The Candidates by Inara Scott Page B

Apparently someone named Bly had died and given the school money to build it. A giant rosebush crawled up the side of the Bly, and even though it had been a hot summer, the leaves were still green, and several red roses bloomed up around the second story of the house.
    Our rosebushes at home had yellow spotty leaves and one or two dying blooms.
    Everything at Delcroix was different, even the flowers.
    Jack and I waited, both quiet, as the bus emptied out around us. The buildings looked so serious, like a fancy college or prep school, reminding me once again that I was way out of my league. What I’d told Jack was painfully true. I wasn’t some supersmart, gifted-and-talented genius. I was a fraud, a girl they thought was a hero but was really a coward, and it was only a matter of time before they figured that out.
    I got off the bus in front of Jack. He followed me down the steps, but when I turned around he had wandered off. His hands were thrust deep in his pockets, his jaw clenched as he stared up at those huge columns. He looked back and forth between the crowd and the school, glaring at everyone who walked too close. I guessed he was nervous, but he did look genuinely intimidating, so I stayed away.
    It was a little disappointing, because I’d felt so comfortable with him, and it had been a relief to find someone who felt the same way I did about Delcroix. But it was for the best.
    After all, I wasn’t here to make friends.
    I walked up the white steps, trying not to look like a tourist as I checked everything out. Inside, the school resembled Danville High, only smaller. The walls displayed bulletin boards, glass trophy cases, and pictures of past principals. But unlike Danville, incredible paintings hung everywhere, alongside black-and-white photographs matted in silvery metallic frames. Blown-up newspaper clippings showed a new ballet company opening in Texas, a guy in an army uniform shaking the president’s hand, and a doctor cutting a ribbon by the doors of a hospital. Former students, I guessed.
    Everyone seemed to walk off the bus with a crowd of friends, and even though I wanted to be alone, it was hard to watch everyone else laughing and hanging out together. I guess that’s why, when Esther and Hennie ran up to me a few seconds later, I couldn’t muster a bored look.
    Hennie was even cuter standing up than she had been sitting down, but a few feet away she tripped over her shoelace, and if Esther hadn’t caught her, she would have done a spectacular face plant right in the middle of the front hall. Esther whooped with laughter. Hennie, her gorgeous skin two shades darker, tried to look nonchalant as she regained her balance. But then she turned to Esther and broke into uncontrollable giggles.
    “Hennie, you’re as clumsy as ever!” Esther teased.
    “Dancia, you would not believe how many times I’ve saved Hennie from total disaster. I swear, she is the most uncoordinated person you will ever meet.”
    “Thanks a lot,” Hennie exclaimed. “At least I don’t sound like a hyena when I laugh.”
    For some reason this set Esther off again, and they laughed together until they were both wiping tears from their faces. The two of them were infectious, and I couldn’t help but smile.
    “Now Dancia is going to think we’re completely insane,” Esther said.
    “I don’t know about insane,” I said. “But not normal. Which is cool, if you ask me.”
    Hennie nodded gravely. “I had a feeling you’d understand.”
    Esther grinned and looped her arm through mine. She spun around slowly in the hall. “Isn’t the school amazing? Look at all these pictures! It’s like an art gallery in here.”
    “My mom said she heard they had to have a security system just for the art. And I heard Kofi Annan came to visit last year. Can you imagine?” Hennie asked.
    I had no idea who she was talking about, but I tried to look knowledgeable. “Yeah, it’s amazing.”
    Esther poked her in the ribs. “You’re so