The Hush

The ferry to Corran Isle did not run in bad weather, so Lainey's uncleuncle/ ˈəŋ-kəl / noununcleThe brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent.My uncle took me to the park on Saturday. drove them all the way to the harbour at Saltmarsh and hired a small sloopsloop/ ˈslüp / nounsloopA single-masted sailboat with only one headsail.The students watched as the sloop sailed gracefully across the lake. instead.

"Think of it as an adventure," he said, lifting her suitcase into the boat with a grunt and a heaveheave/ ˈhēv / verbheaveThrow, cast, toss, hurl : to lift with exertion.She struggled to heave the heavy package up the stairs.. "Your mother would never forgive me if I let you miss the first day."

It had begun to mizzlemizzle/ ˈmi-zəl / verbmizzleTo rain in very fine drops.It began to mizzle outside, forcing the pedestrians to open their umbrellas., a rain so fine it did not fall so much as hang in the air, soaking everything without ever seeming to land. Lainey pulled up her hood and watched the villagevillage/ ˈvi-lij / nounvillageA settlement usually larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town.The small village was nestled against the rolling hills, providing a picturesque backdrop for residents. shrink behindbehind/ bi-ˈhīnd / adverb or adjectivebehindIn the place or situation that is being or has been departed from.She ran to catch up to her friends who were walking ahead of her, but they were already too far behind. them: the crooked chimneys, the wooden bridgebridge/ ˈbrij / nounbridgeA structure carrying a pathway or roadway over a depression or obstacle (such as a river).They walked hand in hand across the old wooden bridge that stretched over the river. over the creek, the fishing boats knocking softlysoftly/ ˈsȯf(t)-lē / adverbsoftlyIn a manner that is pleasing or agreeable to the senses : bringing ease, comfort, or quiet.The young girl pet the dog softly. against the harbour wall.

Beside her, Alicia had her face pressed into the wind like a dog in a car window.

"Look, Lainey! Look yonderyonder/ ˈyän-dər / adverbyonderAt or in that indicated somewhat distant place usually within sight.He parked the car way over yonder, like he was trying to get his daily steps in just walking to the store.!" Alicia pointed past the bow. "That's it. That's the archipelagoarchipelago/ ˌär-kə-ˈpe-lə-ˌgō / nounarchipelagoA group or chain of islands.The country is made up of an archipelago of islands.."

Through the grey drizzle, a chain of islands rose out of the sea like the knuckles of a sleeping giant. Most of them were bare rock. But the largest had a black crown of trees, and above the trees, a building.

Blackwood Academy.

Lainey had seen photographs. The photographs had not prepared her for the size of it. The schoolschool/ ˈskül / nounschoolAn organization that provides instruction.After graduating from high school, Jane plans to attend college in the fall. was gargantuangargantuan/ gär-ˈgan(t)-sh(ə-)wən / adjectivegargantuanOf tremendous size or volume : gigantic, colossal.The new sports stadium being built is expected to have a gargantuan capacity of over 100,000 seats., a greatgreat/ ˈgrāt / adjectivegreatNotably large in size : huge.He felt a great sense of accomplishment after finishing the project. stone fortress of towers and turrets that had once been a monastery, with a clock tower rising from the centre like a raised finger saying hush.

"It's beautiful," Alicia breathed.

"It's enormous," Lainey said, which was not the same thing.

The two of them had been best friends since they were five, when Alicia had stood up in front of the whole class and announced that Lainey was her friend now and anyone who disagreed couldcould/ ˈku̇ld / auxiliary verbcould—used in auxiliary function in the past, in the past conditional, and as an alternative to can suggesting less force or certainty or as a polite form in the present.If I studied harder, I could achieve a better grade on the exam. take it up with her. They were opposites in almost every way. Alicia was tall, loud and daringdaring/ ˈder-iŋ / adjectivedaringReady, able, or prone to assume or face anything dangerous, risky, or arduous : suggestive of, arising from, or prompted by boldness, fearlessness, or audacity.She executed a daring jump off the cliff into the crystal-clear water below., the sort of girl who climbed things because they were there. Lainey was small and quiet, and she noticed things. Alicia charged into rooms. Lainey watched them first.

But they had one thing in common. Both of them had won the Blackwood scholarship, and neither of them had been willing to go without the other. That had been their pactpact/ ˈpakt / nounpactAn agreement, understanding, or covenant between two or more parties.They made a pact to always have each other's backs no matter what., made in Lainey's bedroom over a cup of hot chocolate and a single sticky datedate/ ˈdāt / noundateThe brown, oblong edible fruit of a palm (Phoenix dactylifera).Dimitri thought he was biting into a gooey chocolate chip cookie, but it turned out to be a healthy version sweetened with a singular date. from Nani's tin, split carefully down the middle: both of us or neither of us.

Now here they were.

The sloop's skipperskipper/ ˈski-pər / nounskipperAny of various erratically active insects.A brown skipper darted quickly from flower to flower in the sunny garden. was a weather-beaten old man with a beard like a wet broom. He had not said a word since they left Saltmarsh. As the island grew closer, he leaned over and spoke at last, his voice low and gravelly.

"You're going up to the school, then."

"Yes," said Lainey.

He nodded slowly. "Mind the clock tower," he said. "And if you hear something whisper your name at night..." He paused, as if deciding something. "Don't answer it."

Alicia burst out laughing. Lainey's uncle gave a polite chucklechuckle/ ˈchə-kəl / verbchuckleTo laugh inwardly or quietly.I couldn't help but chuckle when my dog started chasing his own tail in circles.. But Lainey looked at the old man's face and saw that he was not joking at all.

They made landfalllandfall/ ˈlan(d)-ˌfȯl / nounlandfallThe first sight of the solid part of the surface of the earth in contrast to the water of oceans and seas after a voyage.After weeks at sea, the sailors cheered as they finally made landfall. at a stone jetty, past an upturned canoecanoe/ kə-ˈnü / nouncanoeA light narrow boat with both ends sharp that is usually propelled by paddling.He paddled the canoe down the river to camp. and a sign reading BLACKWOOD MARITIMEmaritime/ ˈmer-ə-ˌtīm / adjectivemaritimeSea or its uses (such as navigation or commerce).The coastal town is known for its vibrant maritime culture and seafood cuisine. CLUB, where a flotillaflotilla/ flō-ˈti-lə / nounflotillaA fleet of ships or boats; especially : a navy organizational unit consisting of two or more squadrons of small warships.The naval flotilla sailed in formation across the open sea. of little rowing boats bobbed on their ropes. A tattered burgeeburgee/ ˌbər-ˈjē / nounburgeeA swallow-tailed flag used especially by ships for signals or identification.One tattoo of goats with a Bayview Yacht Club flag, known as a burgee , signifies his first 25 races from Port Huron to Mackinac. — Phoebe Wall Howard, Detroit Free Press , 24 July 2021 hung from a flagpole at the end of the pier, a swallow-tailed flag with a black tree stitched on it, the crest of Blackwood. A fat little aukletauklet/ ˈȯ-klət / nounaukletAny of several small seabirds (especially genera Aethia and Ptychorhamphus ) of the alcid family that occur along North Pacific coasts.An auklet nested along the rocky coastline. bobbed on the waves beside a moored yachtyacht/ ˈyät / nounyachtAny of various recreational watercraft.The family enjoyed a day out on their yacht at the lake.. Then a kingfisherkingfisher/ ˈkiŋ-ˌfi-shər / nounkingfisherSuborder Alcedines (or the family Alcedinidae sensu lato), having a large head, short tail and brilliant colouration; they feed mostly on fish.The kingfisher perched on a branch, waiting to catch a fish. flashed across the water, a streak of electric blue, and was gone.

"That's a good sign," said Uncle Tariq. "Kingfishers mean good luck."

"That's a fablefable/ ˈfā-bəl / nounfableA fictitious narrative or statement.The moral of the fable about the tortoise and the hare is to never underestimate your competition.," said Lainey.

"Every fable starts somewhere," said her uncle, and he kissed the top of her head and climbed back into the boat. "Be good. Write to your mother. Eat your vegetables."

And then he was gone too, the sloop left to driftdrift/ ˈdrift / verbdriftTo slide without rotating (as a wheel held from turning while a vehicle moves onward).Now that I think about it, it wasn't the brightest idea to drift the car in front of the police officer. away into the mizzle on the tide, and Lainey and Alicia were alone on the shoreshore/ ˈshȯr / nounshoreLand adjoining a non-flowing body of water, such as an ocean, lake or pond.Waves crashed gently against the rocky shore. of an island they had never seen before.

A wagonwagon/ ˈwa-gən / nounwagonA usually four-wheeled vehicle for transporting bulky commodities and drawn originally by animals.The children loaded their bikes into the wagon to take them to the park for a ride. came rattling down the cliff road to collect their luggage, pulled by a broad grey maremare/ ˈmer / nounmareA female horse or other equine animal especially when fully mature or of breeding age.The mare grazed peacefully in the pasture with her foal nearby. with feathery feet. Behind it walked a man in a long black coat.

"Ah," he said. "The scholarship girls. I'm Mr Fenwick, the head usherusher/ ˈə-shər / nounusherAn officer or servant who has the care of the door of a court, hall, or chamber.An usher showed us to our seats before the concert began.. I look after the doors." He smiled thinly. "All of the doors. Follow me, please, and stay on the path. The path takes a sharp doglegdogleg/ ˈdȯg-ˌleg / noundoglegA sharp bend or turn in a road, path, or course.The driver lost control as he tried to negotiate a sharp dogleg on the steep mountain road. near the top, and the cliff edge does not forgive the careless."

They followed him up the winding road. On one side, the cliff dropped away to grey, foaming water. On the other, the trees of the Blackwood leaned over the path at a strange slantslant/ ˈslant / nounslantA slope, tilt, or diagonal direction.She noticed the slant of the sun's rays as it set against the horizon., as if they had all been pushed by the same invisible hand.

"Why are the trees crooked?" Alicia asked.

"The wind," said Mr Fenwick, without turning around.

Lainey looked at the trees. They were all leaning towards the school.

The wind, she thought, was blowing the other way.

The front door of Blackwood Academy was as tall as a house. Mr Fenwick pushed it open with one hand, and they stepped into a stone vestibulevestibule/ ˈve-stə-ˌbyül / nounvestibuleA passage, hall, or room between the outer door and the interior of a building : lobby.Please leave your wet boots in the vestibule that smelled of wax, old paper and something else, something cold and mineral, like the inside of a cave.

High above them, a carved stone cornicecornice/ ˈkȯr-nəs / nouncorniceThe molded and projecting horizontal member that crowns an architectural composition.The architect designed a stunning cornice that enhanced the building's elegance. ran around the top of the walls, decorated with faces. Some of the faces were smiling. Some were not. One of them, Lainey noticed, had its finger pressed to its lips.

"Welcome to Blackwood," said a voice.

A woman came gliding down the staircase. She was elegant and silver-haired, with a ring of keys at her waist that jingled like tiny bells. Everything about her said she was in charge.

"I am Mrs Hartwell," she said. "Housemistress of Raven House. You will find that the older girls call me the chatelainechatelaine/ ˈsha-tə-ˌlān / nounchatelaineThe wife of a castellan : the mistress of a château.The chatelaine welcomed guests to the château., because I keep the keys to every room in the castle." She smiled. "They think it is a joke. It is not."

She took them up three flights of stairs, along a corridor lined with portraits of stern-looking headmasters, and through a door with a brass number seven on it.

"Dormitory Seven," she said. "Your home for the year."

It was a long room with high windows, a polished wooden floor and six iron beds, three on each side. Each bed had a plain white pillowpillow/ ˈpi-lō / nounpillowA support for the head of a reclining person; especially : one consisting of a cloth bag filled with feathers, down, sponge rubber, or plastic fiber.After a long day at work, I snuggled up with my favorite pillow and drifted off to sleep., a wool blanket, a small wooden deskdesk/ ˈdesk / noundeskA table, frame, or case with a sloping or horizontal surface especially for writing and reading and often with drawers, compartments, and pigeonholes.I sat down at my desk to start working on my assignment. and a chairchair/ ˈcher / nounchairA seat typically having four legs and a back for one person.The chair creaked as he leaned back, lost in thought.. Through the windows, the sea stretched all the way to the horizon, grey on grey.

Three of the beds were already taken.

"Girls," said Mrs Hartwell, "these are your new roommates. Do try to be kind to the newbienewbie/ ˈnü-bē / nounnewbieA newcomer, someone new to something.As a newbie to the club, she was eager to learn the rules. and her friend."

And then she was gone, keys jingling, down the corridor.

For a moment, nobody spoke. It was awkwardawkward/ ˈȯ-kwərd / adjectiveawkwardHaving or showing a lack of grace, skill, or ease (as in a movement or activity).The new skater made several awkward movements on the ice., the way first meetings always are, like the moment before a race when nobody knows who should move first.

Then a girl with a long black plait jumped off her bed and stuck out her hand.

"I'm Priya," she said. "Priya Nair. I've been here two years, so I know everything, and if you need to know anything, ask me, unless it's about mathmath/ ˈmath / nounmathA science that deals with the relationship and symbolism of numbers and magnitudes and that includes quantitative operations and the solution of quantitative problems.I struggle with math because numbers just don't make sense to me., because I am hopeless at math. Don't ask me about math. Ask Hana about math. Hana's a geniusgenius/ ˈjē-nē-əs / noungeniusA person endowed with transcendent mental superiority, inventiveness, and ability.Einstein was known as a genius in the field of theoretical physics.."

A neat, serious girl by the far window looked up from her book and gave a small wave. "Hana Mori," she said. "I am not a genius. I just do my homework."

"Same thing," said Priya.

The third girl was sitting cross-legged on her bed, wearing a silver ankletanklet/ ˈaŋ-klət / nounankletA bracelet or similar ornament worn around the joint between the foot and the leg.The dancer wore a golden anklet during her performance. and an enormous pair of headphones. She lifted one ear.

"Sofia," she said. "From Argentina. Sorry, I'm listening to salsasalsa/ ˈsäl-sə / nounsalsaA usually spicy sauce of chopped tomatoes, onions, and peppers that is commonly served with Mexican food; also : a similar sauce made with a main ingredient other than tomatoes.I love to eat tortilla chips with salsa as a snack.. It helps me not miss home." She put the headphone back. Then she lifted it again. "Welcome," she added, and smiled so warmly that Lainey liked her at once.

Alicia had already flung herself onto the bed nearest the door. "Dibs," she said.

Lainey took the bed next to Priya's, by the window. She unpacked slowly, putting each thing in its proper spotspot/ ˈspät / nounspotA small extent of space.She found the perfect spot on the beach to lay out her towel and relax in the sun.: her clothes in the drawer, her books on the shelf, her pencilpencil/ ˈpen(t)-səl / nounpencilAn object that you use for writing or drawing.I need to sharpen my pencil before I can start working on my assignment. case on the desk, and in the very centre of the desk, her diarydiary/ ˈdī-(ə-)rē / noundiaryA record of events, transactions, or observations kept daily or at frequent intervals : journal.Every single day I write my thoughts in my favorite diary., bound in dark green leather. Her grandmother had given it to her the day before she left.

"Write in it dailydaily/ ˈdā-lē / adverbdailyOccurring, made, or acted upon every day.I make it a habit to exercise daily in order to stay healthy.," Nani had said, pressing it into her hands. "Words are like seeds, Lainey. If you write them down, they grow. If you don't, they blow away."

Lainey had not understood at the time what she meant.

She would soon.

Dinner was served in the great dining hall, which everyone called the messmess/ ˈmes / nounmessA disordered, untidy, offensive, or unpleasant state or condition.Your room is in a mess., under a ceiling so high you could have flown a kitekite/ ˈkīt / nounkiteCloth, or plastic, often provided with a stabilizing tail, and designed to be flown in the air at the end of a long string.The children ran out to the field to fly their colorful kite on a windy day. inside it. It was International Week, and the chalkboard by the kitchen door had been decorated with flags from all over the world.

Alicia read the menu aloud as they queued, getting more excited with every line.

"Sushisushi/ ˈsü-shē / nounsushiFormed into any of various shapes, and garnished especially with bits of raw seafood or vegetables.The chef carefully prepared sushi with fresh fish and seasoned rice. and misomiso/ ˈmē-(ˌ)sō / nounmisoA fermented paste that is used especially in Japanese cuisine, that consists chiefly of soybeans, salt, and usually grain (such as barley or rice), and that has a savory taste ranging from very salty to somewhat sweet.I added a spoonful of miso paste to my soup for extra flavor. soup from Japan! Enchiladaenchilada/ ˌen-chə-ˈlä-də / nounenchiladaA usually corn tortilla rolled around a savory mixture, covered with chili sauce, and usually baked.I am craving a delicious, homemade enchilada for dinner tonight., tostadatostada/ ˌtō-ˈstä-də / nountostadaA tortilla deep-fried in hot oil; also : such a prepared tortilla that is topped with a mixture of ingredients (such as seasoned meat, cheese, and lettuce).I love to order a tostada topped with shredded chicken, beans, lettuce, and salsa for lunch. and fresh salsasalsa/ ˈsäl-sə / nounsalsaA usually spicy sauce of chopped tomatoes, onions, and peppers that is commonly served with Mexican food; also : a similar sauce made with a main ingredient other than tomatoes.I love to eat tortilla chips with salsa as a snack. from Mexico! Wurstwurst/ ˈwərst / nounwurstSausage.We ordered grilled wurst with mustard at the festival. from Germany, lokshenlokshen/ ˈlōk-shən / nounlokshenNoodles.For dinner, we enjoyed a delicious soup with lokshen and vegetables. noodle soup, a margheritamargherita/ ˌmär-gə-ˈrē-tə / nounmargheritaA Neapolitan pizza traditionally topped with crushed tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and olive oil.We savored every bite of the delicious margherita pizza at the restaurant. pizza with real mozzarellamozzarella/ ˌmät-sə-ˈre-lə / nounmozzarellaA moist white unsalted unripened cheese of mild flavor and a smooth rubbery texture.I love adding fresh mozzarella to my caprese salad for a creamy and delicious touch., cannolicannoli/ kə-ˈnō-lē / nouncannoliWith sweetened and flavored ricotta cheese.The bakery is famous for its delicious cannoli filled with sweet cream. from Italy... Lainey, there is a dessert section. There is a whole dessert section. Trifletrifle/ ˈtrī-fəl / nountrifleAn English dessert made from a mixture of thick custard, fruit, sponge cake, jelly and whipped cream.For dessert, we enjoyed a trifle topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.! A wafflewaffle/ ˈwä-fəl / nounwaffleA crisp cake of batter baked in an iron.I enjoyed a warm waffle topped with strawberries and syrup for breakfast. tower with chocolate icingicing/ ˈī-siŋ / nounicingA sweet flavored usually creamy mixture used to coat baked goods (such as cupcakes) called also frosting.Ben couldn't stop himself from tasting the icing on his brother's birthday cake.! Bananas flambeflambe/ fläm-ˈbā / nounflambeDressed or served covered with flaming liquor — usually used postpositively.The chef prepared the dish and served it flambe.!"

"You're going to be sick," said Lainey.

"I'm going to be happy," said Alicia.

The chefchef/ ˈshef / nounchefA skilled professional cook; specifically : one who is in charge of a professional kitchen.The chef created a delicious dish that impressed all the diners., a round, red-faced man in a tall white hat, laughed so hard his belly shook. "That's the spirit, young lady. Mind you, if you're flexitarianflexitarian/ ˌflek-sə-ˈter-ē-ən / nounflexitarianOne who is usually or primarily vegetarian, but not strictly so.As a flexitarian, he enjoys experimenting with new vegetarian recipes., the tofutofu/ ˈtō-(ˌ)fü / nountofuA soft food product prepared by treating soybean milk with coagulants (such as magnesium chloride or diluted acids) : bean curd.I decided to add tofu instead of chicken to my stir-fry for a healthier vegetarian option. is excellent. And the beef hamburgerhamburger/ ˈham-ˌbər-gər / nounhamburgerMeat that has been cut up small and pressed into a flat round shape.He ate a hot dog and a hamburger at the cookout. has a relishrelish/ ˈre-lish / nounrelishA distinctive or enjoyable flavor or taste.The homemade salsa added a spicy relish to the meal so good it'll make you weep."

Lainey chose rice with a spoonful of mango chutneychutney/ ˈchət-nē / nounchutneyA thick sauce of Indian origin that contains fruits, vinegar, sugar, and spices and is used as a condiment.The dish was enhanced by the addition of homemade mango chutney. and a bowl of potatopotato/ pə-ˈtā-tō / nounpotatoThe edible starchy tuber that is an enlargement of an underground stem of the Solanum tuberosum plant.I baked a sweet potato pie for the family gathering. soup. She sat at the long wooden table with Alicia, Priya, Hana and Sofia, and for the first time since the sloop had left Saltmarsh, she began to relax.

The food was warm. The hall was loud. Sofia was teaching Alicia how to dunkdunk/ ˈdəŋk / verbdunkPiece of bread) into a beverage while eating.I was appalled when my brother chose to dunk his cookies in sparkling water. a cookie into hot chocolate "the proper Argentinian way," which seemed to involve getting most of it on the table. Priya was telling a long story about a boy in Year Eight who had tried to fly off the roof of the boathouse during a stormstorm/ ˈstȯrm / nounstormAny disturbed state of the atmosphere, especially as affecting the earth's surface, and strongly implying destructive or unpleasant weather.The storm caused the school to cancel outdoor activities. using a bedsheet, and how his flightflight/ ˈflīt / nounflightThe act of flying.Most birds are capable of flight. had lasted about one second before he landed in a bush.

Everyone laughed. Lainey began to gigglegiggle/ ˈgigəl / verbgiggleTo laugh with continued short convulsive catchings of the voice or breath caused usually by efforts at restraint : titter nervously : laugh in an affected or silly manner.The toddler couldn't help but giggle uncontrollably when the puppy licked his face. so hard she nearly choked on her soup and had to have Alicia thump her on the back.

It was, she thought, a joyfuljoyful/ ˈjȯi-fəl / adjectivejoyfulExperiencing pleasure or delight : happy, jubilant.The children's laughter filled the air, creating a joyful atmosphere at the family picnic. sort of place, after all. Perhaps the old skipper had just been trying to scare the new girls. Perhaps it was all a story.

Then she noticed the empty seat.

It was at the end of the next table: a single plate, a single cup, a single chair pushed in neatly, with nobody sitting there. At every other table, the seats were crammed full. But no one sat in that chair. No one even looked at it.

"Priya," Lainey said quietly, "whose seat is that?"

Priya stopped laughing.

For a long moment, she did not answer. Then she said, in a voice so low that Lainey had to lean in to hear it: "That was Emily's."

"Who's Emily?"

But Priya only shook her head and pushed her rice around her plate, and the joy went out of the table like a candle being blown out.

That night, Lainey could not sleep.

The wind moaned around the towers. The sea crashed against the rocks far below. The beds creaked, and somewhere in the walls, pipes clanked and gurgled like something trying to garglegargle/ ˈgär-gəl / verbgargleTo hold (a liquid) in the mouth or throat and keep in motion by a stream of air from the lungs.After the dentist appointment, I had to gargle with salt water to soothe my throat. with a mouthful of water.

At some point after midnight, she must have dozed off, because she woke suddenly in the dark with her heart pounding and no idea why.

The dormitory was silent.

Too silent.

The wind had stopped. The sea had stopped. Even the pipes had stopped. It was as if the whole school had taken a breath and was holding it.

And then Lainey heard it.

A whisper.

It was coming from the wall beside Priya's bed. Not a voice exactly. More like the sound of paper sliding across paper, dry and soft and patient. And it was saying something, over and over, so faintly that Lainey could not make out the word.

Lainey did not move. She did not dare. She lay frozen under her blanket and stared through the dark at the wall.

Something was appearing on it.

Letters. Thin, black, glistening letters, as if an invisible needleneedle/ ˈnē-dəl / nounneedleA small slender usually steel instrument that has an eye for thread or surgical sutures at one end and that is used for sewing.The tailor carefully threaded the needle to start sewing the buttons back on the coat. were stitching them into the plaster one stroke at a time. They were not written. They were growing.

M.

A.

Y.

Lainey's throat went tight.

H.

E.

M.

MAYHEMmayhem/ ˈmā-ˌhem / nounmayhemA state or situation of great confusion, disorder, trouble or destruction; chaos.There was complete mayhem after the explosion.

The word hung there in the dark, wet and shining. And from the bed beside her, Lainey heard Priya, still asleep, begin to whisper back.

"M... A... I..."

Wrong, Lainey thought. It's Y, not I. Priya, it's Y!

She opened her mouth to shout. To warn her. To say anything at all.

But just as the old skipper had told her, something deepdeep/ ˈdēp / adjectivedeepExtending far from some surface or area.The diver plunged into the deep blue ocean to explore the vibrant coral reefs. inside her said: Don't answer it.

And then the whispering stopped.

The wind rushed back in. The waves crashed. The pipes clanked. And the word on the wall faded away like breath from a mirror, until there was nothing left but a faint smell of old rain.

Lainey lay awake until dawn, staring at the place where it had been.

In the morning, Priya woke up, sat up, opened her mouth to say good morning, and made no sound at all.

Priya tried to scream. Lainey watched her do it. Her mouth stretched wide, the cords in her neck stood out, her face went red, and nothing came out. Not a squeak. Not a breath. It was like watching a television with the sound turned off.

Then Priya grabbed her pencilpencil/ ˈpen(t)-səl / nounpencilAn object that you use for writing or drawing.I need to sharpen my pencil before I can start working on my assignment. and wrote on the back of her hand in shaky capitals:

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME

Within five minutes, the whole of Dormitory Seven was awake. Within ten, Mrs Hartwell had arrived from her private boudoirboudoir/ ˈbü-ˌdwär / nounboudoirA woman's dressing room, bedroom, or private sitting room.She transformed her spare bedroom into a luxurious boudoir, complete with velvet curtains and plush throw pillows. at the end of the corridor, still in her dressing gown, keys jingling, and taken one look at Priya and sent Hana running for the nurse.

The school nurse was a tall, bony woman called Sister Olga, who had trained as a feldsherfeldsher/ ˈfel(d)-shər / nounfeldsherA medical or surgical practitioner without full professional qualifications or status in some east European countries and especially Russia.The feldsher provided immediate care to the injured hikers until they reached the hospital. in a remote part of Russia, where, she told them, "there are no proper doctors for a hundred miles, so you learn to fix everything yourself, from a broken kneeknee/ ˈnē / nounkneeA joint in the middle part of the human leg that is the articulation between the femur, tibia, and patella; also : the part of the leg that includes this joint.She fell and scraped her knee on the pavement. to a bear bite." She had a steadysteady/ ˈste-dē / adjectivesteadyDirect or sure in movement : unfaltering.She held the flashlight steady as she inspected the dark basement. hand, a stethoscope like a silver snake, and absolutely no sense of humour.

She shone a torch down Priya's throat.

"Say ahh."

Priya's mouth made the shape of ahh. No sound.

Sister Olga frowned. She pressed two cold fingers against the side of Priya's neck, feeling the jugularjugular/ ˈjə-gyə-lər / nounjugularOf or relating to the throat or neck.The doctor explained that the jugular veins are crucial for returning blood to the heart. vein, then tapped at her throat, all the way down to where the gulletgullet/ ˈgə-lət / noungulletThe throat or esophagus; the passage through which food and drink travel from the mouth to the stomach.She swallowed the piece of bread whole, feeling it slide down her gullet with ease. disappeared into her collar.

"The aryepiglotticaryepiglottic/ ˌar-ē-ˌep-ə-ˈglät-ik / adjectivearyepiglotticRelating to or linking the arytenoid cartilage and the epiglottis.The doctor examined the aryepiglottic folds during the procedure. folds look normal," she muttered, mostly to herself. "No swelling. No redness. Pulse a little fast, but no fever. No sign of influenzainfluenza/ ˌin-(ˌ)flü-ˈen-zə / nouninfluenzaAn acute, highly contagious, respiratory disease caused by any of three orthomyxoviruses.I was diagnosed with influenza after showing symptoms of a severe cough.. No traumatrauma/ ˈtrȯ-mə / nountraumaAn injury (such as a wound) to living tissue caused by an extrinsic agent.She had a difficult time moving on from the trauma of her car accident.. No impairmentimpairment/ im-ˈper-mənt / nounimpairmentThe state or condition of being disabled or functionally defective.The athlete faced an impairment that affected his performance. of the airway that I can see." She clicked off her torch and wiped it with a sharp-smelling cleansercleanser/ ˈklen-zər / nouncleanserA preparation (such as a scouring powder or a skin cream) used for cleaning.I always make sure to use a gentle cleanser on my face before bed to remove any makeup and dirt.. "She hasn't swallowed anything strange? Soap? Dentifricedentifrice/ ˈden-tə-frəs / noundentifriceA powder, paste, or liquid for cleaning the teeth.He brushed his teeth with a mint- flavored dentifrice every morning.? Some girls dare each other to eat toothpaste." Priya shook her head furiously. "Did she have a fall? A fright? Some kind of syncopesyncope/ ˈsiŋ-kə-(ˌ)pē / nounsyncopeLoss of consciousness resulting from insufficient blood flow to the brain : faint.The patient experienced syncope after standing up too quickly.? A fainting fit?"

"No," said Lainey. "It was the word."

Every head in the room turned towards her.

"What word?" said Mrs Hartwell.

Lainey swallowed. She could feel her cheeks going hot. She knew how it was going to sound, but she said it anyway, because it was true, and because Priya was sitting on her bed with tears running silently down her face.

"There was a word on the wall last night," Lainey said. "It appeared out of nowhere, like someone was writing it from the inside. It said mayhem. And Priya started spelling it in her sleep, and she got it wrong, and then the word disappeared and..." She gestured helplessly at Priya. "And this."

There was a long silence.

Sister Olga looked at the wall beside Priya's bed. The plaster was perfectly cleanclean/ ˈklēn / adjectivecleanFree from dirt or pollution.After a long day of mopping and dusting, my house is finally spotless and clean., perfectly white, without a mark on it.

"I see," said Sister Olga, in the voice adults use when they do not see at all. "And how much did you sleep last night, child?"

"Not much, but..."

"Insomniainsomnia/ in-ˈsäm-nē-ə / nouninsomniaA sleeping disorder that is known for its symptoms of unrest and the inability to sleep.His struggle with insomnia made it difficult for him to concentrate during the day.," said Sister Olga, nodding to Mrs Hartwell as if Lainey had confirmed a diagnosis. "First night in a new place. Very commoncommon/ ˈkä-mən / adjectivecommonOf or relating to a community at large : public.It is common for people to experience nervousness before giving a presentation.. The tired brain sees all kinds of things. Shadows become monsters. Cracks become words. In extreme cases, a sort of mild deliriumdelirium/ di-ˈlir-ē-əm / noundeliriumAn acute mental disturbance characterized by confused thinking and disrupted attention usually accompanied by disordered speech and hallucinations.The patient experienced delirium during the high fever.."

"I wasn't delirious," said Lainey. "I saw it. I know what I saw."

But she could see in their faces that they did not believe her. Mrs Hartwell's mouth had gone tight and thin. Sister Olga looked incredulousincredulous/ (ˌ)in-ˈkre-jə-ləs / adjectiveincredulousUnwilling to admit or accept what is offered as true : skeptical.The audience was incredulous when they heard the unbelievable news., eyebrows raised almost to her hairline, like Lainey had told her the moon was made of mozzarellamozzarella/ ˌmät-sə-ˈre-lə / nounmozzarellaA moist white unsalted unripened cheese of mild flavor and a smooth rubbery texture.I love adding fresh mozzarella to my caprese salad for a creamy and delicious touch..

Even Hana and Sofia were glancing at each other.

Only Alicia came and stood beside her, arms folded, chin up, the way she had stood in front of their whole class when they were five.

"If Lainey says she saw it," Alicia said, "then she saw it."

"Thank you, Alicia," said Mrs Hartwell, "but I think we have heard quite enough codswallopcodswallop/ ˈkȯdz-ˌwä-ləp / nouncodswallopWords or ideas that are foolish or untrue : nonsense.The idea that aliens built the pyramids is codswallop. for one morning." She smoothed down her dressing gown and dabbed at her forehead with a lace mouchoirmouchoir/ ˈmü-shwär / nounmouchoirHandkerchief.She pulled out a colorful mouchoir to wipe her brow on the hot day.. "Priya will go to the sanatorium with Sister Olga until her voice comes back. It is probably a nasty throat infection. Everyone else, wash, dress and go down to breakfast. And Lainey?"

"Yes, Mrs Hartwell?"

"I would rather you did not repeat that story. Some of the younger girls are easily frightened." She paused at the door, and something flickered in her face, so fast Lainey almost missed it. Not annoyance. Something more like fear. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Mrs Hartwell."

When they had gone, Lainey sat down hard on her bed.

"A nasty throat infection," she said. "That's a euphemismeuphemism/ ˈyü-fə-ˌmi-zəm / nouneuphemismThe substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive word or expression for one that is harsh, indelicate, or otherwise unpleasant or taboo.The phrase "passed away" is a common euphemism for death.. That's what grown-ups say when they don't know what's going on and don't want to admit it."

"I know," said Alicia.

"You believe me?"

"Lainey." Alicia sat down next to her. "You have never told a lie in your entire life. You once confessed to a teacher that you'd thought about copying someone's homework. Of course I believe you."

Lainey laughed, a little shakily. Then she looked at the empty bed beside her, at Priya's crumpled blanket and her pillowpillow/ ˈpi-lō / nounpillowA support for the head of a reclining person; especially : one consisting of a cloth bag filled with feathers, down, sponge rubber, or plastic fiber.After a long day at work, I snuggled up with my favorite pillow and drifted off to sleep. still dented where her head had been, and the laugh went out of her.

"It's going to happen again," she said. "I know it is. Did you see Mrs Hartwell's face? She wasn't surprised, Alicia. She was scared. She's seen this before."

"Emily," said Alicia slowly. "The empty seat."

They looked at each other.

"Then we find out what happened to Emily," said Alicia. "And we find out what's on that wall. And we stop it."

It was, Lainey thought, the most forthrightforthright/ (ˈ)fȯrth-¦rīt / adjectiveforthrightFree from ambiguity or evasiveness : going straight to the point.I admire Sarah for always being forthright and honest in her opinions. thing anyone had said all morning.

Breakfast was a gloomy affair. The news had spread through Raven House faster than liquidliquid/ ˈli-kwəd / adjectiveliquidFlowing freely like water.Chef Ramsay was very disappointed when he discovered that the mashed potatoes were nearly liquid. through a sieve, and everywhere Lainey went, girls stopped talking and stared at her. Some of them whispered. One of them, a tall Year Ten girl with a fieryfiery/ ˈfī(-ə)-rē / adjectivefieryConsisting of fire.The fiery crash left the car engulfed in flames. red plait, pointed straight at her and said, "That's the newbie who's going around saying the walls can write."

Lainey kept her head down and ate her porridge. It came with a jug of sweet wheywhey/ ˈwā / nounwheyThe liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained in the process of making cheese.After making cheese, we used the whey in a smoothie., a slice of fried scrapplescrapple/ ˈskra-pəl / nounscrappleA food made from pork scraps and cornmeal formed into a loaf and sliced for frying.For breakfast, I enjoyed a warm slice of scrapple with my eggs. that she pushed to the side of her plate, and a thick slabslab/ ˈslab / nounslabMaterial; a solid object that is large and flat.The workers placed a heavy slab of concrete on the ground. of brown linseedlinseed/ ˈlin-ˌsēd / nounlinseedFlaxseed.He rubbed a protective coat of linseed oil onto his cricket bat to prevent it from cracking. bread. Sofia had smuggled a cone of piloncillopiloncillo/ ˌpēlōnˈsē(ˌ)( y)ō / nounpiloncilloUnrefined sugar especially when molded into cones or sticks.The recipe called for piloncillo to enhance the flavor of the dish., a dark Mexican sugar her grandmother had sent her, and she shaved a little onto everyone's porridge with a penknife, "for courage."

"It won't help," said Hana.

"It helps a little," said Sofia.

It did help, a little.

The first lesson of the day was mathmath/ ˈmath / nounmathA science that deals with the relationship and symbolism of numbers and magnitudes and that includes quantitative operations and the solution of quantitative problems.I struggle with math because numbers just don't make sense to me..

The mathmath/ ˈmath / nounmathA science that deals with the relationship and symbolism of numbers and magnitudes and that includes quantitative operations and the solution of quantitative problems.I struggle with math because numbers just don't make sense to me. teacher, Mr Achterberg, was a tiny Dutch man with round glasses and a voice like a creaking door. He believed that every problem in the universe could be solved with numbers, and he did not believe in anything that couldn't.

"Today," he said, chalk squeaking, "we begin with trigonometrytrigonometry/ ˌtri-gə-ˈnä-mə-trē / nountrigonometryThe study of the properties of triangles and functions and of their applications.Students studied trigonometry in advanced mathematics class.. The study of triangles. Do not groan, Miss Alicia. The triangle is the most honest shape in the world. It cannot pretendpretend/ pri-ˈtend / verbpretendTo give a false appearance of being, possessing, or performing.She likes to pretend that she is a famous singer when she sings in the shower. to be anything other than what it is."

He drew a triangle, then a strange, curving line that swooped across the board like a pair of open wings.

"This," he said, "is a hyperbolahyperbola/ hīˈpərbələ / nounhyperbolaA plane curve generated by a point so moving that its distance from a fixed point divided by its distance from a fixed line is a positive constant greater than 1 : a curve formed by a section of a right circular cone when the cutting plane makes a greater angle with the base than the cone's side makes.The path of a comet in space can be best described by the mathematical shape of a hyperbola.. And this" (more chalk) "is a quincunxquincunx/ ˈkwin-ˌkəŋ(k)s / nounquincunxAn arrangement of five things in a square or rectangle with one at each corner and one in the middle.Astrologers often pay attention to the quincunx.: five dots, one at each corner of a square and one in the middle. You will find it on dice, in orchards and in the floor tiles of this very school." He tapped the board. "This is a triquetroustriquetrous/ ˈtrē-kwə-ˌtrəs / adjectivetriquetrousHaving three corners or salient angles or edges specifically : having three acute angles.The architect designed a building with a triquetrous structure that was unique. shape: three sharp corners, like the leaf of a clover. And this is a factorialfactorial/ fak-ˈtōr-ē-əl / nounfactorialThe result of multiplying a given number of consecutive integers from 1 to the given number.To find the factorial of 5, you multiply 5 by 4, then by 3, then by 2, and finally by 1.. Five factorial means five times four times three times two times one. Miss Hana?"

"One hundred and twenty," said Hana, without looking up.

"Correct. A unitunit/ ˈyü-nət / noununitA determinate quantity (as of length, time, heat, value, or housing) adopted as a standard of measurement for other quantities of the same kind.Ravi lost a point on his physics test because he forgot to write the unit in the answer. of genius. Numbers, you see, are transposabletransposable/ tranzˈpōzəb əl / adjectivetransposableCapable of being interchanged.The scientist noted that certain genes are transposable and can be rearranged.. You may swap them about, and the answer stays the same. That is what makes them trustworthy. You can classifyclassify/ ˈkla-sə-ˌfī / verbclassifyTo group or segregate in groups that have systematic relations usually founded on common properties or characters : sort.It is important to classify the specimens based on their characteristics. every number in the universe into its proper categorycategory/ ˈka-tə-ˌgȯr-ē / nouncategoryAny of several fundamental and distinct classes to which entities or concepts belong.There is a wide variety of products in the beauty category at the store.: odd or even, whole or fraction, positive or negative. Everything has its place. Even a micronmicron/ ˈmī-ˌkrän / nounmicronA millionth of a meter.The thickness of the material was measured by the micron for accuracy., one millionth of a metre, is counted." He beamed. "The universe repeats itself in a great cyclecycle/ ˈsī-kəl / nouncycleAn interval of time during which a sequence of a recurring succession of events or phenomena is completed.The moon completes its cycle of phases approximately every 29.5 days.. Night, day, night, day. And it obeys the numbers. Always."

Lainey tried to concentrate. She really did. She loved numbers, the way they always behaved and never surprised you. But today the numbers slid off her mind like rain off glass. She kept seeing the word on the wall. Those thin black letters, growing.

MAYHEM.

And Priya, whispering M... A... I...

Why spelling? Why would something make you spell?

"Miss Lainey." Mr Achterberg was peering at her over his glasses. "The denominatordenominator/ di-ˈnä-mə-ˌnā-tər / noundenominatorThe part of a fraction that is below the line and that functions as the divisor of the numerator.The fractions shared a common denominator., please. The bottom half of the fraction on the board."

Lainey looked at the board. "Seven," she said.

"Correct. Although," he added, "you seem to be somewhere else entirely this morning. Try to bring yourself back. A mind is like a fraction. If you divide it by too many things, it gets very small."

The second lesson was civicscivics/ ˈsi-viks / nouncivicsA social science dealing with the rights and duties of citizens.Students learn about their rights and responsibilities in civics class., the study of how people govern themselves, taught by the headmaster himself.

Dr Ashcombe was a large, grey, rumbling man who looked like a bear that had been squeezed into a tweed suit. He spent the whole lesson pacing up and down, hands behind his back, talking about the different ways that people had run countries throughout history.

"Feudalismfeudalism/ ˈfyü-də-ˌli-zəm / nounfeudalismThe system of political organization prevailing in Europe from the 9th to about the 15th centuries having as its basis the relation of lord to vassal with all land held in fee and as chief characteristics homage, the service of tenants under arms and in court, wardship, and forfeiture.Students learned about feudalism in medieval European history.," he boomed. "Where the lord owns the land, and the peasants work it, and nobody ever asks the peasants what they think. Plutocracyplutocracy/ plu-ˈtäk-rə-sē / nounplutocracyGovernment by the wealthy.The country's economic system was a stark reflection of plutocracy, where a small group of wealthy individuals held an immense amount of power and influence.: government by the rich, for the rich. A system in which the wealthy can disenfranchisedisenfranchise/ (ˌ)dis-ˈfran-ˌchīz / verbdisenfranchiseTo deprive of the right to vote.The new law threatened to disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters. the poor, taking away their right to vote with a stroke of a pen. Then there are the tyrants. The comandantecomandante/ komanˈdant e / nouncomandanteThe lead officer of a place or of a military group.The comandante made strategic decisions to lead the operation effectively. who seizes supremacysupremacy/ sə-ˈpre-mə-sē / nounsupremacyA position of unquestioned authority, dominance, or influence.The company's supremacy in the industry made it difficult for competitors to gain market share. by force. The commissarcommissar/ ˈkä-mə-ˌsär / nouncommissarA Communist party official assigned to a military unit to teach party principles and policies and to ensure party loyalty.The commissar ensured that the soldiers adhered to the party's ideology. who watches over the soldiers to make sure they stay loyal. The politician who suffers from empleomaniaempleomania/ ˌem-plō-mə-ˈnē-ə / nounempleomaniaAn irrational desire to hold public office.Her empleomania drove her to apply for every job opening she could find., a hunger for public office so great that he will electioneerelectioneer/ i-ˌlek-shə-ˈnir / verbelectioneerTo try to sway public opinion especially by the use of propaganda.The local party workers were accused of trying to electioneer and spread misinformation. and lie and cheat to get it." He turned. "All of them are coercivecoercive/ kō-ˈər-siv / adjectivecoerciveServing or intended to restrain, control, or dominate.The committee discussed the need for coercive measures to address the issue.. All of them take power unilaterallyunilaterally/ ˌyü-ni-ˈla-tə-rəl / adverbunilaterallyDone or undertaken by one person or party.The decision was taken unilaterally, much to the other parties' disgust., without asking anyone else." He wheeled around. "And how do you stop that? Miss Alicia?"

Alicia, who had been drawing a sword on the corner of her notebook, sat bolt upright. "Um. A revolution?"

"Sometimes," said Dr Ashcombe, looking amused. "But usually something less exciting. The legallegal/ ˈlē-gəl / adjectivelegalAccording to or permitted by the law.It is important to ensure that all activities conducted within the company are legal to avoid any potential issues. system. An honest advocateadvocate/ ˈad-və-kət / nounadvocateOne that pleads the cause of another : defender.As an advocate for the environment, she tirelessly worked to promote sustainability and conservation efforts. to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves." He looked straight at Lainey as he said it, and she had the strangest feeling that he knew exactly what had happened in Dormitory Seven. "Every voice matters. That is the first rule of civicscivics/ ˈsi-viks / nouncivicsA social science dealing with the rights and duties of citizens.Students learn about their rights and responsibilities in civics class.. When a single voice is taken away, we are all a little bit poorer."

When the bell rang, he held Lainey back with a heavy hand on her shoulder.

"Mrs Hartwell tells me you had a difficult night," he said quietly.

"Yes, sir."

"She tells me you saw something."

Lainey hesitated. "Yes, sir."

Dr Ashcombe was silent for a long moment. Then he said, "This school is very old, Miss Lainey. Older than anyone knows. It was a monastery for six hundred years before it was a school, and before that..." He shook his head. "Old places have old stories. Most of them are only stories."

"And the rest?"

He looked at her, and his eyes were tired and sad. "Be careful," he said. "That's all. Be careful, and keep your friend close."

And he walked away down the corridor without another word.

The third lesson was the one Lainey would remember for the rest of her life.

Elocutionelocution/ ˌel-ə-ˈkyü-shən / nounelocutionThe art of public speaking with expert control of gesture and voice.Her elocution was evident as she delivered her speech with confidence.: the art of speaking well.

The elocution room was at the top of the North Tower, a round room with tall arched windows and a stage at one end. There were velvet curtains. There was an old piano. There was a gramophone with a brass horn like a giant flower. And sitting on the edge of the stage, swinging her legs like a girl, was the most beautiful woman Lainey had ever seen.

"Come in, come in, my darlings!" she cried. "Sit anywhere! Sit on the floor! Sit on the piano if you like, I won't tell!"

She had long dark hair piled up on her head, a dress the colour of plums and a voice so melodiousmelodious/ mə-ˈlō-dē-əs / adjectivemelodiousAgreeable to the ear by a sweet succession of sounds.The singer's melodious voice captivated the audience throughout the performance. it was like listening to music. When she laughed, it was a bright, warm, rippling sound that made you want to laugh too.

"I am Miss Corvin," she said. "And I am absolutely, completely, hopelessly enamoredenamored/ i-ˈna-mərd / adjectiveenamoredAffected by strong feelings of love, admiration, or fascination.She was completely enamored with the beautiful sunset over the ocean. of words. Aren't you?"

Nobody answered. Miss Corvin laughed again.

"Oh, you will be. By the end of this year, you will all be in love with words. Because words are the most powerful thing in the world, my darlings. Swords break. Castles fall. But a word, a single, perfect word, can live forever." She hopped off the stage. "Now. Who can tell me the difference between a proverbproverb/ ˈprä-ˌvərb / nounproverbA brief popular epigram or maxim : adage.Her grandfather has a proverb for every occasion and a mottomotto/ ˈmä-tō / nounmottoA sentence, phrase, or word inscribed on something as appropriate to or indicative of its character or use.The school's motto is "Knowledge is power."?"

Hana put up her hand. "A proverb is a wise saying that everyone knows. Like look before you leap. A motto is a phrase that represents a person or a group, like a school."

"Perfect! Blackwood's motto is carved over the front door, but none of you have read it, have you? Of course not. Nobody ever looks up." Miss Corvin smiled. "It says Verba Volant. Latin. It means words fly." She spread her arms. "And they do, my darlings. They do."

The lesson that followed was the most exciting Lainey had ever sat through. Miss Corvin taught them how to speak so that the back of the room could hear them without shouting. She showed them how a great speaker could make a crowd laugh, then cry, then cheer, all in the space of a minute. She said that the most eloquenteloquent/ ˈe-lə-kwənt / adjectiveeloquentAdept at skilled, easy, pleasing communication of a thought, idea, or feeling usually in a fluent, moving, vivid, or forceful manner.The speaker's eloquent captivated the audience during the presentation. speakers in history were not the loudest, but the clearest. She explained that a sermon, the kind of kerystickerystic/ ˌker-ə-ˈstik / adjectivekerysticOf, relating to, or resembling a homily.The sermon had a strongly kerystic tone. speech that priests gave from the pulpit, was a form of art, and that the old monks of Blackwood had studied homileticshomiletics/ ˌhä-mə-ˈle-tiks / nounhomileticsThe art of preaching.The pastor's course on homiletics helped students refine their preaching techniques., the art of preaching, in this very tower. She said that bad writing was prosaicprosaic/ prō-ˈzā-ik / adjectiveprosaicCharacteristic of prose as distinguished from poetry : factual.The report provided a prosaic overview of the project's progress. and dull, a mediocritymediocrity/ ˌmē-dē-ˈä-krə-tē / nounmediocrityAverage capacity or worth regarded as dull, uninspired, or poor : conspicuous lack of distinction or excellence : inferiority.He was disappointed by the mediocrity of the movie, which failed to inspire him. of words, and that a speech that only tried to teach was too didacticdidactic/ dī-ˈdak-tik / adjectivedidacticDesigned or intended to teach.The professor's didactic lecture on ancient civilizations kept the students engaged and informed. to be enjoyed. She recited a haikuhaiku/ ˈhī-(ˌ)kü / nounhaikuAn unrhymed verse form of Japanese origin having in English three lines containing usually five, seven, and five syllables respectively; also : a poem in this form usually having a seasonal reference.I wrote a beautiful haiku about the changing colors of autumn leaves. about autumn leaves and a pentastichpentastich/ ˈpen-tə-ˌstik / nounpentastichA unit, stanza, or poem consisting of five lines.In her poetry class, she wrote a beautiful pentastich that captured the essence of spring. about the sea, five lines that made the whole room go quiet.

She explained that a merismmerism/ ˈmer-ˌiz-əm / nounmerismA synecdoche in which a totality is expressed by two contrasting parts."Day and night" is a popular merism. was when you used two opposite things to mean everything in between, like young and old meaning everyone, or high and low meaning everywhere.

She explained the difference between speaking literally and speaking metaphoricallymetaphorically/ ˌme-tə-ˈfȯr-i-k(ə-)lē / adverbmetaphoricallyIn a figurative sense rather than a literal sense.The author used the word metaphorically rather than literally.. "If I say my heart is broken," she said, pressing her hand to her chest, "I do not mean it has cracked in half like a plate. I am speaking metaphorically. It is a picture made of words."

She told them that a speaker who tried to equivocateequivocate/ i-ˈkwi-və-ˌkāt / verbequivocateTo use ambiguous language especially with intent to deceive.His tendency to equivocate made it hard to trust his statements., to wriggle out of a question with slippery words, could always be caught, "because the truth has a melodymelody/ ˈmel-ə-dē / nounmelodyTune; sequence of notes that makes up a musical phrase.The singer's new song featured a beautiful melody that captivated the audience., my darlings, and lies are always out of tune." She told them that when you read out a quotationquotation/ kwō-ˈtā-shən / nounquotationA passage referred to, repeated, or adduced especially as evidence or illustration.She included a quotation in her essay to support her argument., you must give credit to the person who first said it. She told them that the pluralplural/ ˈplu̇r-əl / adjectivepluralOf, relating to, or constituting a class of grammatical forms usually used to denote more than one or in some languages more than two.The plural form of the word "child" is "children". of mouse is mice, but the plural of house is not hice, and that English was the most wonderfully badly behaved language in the world.

Then she played them a crackling old record on the gramophone. It was a recording of the city philharmonicphilharmonic/ ˌfi-lər-ˈmä-nik / nounphilharmonicSymphony orchestra.The orchestra performed beautifully at the philharmonic concert. orchestra, and over the top of the strings and the booming tubatuba/ ˈtü-bə / nountubaInstrument usually oval in shape and having a conical tube, a cup- shaped mouthpiece, and a usual range an octave lower than that of the euphonium.The musician played a beautiful melody on the tuba during the concert., a choruschorus/ ˈkȯr-əs / nounchorusA company of singers and dancers in Athenian drama participating in or commenting on the action; also : a similar company in later plays.The chorus performed beautifully during the theater production. of a hundred voices was singing. A man's voice rose out of the brass horn, enormous and heroic, like a lion singing.

"A heldentenorheldentenor/ ˈhel-dən-ˌtā-ˌnȯr / nounheldentenorA powerful, dramatic voice well suited to heroic roles (as in Wagnerian operas).The opera featured a talented heldentenor in the leading role.," said Miss Corvin, with her eyes closed. "A hero's voice. Strong enough to fill an opera house without a microphone." The record changed, and the same man's voice soared up into a high, thin, floating note, almost like a woman's. "And that is falsettofalsetto/ fȯl-ˈse-(ˌ)tō / nounfalsettoAn artificially high voice; especially : an artificially produced singing voice that overlaps and extends above the range of the full voice especially of a tenor.The singer surprised the audience with his impressive falsetto during the performance.. The false voice. A trick of the throat."

Then she made them all practise. Sofia was told she had a beautiful twangtwang/ ˈtwaŋ / nountwangNasal speech or resonance.There was a nasal twang in her voice when she spoke over the phone.. Alicia was told to stop gabblegabble/ ˈgabəl / verbgabbleTo talk fast, idly, foolishly, or without meaning : jabber, chatter.She tends to gabble when she gets nervous, constantly talking and stumbling over her words.-ing like a goose and slow down. A boy called Oliver, who talked constantly, was gently told that there was a difference between speaking and the endless yammeryammer/ ˈyam-ər / verbyammerThe act of talking continuously for a long time in an annoying, repetitive, or peevish way.During recess, the students began to yammer excitedly about their weekend plans. of a person who simply likes the sound of their own voice. "Less blarneyblarney/ ˈblär-nē / nounblarneyMindless chatter.He is full of blarney., Oliver," said Miss Corvin kindly. "And please do not yapyap/ ˈyap / verbyapTo talk in a shrill insistent often idle manner : chatter, scold.The dog began to yap as soon as it saw the mailman approaching. at Miss Hana while she is speaking."

"And you, Miss Lainey?" Miss Corvin stopped in front of her. "You haven't said a single word all lesson."

Lainey felt herself going red. "I'm not very good at speaking out loud."

"Nonsense." Miss Corvin crouched down until her face was level with Lainey's. Up close, her eyes were very dark, almost black, and there was a tiny silver brooch on her collar shaped like a closed mouth. "Quiet people have the most to say. They just choose their words more carefully. Mrs Hartwell tells me you are a remarkable speller."

"I... I suppose so."

"Spell euphemism."

"E-U-P-H-E-M-I-S-M."

"Spell codswallop."

"C-O-D-S-W-A-L-L-O-P."

Miss Corvin's eyes shone. "Spell mayhem."

Lainey's breath caught. For a heartbeat, the room seemed to go silent around her, the way the dormitory had gone silent in the night. The ticking of the clock stopped. The rain on the windows stopped.

"M-A-Y-H-E-M," she said.

"Perfect," whispered Miss Corvin. "Absolutely perfect." She stood up, and the room came back: the clock, the rain, Oliver yammering in the corner. "My darling, you are going to be my star pupil. I can tell. I am never wrong about these things."

When the bell rang, Miss Corvin pressed something into Lainey's hand on her way out. It was a bookmark made of thick, creamy card, with a single sentence written on it in beautiful curling ink:

In the beginning was the Word.

"A little gift," said Miss Corvin. "For my best speller."

"She's amazing," said Alicia, as they clattered down the spiral stairs of the North Tower. "Isn't she amazing? I want to be her when I grow up. I want to be her."

"She's very nice," said Lainey.

"Very nice? She's the best teacher in the whole school. Did you hear what she said about the hero voice? Lainey, why do you look like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you've swallowed a spoonful of vinegarvinegar/ ˈvi-nə-gər / nounvinegarA sour liquid obtained by fermentation of dilute alcoholic liquids and used as a condiment or preservative.I added a splash of vinegar to my salad dressing for an extra kick of flavor.."

Lainey didn't answer. She was turning the bookmark over and over in her fingers. It was a lovely bookmark. Miss Corvin was a lovely teacher. There was no reason, no reason at all, for the back of Lainey's neck to be prickling the way it was.

"How did she know about mayhem?" Lainey said quietly.

Alicia stopped on the stairs.

"What?"

"Of all the words in the dictionary. Of all the words she could have asked me to spell. She asked me mayhem. The word from the wall."

"Mrs Hartwell probably told her. The whole school knows by now."

"Maybe," said Lainey.

They walked on down the stairs. It was gloomy in the stairwell; the only light came from narrow slits in the stone, and the steps were worn into dips by six hundred years of feetfeet/ ˈfēt / nounfeetThe terminal part of the vertebrate leg upon which an individual stands.She could feel the sand between her toes and underneath her feet.. Halfway down, Lainey stopped so suddenly that Alicia walked into the back of her.

"Ow! Lainey, what..."

Lainey was pointing at the wall.

There, scratched into the stone at about the height of a child's eyes, so faint you would never notice it unless you were looking, was a word. It was old, the edges of the letters worn soft with time, and someone had tried to fill it in with groutgrout/ ˈgrau̇t / noungroutA thin mortar used to fill the gaps between tiles and cavities in masonry.The contractor applied grout between the tiles to ensure they were securely in place. and failed.

FLOUTflout/ ˈflau̇t / verbfloutTo intentionally disobey, ignore, or show open disrespect for a rule, law, or custom.She decided to flout the rules by arriving late to class.

And underneath it, in smaller, newer letters, as if scratched with a fingernail by someone who was very frightened:

E.W. was here. It asked me to spell it. I got it right. It's coming back for me tomorrow.

Alicia's voice came out as a whisper. "E.W.," she said. "Emily..."

"Emily something," said Lainey. She traced the letters with one finger. The stone was ice cold. "She got it right, Alicia. She spelled her word correctly, and it still came back for her."

Far above them, the great clock in the clock tower began to strike the hour. Thricethrice/ ˈthrīs / adverbthriceThree times — often used in combination.She had been married thrice before finding true love.. Three heavy, booming notes that echoed down the stairwell and through the stones and into Lainey's bones.

And on the third stroke, very faintly, from somewhere inside the wall, she heard it.

A whisper.

Lainey.

"It said your name?"

Alicia had dragged Lainey out of the stairwell and into the bright, noisy main corridor, where crowds of students were jostling towards the next lesson. Lainey's hands were shaking. She pushed them into her pockets so no one would see.

"I think so," she said. "It was so quiet. But yes. Lainey."

Alicia stared at her. For once in her life, she had nothing to say.

Then she grabbed Lainey's arm. "Right," she said. "That settles it. We are not waiting for this thing to come for you. We are going to find out everything about Emily E.W. Whatever-Her-Name-Is, and we are going to find out what happened to her, and we are going to stop it." She paused. "After biology."

"Biology isn't one of my words," said Lainey automatically.

"What?"

"Nothing."

The biology lab was on the ground floor of the East Wing, down a long corridor that smelled faintly of ammoniacammoniac/ ə-ˈmō-nē-ˌak / nounammoniacThe aromatic gum resin of a southwest Asian herb of the carrot family used as an expectorant and stimulant and in plasters.The chemist used ammoniac in the experiment to test its properties. and old pickling jars. It was the strangest classroom Lainey had ever seen. Every wall was covered in glass cabinets from floor to ceiling, and every cabinet was crammed with specimens: skulls, bones, eggs, beetles pinned in rows, and hundreds of jars of cloudy yellow liquidliquid/ ˈli-kwəd / adjectiveliquidFlowing freely like water.Chef Ramsay was very disappointed when he discovered that the mashed potatoes were nearly liquid. with something pale floating in each one.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Blackwood Collection!" cried the teacher, a cheerful, bearded giant called Dr Ashdown, who wore a tweed jacket covered in chalk and a tie decorated with frogs. "Two hundred years of specimens, all gathered by the monks and the masters of this school. Every mineralmineral/ ˈmi-nər-əlz / nounmineralAny naturally occurring inorganic material that has a (more or less) definite chemical composition and characteristic physical properties.The geologist studied the mineral found in the rock samples., every plant, every creature in the biospherebiosphere/ ˈbī-ə-ˌsfir / nounbiosphereCan exist including parts of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere : living beings together with their environment.The biosphere is the part of Earth in which life exists, including the land, water, and atmosphere., from the tiniest algaealgae/ ˈal-ˌjē / plural nounalgaeAny of various plant or plantlike organisms that are mostly photosynthetic, are usually found in aquatic environments, and include a diverse variety of single- and many-celled forms.The aquarium was filled with various types of algae. to the mightiest whale. Do not touch anything. Do not lick anything. Yes, Oliver, I am looking at you."

He was, Lainey decided, the sort of teacher who would have taught a greatgreat/ ˈgrāt / adjectivegreatNotably large in size : huge.He felt a great sense of accomplishment after finishing the project. lesson about a potatopotato/ pə-ˈtā-tō / nounpotatoThe edible starchy tuber that is an enlargement of an underground stem of the Solanum tuberosum plant.I baked a sweet potato pie for the family gathering.. He led them slowly along the cabinets, pointing and naming as he went, like a man introducing his family.

"The skull of a pumapuma/ ˈpü-mə / nounpumaCougar; also : the fur or pelt of a cougar.The stealthy puma silently stalked its prey through the dense forest., from the Andes. The skin of a zebrazebra/ ˈzē-brə / nounzebraAny of several swift African mammals related to the horse but distinctively and conspicuously patterned in stripes of black or dark brown and white or buff.The zebra trotted gracefully across the grassy savannah, its black and white stripes blending in with the tall, swaying grasses.: notice that every stripe is different, like a fingerprint. The horns of an oryxoryx/ ˈȯr-iks / nounoryxAny of a small genus of large heavily built African and Arabian antelopes that have a light- colored coat with dark conspicuous markings especially on the face compare gemsbok.The wildlife documentary featured an oryx grazing in the savannah., and the antlers of a wapitiwapiti/ ˈwä-pə-tē / nounwapitiElk.The onlookers were mesmerized by the appearance of the wapiti., the great North American elk. That ugly little fellow is a bandicootbandicoot/ ˈban-di-ˌküt / nounbandicootAny of several very large rats of southern Asia destructive to crops.A bandicoot scurried through the field searching for food., a giant rat that eats crops. This is a wolf's whelpwhelp/ ˈwelp / nounwhelpA young offspring of a canid (ursid, felid, pinniped), especially of a dog or a wolf, the young of a bear or similar mammal (lion, tiger, seal); a pup, wolf cub.The whelp played happily in the yard., a cub only a few weeks old. And this, look at the size of it, is a gagtoothgagtooth/ ˈgag-ˌtüth / noungagtoothA projecting one of the hard bony appendages that are borne on the jaws.The paleontologist discovered a gagtooth in the ancient fossil bed. from a wild boar, a tusk that sticks right out of the jaw. That green featherfeather/ ˈfet͟hə(r) / nounfeatherOne of the light horny epidermal outgrowths that form the external covering of the body of birds and the greater part of the surface of their wings.The bird shook its colorful feather as it prepared to take flight. belongs to the kakapokakapo/ ˈkäkəˌpō / nounkakapoHabroptilus) with soft green and brown barred plumage that has well-developed wings but little power of flight, lives in holes or burrows in the ground, and has nocturnal habits.The kakapo is a nocturnal, flightless parrot native to New Zealand., a parrot from New Zealand that is so fat and heavy it cannot fly, so it walks everywhere instead, like a grumpy old man." He chuckled. "And here, the beak of a toucantoucan/ ˈtü-ˌkan / nountoucanAny of a family (Ramphastidae) of chiefly fruit-eating birds of tropical America with brilliant coloring and a very large but light and thin-walled bill.The brightly colored toucan perched on a branch in the tropical rainforest.. And the neck bones of an anhingaanhinga/ an-ˈhiŋ-gə / nounanhingaAny of a genus of fish-eating birds related to the cormorants but distinguished by a longer neck and sharply pointed rather than hooked bill.The anhinga can often be seen diving for fish in the shallow waters., a bird so long and thin they call it the snake bird."

"What's that?" said Alicia, pointing at a jar containing what looked like a balloon covered in spikes.

"Ah! An oopuhueoopuhue/ ōˌōpəˈhüē / nounoopuhue(Tetraodontidae) of chiefly tropical, scaleless, marine fishes that when threatened can distend themselves with water or sometimes air to a large, roundish form and most of which are highly poisonous.The fisherman spotted an oopuhue gliding just beneath the surface of the warm coastal water.: a Hawaiian puffer fish. When it is frightened, it swallows water and blows itself up into a ball, so nothing can eat it. Next to it, an aguajiaguaji/ ˌä-gwä-ˈhē / nounaguajiAny of several marine fishes (such as the black grouper, the gag, or the rock hind) of the warmer parts of the western Atlantic.The fishermen caught a large aguaji near the coral reef., a kind of grouper from the Caribbean, and a bright little labroidlabroid/ ˈla-ˌbrȯid / adjectivelabroidRelated to or resembling fishes of the family Labridae.The labroid fish swam gracefully among the coral reefs., a wrasse from the coral reefs. And these..." he tapped a jar of tangled silvery shapes, "are eels. Catadromouscatadromous/ kə-ˈta-drə-məs / adjectivecatadromousLiving in fresh water and going to the sea to spawn.Scientists study catadromous eels during their migration to the sea. eels. They live in fresh water in rivers and lakes, but when it is time to lay their eggs, they swim thousands of miles out to the sea. Nobody knows how they find their way."

They moved on. There were cabinets of plants and seeds. Dr Ashdown showed them the first green leaf of a sprouting bean, the cotyledoncotyledon/ ˌkä-tə-ˈlē-dᵊn / nouncotyledonThe first leaf or one of the first pair or whorl of leaves developed by the embryo of a seed plant.Upon germination, the cotyledon may become the embryonic first leaves of a seedling, and a fluffy catkincatkin/ ˈkat-kən / nouncatkinA spicate inflorescence (as of the willow, birch, or oak) bearing scaly bracts and unisexual usually apetalous flowers called also ament.The willow tree was covered in fluffy catkin that danced in the breeze. from a willow tree, and a strange sea sponge that was gemmiparousgemmiparous/ ˌjem-ə-ˈpar-əs / adjectivegemmiparousProducing, bearing, or reproducing by a bud.The gemmiparous organism was able to grow new buds in a matter of weeks., which meant it grew babies from buds like a plant. He showed them saxicoloussaxicolous/ sak-ˈsi-kə-ləs / adjectivesaxicolousInhabiting or growing among rocks.The saxicolous plants are often found clinging to the sides of cliffs. lichens that could only live on rocks, sessilesessile/ ˈse-ˌsī(-ə)l / adjectivesessilePermanently attached : not free to move about : sedentary.The sessile barnacle remained fixed to the rock despite the strong waves. barnacles that glued themselves to a single spotspot/ ˈspät / nounspotA small extent of space.She found the perfect spot on the beach to lay out her towel and relax in the sun. and never moved again in their lives, and a psammophilepsammophile/ sə-ˈmō-fīl / nounpsammophileAn organism that prefers or thrives in sandy soils or areas.The psammophile species thrived in the sandy dunes of the coastal region. beetle that only lived in sand.

He showed them a pressed bouquetbouquet/ (ˈ)bō-¦kā / nounbouquetFlowers picked and fastened together in a bunch.She carried a beautiful bouquet of roses and sunflowers on her wedding day. of desert flowers: the yellow inciensoincienso/ ˌin-ˈsye-n(ˌ)sō / nouninciensoA shrubby encelia ( Encelia farinosa ) of rocky desert uplands of the southwestern U.S. and adjacent Mexico that has grayish green to almost white tomentose foliage and showy cymes of yellow flowers and that produces a resin that has been used as incense, in folk medicine, and in varnish.The desert hillside was covered with incienso after the spring rains. from Arizona, which the old Spanish settlers burned like incense, the red and gold gaillardiagaillardia/ gəˈlärdēə / noungaillardiaAmerican herbs (family Compositae) having hairy foliage and long stalked flower heads with showy yellow, purple, or variegated rays.The garden was filled with vibrant gaillardia that bloomed in the summer sun., and the pale blue plumbagoplumbago/ ˌpləm-ˈbā-(ˌ)gō / nounplumbagoAny of a genus of chiefly tropical herbs and shrubs with alternate leaves and spikes of showy flowers.The gardener planted plumbago along the walkway, where its clusters of blue flowers bloomed throughout the summer.. He showed them a seed from the ahuehueteahuehuete/ ˌä-wā-ˈwā-tā / nounahuehueteA Mexican cypress ( Taxodium mucronatum ) of great girth.The ahuehuete tree is known for its impressive height and longevity., the great Mexican cypress, a tree so wide it took twenty people holding hands to circle it, and a strip of flaky bark from the yertchukyertchuk/ ˈyər-ˌchək / nounyertchukA medium sized Australian eucalypt ( Eucalyptus consideniana ) with rough flaky bark and pale gummy timber.Unfortunately, the yertchuk does not provide much shade., an Australian gum tree. He showed them a dried root of nardinenardine/ ˈnär-ˌdēn / adjectivenardineOf, relating to, or having the qualities of the rhizomes of any of several pharmaceutically useful plants of the genus Valeriana or of the related plant.The jar was filled with a sweet nardine fragrance that reminded her of old herbal remedies. valerian, which the monks had used to help them sleep, and an osmagogueosmagogue/ ˈäz-mə-ˌgōg / nounosmagogueStimulating to the sense of smell.The doctor recommended an osmagogue to help clear the patient's sinuses. salt, so sharp-smelling that one sniff made Oliver's eyes water and his nose run.

"This one," said Dr Ashdown, "is a Japanese ikebanaikebana/ ˌi-kā-ˈbä-nə / nounikebanaArranging that emphasizes form and balance.The social media influencer would teach her followers about ikebana. arrangement, made by one of my students. The art of arranging flowers. Notice the formform/ fȯrm / nounformThe shape and structure of something as distinguished from its material.It was delightful to see the towels in the form of a little swan.: three branches, high, middle and low, like heaven, man and earth."

He showed them a pea plant that had grown so many pods the stem had bent double. "Fecundityfecundity/ fēˈkəndətē / nounfecundityThe quality or the power of producing fruit especially in abundance : fruitfulness.The fecundity of the earth is crucial to humanity's survival.," he said. "The power to produce. One seed, a thousand children." He grinned. "The monks were very fond of their gardenesquegardenesque/ ˌgär-dən-ˈesk / adjectivegardenesqueResembling a plot of cultivated ground.The gardenesque design of the park made it a beautiful place to relax. vegetable plots."

"And this," he said, holding up a slice of waterlily stem to the light, "is my favourite. See all those little holes? That is called aerenchymaaerenchyma/ ˌer-ˈeŋ-kə-mə / nounaerenchymaModified parenchymatous tissue having large intracellular air spaces that is found especially in aquatic plants where it facilitates gaseous exchange and maintains buoyancy.The aerenchyma in the plant's roots allows it to survive in waterlogged conditions.. Air channels. It lets the plant breathe underwater. Every aquaticaquatic/ ə-ˈkwä-tik / adjectiveaquaticGrowing or living in or frequenting water.The researchers focused on the unique adaptations of aquatic animals in the ocean. plant has it. Clever, eh?"

Lainey was barely listening. She was walking slowly along the back cabinets, the ones with the oldest jars, the ones with yellow labels written in faded ink. And at the very end of the row, on the bottom shelf, half hidden behind a jar of pickled caterpillarcaterpillar/ ˈka-tər-ˌpi-lər / nouncaterpillarThe elongated wormlike larva of a butterfly or moth that has strong biting jaws, short antennae, three pairs of true legs, several pairs of abdominal prolegs armed with hooks, and often a somewhat complete coat of fine bristles or coarse shining hairs and that is almost exclusively vegetarian, feeding on leaves, fruit, or other succulent parts of plants.The caterpillar transformed into a beautiful butterfly after its metamorphosis. larvae, she found something that made her stop.

It was a glass case. Inside it was a single duckduck/ ˈdək / nounduckAny of various swimming birds of the family Anatidae which have the neck and legs short, the body more or less depressed, the bill often broad and flat, the tarsi scutellate in front, and the sexes almost always differing from each other in plumage and which are distinguished by these characteristics and by their comparatively small size from the swans and geese.The duck waddled across the pond, quacking loudly. egg, perfectly white, sitting on a nest of feathers. And on the label, in round, careful, schoolgirl handwriting, it said:

Nidicolousnidicolous/ nī-ˈdi-kə-ləs / adjectivenidicolousLiving in a nest especially : sharing the nest of another kind of animal.The nidicolous birds remained in their nest while their parents brought them food.: living in a nest. Specimen collected by Emily Wren, Year 7.

Emily Wren.

E.W.

"Dr Ashdown," Lainey called, and she was surprised at how steady her voice sounded. "Who was Emily Wren?"

The cheerful look slid off Dr Ashdown's face so fast it was as if someone had wiped it away with a cloth. For a moment, he did not answer. He took off his glasses and polished them on his frog tie.

"Emily," he said at last. "Yes. Lovely girl. Clever girl. One of my best students. She went home last spring."

"Why?"

"She was unwell."

"Unwell how?"

Dr Ashdown put his glasses back on. "That," he said, "is not a topictopic/ ˈtä-pik / nountopicThe subject of a discourse or of a section of a discourse.The teacher introduced the next topic of discussion to the class. for biology class, Miss Lainey." And he turned away and began talking very loudly about the spinespine/ ˈspīn / nounspineThe articulated series of vertebrae connected by ligaments and separated by more or less elastic intervertebral fibrocartilages : backbone.The doctor explained how the spine supports the body. of a horse, pointing to the hockhock/ ˈhäk / nounhockHind limb of a digitigrade quadruped (such as the horse) corresponding to the human ankle but elevated and bending backward.The trainer focused on the horse's hock to assess its movement. and the knee bones and the ginglymusginglymus/ #REF! / nounginglymusAnd ulna) allowing motion in one plane only.The ginglymus joint in the elbow allows for bending and straightening. joint at the elbow, which could only bend one way, like the hinge of a door. He talked about the capitulumcapitulum/ kə-ˈpi-chə-ləm / nouncapitulumA rounded protuberance of an anatomical part (such as a bone).The botanist explained that the capitulum of the sunflower consists of many tiny florets., the little rounded knob at the end of a bone. He talked about the clavipectoralclavipectoral/ ˌkla-vē-ˈpek-tə-rəl / adjectiveclavipectoralRelating to the collarbone and chest muscles.The clavipectoral region is crucial for upper body strength and movement. muscles that joined the collarbone to the chest. He talked about the medullamedulla/ ˈdələ mə̇ / nounmedullaThe inner or deep part of an organ or structure (as of a hair or kidney).The medulla is the part of the brain responsible for regulating essential bodily functions such as breathing and heart rate., the deep part of the brain that keeps you breathing even while you sleep, and about the appendagesappendages/ ə-ˈpen-dij-əz / nounappendagesA usually projecting part of an animal or plant body that is typically smaller and of less functional importance than the main part to which it is attached.The octopus uses its appendages to explore the ocean floor. of insects, and about the first homininhominin/ ˈhä-mə-nən / nounhomininAny of a taxonomic tribe (Hominini) of hominids that includes recent humans together with extinct ancestral and related forms.Early settlements proved attractive to hominins, drawing them in with the promise of food, resources, and companionship. ancestors who had learned to walk on two legs.

He talked, Lainey thought, about everything except Emily.

But Lainey saw his hands. They were trembling.

The next lesson was chemistry, and it was even stranger, because it was taught by Dr Ashdown too, in the room next door, and it was as though nothing had happened at all.

He was cheerful again. He filled a silver balloon made of mylarmylar/ ˈmī-ˌlär / nounmylar— used for a polyester film.The designer chose mylar to give the balloons a shiny finish. with heliumhelium/ ˈhēlēəm / nounheliumA very light colorless inert gaseous element.The balloon floats effortlessly through the air thanks to the helium inside. and let Oliver breathe some so that he talked like a cartoon chipmunk, and everyone laughed. He showed them a lamp that glowed with kryptonkrypton/ ˈkrip-ˌtän / nounkryptonA colorless relatively inert gaseous element found in air in trace amounts and used especially in electric lamps.Some specialized lamps contain krypton gas. gas, white and bright. He dropped a tiny lump of potassiumpotassium/ pə-ˈta-sē-əm / nounpotassiumA silver-white soft light low- melting monovalent metallic element of the alkali metal group that occurs abundantly in nature especially combined in minerals.Bananas are a good source of potassium. into a bowl of water, and it fizzed and spun and burst into lilac flame, and Alicia shrieked with delight.

He passed round an old glass bottlebottle/ ˈbä-təl / nounbottleA rigid or semirigid container typically of glass or plastic having a comparatively narrow neck or mouth and usually no handle.Water is often sold in a bottle. of milk and explained how Louis Pasteur had learned to pasteurizepasteurize/ ˈpas-chə-ˌrīz / verbpasteurizeTo subject to partial sterilization of perishable food products.The chef decided to pasteurize the cream before making the sauce. it, heating it just enough to kill the germs without spoiling the taste. He warned them never to eat undercooked pork, unless they wanted trichinosistrichinosis/ ˌtri-kə-ˈnō-səs / nountrichinosisCaused by trichinae and marked especially by muscular pain, dyspnea, fever, weakness, and edema.Eating undercooked meat can cause trichinosis., a disease caused by tiny worms in the muscles. He told them about podagrapodagra/ pə-ˈda-grə / nounpodagraA painful condition of the big toe caused by gout.After the feast, he feared he might develop podagra from overeating., a terribly painful swelling of the big toe that kings used to get from eating too much rich food. He ground up a pinch of chalk with a mortarmortar/ ˈmȯr-tər / nounmortarA sturdy bowl used with a pestle for grinding substances.She used a mortar and pestle to grind the spices into a fine powder. and pestle. He pointed a red laserlaser/ ˈlā-zər / nounlaserA device that utilizes the natural oscillations of atoms for amplifying or generating electromagnetic waves in the region of the spectrum from the ultraviolet to the far-infrared including the visible region.Brayden's interesting explanation for how donuts got their holes involved them being blasted by a laser. pen at the wall and showed them how the beam split into a rainbow when it passed through a prism.

He showed them minerals: a lump of hematitehematite/ ˈhē-mə-ˌtīt / nounhematiteConsisting of ferric oxide, constituting an important iron ore, and occurring in crystals or as earthy red ocher.The red color of the rocks in this canyon is caused by the presence of hematite., heavy and grey, which turned blood red when you scraped it on a white tile, and a crystal of realgarrealgar/ rē-ˈal-ˌgär / nounrealgarAn orange-red mineral consisting of arsenic sulfide and having a resinous luster.The mineral realgar has a bright orange- red color., bright orange like a sunset. ("Do not touch that one. It is full of arsenic. It is the most beautiful poison on Earth.") He showed them a beaker made of borosilicateborosilicate/ ˌbȯr-ō-ˈsi-lə-ˌkāt / nounborosilicateA silicate containing boron in the anion and occurring naturally.Many laboratory beakers are made from borosilicate glass. glass, so strong it could be heated in a fire without cracking, and a strange, light, crumbly lump called a xerogelxerogel/ ˈzir-ə-ˌjel / nounxerogelA solid formed from a gel by drying with unhindered shrinkage compare aerogel.The scientist used xerogel to create a highly absorbent material for the experiment., which was what you got when you dried out a jelly until there was nothing left but its skeleton.

He explained that some atoms carried a positive electric charge, which made them cationiccationic/ ˌkat-(ˌ)ī-ˈä-nik / adjectivecationicOf, relating to, or being a positively charged ion.A cationic solution is often used in hair care products for better results., and that one kind, called an oniumonium/ ˈōnēəm / adjectiveoniumCharacterized by a cation that is usually complex.The scientist described how the onium ion played a crucial role in the experiment. ion, was the trickiest of the lot. He showed them a sealed glass tube containing a little silanesilane/ ˈsi-ˌlān / nounsilaneAny of various compounds of hydrogen and silicon that are analogous to alkanes.Scientists used silane during the chemistry experiment., a gas made of silicon and hydrogen, which burst into flame the moment it touched air. He explained that every red blood cell in your body began life as an erythroblasterythroblast/ i-ˈrith-rə-ˌblast / nounerythroblastA polychromatic nucleated cell of red bone marrow that synthesizes hemoglobin and that is an intermediate in the initial stage of red blood cell formation.The presence of an erythroblast indicates the early stages of blood cell development. deep inside your bones, and that retinolretinol/ ˈre-tə-ˌnȯl / nounretinolThe chief and typical vitamin that is a highly unsaturated alicyclic alcohol used in various forms in medicine and nutrition.Many skin-care products contain retinol., also called vitamin A, was what let you see in the dark.

He explained what happened during dissolutiondissolution/ ˌdi-sə-ˈlü-shən / noundissolutionThe act or process of passing into liquid.The scientist studied the dissolution of the salt in water., when a solid melted away into a liquid and disappeared. He stirred a spoonful of salt into an aqueousaqueous/ ˈā-kwē-əs / adjectiveaqueousOf, relating to, or resembling water.The scientist prepared an aqueous solution in the laboratory. solution, which was a fancy way of saying water, and the white crystals vanished.

"Where does it go?" said Hana.

"It's still there," said Dr Ashdown. "You just can't see it any more. It's broken into tiny pieces, smaller than a micronmicron/ ˈmī-ˌkrän / nounmicronA millionth of a meter.The thickness of the material was measured by the micron for accuracy., and spread out through every drop."

Lainey thought about the word on the wall, fading away like breath on a mirror. You just can't see it any more.

When the bell rang, she lingered at the back while the others filed out.

"Dr Ashdown," she said. "Please. I need to know about Emily."

He sighed. He looked at the door to make sure it was closed. Then he said, after a long pausepause/ ˈpȯz / nounpauseA temporary stop.She grabbed a snack from the kitchen during a pause in her show., very quietly:

"Emily Wren stopped speaking on the twelfth of March. Just like that, overnight. She was fine at dinner. By breakfast, she couldn't make a sound. Sister Olga couldn't find anything wrong with her. The doctors in the city couldn't find anything wrong with her. She went home, and as far as I know, she still hasn't said a word." He looked at Lainey sadly. "And I'll tell you something else, though you won't hear it from anyone else in this school. She wasn't the first."

Lainey's mouth went dry. "How many?"

"One every few years. For as long as anyone can remember. Always a girl. Always a clever one." He picked up his bag. "If I were you," he said, "I would go and talk to Mr Grieve. And I would never, ever tell anyone I told you so."

The librarylibrary/ ˈlī-ˌbrer-ē / nounlibrarySections of a building, or a building itself given over to books, manuscripts, musical scores, or other literary and sometimes artistic materials (as paintings or musical recordings) usually kept in some convenient order for use but not for sale.I spent hours at the library researching for my history paper. was the oldest part of the school.

It had been the monastery's library once, and it still looked like one: a long, dim hall of dark wooden shelves that rose so high they needed ladders on wheels to reach the top. Dusty light fell through tall stained-glass windows. The floors were covered in cracked old linoleumlinoleum/ lə-ˈnō-lē-əm / nounlinoleumA floor covering made by laying on a burlap or canvas backing a mixture of solidified linseed oil with gums, cork dust or wood flour or both, and usually pigments.The linoleum floors in the kitchen are easy to clean and maintain. that squeaked with every step. And it was silent, utterly silent, in the way that only very old libraries are silent, as if the books themselves were holding their breath and listening.

At a desk by the door sat the librarian, Mr Grieve.

He was the thinnest person Lainey had ever seen, with a long grey face and long grey fingers and a long grey cardigan that hung off him like a wet sheet. He had been working at Blackwood for so long that some students said he was obsoleteobsolete/ ˌäb-sə-ˈlēt / adjectiveobsoleteNo longer used or useful.The old computer program became obsolete after newer technology was developed., like an old machine that nobody had bothered to throw away. He did not look up when they came in.

"We're looking for information," said Alicia, in the loud, confident voice she used when she was nervous. "About a girl called Emily Wren."

Mr Grieve went on writing.

"And about," Lainey added quietly, "the Hush."

Mr Grieve stopped writing.

He looked up at last. His eyes were pale, almost colourless, and sharp as needles. He studied Lainey for a long time.

"You're the one who saw it," he said. "In Dormitory Seven."

"Yes."

"And it has said your name."

Lainey's heart missed a beat. "How did you know that?"

Mr Grieve put down his pen. "Because," he said, "you have the look. I have seen it before." He stood up, unfolding like a long grey ladder. "Follow me. Quietly. And touch nothing."

He led them past the ordinary shelves, past the novels and the encyclopedias and the dog-eared paperbacks, past a shelf of Japanese history where Lainey glimpsed titles about the Meijimeiji/ ˈmā-(ˌ)jē / nounmeijiThe period of the reign (1868–1912) of Emperor Mutsuhito of Japan.The meiji era marked a time of significant modernization in Japan. emperors and the Ryukyuryukyu/ rēˈ(y)ü(ˌ)kyü / nounryukyuThe language of the people of the Japanese islands that is related to Japanese.The community is working to revitalize the use of ryukyu among its residents. islands, past a shelf labelled BIBLIOTHERAPYbibliotherapy/ ˌbi-blē-ə-ˈther-ə-pē / nounbibliotherapyThe use of reading materials for help in solving personal problems or for psychiatric therapy.Akshay's anxiety reduced once he began bibliotherapy. (books to help troubled minds, said a little card, ask the librarian), through a narrow archway and down three stone steps into a small, cold room that smelled of dust and candle wax.

"The Monks' Room," said Mr Grieve. "Only the librarian has the key."

The shelves here were different. The books were huge and ancient, bound in cracked leather, some of them chained to the shelves with iron links. There was an old breviarybreviary/ ˈbrē-və-rē / nounbreviaryA book of the prayers, hymns, psalms, and readings for the canonical hours.The monk carried a breviary containing daily prayers., a monk's prayer book, with gold edges. There was a chronologychronology/ krə-ˈnä-lə-jē / nounchronologyAn arrangement (as of data, events) in the order of time of occurrence or appearance : chronological relation.The chronology of events leading up to the election helped to provide context for voters. of the school written by hand, every year from the year 1200 onwards, dated by the old Gregoriangregorian/ gri-ˈgȯr-ē-ən / adjectivegregorianOf or relating to the Pope or his calendar.The gregorian calendar is widely used around the world for civil purposes. calendar, listing every abbot and every headmaster. There was a thick indexindex/ ˈin-ˌdeks / nounindexA list (as of bibliographical information or citations to a body of literature) arranged usually in alphabetical order of some specified datum (such as author, subject, or keyword).The index at the back of the book makes it easy to quickly find information on different topics. of every student who had ever attended Blackwood, and a bundle of crumbling old bordereauxbordereaux/ ˌbȯr-də-ˈrō / nounbordereauxA detailed note or memorandum of account.The manager reviewed the bordereaux to ensure all expenses were accounted for.: account books showing what the monks had spent on candles, bread and ink.

Mr Grieve went straight to the index. He ran one long finger down the page.

"Wren, Emily. Year Seven. Left March twelfth. Reason given: unwell." He turned back a page. And another. And another. "Fairweather, Grace. Left, unwell. Hollis, Ada. Left, unwell. Marsh, Charlotte. Left, unwell." He kept turning. "Every few years. Going back as far as the records go. Always girls. Always in Raven House. Always top of their class in English."

Alicia had gone pale. "Why hasn't anyone done anything?"

Mr Grieve gave a short, dry laugh. "Who would believe it? Who would believe a story about words that write themselves on walls?" He looked at Lainey. "You tried to tell them, didn't you? What did they say?"

"Insomnia," said Lainey. "Codswallop."

"Quite."

He went to the last shelf, the darkest one, and lifted down a book.

It was not large. It was bound in black leather so old it had gone grey and soft, like the skin of a mushroom. It had no title. On the front, someone had pressed a single shape into the leather: a closed mouth.

Lainey stared. It was the same shape as the brooch on Miss Corvin's collar.

"This is the oldest book in the school," said Mr Grieve. "Older than the school. The monks found it here when they first came to the island, eight hundred years ago. It is written in uncialuncial/ ˈən(t)-shəl / noununcialA handwriting used especially in Greek and Latin manuscripts of the fourth to the eighth centuries a.d. and made with somewhat rounded separated majuscules but having cursive forms for some letters.The ancient manuscript was beautifully written in uncial script. script, the round, old-fashioned capitals that scribes used before our alphabet was even settled. It must trulytruly/ ˈtrü-lē / adverbtruly(manner) In accordance with the facts; accurately.She truly believes in the importance of kindness. be the oldest tometome/ ˈtōm / nountomeBook; especially : a large or scholarly book.She borrowed a thick tome from the library to help with her research. in the whole archipelago, Lainey thought. Its secrets were arcanearcane/ är-ˈkān / adjectivearcaneKnown or knowable only to a few people : secret.The scientist explained the arcane terminology to the class.: known only to a few people, and kept that way on purpose. Most of it is in Latin. But the monks added their own notes, in English, over the centuries." He opened it carefully on a reading stand. "This is everything anyone has ever known about the thing you saw."