A tingle on the back of her neck told her that more eyes were upon her. She glanced quickly up and turned in her seat, expecting to find half of the Few drilling daggers into her back.
So it was a surprise to meet only Richard’s steady, miserable gaze.
Richard must have got some of his joie de vivre back over the course of the lesson, cheered by his own good-natured taunting of the hyper-serious teacher. When he approached Cassie at the bell while Ranjit was delayed by Herr Stoltz, he was all charm once more.
‘You’re angry with me. You’re angry with me! Cassie, sweet girl, I can’t bear it. I shall kill myself. No, I shall throw myself on the streets. I shall sell my body for a few groats and die, pale and thin, in a garret. I shall waste away. I shall write desperate, terrible poetry. I shall—’
‘Shut up, Richard.’ Cassie turned away, adjusting the heavy pile of books in her arms as she peered through the jostling students, trying to catch sight of Isabella and Jake. They were already out in the corridor and all wrapped up in one another. She glanced around for Ranjit, but now he was speaking to his roommate, a lean Danish boy called Torvald.
‘For you, darling, I’ll shut up,’ Richard said smoothly.
‘In my dreams. In everyone’s dreams.’
‘I’m still in your dreams?’ He clasped his hands to his heart, mock-swooning.
Cassie scowled, cross with herself. If she got drawn into his silly banter there was a chance she’d forgive him. And he didn’t deserve to be forgiven. ‘Bugger off, Richard. I mean it. Surely you must realise that your little act is totally wasted on me now.’ Cassie walked deliberately away towards Isabella, stopping at her roommate’s side with a feeling of vicious satisfaction. Richard was left standing in the doorway; she could see his reflection in the glass, looking lost and genuinely wounded. Good.
The thought of Richard was banished from her mind by a jolt of electricity as Ranjit returned and placed one hand gently on the small of her back. Ayeesha and Cormac followed closely behind him. A little reluctantly, Cassie turned to them and smiled. ‘Hi, guys.’
‘Hey, Cassie, Ranjit,’ called Ayeesha as she approached. She turned to Ranjit and nodded with obvious respect. Cassie still didn’t have a full grasp on the hierarchy of the Few, but there was no doubt who was top dog. A little thrill of power went through her at the thought that she was dating him. A smile twitched at Ranjit’s lips, as though he knew what she was thinking.
‘Don’t wander off,’ continued Ayeesha. ‘Come up to the common room. We should show you around, Cassie.’
‘We’re going there now, thought we’d skip English lit,’ added Cormac.
Cassie took a breath. In spite of Isabella’s obvious interest, she’d been half-hoping she could avoid the Common Room: the elite, exclusive, sacrosanct common room of the Few …
‘Uh, well, I have a free period now, so I thought I could catch up on a bit of unpacking and stuff. And I don’t know about cutting class …’
‘Oh, don’t worry about that. Come on! Come and meet the others. Have a chat. Get to know us all.’
Was she anywhere near ready for this? For small talk with people she might last have seen behind red hoods, chaining her down at the mercy of Estelle Azzedine? She didn’t even know which ones they were …
‘Go on, Cassie!’ Isabella chimed in, jiggling her arm. ‘It sounds like fun.’
Jake looked thunderous. His silence spoke volumes for Cassie, and she opened her mouth to decline the offer. But just then, three sixth-form girls swept past towards the atrium. One of them – Sara, was it? – shot her a supercilious glance and muttered something sotto voce to her friends, prompting a fit of giggling. Cassie couldn’t make out exactly what was said, but she’d distinctly heard the word common, and she was pretty sure they weren’t talking about the room.
Sara was Few, Cassie knew that. Did her eyes look familiar? Had she seen those cool, grey-blue irises through a slit in a red hood? Rage rose up in her. There was only one way to find out …
‘You know what?’ Cassie told Ayeesha loudly. ‘Actually, that’d be great. I’ll come along later on this afternoon.’
‘Great! See you then.’
As Ayeesha and Cormac walked off, Cassie’s heart sank. She regretted being so impulsive. She really wasn’t ready to face the common room. Cassie eyed Jake self-consciously as Ranjit turned to her and took her hand.
‘I’ve got a couple of things I need to take care of too. But I’ll come and meet you after your English class and we can head up there together.’
Cassie smiled as she watched him stride gracefully away. How did he know exactly the right thing to say? With Ranjit at her side, the common room suddenly wasn’t such a daunting prospect.
‘Ugh. Socialising with the chosen ones. I can’t wait.’
‘Cassie!What did I tell you about looking on the bright side? Embrace the good things! If I had the chance to skip boring old English lit, I would have jumped in it!’ Isabella dug her elbow into Cassie’s ribs.
‘Ouch! Jeez, Isabella!’
‘So … you and Singh are making a go of it, huh?’ Jake said, his voice tight. Cassie could tell he was about as keen to ask that question as she was to answer it. She shuffled along beside them, keeping her eyes on her battered trainers.
‘Uh, yeah. I know it’s a bit awkward, but he’s one of the good guys, Jake. I’m certain of it.’