Page 28 of Waysider
At the same moment Cass picked up her spoon, a tray dropped across from hers. A moment after that, a flyer landed on the table between them. SCAVENGER HUNT, the headline declared in bold letters. Beneath this, it instructed freshman students to meet at Old Main later that night.
“What’s the prize?” Cass asked, taking a bite of sliced peach. As Finch sat down, Cass wondered if she should mention the two revenants she’d seen. Something stopped her, though.
Behind her glasses, Finch’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “The winner gets to tag along on a haunting. A Level Three Haunting, which means there will definitely be a revenant present. The winner isn’t one of the official team members, of course, and you’re only there to observe, but it’s still so exciting! Usually only juniors and seniors can go. For this one time only, Headmistress Crane makes an exception. Whoever can answer the most riddles by the time the hour is up wins.”
“Riddles?” Cass repeated. Before Finch could explain further, Cass’s confusion cleared, and she felt her expression settle into a calm mask. “Do you mean… riddles about revenants?”
Finch nodded, frowning distractedly at her milk carton. The lip wasn’t opening correctly. “Some of them,” she said.
Well, Cass definitely had no interest in that. She’d make sure she was in her room, door locked, when the scavenger hunt began.
She had just returned her focus to the food in front of her when Finch added, “Oh, and then there’s the cash prize, too.”
Cass stilled. Those words echoed through her—cash prize. She raised her gaze slowly. “How much is it?”
Finch shrugged, holding up her mangled milk carton. “A hundred dollars, I think.”
“A hundred dollars?” Cass blurted. She thought of the debt she’d put her parents in. She’d been planning to help them, and send money whenever she could. A hundred bucks was a solid start. But the thought of potentially interacting with a revenant… Cass bit her lip. “Are you going?”
Finch had just taken a drink of milk. She shook her head, swallowed, and said, “I’m a second year. The scavenger hunt is just for first years.”
So Cass would be going on her own, then. She didn’t exactly know anyone else, besides her roommates, and they seemed as excited as she was about making new friends. Cass absorbed this silently. Worried Finch would see something in her expression, she turned her face away and scanned the room again. She recognized someone nearby.
“He lives with us, right?” Cass nodded toward the table beside them, where the tall guy sat. He laughed at something and flashed his perfect teeth.
Finch’s eyes flicked over. “Yes, that’s Justin. He started last semester, but he’s technically still a freshman, so he might be at the scavenger hunt.”
“Who is he sitting with?”
This time, Finch turned to see who Cass meant. As she waited, Cass forced herself to take a bite from one of the plates. The roast beef was tasteless in her mouth, and she knew it was because of the fading adrenaline. Finch talked as Cass reluctantly chewed.
“Those are the Airweavers. Justin will probably end up with them eventually. He matches the profile—they tend to fit in everywhere. Outgoing. Go with the flow. Usually athletes.” Twisting in her seat, Finch pointed at a table in the center of the room. “Candice is with the Dreamwalkers. That house is full of the sensitive people. They’re empathetic. Space cadets. Artistically inclined, more often than not.”
“And the people that younger kid is talking to?” Cass asked.
Finch followed her gaze again. “Oh, you mean Bradley? His group is all from House Pennyseeker. They tend to be honest folk. Eager to help. People pleasers. They plan the school events, run the voting days, that sort of thing.”
Cass frowned. She mulled over what Finch had said, her gaze roaming past each of their roommates again. “If it’s so obvious what house they belong to, why are they still in Wayside? Why separate us?” she asked.
Finch opened her mouth to reply just as a new voice said, “Hi, little bird.”
Even before she turned her head, Finch was blushing. “Hi, Teddy.”
Someone pulled one of the empty chairs out. A moment later, a boy settled into Cass’s line of view. He didn’t seem to take much notice of her—his attention was fixed on Finch. His hair was Achilles-gold and he had the defined cheekbones of a sculpture. He wore a cotton T-shirt that clung to his muscles. Those muscles flexed as he leaned forward and asked Finch, “Did you get it?”
In response, Finch leaned over and took something out of her bag. She handed it to Teddy with a bashful, pleased smile. “First edition. I waited in line for six hours to get it.”
“You’re not a bird, you’re a goddess,” he informed her, and Finch blushed again. Cass caught a glimpse of the cover before Teddy tucked it beneath his arm. It was an X-Men comic book.
“Oh, how rude of me, I’m sorry!” Finch exclaimed. She gestured between them with her red-tipped nails. “Teddy, this is Cass Ryan. Cass, meet Teddy Crane.”
Teddy finally turned to her. As their gazes met, Cass noticed how his blue eyes were broken apart by flecks of amber. He gave Cass an elegant, two-fingered salute. “Theodore Crane, House Airweaver. But my friends call me Teddy,” he said.
“Crane?” Cass repeated, darting a glance at Finch. But it was Teddy who answered.
“Yeah. Sally is my mom.” He seemed like he was about to say more, but someone shouted for Teddy from a table across the room. He jerked his chin in a gesture of acknowledgement, then refocused on them. “It was nice to meet you, Cass. Good luck at the scavenger hunt tonight. Finch, as always, I adore you.”
Finch made a sound that Cass thought was supposed to be “see you around.” Luckily, Teddy was already gone. He walked toward his friends with purpose and authority. Cass didn’t usually notice shit like that, but there was something about Theodore Crane that drew the eye. Not just because he was tall, or pretty, or the fact everyone else seemed to be watching him, too—she couldn’t put her finger on it.
