Night School: Legacy

‘This is why breaking up sucks, Allie.’ Rachel’s tone was gentle. ‘This is why people don’t like to do it. It takes time. And I think you need to distract yourself. All you ever do any more is work. So do some things you didn’t ever do with Carter. Hang out with Jo, even if she’s as mad as a box of chickens. Or me. Or Zoe. Avoid Carter … and Sylvain,’ she added hastily. ‘The last thing you need is a sloppy rebound. You need to find out who you are now so you’ll know what you want. Maybe you do want Sylvain, I don’t know. But maybe that’s just your heart looking for a replacement model. And I don’t think replacement models ever work out as well as the real thing. So, take some time to row your boat down the River Allie.’


Almost laughing through her tears, Allie said, ‘I can’t believe you just freakin’ said that.’

‘Me neither.’ Rachel grinned. ‘This therapy session is over. I’ll invoice you later.’


Allie tried to take Rachel’s advice. Forcing herself to hang out in the common room playing chess with Jo. Or, rather, losing to Jo at chess. Going to a kick-boxing class with Zoe, who passionately loved kicking things. Sitting with Rachel and Lucas at dinner talking about classes she didn’t really care about.

She practised not searching for Carter in every room. Getting through classes they had together without once looking his way. Not looking up until he’d walked out the door.

It helped that Carter had taken to sitting across the dining hall with Jules and her friends. But everybody still walked on eggshells around the two of them, trying not pick sides, though loyalties were inevitably divided.

‘I’d really hate for things to become Team Carter and Team Allie,’ she told Jo one night as she lost a speedy game of chess in the crowded common room after dinner. ‘But that’s happening anyway.’

They were sitting on the floor around a low chess table, hidden away on one side of the room. At the piano, a boy was playing a jazz version of a rock song. Some students were dancing in front of the bookcases. The room was cacophonous. And Allie found herself almost enjoying the anarchic feel.

‘It always happens,’ Jo said loftily. ‘Check. You really need to learn to use your rook. It’s just sitting there. But this isn’t the worst case I’ve seen. When Lucas and I broke up … Oh my God. What a mess. Because we were really mad at each other, so it was like … Palestine around here.’ The drama in her voice made Allie smile. Jo had been holding steady for a week now; it was nice to see her acting like herself again. ‘Everybody picked a side and people didn’t talk to each other. Grimness. But you guys …’ As instructed, Allie moved her rook and Jo rolled her eyes. ‘Checkmate – Jesus, Allie, you’re pathetic at this. You two don’t seem so mad. Mostly you just ignore each other, which makes it easier. For your friends, I mean. Sucks for you, I know.’

‘Have you,’ Allie helped reset the board, ‘talked to Carter?’

‘Of course! I talk to him every day. That’s the crappy thing about break-ups – the only people not talking are you guys.’

This had never occurred to Allie. She sat still, holding her king in one hand. ‘How is he?’

Jo’s eyes were sympathetic. ‘Sad. Lonely. But totally fine. He’s like you – he’s getting on with things. Lucas is helping him. He wants to kill Sylvain but Jerry Cole is keeping them apart.’ As she finished arranging the pieces, though, she brightened. ‘Hey, are you going to the party next week? Up at the castle ruins?’

Never had Allie wanted to do anything less, but she tried to sound like she cared. ‘What party? I haven’t heard anything about it.’

‘It’s a thing – they do it every year. It’s next Friday. I’m definitely going. It’s fun and spooky up there. We’ll have a bonfire. Roast marshmallows. Drink wine, tell ghost stories …’

‘Is it …’ Allie bit her tongue. She’d almost said, Is it safe? Meaning, safe from Nathaniel, safe from Christopher. Approved by Raj Patel. But she couldn’t talk about that with Jo. ‘Is it legal?’ she asked instead. ‘You know, is Isabelle cool with it?’

‘It’s for all advanced students.’ Jo’s tone was evasive. ‘Of which you are one. Everyone will be there. You should definitely come.’

‘I’ll think about it,’ Allie said, not wanting to think about it.


Every few days she met with Isabelle. Each time, Allie asked about Nathaniel and, each time, Isabelle told her there was nothing new about him or the spy among them. In return, Allie could tell her that there’d been no word from Christopher, either, even though, every single time she walked into her bedroom, her eyes were drawn first to her empty desktop, searching for the envelope in thick ivory paper with her name written in left-slanted handwriting. But it never appeared.

Throughout it all she stuck zealously to the rules. In her room by eleven every night. Never late for any meal or class. And as Night School resumed, she focused on training and strategy – her back straight and her eyes on Raj Patel. Blocking out Carter and Sylvain and anything that could not be used to save her life in the woods, in the dark. She poured her sadness, confusion and anger into learning to fight with her hands and feet. It was satisfying.

This was just what Isabelle wanted and, little by little, Allie thought the headmistress was beginning to forgive her.