She paused and looked at us. “Sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t listening.”
“Not listening?” Marcy sat up. “There’s not a lot of conversation going on in here, so you have to pay attention. We might say very important things.”
Claudia simply stared at her. Her dark eyes weren’t registering anger. In fact, they were almost void of any emotion and more like glass marbles.
“Whatever,” Marcy said. She looked at me. “So what about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters, spoiled or otherwise?”
“No.”
“Neither?”
“It’s not unusual,” I said, smiling to keep her from having any suspicions.
“I’ll say. I’m a child of divorced parents.”
“You, too?” I said. “Divorced?”
“You mean yours are?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Wow. We’re almost the majority here at Cook Hall. There are eight others. My parents divorced when I was only five. I grew up thinking that marriages were supposed to last only five or six years and people traded in wives and husbands like they do cars. I thought there could be too much mileage on a marriage, too.”
I looked at Claudia, who suddenly seemed very interested in what we were saying.
“No wonder you’re so happy,” she told Marcy. “Your divorced parents probably spoil you.”
“Probably,” Marcy sang. “Viva la Divorce!” she cried, and even Claudia had to smile. Finally.
I finished my unpacking and glanced at the pamphlet.
“The cafeteria is in Asper Hall?”
“We call it Regurgitation Central,” Marcy joked.
“Do we have to wear anything special to dinner?”
She tapped the rules on our bulletin board. “No shorts, no bare midriffs, no bare feet, and this vague reference to no inappropriate blouses, shirts, or otherwise. Otherwise anything else. Terri Facilities and I will escort you two. You can get rid of us after today, if you like,” Marcy added, more for Claudia’s benefit than mine. She looked at me.
“Well, we certainly don’t want to be a burden,” I said, sounding as if I meant it. Almost as soon as the words left my lips, I thought I sounded more like Haylee, dripping with sarcasm. I quickly smiled.
“No worries. We’re both trained professional busybodies,” Marcy said.
“I think I’ll take a shower and change,” I said.
“Good idea. There are a few boys you’ll want to impress,” Marcy said, looking at both of us.
Claudia raised her eyebrows at being included.
“I mean, we’re not really here just for an academic education, are we?” Marcy added. She did a little pirouette and headed out.
“I like her, don’t you?” I asked Claudia.
“Sure,” Claudia said dryly. “I like everybody.”
She began to draw school supplies and her computer out of her bag and get her desk organized.
Later for that, I thought, and chose something to wear to dinner.