Deadly Visions (Nightmare Hall) by Diane Hoh Read Free Book Online

it?”
    Although he agreed and followed her as she retraced her steps along the path, away from the roar of the waterfall, she could feel his eyes on her back, and knew he was still puzzled.
    “I’m very good at volleyball, by the way,” she called over her shoulder as they emerged from the path onto campus. “And I’ll bet you’ve been so busy painting pictures, you haven’t had time to perfect your game.”
    “Wrong,” he said as he caught up with her and grabbed her hand. “You’re not one of those people who think all artists are wimps, are you? Pale-faced and languid from starving in a garret? Because if you are, you’re about to change your tune. I’ve been playing volleyball since I was eight. Two of my older brothers and I were in the regional semifinals. Didn’t win, but we put up a good fight. So, if you’re smart, you’ll play on my team.”
    She did, and he was right. He was very good. So was she, and she got so caught up in the spirit of the game that all thoughts of screaming mouths and baseball bats and roaring waterfalls were swept completely from her mind. It didn’t even bother her that one of the opposing teammates was Rudy Samms, who proved to be as poor a sport as he was ill-mannered, accusing the winners of stacking their team with the tallest people on campus.
    “Maybe that’s why he’s so rude,” Rachel mused as, sunburned and weary, she and Aidan made their way to Lester. “He’s got a complex about being short.”
    Aidan laughed. “That’s not his problem.”
    Rachel glanced up at him. “What is it, then? You sound like you know.”
    “He wants to be an artist. Trouble is, he doesn’t have any talent. I haven’t seen any of his work, but Samantha said when he applied here last spring, he was rejected by the dean of the art school. She said she heard the dean suggested that Samms take up engineering instead. I’ve seen him with a portfolio a couple of times, so he must still be working on stuff. And he hangs around the art building a lot, working as a waiter or custodian. I guess he’s not ready to admit the dean was right.”
    “My roommate has a crush on him. I don’t get it. They’re not anything alike. Bibi is fun and smart and happy, most of the time.”
    Aidan laughed. “Yeah, well, you and I aren’t anything alike, either. Doesn’t seem to matter, does it?”
    Rachel felt a glow of warmth. No, it didn’t seem to matter.
    “Gotta feel sorry for someone like Samms,” Aidan said then. “Must be awful to want to do something, be something, and not have what it takes.”
    “I haven’t decided yet what I want to do,” Rachel admitted. “Everyone else seems to have plans, but not me. I don’t have any special talent, like you and Joseph and the others.”
    He tugged on her hand to stop her in her tracks. He put his hands on her shoulders and smiled down at her. “Oh, yeah, you do,” he said. And he bent his head and kissed her.
    Rachel was flustered, caught off guard. But not so flustered that she didn’t kiss him back.
    They were interrupted when Bibi came hurrying out of the building. “Oh, Rachel,” she said, barely pausing, “glad I caught you. You’ve got a package upstairs. A big one. I left it by your bed. I’m meeting Rudy. See you later.” And she ran off.
    “A package?” Rachel smiled. “My grandmother’s snickerdoodles,” she said, tugging on Aidan’s hand. “The best cookies to ever come out of an oven. Come on, I’m feeling generous. I’ll share. Your reward for playing a great game of volleyball and … other things.”
    Bibi had left the door to room 826 unlocked. “We hardly ever lock it,” Rachel explained as she opened the door and gestured to Aidan to come in. “We can never find our keys. My grandmother would have a stroke if she knew how careless we are.”
    She glanced around the room for the package, expecting to find a brown-paper-wrapped shoebox on her bed. There was nothing on her bed except a red notebook and