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The gray cashan, that was the question Cassie stood in front of the gilt-fra first one and then the other in front of her The blue cardigan, she decided; blue was her favorite color, and it brought out the blue of her eyes The plulass seely

Now that the first day of school had actually come, Cassie found that she was excited Of course, she was nervous too, but it wasn’t the stark and hopeless dread she’d expected to feel There was so school in a new place It was like starting her life over Maybe she’d adopt a whole new personality Back home, her friends would probably describe her as "nice, but shy" or "fun, but kind of quiet" But no one here knew that Maybe this year she’d be Cassie the Extrovert or even Cassie the Party Girl Maybe she’d even be good enough for the girl with the shining hair Cassie’s heart beat ht

It all depended on first iood start Cassie pulled on the blue sweater and anxiously checked her reflection again in thehtly, with pretty highlights, but she wished she could do soirl in this ad - she glanced at the ht it specially when she’d driven into town last week so she could see the back-to-school fashions She’d never gotten the courage to walk up to the yellow Victorian house again, although she’d cruised by it slowly in her grand vainly to buirl "accidentally"

Yes, tomorrow she’d pull her hair back like the model in the ad, she decided

Just as she was about to step away, soht her eye A horoscope colu out at her Automatically her eyes followed the words after it

That daggy insecure feeling has got you again It’s ti! If that doesn’t work, re lasts forever Try not to make waves in your personal relationships this h to cope with already

Horoscopes are such garbage, Cassie thought, closing the azine with a slap Her y insecure feeling" - just telling soh tosupernatural about that

But if she didn’t believe in the supernatural, as the chalcedony lucky piece doing in the zipper co her jaw, she took it out and put it in her jewelry box, then went downstairs to say good-bye

The school was an i So impressive that after Cassie had parked the Rabbit, she was alo any closer There were several narrow paths that led up the hill, and she finally nerved herself to take one At the top her throat closed and she sie or so on the front read NEW SALEM HIGH SCHOOL, and beloas a sort of crest with the words Town of New Salem, Incorporated 1693 Was that how old this toas? Three hundred years? Back in Reseda, the oldest buildings around had been there for maybe fifty years

I a herself to walk forward I am Cassie the Confident

An incredibly loud roarto the side just in tiawked at what had almost hit her It was awas its rider - a girl She earing tight black jeans and a h But when she turned around after parking the motorcycle by a bike rack, Cassie saw that her face was ravishingly pretty It was s dark curls, and erent expression

"What are you staring at?" the girl demanded suddenly

Cassie started She supposed she had been staring The girl took a step forward, and Cassie found herself stepping back

"I’m sorry - I didn’t mean to - " She tried to tear her eyes away, but it was hard The girl earing a skilimpsed what looked like a small tattoo just above the material A tattoo of a crescent ain, helplessly

"You better be You keep out of et it?"

You were the one who alht But she nodded hastily, and to her vast relief the girl turned away

God, what a horrible way to start the first day of school, Cassie thought, hurrying toward the entrance What a horrible person to be the first one you spoke to Well, at least after a beginning like that, things could only get better

All around her teenagers were greeting one another, shouting hello; the girls giggling and hugging, the boys horsing around It was an excited bustle, and everybody seemed to know everybody else

Except Cassie She stood looking at the fresh haircuts of the guys, the brand-new clothes of the girls, s the scents of toomore alone than she ever had in her life

Keep , she told herself sternly Don’t stand around looking for that girl - find your first class Maybe you’ll see somebody there who’s alone, and you can talk to theot to look extroverted if you want people to think you are

Her first class riting for publication, an English elective, and Cassie was glad she had it She liked creative writing, and the Program of Studies had said that the class would offer opportunities for publication in the school literary azine and newspaper She’d worked on the newspaper in her old school; ra for publication the previous spring, and Cassie still couldn’t quite understand how her grandotten her enrolled just before school started Maybe her grand

She found the class without much trouble and took an inconspicuous desk near the back The roo up, and everyone seehtest notice of Cassie

She began doodling ferociously on the front of her notebook, trying to look totally involved in it, trying to look as if she weren’t the only one in class sitting alone

"You’re new, aren’t you?"

The boy in front of her had turned around His s, and she had a feeling he knew exactly how dazzling it was His hair was auburn and curly, and it was clear that when he stood, he’d be very tall

"You’re new," he said again

"Yes," said Cassie, and was furious to hear her voice shake But this guy was so good-looking "I’m Cassie Blake I just moved here from California"

"I’m Jeffrey Lovejoy," he said

"Oh," Cassie said, trying to make it sound as if she’d heard of him before, since this seemed to be what he expected

"Center on the basketball teareat" Oh, how stupid She had to do better than this She sounded brainless "I "

"Are you interested in basketball? Maybe we could talk about it sonoring her blundering, her lameness Okay, so maybe he liked to be admired, but what difference did that make? He was nice, and it would definitely improve her status to be seen around the careat," she said, wishing she could think of another adjective "Maybe - maybe at lunch"

A shadow fell over her Or at least that was how it felt In any case, she are, all at once, of a presence at her side, a presence that made her voice trail off blankly as she looked up, wide-eyed

A girl was standing there, the irl, both tall and voluptuous She had a mane of pitch-black hair and her pale skin was touched with the glow of confidence and power

"Hello, Jeffrey," she said Her voice was low for a girl’s; vibrant and almost husky

"Faye" Jeffrey’s voice, by contrast, was noticeably unenthusiastic He looked tense "Hi"

The girl leaned over hiht the scent of some heady perfume "I didn’t see much of you over summer vacation," she said "Where’ve you been?"

"Around," Jeffrey said lightly But his smile was forced, and his entire body was taut now

"You shouldn’t keep yourself hidden away like that Naughty boy" Faye leaned in closer yet She earing an off-the-shoulder top - coreat deal of skin exposed just at Jeffrey’s eye level But it was her face Cassie couldn’t help staring at She had a sensuous, sulky mouth and extraordinary honey-colored eyes They seeht "You know, there’s a new horror movie at the Capri this week," she said "I like horror movies, Jeffrey"

"I can take them or leave them myself," Jeffrey said

Faye chuckled, a rich, disturbing sound "Maybe you just haven’t seen theirl," she murmured "Under the proper circu"

Cassie felt eh she scarcely knehy Jeffrey wet his lips, looking fascinated in spite of himself, but also scared Like a rabbit in a trap

"I was going to take Sally down to Gloucester this weekend - " he began, voice strained

"Well, you’ll just have to tell Sally that so hiht at seven"

"Faye, I - "

"Oh, and don’t be late, all right? I hate it when boys are late"

All this tilanced at Cassie But now, as she straightened up to leave, she did The look she turned on Cassie was sly and secretive, as if she were perfectly aware that Cassie had been listening, and she liked it Then she turned back to Jeffrey

"Oh, and by the way," she said, lifting one hand in a languid gesture that showed off her long red nails, "she’s from Crowhaven Road too"