Tormen - By Lauren Kate Page 0,16

and bare. Sterile chic, as Callie had once said.

This room, on the other hand--there was something about it that was strangely ... groovy. Varieties of potted plants she'd never seen before lined the windowsill; prayer ags were strung across the ceiling. A patchwork quilt in muted colors was sliding o the top bunk, half obstructing Luce's view of an astrology calendar taped over the mirror.

"What'd you think? They were going to clear out the dean's quarters just because you're Lucinda Price?"

"Um, no?" Luce shook her head. "That's not what I meant at all. Wait, how did you know my name?"

"So you are Lucinda Price?" The girl's green- ecked eyes seemed to x on Luce's ratty gray pajamas. "Lucky me."

Luce was speechless.

"Sorry." Shelby exhaled and adjusted her tone, parking herself on the edge of Luce's bed. "I'm an only child. Leon--that's my therapist--he's trying to get me to be less harsh when I rst meet people."

"Is it working?" Luce was an only child too, but she wasn't nasty to every stranger she came into contact with.

"What I mean is ..." Shelby shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not used to sharing. Can we"--she tossed her head--"rewind?"

"That'd be nice."

"Okay." Shelby took a deep breath. "Frankie didn't mention your having a roommate last night because then she would have had to either notice --or, if she had already noticed, disclose--that I wasn't in bed when you arrived. I came in through that window"--she pointed--"around three."

Out the window, Luce could see a wide ledge connecting to an angled portion of the roof. She pictured Shelby darting across a whole network of ledges on the roof to get back here in the middle of the night.

Shelby made a show of yawning. "See, when it comes to the Nephilim kids at Shoreline, the only thing the teachers are strict about is the pretense of discipline. Discipline itself doesn't so much exist. Though, of course, Frankie's not going to advertise that to the new girl. Especially not Lucinda Price."

There it was again. That edge in Shelby's voice when she said Luce's name. Luce wanted to know what it meant. And where Shelby had been until three. And how she'd come in through the window in the dark without knocking over any of those plants. And who were the Nephilim kids?

Luce had sudden vivid ashbacks to the mental jungle gym Arriane had taken her through when they'd rst met. Her Shoreline roommate's tough exterior was a lot like Arriane's, and Luce remembered a similar how-will-I-ever-be-friends-with-you feeling her rst day at Sword & Cross. tough exterior was a lot like Arriane's, and Luce remembered a similar how-will-I-ever-be-friends-with-you feeling her rst day at Sword & Cross.

But though Arriane had seemed intimidating and even a little dangerous, there had been something charmingly o -kilter about her from the start. Luce's new roommate, on the other hand, just seemed annoying.

Shelby popped o the bed and lumbered into the bathroom to brush her teeth. After digging through her du el bag to nd her toothbrush, Luce followed her in and gestured sheepishly at the toothpaste.

"I forgot to pack mine."

"No doubt the dazzle of your celebrity blinded you to the small necessities of life," Shelby replied, but she picked up the tube and extended it toward Luce.

They brushed in silence for about ten seconds until Luce couldn't take it anymore. She spat out a mouthful of froth. "Shelby?"

With her head in the belly of the porcelain sink, Shelby spat and said, "What?"

Instead of asking any of the questions that had been running through her head a minute before, Luce surprised herself and asked, "What was I saying in my sleep?"

This morning was the rst in at least a month of vivid, complicated, Daniel-ridden dreams on which Luce had woken up unable to remember a single thing from her sleep.

Nothing. Not one brush of an angel wing. Not one kiss of his lips.

She stared at Shelby's gru face in the mirror. Luce needed the girl to help jog her memory. She must have been dreaming about Daniel. If she hadn't been ... what could it mean?

"Beats me," Shelby said nally. "You were all mu ed and incoherent. Next time, try enunciating." She left the bathroom and slipped on a pair of orange ip- ops. "It's breakfast time. You coming or what?"

Luce scurried out of the bathroom. "What do I wear?" She was still in her pajamas. Francesca hadn't said anything last night about a dress code. But then, she'd also failed to mention the roommate situation.

Shelby shrugged. "What