Chatoyant College Book 5: Parents' Weekend

Chapter 43: Return

She didn't get them lost, though. It was fully dark by the time they arrived, the stars beginning to appear as the trees thinned out. Dawn felt as much as saw them pass into the safe area of the woods and relaxed her shoulders. By then she and Naomi had joined the group, walking as close to the others as they could so as not to lose them in the darkness. They hadn't said anything else, only waited and followed in silence.

No one spoke until they had walked out of the trees and were on the grass of the campus again. They found themselves standing on the open field at the north end of campus, which, at night on a Sunday, was empty. It was silent except for the sounds of a few birds settling in for the night. The moonlight shone off the water on the grass and fallen leaves.

Corrie let out a loud sigh. "Thank you, Leila," she said, though she didn't sound happy about it. "We never would have gotten back to campus if you hadn't known how to go."

Leila simply nodded. "You should not go wandering through the woods. Stay where your friends are. Unless, of course, you have a guide like me."

Dawn was burning with impatience for Leila to leave them alone, but she walked with them all the way back to the door of Gilkey, kissed Edie, and then waited while they all went inside. Dawn wanted to look out the window to see how long she would stand there, but the only windows that showed that part of the building were in the common room and people's dorms.

"Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" Edie asked cheerfully.

Dawn and Naomi looked at each other. "It depends on your definition of fun," said Naomi.

"Edie," said Corrie, moving forward and taking hold of her roommate's arm, "we didn't know where you were. We tried to get in touch with you but you left your phone behind."

Edie frowned. "Sorry, I didn't realize I'd left it. Didn't I tell you where I was going?"

"No. You were still asleep when I left this morning. I figured you'd be spending the day with your family."

"Well, I did, until they left. What's the big deal?"

"We were worried about you," Annie said softly. "That's all."

They had to bring up the truth about Leila, Dawn knew, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything. Instead she just walked toward the stairs. "Come on, let's get back to our rooms."

Once they'd reached the fifth floor, Roe and Naomi went to their own rooms, but Dawn and Annie went with Edie and Corrie into their room. When Edie walked in and saw the clock on their wall, her eyes widened. "Is that what time it is? Crap, I've got to do my homework. And eat something." She turned to her bureau and opened the drawer where she kept her food.

"Before you start on your homework, we have to talk to you about something," Dawn said.

Edie frowned, standing up with half a loaf of bread in one hand and a jar of peanut butter in the other. "Can't it wait until tomorrow? It's kind of late."

"No, it really can't," said Annie. She had a tiny smile on her face as she added, "I guess you can eat while we talk, though."

Corrie turned to her desk and picked up the photocopy of the yearbook page. She held it out to Edie. "Does this look familiar?"

Edie shrugged, then sat down on her bed and put the jar of peanut butter between her knees. "It looks like a yearbook page."

"Look closer," Corrie insisted. She folded it. "Look at this."

Edie raised her eyebrows. "It looks like a picture of Leila."

Dawn was frustrated. Why wasn't Edie reacting? "It is," she said, trying to get the point across. "But it's from 1974."

Edie had gotten the jar off of the peanut butter and was spreading it on a slice of bread. "So it's probably her mom or something."

"I don't think it is," said Corrie.

"That's not even the most important thing," said Dawn. "Didn't you notice that after Leila saw us she took her hair out of its bun today?"

Edie shook her head. "She took her hair down because it was nice out. And she knows I like it."

"Then why didn't she take it down until the rest of us were there?" Annie asked.

Edie frowned at her. "What are you trying to say?"

"Edie," said Dawn, "we're trying to tell you that Leila is a faerie."