Private North Read Free

to the exit. Even the parking lots had cleared as people raced off campus to join in their cozy family celebrations. Tears burned the back of my eyes, and the frigid air made it worse.
    Thin patches of snow on the ground had been trampled into slushy ice puddles. I stomped through them and headed toward the parking lot. My phone buzzed in my pocket but I ignored it. She’d be mad but not any more angry than I was at her for completely obliterating the fantasy I’d had about a cool, homey holiday. And now, more than ever, I realized it was just a fantasy, a silly, childish fantasy to believe that my mom would have gone for anything ordinary. At this point, I had no idea what I was going to do, but I knew one thing for certain, I wasn’t going to France. Staying alone had far more appeal than several weeks with irritating people.
    My car was one of the last ones in the parking lot. In my utter disappointment, I hadn’t bothered to pull on my gloves, and the keys slid from my numb fingers. A car pulled up behind me as I leaned down to pick them up.
    “Everything all right?” Professor North asked.
    I straightened. “Everything’s fine,” I said weakly. “Thanks.”
    “Have a safe flight home.” As he rolled up the window, his earlier offer popped into my gloom shrouded head. I leapt toward his car and tapped the window. He lowered it.
    “If that internship is still on, I would like to come and work on those artifacts.” I looked down at the ground to hide the fact that I was completely heartbroken. “My plans have changed, and I won’t be going home after all.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that but it works out great for me.” He reached for his briefcase. “I’ll write you directions. The house is rather remote, but you should have no trouble finding it. You can stay in the guest bedroom.”
    “I’ll be out of your way by Christmas. I don’t want to intrude on any family—”
    “August,” he looked up from the directions he was writing, and a softened, more serious expression crossed his face, “since my wife died of cancer eight years ago, we really haven’t celebrated much. She was really into it.” He smiled wistfully. “The whole house would be decorated. She’d even put little snowmen shaped soaps in the bathrooms.” He looked up at me. “You can stay as long as you like. It will probably only be Ethan and me. I’m never quite sure what my son, Dalton, is up to, and I haven’t heard from him lately.” There was sadness in his tone when he spoke about him. I knew little about his other son. He handed me the paper. “I’m heading out there now, but I know you’re not packed.” He leaned forward and looked up through the windshield. “It’ll be dark soon so why don’t you head out in the morning.” The warm smile that had won me over on the first day of his class reappeared. “I don’t like to brag, but I’m a magician with a waffle iron so come early for breakfast.”
    I tucked the directions into my pocket where my phone was still buzzing like an angry swarm of bees. Professor North glanced pointedly at my vibrating pocket. “It sounds urgent.”
    I shook my head. “No, it’s just my mom. I’ll see you in the morning and thanks again.”
    “No, August, thank you. I was a bit worried about leaving the task to Ethan. He gets bored easily.”
    “Well then, I’m the girl for the job.”

Chapter 2
    A chill in the room woke me from a restless sleep. The weak gray light of dawn was slowly morphing into pink sunshine as I searched for my fuzzy slippers and got out of bed. I stepped up to the window and looked out. With the empty, stately buildings overlooking the deserted sidewalks and manicured grounds, the campus looked like an Ivy League ghost town. Aside from several maintenance workers trimming back the overgrown branches of a tree, the place was devoid of all signs of life.
    In a matter of moments, my plans for winter break had changed completely, and I needed to rethink my