~~~ Ash Mareinos - Roof of one of the dorm Buildings ~~~

A book lay open next to Ash as she let the heat from the September sun warm her well tanned face. James sat near her on the roof, but Ash was not conscientious of what ever it was that he was doing. Instead she was thinking of the lake. She had, up to this point, resisted the urge of its call. That was a minor miracle, if she were to be honest with herself. The prior weekend had involved Ash having to get into the school's pool no less than four times just to stave off the urge. Normally on weekends, especially the warmer ones, Ash would be in a body of water. She couldn't get enough of it, but part way through the previous school year a tragedy had struck and tainted the sweet waters of the lake. 

Sure there had been rumors, ones even old enough for her Father to remember from his school days, that the lake was dangerous. But Ash was a Mareinos and she feared no water. She sighed heavily thinking of the lake. She could hear it call her. James glanced her way, but Ash ignored it. The pair of them had been great friends since the year prior. That was a friendship that probably wasn't appreciated by some of the staff. They were both dangerously close to be considered full on truants. Ash did the exact amount of studying it required for her to pass her classes. She had a 3.1 the year prior and even though her Father had ranted about "No Mareinos having ever been kicked out of Northwood and Ash being the first to have not one, but two letters written home" Ash had not gotten sent off to an even stricter school.

Being a legacy had it's virtues. That and the school had an amazing swim team, and of course her mother's instance that Ash continue there because of the singing education she could get. If only Ash would apply herself more to her studies. Ash had no intention of studying harder than she needed to. What could be the point?

"Do you think we could get to the lake and back without anyone noticing?" Ash asked James, in a sort of, but not entirely rhetorical way. James was well aware of Ash's minor obsession with water. He had even timed her the year prior in a how-long-can-you-hold-your-breath race with one of the other members of the swim team. Ash had beat him by a whole minute and at that point Ash came up for air because she was board. 

~~~ Amy Snow - The library ~~~

Amy, named that by the system and not by a parent, was hunched over a book. Her glasses, small things that were a year or so out of date, were hanging around her neck, on a simple chain, rather than sitting on her nose. She was far sighted, so this meant Amy was squinting rather intensely at her book. Amy found that squinting at the words was much easier than trying to use the glasses. 

Her eyes burned a bit, so Amy put the book down and looked off for a few seconds. She wondered what the librarians back home were doing. The memory of how close she had come to telling them she wanted to go to a different school caused her cheeks to turn pink a little. Amy couldn't even explain to the librarians why, so her words had fallen short as she helped file some books with Nancy, her favorite of the librarians. That was her chance. Amy sighed and in her mind's eye saw the lake. She hadn't known Helen, not personally, but everyone at Northwood knew of her. She shivered and pulled on her blazer, which she had tossed onto the table when she had sat down, even though she wasn't actually cold. It was a good cover for the shiver.

Of course Amy didn't believe in ghost stories. Even the one about the dorms here. There were always tales, but never any facts. Helen's death was different. It had just been last year. Amy had known Helen. The girl shook her head and tucked her hair behind her ear and started reading again. An older girl Amy remembered from the year prior, but had never actually spoken to walked past her table and toward the circulation desk. Amy knew she was part of the Wells hall kids and at that thought wondered if Ash was breaking a school rule already.