is quick to hold up his hands. “Really?” he asks. “All of you?”
A few make frantic gestures like their bladders might explode, and others look at him pleadingly. I just want to buy candy. We’re not allowed sweets at the academy; our food is closely monitored. Even at home, my parents didn’t allow sugar in my diet. But I find I crave it desperately, especially after getting a taste on a field trip earlier this year.
The school brought us to an art exhibit at a museum just outside of town. It wasn’t during regular business hours, so we had the place to ourselves. Sydney and I raced up the stairs when the Guardian wasn’t looking, and Lennon Rose, Annalise, and I spent extra time staring at the nude male statues until Annalise nearly snapped off a penis while posing dramatically next to him. And before we left, we all stopped in the gift shop. Some bought postcards for their parents or a souvenir or two. I picked out several bags of M&M’s and Starburst candies.
Honestly, I don’t understand the addictive properties of sugar—it’s never been mentioned in our classes—but I can attest they are life altering.
And so I put on my most pleasing and innocent expression for the Guardian. I must not be alone in trying this, because he darts his pale eyes around the bus and then shakes his head.
“Fine,” he says. “You go in small groups. Fifteen minutes and we’re back on the road. Understand?”
We nod eagerly and he motions us off the bus by row. Only Valentine and two other girls willingly stay behind. Sydney and I are the last group to leave, and on the way out, Guardian Bose looks down at me.
“Philomena,” he says, darting a quick look at Valentine before studying my expression. “Don’t get distracted in there.”
“No problem,” I say with a smile. Nothing can distract me from candy.
I step off the bus, pleased to find the rain has softened to a drizzle. The mountain is closer now that we’re heading toward school, and I’m at once enchanted and intimidated by its scale. Mist clings to the summit, so I imagine it’s raining at the academy. It’s always raining there.
I’m no longer wearing the plastic rain slicker, and I appreciate the moisture on my skin, tickling my bare forearms. Soaking into me. At least, I do until I step into a puddle and splash muddy water on my delicate white socks. I glance down past my plaid uniform skirt and shake out my shoe.
As I start walking again, I look at the yellow car. There’s a young guy pumping gas, his face turned away as he leans against the back door, talking through the open passenger-side window to another boy still inside the car. I examine them, curious.
The boy in the passenger seat is wearing a crisp white T-shirt, a shiny watch glinting on his wrist as he rests his arm on the open window. He’s cute—dark skin, his hair shaved short. He must say something funny, because the other guy laughs and turns to press a button on the pump, his face coming into view.
I note immediately that he’s extremely good looking. This boy is thin with an angular jaw—sharp at the edges—thick black eyebrows, messy black hair. And when his gaze drifts past the pump and he notices me, he seems just as startled by my attention. He holds up his hand in a wave.
I smile in return, but then Sydney calls loudly for me to catch up. I jog to meet her at the glass door of the building, embarrassed at my lack of decorum. I didn’t mean to stare at those boys. It’s just . . . we don’t see many young men at the academy. Actually, we don’t see any at all.
Sydney looks over her shoulder at the boys as if she’s just spotting them. When she turns back around, she flashes me a quick grin and pulls open the door. A bell on the metal bar jingles.
I’m struck by the smell of baking bread. The gas station has a menu board posted over a small deli at a second counter. A woman in a hairnet stands behind there, her face deeply tanned and creased with wrinkles. She doesn’t even mutter a hello.
Sydney heads toward the bathrooms while I step into the candy aisle. I’m overwhelmed by the sheer volume of choices, the bright colors and assorted flavors.
The bell on the door jingles again as the two boys