“If you like, I’ll give you a quick tour of the school.Olive will tag along, won’t you?”He glances at her.They must have some kind of dirt on her because Olive Garden looks like there’s nothing she’d like less.“Oh, this is Colin,” Henry adds, introducing me to the blond girl.
She eyes me somewhat skeptically, then smiles.“Emma.Pleased to meet you.”
I just make a noncommittal grunt.
“See you later,” says the blond girl, standing on tiptoe to give Henry a quick kiss.Olive turns her head away, but catches my eye and looks away from me too.
“OK, let’s go,” says Henry.It’s not exactly my idea of a good time, but I decide to follow him.The school grounds are big, and it won’t do any harm to have a vague idea of what’s what.
I’m trying to look bored while filing away everything Henry shows me.Now and then, Olive Garden adds in some piece of information.On the ground floor, we don’t walk along the hallway with the trophy cabinets, but step through the arcades into the cobbled courtyard.
“You know the dining room already, so we’ll go this way.”Henry points to the left.“That’s the west wing, and behind it are the new buildings with the science labs.”
I nod uninterestedly but my eyes take in the scaffolding on the west wing.The building seems totally empty.“What’s in there?”I ask, heading toward the door.
“We’re not allowed in there,” Olive Garden says.
“Why not?”I turn to her, taking a couple of steps back.
“I’m dead serious, Fantino,” she snaps.
“It’s out of bounds,” says Henry.“There’s repair work going on in there, and pupils aren’t allowed in.”
I give a disappointed “hmm” and turn away.
A place we’re not allowed to be sounds like the perfect way to get expelled.On the other hand, if I kill myself in the processbecause the building is falling down, that won’t help anyone.So maybe I’d better file this one under “in case of emergency.”It would certainly fuck with Olive Garden, the way she reacted just now.Being that chicken seems out of character for her.But maybe she’s so scared I’ll rat on her over the display case that she doesn’t dare break any other rules.So much for not giving a damn if she gets kicked out of here.But I won’t hold it against her.I know what it’s like to have a place you don’t want to leave.And she seems genuinely afraid, because once we’ve spent half a lifetime walking around the grounds, Henry announces that it’s time for “study hour” (ha!), and she sneaks a glance at me.
I learned about this stupid rule yesterday.We have to spend an hour in our rooms every afternoon doing homework (a.k.a.“prep”) or studying.Obviously I did no such thing.I haven’t had classes in all my subjects yet, but I paid attention the last couple of days.I had to do tests in English and math to assess my level.They were tough but no problem for me.I feel sure I did well, so there’s no need to waste what little free time I get at this school on studying.I’ve always found school easy, and I’ve always done my best not to let anyone else know that.It’s more fun when people think I’m a lazy punk.
When Henry declares the tour has ended, we head over to the east wing.We climb the stairs together, but when we get to the third floor, instead of disappearing down her corridor, Olive Garden holds me back.
“Fantino, can I ask you a quick question about...Spanish?”she says, staring almost pleadingly at me.Henry stops too, then says goodbye and carries on up the stairs.
“About Spanish, sure,” I repeat, once he’s out of sight.
Olive Garden glances around briefly, then looks at me.
And somehow she’s not looking furious anymore, she looks...desperate?
“Hey, you won’t really say anything...”she says.“Will you?”
Even though I don’t really feel it anymore, I look at her as arrogantly as I can manage.“You know the terms,” I say as I slowly stroll around her.“That forbidden building—think it’d be useful for getting thrown out?”
“The west wing is no-go, Fantino, I’m serious,” she says.Her voice is shaking.There must be something up with that building.And I’m going to find out what.
“OK.Well, I can’t wait to hear your other suggestions,” I say.“What’s the situation with booze?”
“You get a warning,” she says weakly.
“And after that?”
“If you get into more trouble, it might get you expelled.”
“Great.”I face her again.“So where do you get it?Is there a liquor store in the city?”
“Liquor store?”she repeats.“You can just go to Irvine’s.It’s the village shop.”
“Wait, you can get the hard stuff in the village shop?”I stop.“Whoa.And you don’t have to be twenty-one, right?”
