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Mrs. Miller said, “there’s also the debate team and track, and of course, the Blue Hill Journal. That’s our school paper. I hear you like to write.”
    â€œYes. But I think I’m going to need to study a lot—”
    â€œThere’ll be plenty of time to study,” Mrs. Miller said quickly. “Ask any student here. And I’ll be happy to tutor you in math if you need it.”
    I shook my head. “I’m taking advanced math—Algebra Two. Tested into it.”
    She nodded. “Then I’ll be seeing plenty of you. I’m teaching that class this year.”
    Miss Norman slapped her thighs and rose. “Think about field hockey, Maizon. I’d love to have you on the team. And feel free to come over and talk to me. I’m in the English Department when I’m not on the field.”
    â€œWhat do you teach?”
    Miss Norman grimaced. “British literature this year. Any interest in Beowulf?”
    I giggled. “I like Grendel better than Beowulf. And the Green Knight better than Sir Gawain.”
    â€œMy goodness!” Mrs. Miller said, raising her eyebrows. “When did you do all of this reading?”
    I swallowed, looking down at my loafers. “I spent a lot of time reading when I was at home. Sometimes that was all I had to do. I don’t really like television. So I had a contest with myself. I went to the library and tried to read all the fiction that I could pronounce the titles of. But last summer I didn’t get to read so much. I was spending a lot of time with my friend, Margaret. Then her father died and she started spending more and more time with her family. I went back to reading when Margaret wasn’t around. That’s why I’m here, I guess. Everybody thinks I should keep learning more and more.”
    For a moment neither teacher said a word.
    Then Miss Norman’s soft voice floated through the silence. “We’re here for you to talk to, Maizon. The first few weeks are the hardest. I think you can get through them though. Especially if you think about playing field hockey!”
    I looked up to see Mrs. Miller grinning.
    Miss Norman winked at me again. “We’re sort of what Charli, Sheila, and Marie are aspiring to be—the welcoming committee.”
    â€œDid the girls tell you that your roommate will be here later this evening?” she asked.
    I nodded.
    â€œHer name is Sandra—Sandy. She’s in her second year here. I think you two will get along well.”
    â€œIs Charli still wearing those shades?” Miss Norman asked.
    I laughed and nodded.
    â€œI tell you,” she said. “That girl is going to take them off one day and not have any eyes behind them!”

9
    C ome on, Maizon,“ Charli called, reaching for my hand and nearly dragging me to catch up with Marie and Sheila. I had changed into my uniform because we weren’t allowed to go into the dining hall in regular clothes. The skirt felt strange flapping against my bare thighs and the Peter Pan collar on the white shirt we had to wear was tight around my neck. My favorite part of the whole uniform was the patch on the pocket, with the gold thread that spelled out ”Blue Hill.“ Charli, Sheila, and Marie’s uniforms were different. Because they were in the upper school, they got to wear boxy blazers and dark blue skirts. I wanted a blazer like theirs, but Charli had explained that the school gave them bigger blazers to hide their breasts. Blue Hill didn’t think it had to worry about that problem with lower school freshmen. They were right. My blazer fell in a flat line across my chest. Even the white shirt underneath it didn’t cause it to bulk.
    We were walking across the field that separated our dorm from the main hall and I had dropped behind the others to watch the way the sun set behind the hill. It was so pretty, I thought I’d start crying. I wanted to tell someone about it,