They split the students up into girls and boys.

After breakfast, the freak-heads had all stood in the social area waiting for their lessons to start. Then Moustache, Ponytail and Rama came and took all the boys outside, to do God knows what in the fields or woods.

Judit desperately wanted Rama to acknowledge her, but he didn't, and her heart deflated with disappointment. Then just before the guys all exited, with his hand on the door, he looked at her and smiled. His beautiful eyes crinkled. How had she ever thought he wasn't attractive? He was to die for. She blushed and nodded a greeting back.

"Teacher's pet." Merle appeared, punching Judit playfully on the arm. "And you don't even tang him. Ugh, life is so unfair."

Judit didn't say anything. She felt the need to hide her feelings for Rama at all costs, and especially from Merle, for some reason.

"Oh hell!" Merle exclaimed, hitting her big forehead with her palm, grinning. "That reminds me. I can't believe I forgot! I was gonna tell you! I think I've worked out who you're paired with. I was trying—"

She was cut off by someone, an old teacher lady, clapping her hands loudly. Judit and Merle turned, then Judit returning her gaze momentarily to Merle, questioning.

"Tell you later," Merle whispered as the teacher began to speak.

"Alright ladies," Teacher-woman said loudly, addressing the class with her hands as much as her voice. She had long, coarse hair, sandy brown streaked with grey, which was pulled back from her face and tied at the nape of her neck. She looked old and weathered, like a witch.

"So now the guys are out of the way, we can get on with the important stuff. I'm Dr. Goodmin, but you can call me Thura. I'm going to talk about how you're all going to look after yourselves, the vital business of everyday life. If you have any questions at any point, just feel free to stop me and—"

She paused, her eyes on a girl at the front whose arm had shot up immediately.

"Mm-hm?" Dr. Goodmin said, her tone suggesting she hadn't expected questions quite so soon.

"Can we... What are we supposed to do about our periods?" the girl said, her voice shaking. She was one of the sobers and Judit didn't know her name. "Can we take our menstrual cups when we..." Her voice trailed off.

"No menstrual cups," Dr. Goodmin said firmly. "You'll use soft cloths and a certain kind of moss, which we'll teach you how to identify and gather. It's just as effective as a modern sanitary pad, really."

Gross. The girls all looked at each other. Judit caught Lintie's eye and raised her eyebrows. Lintie did the same in return. Her nose was tiny like a button, her braid fat around her head. She's so pretty, Judit thought, reminded of that first day in the music room when she'd been struck by Lintie's unusual beauty, despite her dark orange hair.

"OK, let's get on," Dr. Goodmin said, sounding annoyed. "We're going to do a bit of spinning and weaving today, and I'm going to introduce you to what you'll be wearing. But first, it's time you got to know the blackhouse."

What you'll be wearing, Judit thought as they filed into the quad to line up by the squat stone building in the centre of the grass. She thought about the blue paint, being naked in front of Hegri and Gaen—in front of Rama—and her heart began to beat painfully, like it was being squeezed and released by a strong fist. She rubbed her chest.

The stone building in the centre of the quad had a roof on now, dry grass, with that crown of stones, just like the ones in the village. Also like the village huts, it had no windows and just one heavy wooden door, deep-set in the wall. It reminded Judit of Rama, at the village with the golden sunset in his face, which set her stomach doing little somersaults, despite her painful heart.

Dr. Goodmin ducked under the low roof and pushed open the door, gesturing the girls to follow her. They filed in, crowding together in the cramped space.

"So the door opens into the byre. This is where your animals will live. Each household will have chickens, a couple of sheep, and a cow," Dr Goodmin said.

She pulled the door closed and the room was plunged into darkness. Judit could hear the breathing of the other girls around her. Then, when her eyes adjusted, she could see them all, standing close together and looking dumbly at the teacher by the door, like they were the animals.

The room had a bare earth floor, the dry grass above their heads held up by beams and a patchwork of sticks. It had a strong, smoky, pungent smell. The only light came from a tiny window in the stone wall behind them, casting the outline of the group in shadowy silhouette. The wall in front of them, directly by the door, was not stone, but rough and wooden, and had another wooden door in the centre of it. Dr. Goodmin pushed it open.

"These are your living quarters," Judit heard Dr. Goodmin say as she waited for the others to file through the door ahead of her. "The fire is the centre of the house. It must never go out. Never. I'll teach you how to bank it up at night to keep it going."

The last girl stepped through the internal door and Judit followed quickly, her heart in her mouth. She didn't want to stay alone for long in the dark, ghostly byre.

The living quarters were no brighter, the only light coming from a low, smoky fire sitting in a stone-edged pit in the centre of the room. A rough metal pot hung over it on a long chain suspended from the bare wood-and-thatch ceiling.

The rest of the floor was bare earth, and the walls bare stone, both dark in hue. Rough, dark wood benches lined both long walls. There were two big cupboards, one on each side of the door, and at the far end were two more, the top half of one fronted with thick curtains.

The room was creepy. All was gloomy and dark, and the fire gave off so much smoke that Judit's eyes stung. She blinked back the tears that smarted in the corner of her eyes. One of the girls coughed, then another.

"You'll get used to the smoke," Dr. Goodmin said into the gloom. "It's actually very healthy."

Judit felt a tickle rise in her throat, then a wracking cough escaped from her mouth, burning and sore. Lintie rubbed her back sympathetically and she nodded in thanks, her eyes still watering as she regained her composure.

"Miss, where are the bathrooms?" the nyaff with Lox hair stammered at the front.

"No bathrooms. You'll wash and defecate outside in the summer, and you can use bowls in the winter. Now–"

Another hand shot up, a voice tailing it. "What about bedrooms?"

Dr. Goodmin moved to the back of the room, the identically dressed grey girls shuffling to make way for her in the closed gloom. She pulled aside the curtain from one of the large cupboards that stood against the wall. The bottom was as high as her waist, and piled with blankets. The space looked barely long enough for a human, though was probably deep enough to sleep two at close quarters.

Dr. Goodmin patted the blankets. "These box-beds are very cosy, particularly in winter," she said. "The small space ensures an efficient use of body heat, no wastage. You get cuddled up in here and you might as well have central heating."

The girls all shared glances at cuddled up. Judit thought about Merle punching her shoulder this morning, and wasn't sure she wanted to be told who she would be expected to cuddle up with in this thick, suffocating space. An involuntary shudder ran down her back, and she felt panic rise ice cold up her fingertips, along her arms, around the back of her neck.

One of the other students started to cough, choking and urgent, and Dr. Goodmin ushered them out of the house, blinking and gulping into the daylight. It felt almost eerie to be in the white-bright morning after the clinging false-night inside.

Judit tried to steady her breathing, but her throat burned and her hands were still shaking when they sat down in the clean modern classroom, faces towards Dr. Goodmin and the screen. The other girls all looked pale and spooked too, the class silent.

Dr. Goodmin started talking about making fabric for clothes. Judit couldn't focus, the strange words spinning around her head. Warp. Card. Rett. Flax. She tried to concentrate, but the electric buzz of fear wouldn't subside.

Dr. Goodmin showed a picture on the screen, a man and woman, dressed in strange, boxy, colourful clothes. The woman wore a dress flowing to the floor, the man a dress to his knees, trousers underneath. They both wore capes. They weren't naked. They were wearing a lot of clothes, rather than a little. Judit gulped, her breathing beginning to slow, though the strong hand still grasped her heart.

Dr. Goodmin announced a break. The girls were all subdued, using the corridors to get to the social area rather than the quad, as if they were all still a bit off kilter about the blackhouse and wanted to avoid it.

Judit poured herself a tea, trying not to think about anything, feeling like she was falling.

"Hey." Lintie came up and smiled. "Pretty off spec, eh? I'm sure we'll get used to it though. And I bet it will be nice and warm in winter."

Judit looked at her. She was so sunny and positive. Just being around her made Judit feel marginally better. She nodded and sipped her tea, not trusting herself to speak.

Merle joined them, chewing on a biscuit, and said, "That was a skitting pit, eh," spitting crumbs as she spoke.

Judit and Lintie nodded.

"So..." Merle swallowed down her biscuit and wiped her mouth with her hand. Her knuckles were scabby, LESS NTIC faded and blotchy. "Your pairing, Judit. I think I've worked it out. You're gonna die, but I reckon you got Hegri."

Judit's stomach turned. She suddenly remembered Rama, in the village. What about Hegri? You like him? Was that why he had asked? She hated that idea.

She wasn't sure how she felt. Was this a good thing? This was a good thing, right? Hegri was definitely the sharpest guy here, after all. Yeah, but he's not Rama, she thought, and it made her feel like crying. She glanced at Merle and Lintie, inexplicably afraid they could read her feelings.

Merle was looking at her expectantly. Lintie looked strange, pale and unhappy, and was staring at the floor. That's weird, Judit thought. Why is she upset? She suddenly thought of the class the other day, Lintie's hand on Hegri's arm, their easy familiarity.

Dagging hell. It hit Judit like a bus. Does she like him? Have they got a thing?

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. You're lucky, I'll say that," Merle rambled on, oblivious to both her companions' discomfort. "First your one-on-ones with Rama the tang-God, then getting paired with the sleekest guy in here. I'm dagging jealous, eh. 'Specially when I'm defo gonna get stuck with Jadrun, the human donut."

"Do you always have to be such a crank bitch, Merle?" Lintie said, her eyes flashing to Merle then quickly away, her voice uncharacteristically heated.

"Sorry." Merle looked surprised, throwing her hands up. "You know I'm only joking. God." She turned to Judit. "So..." Her tone of voice indicated a change of subject. "You got another Rama lesson tonight, or you wanna do summat?"

"I'm meeting Rama at five," Judit said, her tone subdued and apologetic. "Maybe I'll see you after."

Merle nodded. "Zen. What about you, Lintie?"

Lintie shrugged. "I was gonna do something with Hegri, maybe. Look, I don't know. I gotta go, OK? I need the toilet."

She turned and left without waiting for a response, her arms folded defensively. Merle shifted on her feet and looked awkward, then left too, heading for the buffet table without saying goodbye.

Judit swallowed, her throat still raw and painful from the cloying smoke. She stood alone, her back to the window, not looking at the blackhouse. But she could sense it, squatting on the grass behind her like a poisonous toad.

What a skitting mess, she thought.