In every one of my classes I had to share a book, and except for Jenson, I could sense the others' irritation at it. Ready to separate myself from the rest and find Rhys when the lunch bell finally rang, I was one of the first to exit the classroom.

Rhys was already there, waiting for me. "How was it?"

"So far, Mr. Nelson was the only one to shred me free of my skin, but it was only minor, and his 'Welcome to Mannix High' greeting was stunning and angry."

Rhys chuckled. "Where do you want to go for lunch?"

"Your car. I need a break from all of ... them."

We started our way down the corridor through the throng of other students, but as we neared the doors, I heard someone call out, "Hey! Ashe, right?"

Amber was at the lockers with a heated stare. I didn't bother to answer, but continued to follow Rhys, hoping she wouldn't make what was already a questionable day, worse.

"Hey! I'm talking to you," she yelled.

I kept walking, eyes straight ahead.

"I saw you last night – in Cemetery Raven. You were looking at headstones. Weirdo!"

I stopped. Almost everyone in the corridor had fallen silent and I could feel their eyes on me.

"Ashe, let's just go," Rhys said quietly.

"Yeah, that's right. I saw you," Amber said loudly. "You were in there – alone! Only a creep would do that, a complete loser."

I turned slowly. Surrounded by her lemmings, Amber glowered, as if silently daring me to reply.

Struggling to keep my control so I wouldn't give her the much-deserved smack across the face that she needed, and sounding much calmer than I felt, I said, "You were following me? That makes you a stalker. Creep sounds pretty good in comparison."

The other students, who'd gathered because of her outburst, began to laugh.

Clearly upset by their reaction, Amber's blonde curls bounced with every step as she marched over to me and we stood toe to toe. Sharply, but with a lowered voice, she said between clenched teeth, "Listen, Ashe, you're new here. It would be best to remember I can destroy you with a snap of my fingers. Then no one will want to know you and you'll have no place to hang out – except Cemetery Raven!"

"Promise?"

With her eyes narrowed to slits, Amber snarled, "Troll!"

Casually, for the sake of emphasis, I said, "You know, from my experience, I've learned that girls like you all have one thing in common – you can't live without a crowd. Your insecurity won't let you. I mean, let's face it Amber ... without a crowd, you're nothing. That's why this demonstration ... your worshippers surrounding you ..." I took a step closer. "And that's why you're always bothering me, the new girl ... because deep down, you can't understand why I won't join the ranks of those with far less self-esteem than you. Well, I'll tell you why. I don't grovel at people's feet, and I never will, especially yours. So leave me alone and stop your games. I'm not interested in playing them."

Without another word, but with her eyes boring holes in me, Amber whipped around and stormed off.

"Come on, Ashe. Just drop it. With her, it's a losing situation," Rhys said.

"Take notice – she's the one who walked away. That means I won."

Though I'd put the school's loudmouthed prima donna in her place, attention-seeking wasn't my thing, and I didn't appreciate being the target of her tirade. Doing my best to pretend nothing had happened, even with the side-glances and whispering from the others, I continued down the corridor with Rhys.

We walked outside and went to his car. He got in and then leaned across to unlock my door. I slid in and turned on the radio.

"So, I have a question – and feel free to say no, please. Did you have plans to go to the Homecoming dance?" he asked.

"No. Did you?"

"No, and I'm glad you didn't. Since I'm the only person you know here, I'd be obligated to take you. We can have a TV or movie night with pizza instead." He pointed out in front of us, to the left of the building, at a small hill. "Do you see that path?"

"Yeah."

"Get out."

"What – why?"

Rhys got out of the car. Reluctantly, I did too, and followed him over to the slight incline, but when he started up climb up it, I held back. "Where are you going?"

"Just come on."

Unsure if I should, I started up the hillock behind him.

As he reached the top, he said, "Since you went wandering through here last night, although I don't understand why you would, I figured you'd eventually find out. This is another way home from school, and it leads here." He moved to the left of a large boulder as I took the last step and stood next to him. We were at the back of Cemetery Raven. "If you're ever running late ..."

"If we're running late," I corrected.

"No, only you ... and don't suggest we come this way tomorrow."

"Why not?"

"I'm not the outdoorsy type. Remember?"

I smiled at his lie. "Personally, I can't understand people's phobia about being in a cemetery, especially during the daytime. I can understand nighttime – scary and ..."

"Creepy?"

"Truthfully, after spending some time in it last night, I have no more reservations. Nothing happened. It was actually peaceful."

"Your truth, not mine. Amber was right. You are weird."

"We have time. Let's do a quick exploration. I'd like to see it in the daylight."

"No. I don't like bone yards."

"Maybe if you'd stop thinking of them that way, you'd see they're not so bad."

"I'm leaving. I wanted to show you the shortcut, not to take a walk on the 'dead side.'" Rhys started back down the hill. Rolling my eyes at his squeamishness, I took a moment to gaze out at the many broken headstones scattered among the more majestic mausoleum-like tombs. It was hard to ignore the feeling of loneliness and abandonment. But once night fell, I knew all of the sad would wilt away and Cemetery Raven would become beautiful again.

I started back down the slope.

When Rhys reached the bottom of the hill, he turned to face me. "For the record, I don't like snakes and I'm sure they're in there."

The school bell rang. Lunchtime was over. Walking back to the entrance, I said, "So, what about the old warehouse? Does anyone ever go there?"

"I don't think so. Too many people are afraid of it."

"You said it's haunted."

"I said others think it is."

"Why would they think that?"

"My guess is because it's old and abandoned."

"Is the Cortland Bridge still ...?"

Rhys stopped. With a slightly harsh look and a tone that matched, he said, "All of a sudden you're interested in haunted places and ghosts?"

Rhys wasn't a believer. Not that I was, but I wasn't sure what to think. After my overwrought mind had imagined Mr. Kennerly had manifested and spoke to me, and then I saw Ghostley's Electronic Store, making me wonder what a store like that in Mannix might mean, I was open to the idea, especially where my parents were concerned. If there was such a thing as the dead talking to the living, then I might be able to finally know if they blamed me for their death like I blamed myself. And, in a town that had little else to offer, it would give me something to do.

"My parents just died, Rhys, so maybe I am. Besides, it's historical, so relax." Knowing he'd opt-out if I suggested going to the warehouse just so I could alleviate some of my restlessness, I asked, "Would you at least consider coming with me to Cortland Bridge some time? It's old, and ..."

He abruptly cut me off. "I must be delusional for saying this, but yeah, I'll go. Maybe then you'll see nothing, realize it's nothing, and drop it." We walked into the school and Rhys pointed out where my next two classrooms would be. Then, promising to meet up afterward, he rushed off and became lost in the crowd.

Fortunately, my first two afternoon classes, Science and Art Appreciation, were directly across the hallway from each other. But again, I had to share books, and again it was awkward, making both classes seem to move tortuously slow.

When the second class was over, I went out into the corridor to meet with Rhys. While I waited, I looked at the last course on my schedule ... Mythology.

After a few minutes had passed and Rhys still hadn't come, I started down the crowded hallway to search for the classroom on my own. The school wasn't very big, so it was easy to find – on the left side, at the end of the hall, next to the cafeteria. I peered in. It was empty. I entered and headed for the back row, where I hoped to be less visible to the teacher and no attention would be drawn to me as the new student. I chose a seat to the far right, took out a notebook and began to doodle.

Moments later, others began to file in, and among them was Rhys. He came and sat next to me. "Hi. Sorry I wasn't there to walk with you, but I see you made it."

"I did, but shouldn't you get to class? You were the one on the brink of a meltdown and wouldn't relax until we reached these hallowed halls."

"That's because we were in a cemetery, but this is my class." He took out a book from his back pack. "I didn't tell you because I wanted it to be a surprise."

"This must be taking the place of my Home Economics," I mumbled. "I hated that class. I think I'll do better in this one."

"I still remember a couple of summers ago when you tried to poison me and my parents with your baking. I'm still recovering from that."

I nudged him and he laughed. "Those cookies weren't that bad," I argued. "Besides, your mom said they were good."

"She didn't want to hurt your feelings."

The bell rang just as a woman dressed in retro-hippie-style walked in and shut the door. Rhys leaned over. "That's Mrs. Brown. You'll like her. She's strange ... like you."

With curious, but friendly eyes immediately locked on me, Mrs. Brown headed straight for us. "Hello, new student. What's your name?"

The others turned.

My hope of anonymity dashed, I answered, "Ashe – Ashe Desten."

"Well, Miss Ashe Desten," she said loudly as she walked backwards, looking about the room, "can you tell me who Poseidon was and whether he was part of Greek, or Roman, mythology?"

"He was the Greek god of the seas and oceans."

An eyebrow raised and she paused. Suddenly I doubted myself. I knew the counterpart to Poseidon was Neptune – but couldn't remember which was Greek and which was Roman.

"Yes – exactly! So, who was the Roman counterpart?"

"Neptune," I answered a little more confidently.

"Good. Now, tell the class who ..." She looked around comically at the other students and said, "The Norse god of the sea was."

"Aegir."

"Ah!" She smiled triumphantly and pointed to the others. "She's right! Okay, now someone else answer this ... who gave Poseidon his Trident ... and why?"

Rhys leaned over and whispered, "It looks like you're in – and how did you know that?"

"Keen interest ... sharp mind ... big words."

He snickered and turned his attention back to Mrs. Brown.

Almost sorry when the bell rang and the class ended, I got up and followed Rhys to the door. As we started past Mrs. Brown, she said, "I'm glad to have you in my class, Ashe."

"Thanks. I liked it."

"It shows." She gave Rhys a quick side glance and said as she walked away, "It's nice to know I'm not talking to air."

He chortled. "She's full of herself. I have the highest grade in the class."

"Well, if that's true, I can beat your 'C'."

His smiled faded. "No – you didn't just say ..."

"Yeah – I sort of 'just' did."

"Really – okay, here's a challenge. Whichever one of us gets the lower grade on the next test has to buy the other dinner at Bangles Diner."

"Then you'd better get your wallet ready, because you're going to lose this challenge."

"I never lose when it comes to grades."

We stepped out into the corridor and my smile instantly faded. Across from us, Amber was talking animatedly to her followers. But when she saw me, she stopped and stared coldly at me.

"We need to go," I said. "If she says something rude, my reply is going to melt the paint off the walls."

We headed for the exit, and Amber went back to talking to her friends.

Glad to be spared the drama of more attention-grabbing from her, I walked out ahead of Rhys through the double doors and over to where his Nova was parked. "Your jalopy."

He scowled. "This is a classic."

"A classic – what?"

Rhys unlocked the passenger door for me before walking over to the driver's side. "Remember that on rainy days. I know how much you hate those." In a slightly exaggerated way, he glanced up at the overcast sky and then back at me with a smug smile before getting in.

Since I was ten-years-old, I'd hated the rain. My dad and I, along with my dog, Buddy, had gone to a park to let Buddy run and get some exercise. But a sudden storm came up, and my dad and Buddy left me behind as we all started running back to the car, with my dad calling out encouragement over his shoulder for me to hurry. Before I could reach it, the downpour started, and I was soaked.

I got into Rhys' car and shut the door just as thunder boomed overhead. He and I looked at each other. "You planned this somehow," I said.

Smiling, he pulled out of the parking lot and drove us home.