Free Frost by Wendy Delsol

you were friendly with Dorit, weren’t you?”
    Svana looked around nervously. “Before the events of . . . September.”
    “But of everyone, she trusted you most,” I said.
    “Yes.”
    “Fru Svana, would you feel comfortable trying to locate them? It seems to me that we should know where she is.”
    Svana squirmed in her seat. “I could try.”
    “Thank you. And to all my sister Storks,” I said, looking around the room, “I want to ask for your help during this difficult period. I am new to the council and the second chair, and I never asked for any of this.” Grim cleared her throat with a loud honk. “But I’ll do my best to serve during Fru Hulda’s absence. Fru Grimilla, I trust if there is some change in Fru Hulda’s condition that you will call a meeting.”
    “I will.”
    “And if anyone feels in danger or threatened or encounters something unusual that they will call a meeting?”
    A roomful of heads nodded and said, “We will.” Even Ofelia joined in.
    “Have we reported our missing book to anyone at the World Council?” I turned to Grim as I asked this.
    Grim’s chin jutted forward as she spoke. “Fru Birta could accomplish such a task.”
    There was the smallest of nods from Grim directed to Birta.
    “I would be honored,” Fru Birta said.
    “And of course, business as usual, should a soul seek guidance,” I said.
    More nods and affirmations.
    “Then meeting adjourned.” Hulda’s customary
peace be
just wouldn’t spill from my lips. I was determined to do things my way. Besides, I didn’t think we were at peace — far from it, in fact.

Friday arrived without too much drama preceding it. Penny and Pedro made up. He’d apologized to Matthew, and a whole group of the football players had pooled money to pay for a new bar stool and repairs to the wall. Jack continued to head over to Walden as soon as school let out, while I relieved a still-weakened Afi from his post behind the register or, alternately, found Ofelia in his place.
    After school, Penny stopped at my locker. “Don’t forget rehearsals start today.”
    Phooey.
I had. Plus the fact that I’d even agreed to give it a chance. Penny’s successful angle had been that these were just optional rehearsals so kids had a chance to learn the songs and dance steps before actual tryouts. I’d held my tongue, but honestly — practice to audition? Wasn’t that kind of like begin to get going? Still, I supposed it was cool that everyone got a fair shake.
    “So I’ll see you in the auditorium,” Penny said, walking away.
    Jack popped his head around my open locker. “What for?” he asked.
    Ugh.
We’d barely spoken in the past two days, so I hadn’t shared the fact that Penny had sucked me into another of her extracurriculars.
    “Penny and I are attending the practice auditions for
The Snow Queen.
You know, for our project.” I left it ambiguous enough that our participation could be nothing more than note taking and stage measurement.
    “Sounds like fun,” he said distractedly. So distractedly, in fact, that I suspected any reply of mine — shaving our heads or becoming circus acrobats — would have received the same reply.
    “So you never called last night,” I said.
    “Sorry. I stayed late because . . . guess what?”
    “What?”
    “I got offered an internship. I’ll earn math and science credits for the work I’m doing. Plus, I’ll get out of school two hours early every day so I can log more lab hours at Walden.”
    I could tell that Jack expected me to act happy, so I plastered a smile on my face in a big good-for-you facade, but there was something I didn’t like about Jack getting sucked into Stanley’s research project.
    “I’ll get to work on Brigid’s field studies.”
    Bingo.
    “And it’s not just high-school credit. If I attend Walden in the fall, I’ll get three units of university credit as well.”
    “But you’re just a high-school student. Aren’t there college kids who should have