“Yeah, but her mom’s on her case too.”
“That woman is terrifyingly efficient. I like your grandpa better, even if he could snap my neck without breaking a sweat.”
“Yeah, he’s the best,” I said proudly.
Spencer snorted noncommittally, then threw his arm across my torso to stop me so abruptly that I stumbled.
“Ooof. What is wrong with you?”
“Sorry,” he said sheepishly.
“And why are you staring at my boobs, perv?”
“Is that the medallion you told us about? From the coronation.”
I glanced down. The silver pendant on its long chain had fallen out of my shirt.
Spencer looked positively greedy. “Can I see it?”
For some reason I didn’t want to take it off. I held it up but kept it around my neck. “It’s not magic, Spencer, just a symbol.”
“That’s half of what magic is,” he said. “Symbology.” He ran his finger over the insignias. “I’d love to do some tests on this.”
I batted his hand away. “Forget it. It’ll come back melted or smelling like cheese.”
“One time,” he muttered. “One time I misread a spell and I’ll never live it down.”
“You smelled like cheese for a month.”
“Believe me, I remember. I still can’t eat grilled cheese sandwiches.”
Satisfied that he was distracted from trying to steal my necklace, I looked up the long staircase and squared my shoulders. “Here goes nothing.”
“You’ll do fine.” He snorted. “And pretty much no matter what you’ll do, you’ll be better than Courtney.”
That was comforting, at least.
Still, there seemed to be fewer stairs than usual. I reached the top floor distressingly fast. It smelled like popcorn. The common room looked the same, but there were plants in the windows. That was new. Homey.
“Courtney put those there,” Lia said, when she saw me looking at them. She looked more cheerful today, less like she was about to have a panic attack. She still looked really young though. “Hi.”
“Hi,” I said back. “You okay?”
She looked embarrassed. “Yeah. Sorry about that. I totally lost it yesterday.”
“It happens to all of us,” I assured her.
“I bet it’s never happened to you.”
She was right. But that was only because I’d been five years old when Grandpa had started my training. When I’d thought there were monsters under the bed, he taught me how to do a proper sweep to get rid of them.
“So are you settled in?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Pretty much.”
“And you know not to use the last shower stall in the back?”
Her eyes widened. “Why not? It’s the cleanest one.”
“Let me put it this way: magic gone wonky plus a cranky ghost makes for ice-cold water. Or sometimes blood instead of water.”
“Okay. Gross.”
“Yeah, that’s why no one ever uses it. But they never put that stuff in the orientation manual.”
She shivered.
“Don’t let it get to you.” I smiled. “By this time next month you’ll know every corner of this place.” I went toward the bulletin board, smiling at the two girls sprawled on the couch watching television. “Also, don’t eat the meatloaf.”
“I’m thirteen, I’m not an idiot.”
I laughed. “Okay, then.” I scrawled a note on a piece of paper and tacked it to the board. “Can you do me a favor and spread the word for me? Ask the girls not to bug my roommate or she’ll send viruses to their computers.”
Lia blanched. “She can do that?”
“Yup.”
“Cool.”
“She’s just as likely to throw something at you though. Anyway, I’ll come up here once a week … say Thursdays after dinner, if anyone needs to talk to me.” Not that I expected they would, since they had Courtney, who was actually supposed to be doing this, and what did I know about this stuff?
“Are you the new monitor?” one of the girls asked.
I nodded. “I guess so.”
“She’s my assistant.” Courtney sneered from the doorway to her room, which was decorated from floor to ceiling in purple. Her hair was in perfect hazel-brown waves to her shoulders, her eyes expertly lined and smudged with silver eye shadow. Her dress was really pretty, with lace layered over silk. I coveted it instantly.
Which just made me cranky.
“Courtney,” I said evenly, counting to ten.
“You’re not the floor monitor,” she said defensively. “You’re my lackey. Your job is to do what I tell you to.”
“You wouldn’t need an assistant if you’d done your job properly in the first place,” I shot back. Like hell I was going to let her make me her minion.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Excuse me, but it’s not my fault one of them was too slow. She had to pass the entrance exams like everyone else. She should’ve been fine.”
“She’s thirteen,” I said softly, since I knew everyone around us was eavesdropping.
Courtney blinked. “She is?” She frowned and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Whatever,” she added, her cheeks pink. “York says I’m in charge.”
“He would,” I said under my breath.