Zaylin gawked at the school building as her grandmother expertly drove beyond the grand entrance gates. She had seen a brochure in her research on the place, sure, but the pictures she found did the actual thing no justice. The building itself held an ancient air about it, as if time had decided to stand still for it and it alone. There was so much land, so much room to roam! And then there was the lake, now shrouded in a dark shadow of mystery and murder… or so the papers said.

	“Sorry I can’t stay,” her grandmother said sadly, pulling behind one of the many other cars already parked there as parents and students alike entered the building. She looked in her early twenties, the neckline of a purple blouse showing off her shoulders and its flowy sleeves draping downward.

	Zaylin shook her head. “It’s fine. Really.” She offered the woman a smile, her dark lipstick making her face look paler than it really was. She quickly got out of the car, leaving the front door open.

	“If you forgot anything, let me know.” Her grandmother watched as the girl gathered her bags from the backseat. “And don’t forget about you’re [i]other[/i] studies,” she reminded sternly.

	Zaylin rolled her eyes. “I won’t, Gram!” She reached through the cab and gave the woman a quick hug and final farewell, then joined the others trickling into the building.

	She returned the headmistress’ warm greeting before following the other students who looked like they knew where they were going. She kept near the walls, the tails of her usual long coat flaring slightly as she stayed out of the way as well as she could as she took in the majesty of the building.

	She stepped to the side of the doorway of the gym, taking in the number of students and teachers mulling around, their conversations echoing around the room as friends greeted old friends. It looked like a hundred students, if even that, a strange sight after her overcrowded school back in California.

 	Despite the many lighthearted conversations, an aura of fear lingered in the room, the topic of the recent murder spoken in a few hushed whispers Zaylin caught as she made her way to a seat, her attention shifting curiously toward them.

	After the headmistress gave her speech, Zaylin hung back as students rushed to find their schedules in a mad heap. Once the crowd up front died down, she found her folder and quickly looked over her room assignment and schedule.

	[i]Art![/i] she thought, fingering the schedule her grandmother had set up for her. [i]She [u]does[/u] love me![/i] Suppressing a grin, she folded the papers, shoved them in a pocket of her pants alongside the key, and headed out of the gym to search for the dorms, eager to deposit her bags.