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There was a long silence as everyone tried to pretend they weren’t paying attention

"You know, I don’t really want to talk to the headmaster either," I said "Can’t we all just pick our own objects?" I gazed around the circle for approval, but everyone avoided eye contact

Genevieve sighed "Fine" Raising the book again, she said, "We each have to think of someone who died Once you choose the person, you have to concentrate on them as hard as you can The book says, ‘The object that you choose should be soreat deal about In order to conjure it from the dead, you must visualize your object in its entirety Repeat its name in your head, and then once you hear its voice in your ear, silently speak your question’"

Genevieve lowered the book and gave us a somber look "Does everyone understand?"

"What if we can’t hear its voice? Hoe knohen to ask?" Eleanor said

"If you do it right, it’ll work," Genevieve said, dis her question "Okay, now close your eyes and visualize your object"

I closed an to chant in Latin I tried to i in the sunroo toast while doing a crossword puzzle But their i in Genevieve’s dorirls I barely knew, I felt so far away froible memory It was as if they had ceased to exist inmore than the blurry idea of two people I had once met in a dream

I opened my eyes and looked around the circle Everyone else had their eyes shut, concentrating on their objects I shut es ofovershadowed by the one person who I couldn’t get out ofto Gottfried Academy Dante

I pictured hih the stacks of books, his legs brushing against mine as aited, hushed, in the dark I blushed just thinking about it Where was he right now? Probably in his roo I wondered if he was thinking of me too

Then a gust of wind blew through the open s, rattling the shutters and rustling the papers on Genevieve’s desk The candles flickered

A whisper blew around us like an autuh none of us were speaking My body acted without me, and I leaned toward Genevieve and cupped my hands around her ear as if I were about to tell her a secret Then ainst e They were more sounds than words, eerie utterances that spilled out of me faster than I could process them Evenquickly and capriciously, as if co fro, but I couldn’t control ue

One by one, each of us leaned toward the girl to our left, perched against her ear like ere playing a ga tickle an whispering to me It was Eleanor, but it wasn’t Her voice was low and deep and sounded like it belonged to a ot I was si I wanted to do was listen All at once, a million questions crowded my head I chose the most important one and concentrated on it