Paradise Lost (Private 9)

The last thing I wanted to do was leave him, but I had to. Standing in front of Josh and not being able to touch him was going to kill me.

"Okay," he replied, his eyes wet.

"Okay," I repeated, somehow getting the word past the lump in my throat.

I turned and started down the hall, my footsteps heavy. A few doors down, I paused and looked over my shoulder. He was still standing there, watching me. Watching me walk away from him. "Keep me posted, okay? On how she's doing."

"I promise."

So there it was. Good-bye. I was going to be strong. I was not going to pine and whine and wish. I was going to be good. For me, for Josh, and for Ivy. That was my promise to myself.

9

CHAPTER 2 THE CRAZIES

Sunday morning, the sky was the perfect shade of gray. The kind that wouldn't bring the joy of snow, but would hang around all day, reminding everyone to be cold, down, depressed.

It was freezing inside the chapel. We all pulled our coats tighter as we stepped through the arched doorway and under the vaulted ceiling. The atmosphere was hushed. Whispers skittered along the cold stone floor and up the walls. We may as well have been attending a funeral in the austere old church. The girls of Pemberly gathered in their pews, hugging one another and resting their heads on each other's shoulders. Gage trudged in, head down, hands in the pockets of his heather gray coat. That was when I knew for sure that he was seriously depressed--the boy never wore outerwear. Thought he was too cool for bundling. But today his head was clearly somewhere else--room 4007.

"Students, let's all take our seats," Headmaster Cromwell said, stepping up to the podium.

I glanced at Diana Waters, my friend from Pemberly. Cromwell

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had never greeted us so informally before. As we sat down next to each other, I noticed that even his appearance had changed. He wore a burgundy wool sweater under his suit jacket and no tie. No American flag tie tack. It was Casual Crom.

"Freaky," Diana whispered as everyone settled in around us.

"No doubt," I replied.

"I'll make this short," Headmaster Cromwell began, his pale hands gripping either side of the podium. "First, as of today, I will be relinquishing my post as headmaster of Easton Academy."

Surprised murmurs filled the room.

"No more Crom?" Lorna Gross said from the pew behind mine. She actually sounded upset. I, however, felt a huge sense of relief, though it was tinged by irritation. I detested the Crom. He had put us all through the wringer this semester. But that also was part of the reason I was irritated. All those hoops I had jumped through for him . . . and now, next semester, there was going to be some new headmaster to suck up to.

Cromwell held up a hand to silence the crowd. "But I do have a few announcements to make before I go," he said. "First, due to the events of last night, the school will be breaking early for the holiday. Which means you are all excused from your finals."

This announcement was met with stunned silence. I was sure that a few of my classmates wanted to celebrate--I could practically feel the strain as they held back whoops of joy like a hundred overfilled helium balloons--but no one uttered a sound. Considering that Ivy was in the hospital, that yet another of our classmates had turned out to be a murderer, celebrating just didn't seem appropriate.

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"The Board of Directors has discussed the situation, and we all believe that it would be best for you students to take this time to be with your families while the Board discusses how we might better ensure the security of the student body."

"He sounds like he's issuing a statement to the press," Diana whispered, tucking her hands under her arms.

"He's practicing," Missy Thurber said, leaning in from behind us. "Did you see the vultures parked outside the gates this morning? The press smells blood in the water, and they're about to chow down."

"You're mixing your metaphors again, Missy," I scolded through my teeth. When I glanced over my shoulder, I found myself staring into those yawning nostrils of hers. Ick.

"Whatever. I wouldn't be surprised if they shut down this place," Missy replied, sitting back again. "Parents have been calling all night. People are freaked out. I'm freaked out. I mean, I lived down the hall from the girl."

Yeah, and I'm the one who had a gun pointed at her head last night. Boo-freaking-hoo, Nostril Girl.

"Thank you for your time and attention," Mr. Cromwell said awkwardly. "You're all dismissed."

The room filled with chatter and exhausted-yet-exhilarated students jammed the aisles. I found Noelle as quickly as I could. She was on her way out the door with Amberly Garmichael and Tiffany Goulbourne, her long black coat contrasting sharply with Tiff's pristine white jacket. Amberly wore a light-blue coat with white gloves and a white hat and looked like a little American Girl doll. I felt a rush of anger at the sight