School of Secrets (The Perkins School for Self Improvement #1)

Chapter 3

The chauffeur disappears like he was never there to begin with, leaving all three of my bags at my feet. In front of me, Amber and Marco start arguing once again as I take the time to look around.

I can make out five buildings, positioned in a semicircle around an elegant courtyard. In the center of the courtyard, a stone fountain in the shape of a lion seems to guard against unwanted visitors. Numerous stone benches also take up residence in the courtyard, though at this time of day all of them are vacated.

"... Both of us are excused from class," Marco is reasoning angrily, "you did this last time, too. Are you afraid I have more influence, that newbies automatically feel more drawn to my side?"

"No!" Amber shouts, "I'm just saying that it only takes one of us, and I really can't stand the sight of you. There, is that blunt enough for you? After how you decided to use your-"

"Amber," Marco warns, lowering his voice in a way that is clearly meant to be threatening, "not here. We have a job to do."

Amber scowls, crossing her arms.

"Fine," she snaps, "we'll settle it the reasonable way. Rock-paper-scissors. You win, and you get to stay. You lose, and I walk him around by myself because you're useless anyway."

"Fair enough." Marco huffs, extending his left hand, "Let's get this over with."

Amber glances at the hand he offers, recoiling slightly. In the light of the morning, even I can make out the numerous slash marks running across the skin of his palm. When Marco curls the hand into a fist, the same marks are visible on the back of the hand.

Amber stares, looking thoroughly disgusted.

"Other hand." she orders, trying to keep herself from sounding nervous.

Marco smirks at her.

"I knew it. You're afraid of me."

He presents her with the other hand, and the two glare at each other for a moment.

I gather my bags, waiting for them to settle the dispute so I can get this tour over with.

My gaze returns to the two of them in time for me to see that Amber's come out victorious, and now it's her turn to smirk. She turns her back on Marco, stalking over to me.

"Let's go." She smiles, but I've had enough practice with my mom's smiles to know Amber's faking this one.

She takes two of my suitcases despite my protests, marching alongside me as we make our way from the gravel lot to the silent courtyard. Amber stops next to one of the benches, pointing out each of the buildings around us in turn.

"First," she declares, "you have the girls' dorm. Next to it is the boys' dorm. Both are about the same size, with the same number of rooms. There's a ten-o'clock curfew, but no one really bothers with it. It's been a while since someone got in trouble for being out of their room at night."

The dorms, like the other school buildings, seem almost menacing with their dull gray color. Marble columns stand outside both dormitories, and I have to admit that's sort of cool.

Amber points to the building next to the boys' dorm.

"That's the classroom building," she continues, "the cafeteria's in there. You can choose to eat breakfast and lunch there, or you can get your meal to go. It's mandatory to eat dinner in there, though."

Amber gestures to the last two buildings, which sit directly across the courtyard from the dormitory buildings. The administration building is across from the girls' dorm, Amber tells me. It's home to the main office along with the teachers' offices, and the headmaster's family lives in a suite on the top floor. Next to it and across from the guys' dorm is the much-smaller recreational building. It only appears to have one floor, and I wonder whether any of these rich kids really have a need for boringly common games.