Nina

Some people are blessed with the ability to eat an ice cream cone without getting it smeared all over their face. I am not one of those people.

"I just don't understand how you managed to get chocolate on your forehead," Eddie snickered, as I tried to wipe the ice cream off of my face and only succeeded in gaining the appearance of someone who had just had a dairy facial.

"I never said I wasn't a messy eater," I defended myself, vainly attempting to salvage any dignity I might have had left as I tried to suck the chocolate coating off of my fingers. It wasn't even that I was a messy eater, ice cream just tended to get all over my face whenever I had it. No matter how carefully I ate it, whether it came in a cone or a cup, it always managed to find its way to my fingers, my mouth, my nose, my hair and in some miraculous cases: my ears.

Eddie grinned and tossed me a towel that I accepted gratefully before heading over to the sink. Twisting the faucet, I relaxed as I felt warm water cascade over my hands in a frothing swirl of bubbles and droplets. Thrusting the towel under until it was completely soaked I rinsed my face, scrubbing the skin red and raw until I was one hundred and ten percent sure that all of the ice cream was off.

"So." Eddie stared at me expectantly as I sat back down across from him to finish double-checking that I had completed all of my summer homework. "You want to give the whole tracking each other thing another go? It'll be our last chance before we head back to school tomorrow."

Seeing the complete checklist in my folder, I flipped the cover closed and laced my fingers under my chin. "Sorry, I can't," I smiled apologetically. "I've got a Skype date with Fabian in ten minutes."

"Say no more, I can tell when I'm being a third wheel." Clasping his hands to his chest, Eddie mimed a dramatically hurt expression. "The Osirian will forever be only a distraction to his Chosen One, always coming second to her boyfriend in the story of the star-crossed Fabina lovers."

My pencil whizzing at his head interrupted his monologue, which he ducked just in time, causing me to laugh. "Are you done yet?" I folded my arms.

"I want to say no, but I don't know if you have any ammunition left," came his reply from underneath the kitchen table.

"Nina sweetie," Mrs. Miller walked into the room. "I'm about to put Eddie's last load of laundry in the washing machine, is there anything you need me to clean for you before tomorrow?"

At forty-seven years old with a couple light streaks of gray in her blonde hair, Ms. Miller was infinitely more suited to the role of doting aunt rather than strict mother. Today's apparel was no different than the norm, one of her seemingly limitless spotless white button-downs paired with a cheerful skirt, her perfectly manicured nails idly rubbing her bare wedding ring finger.

"Thanks Ms. Miller, but the last of my stuff came out of the dryer yesterday," I said.

Walking into the pantry Ms. Miller reappeared about two seconds later carrying a thick recipe book. "Alright honey. Eddie, can you turn the oven on to three seventy-five?"

After cautiously poking his head out from under the table and glancing at me, Eddie muttered something about how writing materials shouldn't be used as lethal weapons before heading to go turn on the oven as his mom went back to start the laundry. Retrieving my pencil from where it had landed, I grabbed my folder and pencil case and ducked upstairs to the guest bedroom. I had been staying with Eddie for the second month of summer vacation, after I accidentally let slip to him while we were texting that my gran was moving into a retirement home next week and the plan was for me to stay in a hotel. He had put his foot down and insisted that I just take a taxi twenty miles east to his house so I could stay with a friend/protector for free, instead of pay for a month long stay at a hotel where I knew practically nobody.

Switching on the desktop in the corner I opened Skype and turned the volume up to max so that when Fabian called me and the computer rang I would be able to hear it without problem. Running into the bathroom, I turned on the faucet and stuck my fingers underneath and pressed them down on the top of my head, trying to make sure all the hair was laying down flat. Not hearing any ringing, I applied some of the gold eye shadow Amber had sent me for my birthday and added a little mascara to make my eyes really pop, before pursing my lips and applying some light pink gloss. Normally I limited my make-up to a hairbrush and toothpaste, but I found I kind of enjoyed having a reason to put some extra effort into my appearance; and a Skype date with my boyfriend who I just got back together with at the end of school and the only contact we've had is via cell phones and the Internet was a pretty good reason.

The stereotypical old telephone ringing sounded from the room, and I flashed a smile at the mirror for confidence before running in front of the computer to see 'Fabian Rutter Incoming Call' on the screen. Sitting in the chair I took a deep breath and clicked on the green telephone icon.

The screen quickly morphed into Fabian's grinning face and I will freely admit my heart did a little tap dance. "Hey," I beamed, feeling a very powerful urge to giggle.

"Hey yourself," he replied in that adorable accent of his. "Are you ready for classes to start?"

"If I'm going to be completely honest, I'm looking forward to tomorrow for an entirely different reason," I admitted.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Do tell."

Laughing I shook my head, feeling my golden brown curls swish against my neck and back. "Nuh uh, it's a secret. But I promise you will be the first one to find out the second it happens."

"Come on Nina, at least give me a hint?" Fabian wheedled. I pursed my lips and shook my head, fighting back a smile. "One little hint?" he pushed.

"Fine. One hint: it involves not repeating a mistake I made last year." I watched in amusement as his face flickered into confusion as he tried to draw clues from my cryptic hint.

"I don't suppose you could be a little more specific?"

"Sorry Fabian, no can do," I winked. "You'll just have to wait until tomorrow."

"I suppose I can live with that," he said. "How's your gran liking the retirement home?"

A small lump rose in my throat at the reminder that the woman who raised me would no longer live with me again, would no longer wake me up at eight in the morning for chocolate chip pancakes or smooth my hair as she tucked me in bed at night but I swallowed it down. "She's taken to it pretty well. Every Saturday they have a bingo game that she's apparently ruthless at, but she claims the meals leave a lot to be desired in terms of variety."

"Your gran is a tough one Nina, I'm sure she'll be fine," Fabian assured me.

"I know she will. I just… I just miss her is all," I confessed.

Fabian smiled gently and reached out to press his fingertips to the screen. I did the same so that it was almost like we were only a hair's breadth apart, rather than four thousand miles away from each other. "You'll be OK Nina. Your first year at Anubis you made it through Victor's curfew, a missing girl, security cameras and a creepy raven, and last year you survived an insane Ancient Egyptian ruler. You can handle your gran moving to the next neighborhood."

"Has anyone ever told you that you have a remarkable ability to put things in perspective?" I teased.

"Not that I can remember." I almost didn't get the last word since he yawned halfway through.

"Time difference!" I practically jumped, immediately feeling guilty. "I'm so sorry Fabian, I completely forgot you're eight hours ahead."

"It's alright Nina. It'd be worse if school had started and I had to worry about making sure Victor can hear a pin drop every night at ten."

I laughed at the reference to our crazy housemaster. "You know I've always found it weird that Victor says he wants to hear a pin drop five minutes after ten, but he only ever drops his pin at ten o'clock."

Fabian shrugged. "Maybe it's a part of the whole being ninety six years old thing."

I was about to reply when I got a tingling in the base of my skull and felt a very strong tug towards the hallway. "Just a sec," I held up a finger. Standing, I walked over and yanked open the door, jumping aside in time to avoid Eddie as he fell into the room.

"I wasn't eavesdropping!" Eddie claimed as he immediately scrambled to his feet.

"Yeah, and Victor doesn't go through everyone's suitcases the first night back," I replied sarcastically.

"I'm pretty sure that's illegal," Eddie said.

"And when has that ever stopped him?" I rolled my eyes.

"Fair point. What's up Fabian?" Eddie called into the room.

"Not much Eddie. Do you know what Nina's looking forward to tomorrow?" Fabian asked.

"No, he doesn't," I interrupted, dragging Eddie to his feet and pushing him out the door. "And if you don't stop eavesdropping, I'm telling Patricia that when you two weren't on speaking terms for three days two weeks ago you slept with a picture of her under your pillow." I whispered-threatened.

Eddie paled. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

Our standoff lasted for a grand total of four seconds before Eddie caved and begrudgingly walked down the hall back to his room.

Sitting back down in the chair I offered a grin. "Sorry about that."

"It's f-f-fine," he assured me, yawning halfway through and I sighed.

"I hate to cut this short, but you're sort of falling asleep over there so I'm going to let you go OK?"

"Nina I'm fine," he protested, making an effort to sit up straighter on the couch he was on.

"Hey, we'll see each other tomorrow right? I'll text you when the plane takes off," I promised.

Fabian yawned yet again while nodding, and I fought back a giggle. "Get some rest sleepy-head," I teased gently.

He slowly blinked twice before nodding and raising his hand to his mouth to cover yet another yawn. I moved my mouse to the red telephone button but hesitated to click it. Pressing my index finger to the computer screen one last time, he pressed his finger up against mine and I thought of this time tomorrow when there wouldn't be an entire ocean between us. "I'll see you tomorrow," I said quietly, a small smile tugging at my lips.

Fabian nodded, finger still pressed to mine. "I'll see you tomorrow," he agreed.

If I hadn't seen him yawn again I don't know when I would've pressed the end button. As it was I gave him a wave and clicked, feeling sadly hollow now that he was gone.

"Shortest date ever."

My head snapped up. "Eddie!"

Grinning, he poked his head into the room. "Yes Chosen One?"

"I thought I told you to not eavesdrop," my voice betrayed the faintest hint of my irritation.

"You say eavesdrop, I say listen to somebody else's conversation that you're not a part of without their knowledge."

"And then I tell you what a remarkable mini-Victor you're becoming."

Smirking, Eddie held up his hands in mock surrender. "Easy Chosen One. I actually wasn't eavesdropping, I just stopped by so we could give the tracking thing another go since your date got cut short."

Rolling out the kinks in my neck I pushed the chair back into a more reclined position in an attempt to get comfy. "You know I don't think your girlfriend is going to be thrilled when she learns you can pinpoint the exact location of another girl just by thinking about her."

"Well we agreed not to tell them for a while so I don't really have to worry about that do I? Now do you want to practice or not?" Eddie folded his arms as he leaned against the doorway, ever-present smirk twisting up the corners of his lips.

I sighed in defeat. "Sure why not."

"Yes!" Eddie jumped in the air with a fist pump and raced forward to grab my wrist and tug me out of the chair.

I couldn't help but laugh as we raced down the hall and out the back door and into the maze that was the Millers' backyard. Most citizens of Pennsylvania had a relatively tame yard, but Eddie's was completely wild. Uncared for bushes snaked across the lawn, leafy feelers creating trip wires and raised loops just waiting to tangle up some unsuspecting passerby. Trees grew so close to one another that their branches practically intertwined as one; and the whole enclosure was never completely still, some part of it always rustling as squirrels and other small creatures raced through.

Tugging my sweatshirt off I unceremoniously dumped it on his head and laughed as he yelped. "Nina! Your zipper almost went up my nose!"

"Sorry," I grinned, not really meaning it. "I guess I'll have to try harder next time."

"Yeah, very funny Chosen One. You've got ten seconds. One. Two."

By the time he reached four my brain finally registered what was happening and I turned and bolted through the green labyrinth, hopping over roots and ducking branches until I crouched behind a trunk as Eddie called out, "Nine. Ten!"

Pressing my hands over my mouth to silence my breathing I kept my body completely still, desperate not to rustle any of the dry leaves caking the ground to avoid giving Eddie the slightest hint as to where I could be hiding. We had discovered his ability to trace my location three weeks ago. I was new to the city and even though I would only be staying there for a month and probably never leave the house, Ms. Miller had insisted Eddie give me a tour of the neighborhood about a week into my stay on what just so happened to be the busiest day of the year. Summer was ending so relatives were flying out and families were driving back in and the whole scenario created a wild hodgepodge of vacationers and natives that turned the place into the Philadelphia equivalent of Times Square on New Year's Eve.

Eddie and I had been trying to find our way through the city square when I stumbled. To fall to the ground in a crowd that big would have certainly meant getting trampled, so all my focus surged towards my feet as I immediately tried to regain my footing. A few seconds – precious seconds – later and my eyes once again glanced up to find Eddie, only for me to realize that Eddie was gone. I stupidly hadn't thought to bring a cell phone so we had absolutely no means to contact each other and I had no idea when he would even notice I wasn't following him. Next thing I knew someone nudged me forwards and then I was being swept along with the mob as I desperately scanned the top for any sign of his spiky blonde head. I'd eventually managed to duck out of the crowd and into a nearby diner which was blessedly more quiet than the crowd outside and so I sat and waited as I tried to figure out how to find my way back until I'd suddenly heard a tapping on the window at which I had looked up to see my very relieved looking Osirian.

When we got back to his house Eddie had explained to me how he had panicked upon realizing I was gone, and by thinking of me had somehow managed to see exactly where I was. How he described it made it sound like he apparently was able to mentally trace his way to my location just by thinking about me. Over the past weeks we'd tried pushing the boundaries to see if there was a limit to how far he could track me and failed to find one. We'd also tried to reverse it, see if I could trace him. While I was unable to pinpoint his exact location on purpose, I would occasionally get flashes of his location when he was nearby – like the hallway during my Skype date with Fabian for instance.

"Gotcha!" I raised my eyes just in time to see Eddie pull my jacket off his head to reveal his smirk firmly in place. "Too easy Nina."

"In my defense, you already found me when I folded myself into that old toy box in your attic so now pretty much anything I can think of is bound to be a bit of a let down." Reaching up I gripped Eddie's hand and he pulled me up, his palm cool against mine. Letting go, I firmly dusted the crunchy leaves off of my jeans, shivering as a breeze ghosted through the yard, wrapping itself around my arms.

"Do you want to go back inside?" I looked up to see Eddie staring at me intently, concern etched in his eyes.

I shook my head. "No, I'm just a little chilly, it's fine. I want to keep practicing."

Eddie's brow furrowed as he tried to discern whether or not I was lying. "Nina we can go inside if you want to."

I let a smirk tug up the corners of my lips. "Do you think you won't be able to find me once it gets dark? Is that what this is about?" I teased, not even bothering to try and hide my grin.

His eyes narrowed playfully. "Oh it is so on. One! Two!" I bolted before his mouth had even finished forming the second number.

We kept practicing up to and after dinner, even as the sun sank below the shadow-drenched hills and my fingers and nose went numb from the cold. Eddie always managed to find me; no matter how cleverly I hid and after he found me under a table in the storm shelter I refused to play unless he was blindfolded, convinced he had to be peeking.

"Don't be such a sore loser Chosen One," Eddie laughed, making no attempt to disguise his enjoyment.

"You found me in under two minutes," I said sourly. "I was at least twenty yards in the opposite direction of where I hid last time and even after you came down into the storm shelter you headed straight for me. How is that even possible?"

"It's my Nina-sense," Eddie grinned, wiggling his fingers in front of his face as though he were the Boogeyman coming to get me.

"Nina! Eddie! Come inside, it's almost nine o'clock!" I turned and saw a darkened silhouette in front of the brightly lit kitchen, one hand on the doorframe the other poised on her hip.

"Coming Ms. Miller!" I called, at the same time as Eddie yelled, "One minute mom!"

I helped Eddie seal back up the storm shelter and we walked back inside, locking the door behind us.

"You two need to shower, I want you both in bed in thirty minutes, you have to be up at 5:30 to make it to the airport in time tomorrow. I honestly don't know what you could have been doing out there for so long," Ms. Miller gently chided while shooing us upstairs as she absently played with the finger where her wedding ring used to be.

Pulling open the drawer I grabbed my hairbrush and began raking out the snarls in my hair – finding more than a couple leaves – before jumping in the shower. Breathing deeply, I watched the steam swirl up from where the water hit the tiled shower floor as the dust and grass stains from my body swirled down the drain in a murky blur.

After using enough shampoo and conditioner to fill an industrial sized bathtub, I switched off the water, wrapped on a towel and stepped out onto the shower mat. I double and triple-checked my packing list while waiting for my hair to dry and packed up my bathroom supplies after I brushed my teeth and hair.

I had changed into my pajamas and was pulling my (still wet) hair into a low ponytail when I heard a series of knocks at the door. "Nina? You decent?" Eddie called.

"Come on in weirdo." I called.

His head poked past the doorframe, hand over his eyes and I laughed. "Very funny. You should become a comedian."

"No problem. Here till Thursday, try the veal, tip your waiter." Winking at me, Eddie pulled his other hand out from behind his back and tossed a little white bottle at me.

I raised my hand to catch it before looking it over and raising my eyebrows at him. "Melatonin? What, are you and your mom planning to kidnap me while I sleep or something?"

He didn't even blink. "Yes that's exactly what we plan on doing."

"Well it's comforting to know that at least my kidnappers are honest." I retorted. Walking over Eddie took the bottle, unscrewed the cap and dumped two of the pills into my hand. "Seriously though. Why do I need a sedative?"

"Because my mom is creepily into that whole 'all teenagers need at least eight hours of sleep' routine and if we go to bed right now we'll just hit the mark. This is to make sure we're not up until midnight joyriding or whatever it is she's afraid we'll be doing." He gave me a weird little two-fingered salute thing, before heading out the door. "Night Chosen One."

"Good night Eddie," I answered. I did one last check that I had everything in my suitcase before setting out my clothes for tomorrow and pulling the blinds and curtains shut. It had amused Eddie to no end when he had learned that I never slept in any room that had windows unless I could cover them up for fear that if I didn't some creep would spy on me while I was sleeping or something. Switching off the lights I carefully made my way through the darkened room to grab the pills and slide underneath the covers. Rolling the Melatonin capsules between my fingers, I closed my eyes and slid them beneath my tongue.

They tasted like the mint leaves Trudy gave us back at Anubis when someone was running a fever. Doing my best to just focus on my breathing I let the soft mattress gently swallow me up, letting the minty sedatives lull me into the nice… fluffy pillow… I was so… so tired….∞

∞Nervously playing with my locket, I searched for the source of the crash that had woken me up. Since the Millers' house didn't have a stair rail to hold on to, I leaned against the wall, feeling the paint bumps press into my palm and fingertips as I carefully walked downstairs.

Turning the corner, I peered into the kitchen to see Ms. Miller scuttling around the kitchen, wringing and waving her hands and muttering to herself.

She didn't seem to notice me enter the room, so trying not to draw any attention to myself I tiptoed over to the table and picked up the fallen over chair that must have been the crash I'd heard. All the while Ms. Miller kept muttering to herself and flitting around the room, spouting nonsense and making strange patterns with her hands.

"Ms. Miller?" Holding my breath, I waited for some form of acknowledgment but none came. I cautiously walked closer, nerves creeping over me. "Ms. Miller? Are you OK?"

Reaching out a hand I gently placed it on her shoulder. The second I made contact with Ms. Miller she spun around, but she wasn't Ms. Miller anymore. Her skin was dark like Alfie's without any of the gentle wrinkles I was used to seeing and there were glittering black spheres where her eyes used to be. Her hair was a deep, deep blue interwoven with black and gold braids and she was wearing what looked to be a cream-colored dress with enough gold jewelry to fill Fort Knox.

Ms. Miller? I whispered in confusion. Or tried to anyway – no sound came out of my mouth.

Mrs. Miller grabbed my arms, her fingers curling into my biceps as she stared at me intently. "You have to keep it safe Chosen One," she seemed to whisper but her mouth didn't move. "You must protect it from her."

Protect what from who? I wanted to ask, but my voice didn't seem to be working.

"Come with me Chosen One." Ms. Miller's fingers laced into my hand and she tugged me back up the stairs and down a hallway that hadn't been there the past four and a half weeks I'd been living there. I'm not sure when it happened, but at one point my mind dimly registered that the wooden paneling had somehow changed to stone, and the chilly temperatures were making me wish I were wearing something other than a polka dot tank top and pajama pants, or that I was at least wearing shoes.

Ms. Miller kept tugging me through the hallway with torches lining the walls, down stone staircases and past old wooden doors until we finally reached the end after what felt like an eternity where a giant barricaded door was waiting. I did a double take when tiny, never-bench-pressed-anything-in-her-life Ms. Miller effortlessly lifted the wooden beam lying in front of the door and shoved it open. Grabbing my hand, she tugged me into a room that made me feel like I needed about twenty more eyes just to take it all in. Endless bookshelves seemed to stretch on forever and there wasn't a single empty space anywhere in them. I let myself be tugged past books with covers of leather, stone, what seemed like leaves (was that book made of fire?) and even what looked like some scrolls made of papyrus.

Eventually Ms. Miller stopped running and tugged on what looked like a book made of sapphires. There was a harsh scraping and grinding sort of sound and the bookshelf split in half to reveal a faceted glass case. I squinted, but the design twisted and warped my vision, making it impossible to see what was inside of it.

Guiding me forward, Ms. Miller took my locket in her hands and moved it towards the center of the case. A red nimbus of energy began to swirl from the locket and the case as she pressed my necklace into the locket shaped imprint. A million tiny cracks began to spider-web out from the center to encircle the case and I wrenched my hand out of Ms. Miller's grasp and tripped backwards in my haste to get away and cover my eyes as the glass exploded in a burst of red energy. Heat seared my vision and blistered my skin and the tinkling of a thousand wind chimes filled my ears as miniscule shards of glass rained down and shattered against the floor. Cautiously pulling my hands away from my face, I saw Ms. Miller standing in front of a glistening white podium, a scared look on her face as she stared at the ancient looking book on display.

I pushed myself to my feet, wincing in pain from the minute pieces of glass cutting into my palms as I wobbled a bit on unsteady legs, vainly trying to brush glass splinters where they had lodged themselves in my arms.

What is going on? I tried to ask, but my voice still wasn't working and I couldn't make my mouth move. I could only watch as Ms. Miller – or whoever this person was – carefully lifted the book from it's pedestal and walked over to me.

"The dream watcher has gone rogue, dear child." Her eyes burned into me and she did that whole talking-without-moving-her-mouth thing as she pressed the book into my arms. "You must protect it Chosen One."

Who's the dream watcher? I wanted to cry. What is so special about a book?

"Nina?" My head jerked and I looked around as the sound of my name reverberated through the room but the woman placed her fingers on my chin and forced my face up to look at hers. Tears began to form in my eyes as her nails dug into my skin but either she didn't notice or just didn't care.

"You must protect it from her. I cannot hold her back much longer. Chosen One, you must keep it safe until you are able to rescue me. Promise me!"

"Nina!"

My name echoed through wherever-we-were yet again as the place started to dissolve but the woman wouldn't let me go. "Promise me!"

Maybe it was because I needed her to let go of me. Maybe it was because I had to get out of that place.

Maybe it was the fear in her eyes.

Or maybe I was just an idiot.

But whatever the reason, my vocal chords abruptly seemed to resume functioning and as the bookshelves melted into the ground and the stonewalls shimmered into nothing and the whole world began to tilt and a softness spread behind my back I clutched the book and whispered, "I promise."

"Nina wake up! It's 5:40 we're going to be late!"

I blinked and all at once I wasn't in a vanishing room clutching a book like my life depended on it, I was in the guest room of the Millers' house in bed with Eddie shaking my shoulders. "Didn't you hear your alarm go off? You're ten minutes late!"

His words finally registered in my brain and my head snapped over to the clock. 5:40. I shrieked, lurching out of bed but my legs tangled in the covers and instead of masterfully leaping into the dawn, down plunged Nina onto the floor. Scrambling like a spider with an extra eight legs I grabbed my jeans and tee from the floor.

"Out while I change. Shoo!" I ordered Eddie, practically throwing him out the door. The morning chill began to set in as I fumbled to tear off my pajamas and yank on my jeans. Eddie and I were supposed to be ready by now and so as a result, I was forced to do a weird, line dancing, hopping thing as I somehow managed to clip on my bra, make the bed, get on my shoes, tug on my green and gold shirt and wrestle on my jacket in under two minutes.

"My mom sent me to tell you that the car's going to be here in ten minutes so you need to come eat breakfast."

I barely registered his words enough to nod as I haphazardly hopped over to the bathroom while tying my shoes. Grabbing the hairbrush I ripped it through my hair – pulling out more than a couple strands – and whisked it and my toiletry bag over to my suitcase.

"You're not going to brush your teeth?" Eddie asked and I shook my head.

"Nope. Breath mints are substituting for now. I'll brush at the airport." I was in such a hurry to force my bag, brush and pajamas into my suitcase that after I unzipped it and threw the lid back I almost missed it. I got my things in and had even sealed the suitcase halfway back up when I froze, my mind realizing what my eyes had seen.

Fingers slightly shaking, I unzipped my suitcase, breaths becoming more shallow and carefully opened it back up.

"Nina what are you doing, we're going to be late," Eddie reminded me but my body was becoming numb and I didn't answer. Trembling, I pushed aside the crumpled up pajamas and blew out a shaky breath at what I saw. So I wasn't hallucinating. This was really happening. "What are you staring at?" Eddie demanded, walking over and kneeling beside me. "Do you want to be late for school or do you want to come downstairs already?"

I slowly ran my hand over the book that I had not packed in my suitcase last night. The book that I had been given in my dream last night.

"Nina, are you even listening to me? School starts tomorrow which means we need to be back on campus today, so come on we have a plane to catch." I looked up to see Eddie staring at me and slowly drew my fingers over the book.

Picking up the book, I stood and handed it to him mutely. "I got this in a dream last night. I wake up, and it's in my suitcase."

Eddie's line of sight rose from the book up to me, his eyes widening in recognition and I took a deep breath and whispered, "I think school may have just started early."