White is for Magic Read Online Free PDF Page A

stare at it--hard-- trying my best to concentrate, hoping the duplication will promote some sort of insight. And still, the words that flash across my mind are the ones I fear the most: "Maura" and "Murder."
    I feel my chin quiver. I grab a paper towel to wipe up my mess. The marker lifts quite easily, leaving the glass completely clear. All except for a face--reflecting right at me. I gasp and turn around.
    It's Drea.
    "Couldn't sleep?" she asks.
    I let out my breath. "You scared me."
     
    "Sorry," she says. "What are you doing?"
    "Studying."
    "Really?" She scrunches up her lips. "Kind of hard to study when you're washing windows."
    I look down at the paper towel in my hand, splotched with red, and crumple it up so she doesn't see the stain. "You're right. I couldn't sleep." Not a total lie, after all.
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    "Oh?" Her face crinkles up in confusion. "I thought that maybe you might be out here talking to Chad."
    'And what if I was?"
    "Nothing," she says, twirling a lock of blond around her French-manicured fingernail. "I just had a homework question to ask him. No big deal."
    I nod, even though I know she's completely lying. "After my not-so-tickled reaction to his visit last night," I say, "I'm pretty sure it'll be a while before he makes another unannounced appearance."
    "He isn't mad at you, is he?" Drea asks, probing further.
    I shrug, even though I noticed he was definitely distant with me today. It was just after hockey practice when I saw him and he was still with his teammates. But he was all, "Hey, what's up? I'll talk to you later." Like he was talking to any other girl. And I'm not just any other girl. I'm the girlfriend.
    "I need to study," I say, choosing not to discuss this with Drea, of all people.
    She takes the hint and turns on a bare heel to go back into the room. Meanwhile, I fill the kettle with water from the tap and set it on the stove for a cup of tea. Maybe a dose of caffeine will help me focus better, help me to get some studying done once and for all.
    I flop back into the lazy chair and make an effort to read over the stuff I've highlighted, but I'm so completely tired. I lay my head back against the cushion and close my eyes, imagining thick and velvety rose petals lying over my eyelids, imagining myself slipping into a steamy-hot bath 34
    sprinkled with chamomile petals while lavender incense smokes and the sound of rain comes down from outside.
    The door to the hallway bathroom slams shut, snapping me back to reality. I wonder who else is up at this hour. I peek toward the hallway, at the rooms on the opposite side of the common area, but the doors are closed.
     
    I shake away the urge to snooze and resume my reading, trying to predict which questions Mr.
    Milano will ask during his discussion, wondering if he'll give us another pop quiz. I hear the shower valves squeak on. I turn a page to peruse the review questions at the end of the chapter, and then I hear something else. A loud cracking sound coming from the bathroom, followed by a giant thud.
    The hum of the water hitting against the shower floor continues. I reposition myself in the chair and make an effort to resume my work, but I can't concentrate, not until I know for sure everything's okay. I flip my book closed and creep across the wooden floor toward the bathroom.
    The bathroom light doesn't even look like it's on. The crack at the bottom of the door is dark.
    I press my ear up to the door, but I don't hear anything-- just the water as it showers down from the nozzle. Concentrating on the sound, I notice that the stream of water sounds odd as it hits the tile floor, as though nothing interrupts its path.
    As though no one's even in there.
    I knock. No response. I knock again. "Hello? Who's in there?"
    Still no response.
    I try the door. It's locked.
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    I stand there a few moments, trying to figure out what to do. I suppose I could have Amber pick the lock, since she's good at that. Or I could bother Keegan again and ask for help. I