Chatoyant College, Book 1: New Student Orientation

Chapter 21: Invisible & Visible Again

They rounded the gym and there it was. It wasn't as large as Dawn had been expecting, but since they hadn't heard it even from just on the other side of the gym, she shouldn't have been too surprised. There was a moon bounce, a Tilt-a-Whirl, a mini Ferris wheel, a bunch of booths with carnival games, and a stand selling cotton candy and popcorn. Considering the size and the fact that only freshmen were supposed to be on campus, though, there seemed to be an awful lot of people there, jumping on the moon bounce, riding the rides, playing games, and just lounging around on the grass eating popcorn and talking. She wondered what would have happened if it had rained or been foggy. Maybe they would have just rescheduled the carnival.

"I wonder how they got all the equipment out here," said Corrie. "I guess there's no other spot on campus with enough space for all this, but it seems like it would have been hard to get it across campus."

"Well, they brought it on trucks, see?" Edie pointed out trucks parked close to the building. Dawn hadn't noticed them. "They probably drove on the paths or something. They're just wide enough for one of them, it looks like."

"So what should we do first?" Rico asked.

Dawn was about to respond that she definitely wanted to go on the Tilt-a-Whirl when she spotted Lorelei. "Hey, there's Lorelei!" She waved. "Lorelei! Over here!" Seeing the RA reminded her that she wanted to ask her something, but it wasn't until she came closer, a sandy-haired, freckled guy walking with her, that she remembered what it was.

"Hi, everyone!" Lorelei said, smiling cheerfully. "This is Charlie, the RA for Gilkey 1, 2, and 3. But we're pretty much partners in all things Gilkey, so if you guys are more comfortable going to a male RA, it's cool with me."

Charlie nodded to everyone. "Nice to meet you." Rico and Duncan shook hands with him.

"Lorelei," said Dawn, trying to draw her away from the others a bit. She didn't think there was any reason for secrecy, but she didn't want to freak out the ones who didn't live on Gilkey 5 and might not know what had happened last night. She wanted to find out whether Annie had gotten back okay. "Did you find--"

She was interrupted, unexpectedly, by Ever. "Lorelei!" cried the blue-haired girl, pushing past Dawn as though she wasn't there. "I wanted to tell you about this book I think you'd like..." Lorelei turned to Ever and started to chat with her. Dawn felt strangely invisible until Ever turned slightly away from Lorelei and gave her an odd, penetrating stare. It made her shudder, especially since Ever's eyes had looked very strange in that moment... almost like a cat's. Or maybe she was just imagining it. Ever wasn't a cat and had no reason to stare at her that way, did she? Well, clearly Lorelei wanted to talk to Ever more than she wanted to talk to Dawn. It didn't really matter. Annie was probably here somewhere at the carnival, having a great time and none the worse for wear. Dawn still couldn't imagine what would have made her disappear with apparently no sign except for a scream, but this was a magic college; stranger things probably happened on a regular basis. She didn't believe for a moment that she'd heard all of the stories Aunt Pru could tell of her days at Chatoyant. She spared one glance at Ever (who now seemed to be oblivious to her presence again), a strange feeling at the pit of her stomach, then firmly turned back to her friends, knowing that someone in that group would want to talk to her at least.

"Hi again, Dawn," said Corrie when she joined them. "What did you want to talk to Lorelei about?"

"Oh... nothing," Dawn said. Should she tell them the truth? Maybe she'd talk to Corrie and Edie about it later. They remembered what had happened the night before... didn't they? None of them had mentioned it until now, but neither had she. She'd forgotten about Annie until she saw Lorelei. Rico and Duncan had probably heard the scream and the commotion, though, right? Maybe she should bring it up.

"Well," said Rico, interrupting her thoughts, "I was about to ask who wanted to go on the Tilt-a-Whirl with me."

She couldn't help but grin at that, all thoughts of people other than herself and Rico fleeing swiftly. Did he like her too? No, it was too early to tell--besides, she hadn't mentioned how much she loved Tilt-a-Whirls out loud earlier, only thought it. But the fact that they both liked the same carnival ride was a good sign, right? "I do," she said, perhaps a little too quickly. "I love things that spin." She didn't have to act like she didn't like him, she reminded herself. She could flirt. If it turned out he didn't like her back, she wouldn't be humiliated... well, maybe only a little. She grinned up at him--he was just a few inches taller than her.

"Cool!" he said, grinning back down at her. "Anyone else want to join us?"

Edie and Corrie were obviously (at least to Dawn) having a hard time concealing smirks. "Not right now," Edie said.

Corrie nodded in agreement. "I think I want to get some of that cotton candy. Come on, Duncan." Duncan looked like he half wanted to protest, but Corrie and Edie grabbed him by the arms and practically dragged him away.

"Well, I guess it's just the two of us then," said Rico. "Shall we?" He offered his arm. She couldn't suppress a giggle, but took it, hoping she didn't sound too much like an idiot. "Are you laughing at me?" he asked as they started to walk, not sounding in the least surprised or offended.

"You're very gallant," she replied, giggling again. "Where's your white horse and shining armor?"

"You'll see them if I ever need to rescue you," he said. Then he winked.

The Tilt-a-Whirl was a fun ride. Neither of them complained when the spinning car threw them into each other.