Chatoyant College Book 5: Parents' Weekend

Chapter 4: Uncomfortable Questions

Once they'd had their breakfast—Dawn felt much better and more alert—they drove back to campus and Dawn took them on a little tour. She pointed out her dorm, but since she expected most of her friends were still sleeping, told them she'd take them up later. The campus was more awake now, and they passed many other groups of parents and students as they followed the paths around campus.

"What's this?" said Aunt Pru suddenly as they walked up the east side. She stopped, pointing at a stone statue, the shape and size of a man but with no recognizable features. "It looks like those other statues of girls, but sort of abstract."

Dawn bit her lip, wondering what to say. She couldn't explain the truth, of course. Even if there was a chance that Pru knew about the faeries, her parents definitely didn't. The other statues that Pru referred to were real students who had been turned to stone, and the new one was the faerie who had turned them to stone, stopped by Professor Lal after he had tried to make Edie another one of his statues.

Well, she didn't really have to say anything, did she? "I don't know," she said. "It was already here. Some art project, I guess?"

"Hmm," said her aunt, pursing her lips. Dawn tried not to squirm. She should have known she couldn't lie to Aunt Pru. She never had been able to. Maybe that was a magic skill.

Thankfully, instead of asking more questions, she started walking again and changed the subject. "How about the woods? Ever go for a walk in them? I have some fond memories of that, too."

"Aunt Pru!" Dawn didn't have to pretend to be horrified at the idea. Of course, she knew how dangerous it could be. "It's against the rules. I don't break the rules. Weren't the woods off-limits when you went here, too?"

Pru laughed and put her arm around Dawn's shoulders. For a moment Dawn was overwhelmed with her aunt's familiar smell—the scents of clay, turpentine, and paint always seemed to cling to her. "Oh, that's just the administration covering their asses."

"Prudence!" said her dad, sounding shocked.

Pru rolled her eyes. "Richard, Dawn is at college now. She's an adult. You can't tell me what language to use around her!"

Dawn grinned sheepishly at her dad. "I've heard it all before, Dad. You can't protect me."

"I would hope there are still some things I can protect my only daughter from!" Suddenly a series of almost-musical beeps sounded from his pocket. He pulled out his phone, looked at it, and sighed. "It's the office. Sorry, Dawn, I've got to take this. I'll head back to the car." He waved, at the same time flipping open the phone, putting it to his ear, and walking quickly away.

Her mother watched him go with a sigh. "He'll be gone for a while."

"It's okay," said Dawn. "At least you got him to come." She was used to her dad being distracted by work all the time. Actually, both of her parents brought their work home with them—her dad was a lawyer and her mom was a teacher. There was a reason Dawn was an only child. "Want to come and meet my friends now? They're probably all awake."

"Sure," said her mom. They turned around and walked back toward Gilkey.

She brought them to her own room first, where Naomi, thankfully, was awake and dressed—or as dressed as she ever got. Actually, considering there was no paint on her clothes, she was a lot more dressed up than normal. She was at her computer, but turned around and stood up when Dawn came in. "Hi!"

"This is my roommate, Naomi," Dawn explained. "Naomi, this is my mom, and this is my Aunt Pru. Aunt Pru, Naomi is an art major, so you might get along."

"Oh yeah?" Pru grinned at Naomi. "I was an art major here about thirty years ago. Is Adele still teaching?"

Naomi's eyes widened and she grinned. "Yeah! Wow, has she really been here all this time? She's so old!"

Pru laughed. "I never thought she would be described as old! I guess that's what happens when time passes."

They talked for several more minutes—mostly Pru and Naomi discussing the art department—then decided to go next door and see if Corrie and Edie were in. Dawn knocked, and Edie came to open the door. As she walked in, greeting them and starting to introduce her mom and aunt, she saw that there was someone unfamiliar in the room. Someone with bright red hair.