Winter's Shadow by M.J. Hearle Page A

between the girls. Grinning amicably, he held out his hand to Winter.
    ‘Hi, I’m Sam.’
    Winter shook his hand. ‘Win.’
    Jasmine tapped him on the shoulder.
    ‘Jasmine Hu.’ Jasmine slipped her hand palm-down in his, as though she expected him to kiss it. Sam looked at her hand and shook it a little awkwardly.
    ‘Nice to meet you, Jasmine.’
    ‘Charmed.’ Jasmine replied, batting her eyelashes. ‘If you have any questions about school or anything at all, I’d be happy to answer them.’
    Winter rolled her eyes, and had to fight the grin that was surfacing at Sam’s uncomfortable reaction to Jasmine’s flirting.
    Mrs Lathkey continued, ‘I’m sure you’ll be interested to know, Sam, that Winter was just about to take over the class discussion.’
    Winter stared helplessly at Mrs Lathkey, silently imploring to be let off the hook. Her teacher leaned against her desk at the front of the classroom, watching Winter with a sardonic expression.
    ‘Winter, when you’re ready . . .’



Chapter 12

    The school bell sounded just as Winter’s attempt to talk about Brontë was devolving into utter gibberish, and she sighed with relief. She’d started out convincingly enough, drawing parallels between Thornfield and
Wuthering Heights
, before her mind went blank and she lost track of any point she was trying to make.
    ‘Well, thank you, Winter, for that incredibly . . . creative explanation.’ Mrs Lathkey seemed a little disappointed she wasn’t able to torture Winter longer. She turned her attention to the rest of the class, who were busy packing away their books. ‘Speaking of creative, don’t forget your writing assignment for tomorrow. I expect five hundred words from each of you written in the Gothic style. There will be no extensions and no excuses.’ She squinted over her glasses at one of Winter’sclassmates, Billy Gleeson, who was notorious for coming up with outlandish reasons why he couldn’t accomplish his homework.
    Winter grimaced at the prospect of spending a night in front of her computer. Creative writing was something she had absolutely no flair for. Images were fine – Winter could take a good photograph and even draw a little – but words were beyond her. By themselves they were okay; it was when she was asked to put them in any kind of order that she ran into trouble.
    Winter stood up with her bag and was about to ask Sam whether he needed help finding his next class when she saw she wasn’t the only one with that idea.
    Jasmine was leaning over his desk at an angle that allowed her shirt to reveal a little more of her. ‘So, Sam, what class do you have next?’
    If Sam noticed the view Jasmine was offering, he was too polite to stare. He glanced down at his timetable. ‘Biology. Do you know where the labs are?’
    ‘Absolutely,’ Jasmine replied enthusiastically. ‘I’ll be happy to show you.’
    Winter smirked to herself. Jasmine sure didn’t waste any time. The three of them began walking towards the door when Mrs Lathkey called out, ‘Jasmine, can I see you for a minute?’
    Jasmine faced her teacher reluctantly. ‘I was just about to show Sam how to get to the science labs.’
    Mrs Lathkey arched an eyebrow. ‘I’m sure Wintercan do that. We need to discuss your essay – or lack thereof.’
    Jasmine left Sam’s side in a frustrated huff. Winter smiled sympathetically at her as she passed.
    Sam turned to Winter and gestured towards the door. ‘After you.’
    They left Jasmine with Mrs Lathkey and joined the throng of students making their way to the next class.
    ‘Jasmine seems very . . . friendly,’ Sam said.
    Winter wasn’t sure whether Sam was being sarcastic or had genuinely mistaken Jasmine’s flirting for polite friendliness. He’d have to be pretty oblivious to miss the signals she’d been sending out.
    ‘Yeah, she is. Friendliest girl I know.’ Winter saw Sam watching her out of the corner of her eye, and tried to hide her grin. ‘So you just moved