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lessons from an early age, since an Alchemist never knew where he or she might end up. Scanning Amberwood's list of offered languages, I hesitated and wondered if I should lie. Then I decided I really didn't want to sit through conjugations and tenses I'd already learned.

"I already know all of these," I told Molly.

Molly regarded me skeptically. "All of these? There are five languages here."

I nodded and added helpfully, "But I only studied Japanese for two years. So I suppose I could learn more."

Molly still didn't seem to buy this. "Would you be willing to take proficiency tests?"

And so, I ended up spending the rest of my afternoon laboring over foreign languages. It wasn't how I wanted to spend my day, but I supposed it would pay off later - the tests were a breeze.

When I finally finished all five languages three hours later, Molly hurried me out to get fitted for my uniform. Most of the other new students had long gone through already, and she was concerned that I might have already missed the woman doing the fittings. I moved as fast as I could without running down the halls and nearly bumped into two girls rounding a corner.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, feeling like an idiot. "I'm sorry - I'm late for my fitting - "

One of them laughed good-naturedly. She was dark-skinned with an athletic build and wavy black hair. "Don't worry about it," she said. "We just walked past the room. She's still there."

The other girl had blond hair a shade lighter than mine that she wore in a high ponytail. Both of them had the easy assurance of those who knew their way around this world. These weren't new students.

"Mrs. Delaney always takes longer than she thinks she will with the fittings," the blond girl said knowingly. "Every year, it's - " Her jaw dropped, her words freezing up for a few moments. "Where... where did you get that?"

I had no clue what she meant, but the other girl soon noticed and leaned closer to me. "That's amazing! Is that what they're doing this year?"

"Your tattoo," explained the blonde. I must have still looked clueless. "Where'd you get it?"

"Oh. That." My fingers absentmindedly touched my cheek. "In, um, South Dakota. Where I'm from."

Both girls looked disappointed. "I guess that's why I've never seen it," said the dark-haired girl. "I thought Nevermore was doing something new."

"Nevermore?" I asked.

The girls exchanged silent glances, and some message passed between them. "You're new, right? What's your name?" asked the blond girl. "I'm Julia. This is Kristin."

"Sydney," I said, still mystified.

Julia was smiling again. "Have lunch with us at East tomorrow, okay? We'll explain everything."

"Everything about what?" I asked.

"It's a long story. Just get to Delaney for now," added Kristin, starting to move away. "She'll stay late, but not forever."

When they were gone, I continued on my way - much more slowly - wondering what that had been about. Had I just made friends? I really wasn't sure how one went about it in a school like this, but that whole exchange had seemed pretty weird.

Mrs. Delaney was just packing up when I arrived. "What size do you wear, dear?" she asked, catching sight of me in the doorway.

"Two."

A number of articles were produced: skirts, pants, blouses, and sweaters. I doubted the sweaters would see much wear, unless a freak apocalyptic blizzard hit Palm Springs. Amberwood wasn't particularly fussy about which ensemble students wore, as long as it came from the approved pool of fashion. The colors were burgundy, dark gray, and white, which I actually thought looked kind of nice together.

Watching me button a white blouse, Mrs. Delaney tsked, "I think you need a size four."

I froze mid-button. "I wear a two."

"Oh, yes, you can fit into them, but look at the arms and the skirt length. I think you'll be more comfortable in a four. Try these." She handed over a new stack and then laughed. "Don't look so mortified, girl! A four's nothing. You're still a twig." She patted her ample stomach. "We could fit three of you into my clothes!"

Despite my many protests, I was still sent away with the size-four clothing. I rode back to my dorm, dejected, and found Jill lying on her bed and reading. She sat up at my arrival.

"Hey, I wondered what had happened to you."

"Got delayed," I said with a sigh. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah. A lot." Jill watched as I put away the uniforms. "They're pretty terrible, right? We