"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.