Free A Tale of Two Proms (Bard Academy) by Cara Lockwood Page A

Miss A was nice. I had nothing against her. I just didn’t share the history with her that I had with Miss W. I hadn’t even spoken to her before the start of this year. And the fact was I didn’t know where I stood with some of the faculty. Many treated me a little bit like a live grenade with the pin half out. They all knew that I had a special connection to this place. Plus, few of them liked the fact that I knew Bard Academy secrets – like their real names.
    I knew, for instance, that Miss A was actually Miss Austen – as in first name Jane. She’d kept a low profile my first two years at Bard. I hadn’t even realized she was here until she became the new school librarian. If she was worried that I knew her true identity, she didn’t let on. She only ever treated me with kindness. But I still kept my distance. I didn’t actually know why. Maybe it was because I was afraid to get close to another faculty member. Or maybe I didn’t trust them.
    I honestly didn’t know.
    I did like Miss A. On the whole, she joked and smiled more than the other teachers. She was far less doom and gloom. Right now, Miss A looked neatly put together, as usual. She wore her brown hair in a low ponytail and a simple pencil skirt and white collared shirt. “Are you sure you’re all right, dear?”
    “Yes, well, I…” I didn’t know what to say. I was missing Ms. W? That couldn’t have been something Miss. A wanted to hear. She stared at me with knowing brown eyes.
    “If you’d like to talk…” Miss A let her voice trail off. Her eyebrows knitted together in genuine concern. And for a split second, I thought about confiding in her. I thought about telling her about my Big Decision and about Catherine and my growing worry that something was wrong with Heathcliff. But how do you even start a conversation like that? Um, my fictitious boyfriend whom you know I am actually forbidden to date might be bipolar and may be falling in love with his ex-girlfriend after he just asked me to marry him?
    Riiiiight.
    “No, Miss. A. I’m fine I was just…”
    “Missing Virginia,” she said, meaning Ms. W. I must have looked shocked, and I was. It was like she read my mind. I wondered if she could actually do that. And if she could, what other secrets she found there. “Lucky guess,” Miss A said gently, when she saw the look of panic cross my face.
    I relaxed a little, but not completely. Ghosts could be capable of anything. I needed to remember that.
    “I know you two were close. I am sorry she is not here for you,” Miss A said.
    “But she’s got to be happier… where she is, right?”
    “Most likely.”
    We both fell silent for a moment, lost in our own thoughts.
    “Is there anything else I can help you with?” Miss. A almost sounded hopeful.
    I shook my head. “It’s okay, Miss. A. Thanks, though.”
    For a second, Miss A looked a little bit disappointed. “I’m here if you need a sympathetic ear.”
    “Thanks, Miss. A.” I gave her a smile. She wasn’t Ms. W, but she did honestly want to help. She seemed nice enough, but I just wasn’t ready to explain everything to someone new. It was hard enough when Ms. W knew my whole backstory. Maybe one day I’d feel like talking about it. Right now, the thought was exhausting. Miss A ducked out of my doorway but a second later, she was back in it.
    “By the way, Coach told me you wanted to go to the prom with Heathcliff.”
    I glanced up at her sharply. Coach H didn’t usually gossip. Why did he tell her?
    “If you’d like, I could see what I could do to help,” Miss A offered. “Maybe I could put in a good word with Charlotte.”
    She meant Headmaster B.
    “Oh, yeah… sure.” I thought again about when I asked Heathcliff to prom and the dangerous look that had crossed his face. Was I still sure I wanted to go with him? Only if he didn’t drink, I decided in that second. “Um… thanks, Miss. A.”
    “Sure.” She beamed at me. “All right then, dear, lights