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Mr Whitreen eyes under thick, dark eyelashes glanced at e boy was Good heavens! Maybe Lesley ought to pinch ht irls are from your class Cynthia Dale, Lesley Hay, and Gwyneth Shepherd Meet Raphael Bertelin, girls He’ll be joining your class on Monday"
"Hi," Lesley and I murmured, and Cynthia said, "Is this for real?"
Raphael grinned at us, hands casually in his pockets He really did look very like Gideon, although he was a bit younger His lips were fuller, and his skin was bronzed as if he was just back from a month in the Caribbean I supposed the lucky people there in the south of France all looked bronzed
"Why are you changing school in the middle of the school year?" asked Lesley "Did you do soet yourself thrown out of your old one?"
Raphael’s grin grew broader "Depends how you look at it," he said "I’m really here because I was fed up to the teeth with school But for some reason or other--"
"Raphael has moved here fro, Raphael, Mr Gilles is waiting"
"See you Monday," said Raphael, and I had the feeling he was speaking exclusively to Lesley
Cynthia waited until Mr Whitman and Raphael were in the principal’s office, and then she raised both arms in the air and cried, "Thank you, God, thank you for answeringher elbow into my ribs "You look as if a bus had just run over your foot"
"Wait till I tell you who that is," I whispered "Then you’ll look the same"
Every period of time is a sphinx that throws itself into the abyss as soon as its riddle has been solved
HEINRICH HEINE
SEVEN
WHAT WITH MEETING Gideon’s little brother and my hasty conversation with Lesley afterward (she asked, "Are you sure?" ten times; I said, "Absolutely sure" ten times; and then we both said, "Crazy!" and "I don’t believe it!" and "Did you see his eyes?" about a hundred ti limousine several minutes after Charlotte today Mr Marley had been sent to pick us up again, and he see on the car roof swishing his tail back and forth Charlotte was already in the back of the limousine She looked annoyed with me "Where the hell have you been all this time?" she snapped "One doesn’t keep a reat honor it is to be taught by hi embarrassed, helpedwrong?" I had a nasty feeling that I’dimportant, and Charlotte’s expression confiran to h the roof into the interior and flopped down on the seat oppositein front beside the driver
"It would be nice if you could take more trouble today," said Charlotte "All this is terribly e for hed out loud "Oh, come on, Charlotte! You don’t have to pretend witha fool of myself!"
"That’s not true!" Charlotte shook her head "Typical of you to think like that! You’re so childish, you see yourself at the center of everything The rest of us just want to help you so that you won’t spoil everything because you aren’t fit for your task Although ine the off…"
"What makes you say so?"
Charlotte looked at leefully, "You’ll find out soon enough, I expect"
"Has so Xemerius, not Charlotte I wasn’t stupid "Did Mr Marley say soot here?"
"Only cryptic stuff," said Xemerius, as Charlotte compressed her lips and looked out of the"There was obviously so hatsisnay…" He scratched his eyebroith the tip of his tail
"Don’t make me worm it all out of you!"
Charlotte, who understandably thought I was talking to her, said, "If you hadn’t been late, then you’d know"
"Dia in time and someone--how can I put this? Seems like someone hit him over the head"
My stomach muscles contracted painfully "What?"
"Don’t upset yourself," said Xeer there was sta to throw up, are you? Pull yourself together!"