When Rose Wakes by Christopher Golden

manic energy about her, and Rose found herself both exhausted and inspired by her company.
    She’d only eaten half her lunch when the two girls across from them picked up their trays and departed. Worried, Rose glanced around in search of a clock, concerned that the period would be ending at any moment. When she turned around again, the seat directly opposite her was occupied once more.
    “Oh, hey,” Rose said, smiling and sitting up a little straighter.
    Jared nodded as though agreeing with her. “Hey. I just dumped my tray and thought I’d say hi. So, y’know, hi.”
    Kylie laughed. “Listen to you, all mumbly and stuff.”
    “Hi, Kylie,” Jared said.
    “You two know each other?” Kylie asked. “You mean, you made more than one friend today and didn’t tell me? I’m deeply offended.”
    “We met the other day in the office, when Rose was taking her admissions test,” Jared said.
    Rose nodded. She knew that Kylie must be watching her closely—the girl was so observant—and she didn’t want to give too much away by her reaction to Jared. But he was very cute and she had been hoping all morning to run into him and wondering why she hadn’t.
    “Here I am,” Rose said. “A St. Bridget’s girl.”
    “What class did they put you in?” Jared asked.
    “I’m a sophomore.”
    Kylie smiled conspiratorially. “Oh, no! Jared, will your reputation survive you being seen sitting with us lowly sophomores?”
    Jared seemed to think this over. “I honestly don’t know.”
    Rose felt a sickly flutter in her chest, glancing from Jared to Kylie and back again, thinking for a moment that this really might be a concern. Then the two of them laughed and Jared threw up his hands.
    “Ah, to hell with my reputation,” he said.
    “
What
reputation?” Kylie teased.
    Jared smiled at her, but then focused on Rose, and his eyes softened. “Listen, I’ve got to catch up with Mr.Morse before my math class starts, so I’ve gotta take off. But I was wondering… I mean, there’s a party tomorrow night in Cambridge and I was thinking maybe you’d like to come.”
    Rose felt her chest tighten, her throat closing up, as though no words would ever escape her lips again. Her aunts would never agree, and yet in the short span of her life that she could remember, she had never wanted anything more.
    “It would give you a chance to meet some more people, y’know, away from school,” Jared prompted, disappointment beginning to dim the light in his eyes.
    “I…” Rose managed.
    “Would love to go,” Kylie finished for her, once again punctuating her words with a forkful of food. “Rose would love to go.”
    Rose nodded to her, and then to Jared. “I would.”
    Jared’s smile brightened, his charisma returning to full wattage. “Cool.”
    “We’ll both be there,” Kylie said.
    Jared didn’t even seem to notice—or he did, but didn’t care—that Kylie had invited herself along. He fished his cell phone out of his pocket with a glance around to make sure he wouldn’t get caught using it.
    “Give me your cell number and I’ll text you the details,” he said.
    Rose stared at him, blanking for five or six very long seconds. Then she laughed at herself, relief washing over her,as she finally remembered the number and rattled it off to him. He keyed it into his phone, flipped it shut, and then got up from the table.
    “See you tomorrow night,” he said.
    “See you,” Rose echoed.
    As she watched him walk away, Kylie leaned over and nudged her with a shoulder. When Rose looked at her, she grinned hugely.
    “You, Miss DuBois, are having one heck of a first day.”

A
veil of white blots out the sky, snow falling swift and heavy, gusts of wind making the flakes dance around Rose as she hurries across the castle grounds. The village around the castle seems to vanish and appear with the whims of the storm, but Rose does not waver. Her path is true and she follows it unerringly, her dress and hair fluttering in the