Page 152 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

Ms. Carling waves away what I was going to say. “They’re not allowed to charge while they’re on University grounds. They do it for the extra credits.”

“That might not be a bad idea,” I tell her, my smile a little wider this time.

“Tell you what.” Ms. Carling grabs a notepad and starts hunting around on her desk for a pen. “You go browse, and when you come back this way, I’ll have some names for you.”

“That’s so nice of you.” The librarian’s kind gesture puts a lump in my throat.

I quickly head for the distant study guide stacks in case I can’t hold back tears. I guess the Academy might have been an awesome place to go to school if I wasn’t being tormented by a bunch of psychopaths. No wonder my parents wanted me to study here. I’m sure they had a blast.

Oh god, why did I have to think about my parents?

Pushing aside my dismal thoughts, I slip behind the stacks and start browsing through the shelves.

It’s peaceful back here, surrounded by all these musty books. I should spend more time here. I could study at one of the tables in the middle of the library, in sight of Ms. Carling. I doubt the Serpents could do nasty things to me in here.

I pull out an accounting guide and skim the back, fumbling it when my phone rings loudly in my blazer pocket. God, I thought I had it on vibrate. I tuck the book under my arm and quickly silence my phone, then stare at the caller ID.

Peggy.

I know I shouldn’t be tempting fate but I’m far away from Ms. Carling and there aren’t any other students in the library, so I take the call.

“Hey,” I answer in a low voice.

“Why are you whispering?” Peggy says. “Are you in a library or something?”

“Yeah, actually.”

“What?” Peggy laughs. “Seriously?”

“Well, yeah.” I laugh too, but quietly. “It’s so good to hear your voice.”

“I thought you were dead,” Peggy says. “I’ve been trying to get hold of you the whole week. Your phone was just off the whole time.”

“No it wasn’t?” I quickly check my phone’s signal. It has one bar. “Wow, I didn’t even realize there’s such a bad signal in this place.”

“Is this school in a tunnel or something?”

I laugh again, covering my mouth with a hand. “Might as well be. So how are things? How’s the club? How’sJackson?”

As Peggy starts blabbering on, I put the study guide on top of some biology books before sitting cross-legged with my back against the shelf. It sounds like Peggy’s doing fine without me, not that I’m that surprised. We met two years ago at school, and she’s always so indestructible.

“But what about you? How’s university treating you?”

“Ugh.” I hang my head. “Peggy, it’s horrible.”

“Why? You were so looking forward to going.”That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but maybe she mistook my uneasiness for excitement.

“It’s just…” I sigh and lean my head back against the books. “It’s not what I was expecting. The only person who’s been nice to me is my roommate.”

“Wow, that sucks. I guess it’s ’cos you’re new?”

“Apparently,” I mumble.“So, has he asked you out yet?”

“Pfft, what century are you from? People don’t ask each other out anymore. Have we sucked face? Yeah. Has there been action past second base...” Peggy giggles. “Maybe. But you know I don’t grope and tell.”

“I’m glad you two finally hooked up.”

“And you?” I can hear the smile in Peggy’s voice. “Don’t tell me there aren’t some cuties over there. I’m sure once you’ve picked the hay out of their hair, they might even be worth hooking up with.”

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