Evernight Read Online Free Page B

I thought
detention would be only the beginning.

My palms felt sweaty. My cheeks were getting flushed, and I probably stood out
like a signal flare. I'd promised myself that I'd be strong and that I wouldn't
let the crowd get to me, but so much for promises. The high ceiling and walls
of the great hall seemed to be closing in around me. It still felt like I couldn't
quite breathe.

My mother somehow got my attention without waving or calling my name, the way
moms can. She and Dad were standing at the far end of the row of faculty,
waiting to be introduced, and they both gave me hopeful little smiles. They
wanted to see me enjoying myself.

It was their hope that got to me. Having to deal with my fear was hard enough
without facing their disappointment.

Mrs. Bethany concluded, "Classes will begin tomorrow. For today, get
settled into your rooms. Meet new classmates. Learn your way around. We will
expect you to be ready. We are glad to have you, and we hope that you will make
the most of your time at Evernight."

Applause filled the room, and Mrs. Bethany acknowledged it by smiling slightly
and closing her eyes, a slow, satisfied blink like that of a well-fed cat. Then
conversation rose up, even louder than before. There was only one person I wanted
to talk to; just as well, since it looked like only one person might possibly
be interested in talking to me.

I moved all the way around the room, always right at the edges, keeping my back
toward the wall. I searched the crowd hungrily, seeking Lucas's bronze hair,
his broad shoulders, those dark green eyes. If I was looking for him, and he
was looking for me, we were bound to find each other soon. Despite my fear of
large groups, and my tendency to exaggerate them, I knew there were only a
couple of hundred students here.

He'll stand out , I told myself. He's not like these others, cold and
snobby and proud. But I soon realized that wasn't true. Lucas wasn't a
snob, but he had the same kind of chiseled good looks, the same toned body, and
the same, well, perfection. He wouldn't stand out much in this beautiful crowd;
he would be a natural part of it.

Unlike me.

Slowly the crowd shrank, as the teachers left and the students dispersed. I hung
around until I was almost the only one left in the great hall. Surely Lucas
would come to find me. He knew how scared I was and felt responsible for
scaring me worse. Wouldn't he want to say hello?

But he didn't. Eventually, I had to accept that I'd missed him. That meant there
was nothing left for me to do but go meet my roommate.

Slowly I made my way up the stone steps, my new shoes with their hard soles
click-clacking too loudly. I wanted to keep climbing all the way to the top,
straight back to my parents' faculty apartment. If I did, though, I knew that
they'd send me downstairs again immediately. Time enough to get my things and
really move out after dinner. For now, the first priority was "getting
settled."

I tried to look on the positive side. Maybe my roommate was as freaked-out by
school as I was. I remembered the girl with the super-short haircut and hoped
it might be her. If I were living with another "outsider," things
would probably be easier all around. It would be torture, living with a
stranger—actually having somebody I didn't know there all the time, even when I
slept—but I hoped the feeling would pass eventually. I didn't dare hope for a
friend.

Patrice Deveraux , the form had said. I tried to hang that name on the
girl I remembered, but it didn't quite fit. Still, anything was possible.

I opened the door and realized, heart sinking, that my roommate's name fit her
just fine. She wasn't another outsider at all. Instead, she was the total
embodiment of the Evernight type.

Patrice's skin was the color of a river at sunrise, the coolest, softest brown,
and her curly hair was pulled back into a soft bun, which showed off her pearl
earrings and her slim neck. She sat at the dresser, still neatly lining up
bottles