Read A Winter of Ghosts (The Waking Series) for Free Online Page B

were with their fellow Soccer
Bitches, including Emi and Kaori, who they all believed had taken part in the
beating that led to the murder of Sakura's sister. Without proof there was
nothing anyone could do, and by unspoken agreement they all avoided the
subject. Sakura had made peace with her sister's death, as best she could.
    Just beyond the Soccer Bitches'
table, she saw Mr. Yamato chatting quietly with Miss Kaneda, the fiftyish
teacher who led the Calligraphy Club. Kara, Sakura, and Ren were all members of
the club and enjoyed it hugely. Miss Kaneda had a voice that made her drowsy
and set her at ease, and a love for the art of calligraphy so strong that it
inspired that same passion in the club members. She was also acting as tour
guide today. On the way up the mountain she had marched alongside the group,
loudly regaling them with bits of history and folklore related to the mountain.
    Now, though, she looked somewhat
troubled. She bowed her head to Mr. Yamato and then glanced up at the sky. The
air had turned even chillier. It felt brisk on Kara's skin and the tip of her
nose was so cold that she reached up to rub it. Even as she did, she took a
breath and realized something she had missed before, something that only people
who had been raised in wintry climates would probably notice.
    "It smells like snow,"
she said.
    Hachiro grinned at her.
    "It smells like
snow?" Sakura said dubiously.
    Mr. Yamato walked to a spot
roughly in the center of the picnic area and clapped his hands.
    "Gather your things,"
the principal said. "We are going to be following a mountain trail
together. There are other, less well-traveled paths, but you are all to stay
with your own homeroom teachers. Do not leave the group for any reason. I will
be leading Miss Kaneda's class so that she can move from group to group, giving
you instructions on what you should be watching for. Even in winter there is a
great deal of wildlife on the mountain. There will be assignments in school
tomorrow that will reflect upon your experiences today, so I advise you to be
attentive both to your own teachers and to Miss Kaneda. Enjoy the beauty of the
mountain and its views."
    It seemed he had finished and
the teachers began to address their homeroom students, rounding them up into
groups. But Kara watched as Miss Kaneda went to Mr. Yamato, glancing worriedly
at the sky, and spoke quietly to him. Mr. Yamato seemed to consider her words
and then nodded.
    He clapped his hands again.
"One other thing. The weather center forecasts a ten percent chance of
light snow."
    Kara bumped Hachiro with her
hip. "Told you," she mouthed at him, then stuck out her tongue.
    "There may be flurries,"
the principal continued. "But if we do get a little snow, do not worry. The
weather center predicts clearing skies and even the return of the sun later
this afternoon. And now we go. We will be on the trail for one and a half
hours, including a fifteen minute break. Please do not . . ."
    Principal Yamato finished with a
word that Kara didn't understand.
    "What was that?" she
asked.
    Hachiro took her hand. "It
means don't 'fall behind.' But don't worry. I won't let you out of my sight."
    He made it sound so sweet that
she felt herself actually blush. Kara did not know how long it had been since a
boy had made her blush, but she found that she liked it.
    Then they all had to separate. She
and Miho and Sora were all in Mr. Sato's class, so they remained together while
Hachiro, Ren, and Sakura went off to join their own homeroom teachers.
    "Sora's nervous," Miho
told Kara while they waited for Mr. Sato to lead them away.
    Kara looked at Sora, who gave
her a wan smile. "What's wrong?"
    "You must have heard about that
woman who got lost in the snowstorm up here last month and froze to death,"
he said.
    Kara had not forgotten the
story, but she had not remembered that the woman had vanished here on Takigami
Mountain.
    "We'll be fine," she
said. "All these people? It might not snow at all, and if