He frowns. “You’re making flash cards?”
“Well, not exactly.” I pull out the art I printed and explain my idea.
“Wow, that’s actually... ingenious.” He holds up his own flash cards. “I already made these but I wrote the name of the painting on one side—I didn’t think about printing out the pictures.”
“Maybe I can glue the pictures onto your cards? That would save a bunch of time.”
“Do you have—”
I whip out multiple glue sticks, grinning widely. He laughs and rolls his eyes.
“I see Sage already got to you.”
“Nah, I’ve loved doing this kind of stuff forever. It’s the studying part I don’t like.”
I get to work cutting and Dev matches the art to the right card since I’m a little fuzzy on that part. He holds up a painting of a woman breastfeeding outside while a man watches her. I know it’s famous, but it’s not one of my favorites.
“La Tempesta,” he says when it’s clear I don’t remember the name. “Did you know that this is one of the first examples of a Renaissance painter who put people into the landscape? Giorgione was much more interested in landscapes than other painters at that time. Imagine being thefirstto do something. Is that even possible now? And think of all the paintings that were influenced by this one piece of art. Hundreds—no, thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands—of other artists have studied this work.”
“Do we need to know that for the test?”
He sighs. “No. Well, maybe the first part. I just think it’s fascinating. Plus, it helps me remember it.”
I examine the painting again. I still don’t particularly love the style, but he’s right. I’ll remember that one on the test.
Robotic sounds are coming from the beatboxer in the video now. They’re so realistic that I wonder if he’s faking the audio. Huan, however, sounds like a whiny toddler. I catch Dev’s eye and we both crack up.
Huan grabs a pencil and chucks it at us. “You two can go screw yourselves.”
“Maybe we should find a more... hospitable place to study,” Dev says.
“Robots and Renaissance art don’t mix. But I’m not sure there’s anyplace to go at this point.”
Technically we’re allowed anywhere as long as we check in and stay inside Emberton at night, but they close down the library and cafeteria at ten. There are little nooks with chairs and window benches, but I think Dev is going to want a real table.
He grins and shoves his textbook into his book bag. “I’ve got an idea. Pack up.”
We walk together in silence through the manor, past the Long Gallery and the entrance to the library. I’m not exactly sure where we’re going, but I’m willing to follow along and find out. Dev continues toward the back of the manor and into one of the gilded rooms where we have class during the day. I think he’s going to walk right into one of the wood-paneled walls until I see a tiny handle carved into the wood. My eyes go wide.
“Is that—”
“A secret passage.” He’s beaming now. “I found it one night when I went exploring. Supposedly they’re all over the manor.”
He pulls on the door and it gives way, revealing a dark hallway that’s much simpler than the rest of the manor. The floors are rough stone and the walls are whitewashed. It’s dead silent back here and I’m suddenly glad that Dev is next to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if a Dementor whooshed down the hallway at any moment.
“This way.” He shuts the door behind himself and strides down the corridor. “I’m pretty sure this was one of the back walkways for the servants. You know, so the owners never had to see themworking.” He rolls his eyes.
“Wow.” How many students know about this section of the manor?
“Here’s the room.”
He opens a set of double doors to reveal a small parlor. There’s a table and chairs, a comfortable-looking leather couch, and two armchairs sitting in front of a fireplace. A few embers remain in the fire and the tang of wood smoke scents the air. We must not be the only ones who come here. I flop into a chair and sigh deeply. This room is homey and comforting in a way the rest of the manor is not.
I close my eyes and tip my head back. “Are we allowed to be back here?”
“I’m not sure. Technically, probably not.”
I sit up. “Wait, areyoubreaking a rule?”
