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probably be the last to arrive, because they'd want to look cool and blas� about the whole thing. But the person she was most curious about was Kaitlynn.

    Kaitlynn, whom Ariana hadn't seen all day.

    She'd been up and out of the room before Ariana's alarm had ever gone off and she'd been MIA ever since. During the two classes the two of them shared, her desk had remained vacant and she hadn't shown up for any of the day's meals. By the time the dinner dishes were cleared, Ariana had started to suspect that Kaitlynn was gone for good.

    Was it even possible? Had the news that her spot in Stone and Grave was not guaranteed sent her over the edge? Maybe she'd taken what was left of her money and gone off to start a new life. Ariana knew the very prospect should have sent her screaming gleefully across campus, turning cartwheels and hugging every person she met, but instead she felt an odd sense of disappointment.

    A cold breeze tossed a yellow leaf across Ariana's foot. She looked down at it as it blew off into the night, and sighed.

    "You're early."

    Ariana whipped around, heart in her throat. Kaitlynn was standing directly behind her.

    "You're here!" Ariana squealed. She threw her arms around Kaitlynn's neck and squeezed.

    "Okay. What was that?" Kaitlynn asked when Ariana released her. There were dark circles under Kaitlynn's eyes and her short blond hair was frizzy and unkempt. She wore her black wool coat over jeans, and her sneakers were caked with mud.

    "Where have you been all day?" Ariana asked under her breath. From the corner of her eye, she saw Tahira and Allison tromping down the hill from Privilege House, dressed in black from head to toe. Adam and Landon were close behind.

    "Why? Were you worried about me?" Kaitlynn cocked an eyebrow.

    "Y eah. I was," Ariana said under her breath. "I wanted to talk to you about the meeting last night," she said, tugging her coat closer to her against the cold. "I'm sure you were as freaked as I was by this whole no-guarantee thing."

    Kaitlynn avoided Ariana's gaze, looking down at the ground and shoving her hands into the pockets of her coat. "Y were freaked?" she said

    ou dubiously. "Don't you mean pissed?"

    Ariana clenched her jaw for a moment and took a deep breath. "Why? Because of Brigit?"

    Was that why Kaitlynn had stayed away all day?

    Kaitlynn simply stared. "Aren't you?"

    Blowing out a sigh, Ariana tugged her wool gloves out of her pockets and pulled them on. "Look, what's done is done. But I thought about what you said the other morning and I realized something."

    "What?"

    Ariana swallowed hard. The others were fast approaching. This conversation had to get where she needed it to go and she needed it to get there fast. "Brigit's gone. I can't bring her back. But you and me . . . we're still here. And you were right. We were best friends once."

    Kaitlynn eyed Ariana with doubt. She turned slightly away from Ariana, as if she wanted to make sure there was no one behind her, ready to pounce and announce the joke was on her.

    "Maybe we can be friends again," Ariana said with a small smile. "At least, I'm willing to try."

    Kaitlynn narrowed her eyes and faced Ariana again. She opened her mouth to speak, but at that moment Tahira and Allison arrived.

    "Hey there," Tahira said, tossing her long black hair over her shoulder. "Any idea what we're doing here?"

    "None whatsoever," Ariana replied, trying not to sound as irritated as she felt at being interrupted.

    The guys stepped up behind them, just as the blond boy from last night's ceremony arrived from the opposite direction. Ariana gazed past him, her brow knit, wondering where else he could have been coming from at such an hour. All of them lived in Privilege House, and the class and administration buildings had been closed since dinner.

    "Evening, ladies," he said, nodding at them. "Gents."

    "You guys know Jasper, right?" Landon knocked fists with him without waiting for a response.

    Jasper smiled