Page 43 (2/2)

Ariana hesitated at having been cut off Also so she hadn't experienced very often "Cornwall What about--"

"Where did you transfer from? You have an accent Are you from

4

the South? Do you have any friends here? A boyfriend,Ariana a conspiratorial look

Ariana glanced around at the other cliques on the quad, chatting and laughing in the sunshine Had she chosen the right crowd? There was no way she could be friends with someone who asked this many personal questions in the space of fifteen seconds Across the way, standing on the steps of the chapel, was an olive-skinned girl with thick black hair tu Ariana and the others froroup of handsoirls She, too, looked like a queen bee, just as Maria had froned herself with the wrong girls? Had she already made such an awful mistake?

"I--"

"Don't let her scare you," Soo her BlackBerry into the pocket of her navy blue blazer She shtly, giving Ariana a better look at the perfectly tied knot in her gold and gray striped tie The collar of her white shirt was so starched the points looked as if they could slice through it: A) She needs to know everything about everyone; B) she has the memory of an elephant; and C) she "

A phone beeped and Maria quickly re She read a text, sether Ariana's face burned Soomie had just put her phone

5

away, and she couldn't shake the feeling that Sooht in front of her face?

Brigit, ed and smiled happily Her uniform wasn't quite as iray blazer hung open over her untucked shirt "It is ," she echoed "What's yours?"

All three of them looked at Ariana with interest She took a deep breath She had to stop being so paranoid She hadn't figured out Sooit's total lack of self-consciousness was kind of sweet and endearing Maybe even sweet and endearing enough to help her ignore the third degree If the girl would let her

"So, where is Cornwall, exactly?" Ariana asked, even though she knew its precise location, due to the fact that she had long since memorized the campus map