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their youth, and a few professors I
recognized from campus.
    I didn’t expect to know anyone there, so when
an odd familiar tingling built at the back of my head and static
filled my mind, I instinctively gripped Michael’s hand a little
tighter. He turned to look at me, and his gaze stuck a few inches
above my head. His mouth tightened slightly, and I felt an
unfamiliar mix of recognition and uneasiness sweeping over him.
    I swiveled my head back and up, looking into
a pair of deep blue eyes. For a moment, I felt oddly off-kilter, as
though someone had tilted the house and I couldn’t quite stay on my
feet. Michael shifted me slightly so that I was leaning against his
chest, his arm secure around my waist and his hand still holding
mine.
    “Hello, Cathryn,” he said, and I remembered.
Cathryn Whitmore had been a teaching assistant for one of Michael’s
classes last year. We had met very briefly at the homecoming dance,
right before my life began to unravel.
    “Michael.” Those perfect lips curved into a
warm smile, and she reached out a graceful hand to touch his arm.
“I was hoping to see you tonight.”
    “What are you doing here?” The amazement in
his voice made the comment less rude than it might have sounded.
Clearly he was as surprised to see her as I was.
    Her smiled deepened, and impulsively I
dropped my mental block and reached toward her mind. The roar of
white noise made me hiss in pain, and I hunched my shoulders
against the onslaught.
    Michael glanced down at me with concern. I
shook my head slightly. Cathryn didn’t acknowledge me at all.
    “I changed my mind about the research job. I
was all set to leave, to move to Atlanta, when the alumni
association offered me the liason position. I’m doing a little work
for Dr. Sorrel, too. That’s partly why I’m here tonight.”
    Michael nodded. “That’s good.” He brushed his
lips lightly over my hair. “Cathryn, you remember Tasmyn? You met
last year.”
    Finally Cathryn dropped her eyes to mine. The
warmth there for Michael clearly didn’t extend to me, but she
managed a fairly cordial nod.
    “And what are you doing up here, Tasmyn? I
thought you were still in high school.” The subtle challenge
beneath the snide comment didn’t escape my notice.
    I pasted on a smile that was just as
insincere as hers. “I graduated last May. I’m a freshman here at
Perriman.”
    “Really.” Cathryn was able to imbue that one
word with an amazing combination of condensation and dismissal.
“How nice for you.” She turned her attention back to Michael. “I
was hoping maybe you would help with some of my work for Dr.
Sorrel. I could use a really fabulous assistant, and you remember
how well we work together.”
    Being ignored was one thing, but having a
gorgeous older woman flirt outrageously with my boyfriend while I
stood right in front of him was too much for me. Before I could
control it, a flare of fury shot out, and a crystal candy dish on
the end table next to me flew into the air and shattered against
the wall.
    The room was silent. Heat flooded my face,
and I opened my mouth to apologize. But before I could say a word,
Michael spoke.
    “I’m sorry, Mrs. Sorrel. I didn’t see that
there and I must have gestured a little too dramatically. Here, let
me clean it up.”
    Conversation resumed as Mrs. Sorrel hurried
over to us. Michael knelt to carefully pick up the larger pieces
from the polished oak floor, and I wished I could sink into the
ground. I wondered if anyone else had noticed what had really
happened, and without considering consequences, I dropped all my
guards and began filtering through the thoughts in the room.
    My, what a mess. . .hope it wasn’t
expensive. . .poor boy, how embarrassing for him. . .Leslie is
handling it well, a good hostess. . .
    And then my mind encountered that loud static
again. This time, instead of mentally running from it, I pushed
through the pain and into Cathryn Whitmore’s mind.
    The noise grew louder,