the school’s cat shrine. The other Rosewood girls were already waiting between the two stone cat statues that stood tall and inquisitive on red pedestals, Anastacia and Lola looking annoyingly great in the school uniform. Lottie looked great too, but Ellie didn’t mind that so much, not that she’d say anything.
“It looks like it hates you too!” Saskia cackled, pointing at where Ellie’s long torso made the top sit too high on her stomach. At the same time it swamped her shoulders, simultaneously too big and too small.
Ellie refused to laugh, and Saskia’s face softened. “Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I’ll ask them for some boys’ uniforms for us later.”
It was hard to tell if Saskia was joking or not, and, more importantly, she wasn’t even sure if they’d be allowed to do that. The boys and Haru joined them, with Sayuri and the angry blue-haired girl trailing behind. Ellie managed to look up just in time to catch Jamie’s eye; there was a hint of hesitancy about him, like he wasn’t sure about something. In a moment of sympathy she raised an eyebrow in silent inquisition, a small gesture, but one she hoped he might respond to, but he simply shook his head and turned away.
Lottie was worried about Ellie. It was hard to put her finger on it, but she knew her well enough to be able to know that something was off. Unfortunately there was nothing she could do right then, so instead she gave herself over to the incredible sight of the school in daylight.
Takeshin was smaller than Rosewood and more tightly packed. The center of the school was built around a large lily-covered pond, the flowers in full bloom, with big, fat koi drifting in and out of sight beneath the emerald surface. The air was sweet and warm, like biting into a fresh pastry from her mother’s old bakery. They crossed bridges with red-painted edges and bronze embellishments that connected the different buildings. All the while the bamboo surrounded them, casting shadows.
The school was silent, other than the invisible insects that sang in melodic patterns. They all followed Sayuri, Haru, and the blue-haired girl, who looked very out of place in the traditional setting. It reminded Lottie of the first time she’d walked through Rosewood Hall, when she’d feared that at any moment she might wake up and find it was all a dream, only this time it wasn’t herself she was worried about—it was Ellie.
“This is the dining hall used during our summer school.” Sayuri took them into another large dark-wood building where people in aprons hurried around. “You will be able to eat breakfast here every day between seven and eight—”
“Wait, wait,” Ellie said, interrupting, and Lottie felt her whole body prickle. “Are you telling me we’re expected to get up that early, even when we don’t have classes?”
The blue-haired girl made a tutting noise, mumbling something in Japanese that made Haru’s eyes go wide. Lottie could only imagine the colorful language she’d used.
“As Miko-san politely said,” Sayuri replied, smiling serenely and gesturing to her roommate, “when staying with us you will be expected to adapt to our customs. This should be easy for a Rosewood student, no?”
Ellie looked as if she were about to say more, her eyes narrowing in a way Lottie recognized all too well, and panic rushed through her.
“Yes—of course it’s no trouble,” Lottie said quickly, plastering on her most accommodating smile.
“Excellent, then let us continue the tour.”
“You need to be nicer to Sayuri,” Lottie whispered to Ellie.
“I’m trying,” she replied, rubbing her forehead.
But Lottie wasn’t sure that she was. What was making Ellie behave like this? Hadn’t she wanted to come to Japan? She might be better physically, but it was clear there was a more insidious illness lurking inside her. Lottie just had to hope Takeshin could help her.
The second area they visited was the onsen, or hot spring. It was a great steaming pool of water, which was heated under the ground and split by a wooden fence to separate the male and female areas.
“So we bathe together?” Anastacia asked, evidently troubled.
“The baths are not for cleaning yourself,” explained Sayuri. “You will do that in the showers. These are for recreation. But, yes, we bathe together.”
“So it’s like a swimming pool then?” asked Micky.
“Yes,” said Haru, “but without the bathing suits. That is why there is a separation.”
A blush crept onto Lottie’s cheeks at the idea of being so exposed around people she didn’t know very well. As her eyes met Miko’s, the other girl smirked, clearly able to tell what Lottie was thinking.
The next room they entered was the dojo, which was tucked away up a set of mud steps. A skylight above them illuminated a wall of powerful ebony suits like ominous black knights guarding the school. It felt as if the dark empty space behind the wire masks hid spirits watching them step through the arched entrance.
“One of our most popular programs is kendo. As four of you have chosen this course, you may return here after breakfast for your first class. I look forward to seeing how a Rosewood student fares at such a complex
