The Marked Read Online Free PDF Page B

obsessed with romance. She had an encyclopedic knowledge of the opposite sex—something she’d gained after a long series of boyfriends—and firmly believed you only got what you wanted if you went after it. “He’s around this morning, I think. But probably busy. You know how he gets. I’ll see him at dinner, maybe.” I turned to Hennie. “Speaking of guys, was Yashir on the bus with you?”
    Talking about Yashir was my tried-and-true way of turning the conversation away from me and on to Hennie. This generally satisfied Esther’s need for romance. They were the cutest couple ever. Yashir was tall, with fierce dreadlocks and lots of piercings. Next to him, Hennie looked even smaller and more adorable than usual. He’d kissed her for the first time in a stairwell just before Christmas. Esther and I died when we found out. So did Hennie, almost. She’d never had a boyfriend before.
    Hennie worried a lot about what her parents would think of Yashir. He wasn’t the sort of guy they’d want her to bring home. He wasn’t Indian, for one. According to Hennie, her parents pretty much assumed she’d marry an Indian guy. And then there was the fact that his mom was something crazy, like a massage therapist or herbal healer, while Hennie’s dad was in international business. Every time I saw him, he was wearing a dark suit. I’d never met a massage therapist, but I was pretty sure they didn’t wear suits.
    And I was pretty sure Hennie’s folks didn’t expect boys to come with earrings. Or miniature barbells in their eyebrows.
    Hennie sighed dramatically. “No, he wasn’t there.”
    “Even better,” I said. “More time to get ready.”
    “What if he changed his mind over break?” She slowly rose to her feet. “What if he doesn’t like me anymore?”
    Esther linked arms with Hennie and me. “Get real. He’s totally fallen for you. And we’re going to make sure it stays that way.” She winked at me. “After that, we’re getting Cam for Dancia.”
    “And then?” I asked. “Will we find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?”
    “Then we find the perfect guy for Esther,” Hennie said.
    “I can only hope,” Esther said fervently.
    We started toward the door. “I was about to head to breakfast,” I said. “Are you guys coming?”
    “Nah. We ate before we left,” Esther said.
    Hennie nodded in agreement. “I’m going to unpack. Come by when you’re done.”
    “Okay.” We shared a three-way hug.
    “It’s good to be back,” Esther said, bouncing off down the hall, Hennie in tow.
    I nodded and waved as I turned in the other direction. It was hard not to be jealous when life seemed so easy for them. All Hennie had to think about was whether her parents would like her adorable boyfriend. I had to worry about pledging my life to a secret organization that killed people it didn’t like.
    Above it all, two thoughts kept swirling around in my head: what would I do if they wanted me to kill someone?
    And what if it were Jack?

CAM WASN’T
at breakfast, so I grabbed the last remaining doughnut and ran back to the Res, where I spent the rest of the day hanging out with Esther and Hennie. By the time dinner rolled around, the three of us were totally caught up, so we didn’t protest when Hennie disappeared on the way to the Main Hall, having caught sight of someone tall and dreadlocked. Ten minutes later, she walked into the cafeteria holding hands with Yashir, with a silly grin on her face and flushed cheeks. Yashir seemed pretty happy, too. It wasn’t hard to guess how their reunion had gone.
    Our table filled slowly as more freshmen came over from the Res. Everyone was happy to be back at school. Allie and I even hugged each other.
    Allie was the one I’d dubbed Perfect Girl last semester because of her halo of wavy, golden brown hair, and her obvious past life as a cheerleader. I’d briefly tried to hate her, but it was no use. She was truly as nice as she was cute, a great athlete, and