Cross

Book 1 Chapter I - The New Maths Teacher

Finally, she gave up her efforts at struggling towards the main dining-room door and went back to take a longer route past the music classroom and school library. Someone happened to be leaving the library just as she walked past the door, and they collided.

The sounds she made as she gathered up her books and nursed any bruises she might have received in the fall were not distinct words, and if they had been, they would not have been the sort of words her devout Catholic parents would have been pleased to hear from one of their children.

The someone she had walked into knelt down and helped her pick up her books. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm... fine..." Dani trailed off as she realised she was speaking to the person she'd met earlier, who the headmaster had referred to as "Cross". Who is he? she wondered. Is he helping out at the library or something?

The best plan to find out would be to ask him, a little voice in her head said.

What would I say? she retorted mentally. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" or something like that? Because that would sound rude.

"You should watch where you're going," Cross - she still didn't know his first name - said before pushing past her. Was it her imagination or did he look slightly amused when she started arguing with herself?

I didn't say any of that out loud, did I? she thought, a bit alarmed. No, if I did, he'd have called the nearest asylum.

"You've met the new Maths teacher, then."

"Maths teacher?" Dani repeated, turning to face the newcomers.

Gwendoline, Guinevere and Geneva Messina gave her matching looks of surprise. They were identical triplets, with pale skin, brown hair tied back with ribbons of various colours (supposedly indigo for Gwendoline, turquoise for Guinevere and pink for Geneva, though it was a well-known fact they often switched colours) and green eyes that sometimes looked yellow. Telling them apart was impossible; even they weren't always sure of which one was which.

"You haven't heard?" the first girl - was it Gwendoline? - asked. "Well, come on or we'll be late for dinner. We'll tell you on the way."

"Professor Smith's retired and he's the replacement," the second girl said as the four of them headed down the hall towards the dining room.

"His name's David Cross," the third girl finished. "He's a bit odd, I think."

"Say, are you all right?" the first girl said. "You look confused. Oh, wait, you're trying to work out which of us is which, aren't you? Well, I'm Geneva. That's Gwendoline, and that's Guinevere."

"For pete's sake, you of all people should know us apart!" the girl referred to as Gwendoline said, rolling her eyes. "I'm Guinevere, that's Gwendoline. And Dani, have you even been paying attention to what we've been saying?"

"You said that's the new Maths teacher, his name's David Cross, and you think he's a bit odd," Dani said tiredly. She liked the Messina triplets, but telling them apart always left her feeling like she'd just run the London marathon.

Dani hardly had time to sit down at a table with her dinner before Gareth joined her, quickly followed by his older brother, Steven. "You said you were going to tell me at dinner why you went to the library," Gareth said, looking at her as if he thought she was trying to get out of keeping that promise. "Well, tell me."

"All right," she said, setting down her knife and fork with a sigh and giving Steven, who was busy eating his macaroni cheese and chips, a slightly envious look before she started. "Last night, I was out stargazing, and..."