Last Christmas (Private 0.60)

"I repeat." Headmaster Cox's voice boomed throughout the chapel, and Ariana snapped to attention, her chest

heaving, heart pounding. No. Stop. She had to stop torturing herself. It had been over two years ago, and still

the images flashed in her mind as clearly as if it were happening all over again. "Any student who is found to

be in violation of these rules will face immediate expulsion." A fresh wave of silence swept over the student

body. Headmaster Cox was not one to make idle threats. Ariana willed herself to breathe.

In ... two ...three ... Mom is fine. She's fine. She's going to be fine.Out... two ... three ... It's not going to

happen again. You don't have to worry. In ... two ... three ... It's over. It's all over. Just calm down. Calm...

From the corner of her eye, she caught Noelle glancing quizzically in her direction. Ariana resumed a normal

breathing cadence, but she wasn't sure how long it would last. She needed air. Real air. It was too cramped in

these pews.

"This includes any student who is caught on campus without the requisite paperwork, and any student who

attempts to enter a dormitory other than Drake," Headmaster Cox clarified. "There are no exceptions. None."

He paused for effect, gazing down with authority at the students seated in front of him.

Suddenly Ariana saw the face of the EMT as clear as day. The one who had been hovering over her when she

awoke from shock. I have to get out of here. Now. "That is all. You are dismissed." The noise level rose in the

chapel before the headmaster had the chance to step away from the microphone. Students crammed together

and rushed for the chapel doors, filling the center aisle. Dizziness overwhelmed Ariana as she jumped to her

feet. She shoved past a group of sophomore girls and ignored Noelle's calls. She couldn't stop the thoughts of

her mother, thoughts of that awful day, from flooding her mind, from suffocating her. Finally she reached the

doors and stumbled under the archway, gulping in the sharp winter air. She leaned against the intricate

stonework and closed her eyes, trying to distance herself from the students around her and her own thoughts,

all at once. Trying to escape.

"Hey, naughty girl." A familiar voice oozing with confidence rose above the noise around her. She opened

her eyes and saw Thomas standing in worn jeans and a thin gray T-shirt. Snowflakes fell around him, but he

wore no coat. Nothing to guard against the weather except for a tattered brown cap. Still, he didn't seem to

notice the cold. Her heart flipped. Dammit. So much for that. Apparently it had been the distance between

them that had kept her body from reacting to him in the chapel. "What?" Ariana asked, her face growing

warm. Thomas smirked. "I know you said you were a good girl, but that thigh-graze proved otherwise. Hence,

the new name."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ariana pursed her lips in disapproval, her voice low. "I was drunk.