area at the end of each hallway. Whit grimaced as she thought about sharing a bathroom with so many other girls. She certainly wouldn’t be taking any long showers.
Following the dorms, Mrs. Audley took them on a quick tour of the athletic facilities. She knew from Mona that Whit loved sports, especially running. Whit watched a class in the gym playing volleyball and thought again how crazy it was that some of those students were werewolves and vampires. Mona had also said something about gifts that Whit didn’t know about, and she wondered what that exactly meant. Everyone looked normal, and it wasn’t like they were being treated any differently.
T he Assistant Dean led them out of the gym and hurried them through a large room that contained several large crates and a series of hallways on one side. When Mona asked Mrs. Audley the purpose of the room, she explained that it was a training area and hurriedly left the room before they could question her more.
As Mrs. Audley took Mona and Whit back to the front of the campus, Whit glanced at her watch. It was already 1:30. She couldn’t believe she had been touring the school for over two hours. Time flies when you’re having fun, right? The assistant dean stopped in front of a big, heavy-looking door. The plaque by the door had an engraving for Mr. Tolman, Headmaster.
With a small knock, Mrs. Audley opened the door and directed them to go in. The headmaster was sitting at his desk writing. As soon as he saw Whit, he rose from his chair and offered his hand to both her and Mona.
“Good afternoon , ladies, I’m Christopher Tolman, headmaster here at Maverick. You must be Whitni Balentine,” he said with a smile.
Both Whit and Mona offered greetings before ta king seats in front of his massive desk. Whit watched Mr. Tolman with a look of disbelief. She had never seen a man that big and tall before. He had to be at least 6’5” and weigh 300 pounds. His face was round, with a dark moustache and beard, which made him look very rugged and outdoorsy. His dark hair looked fluffy and clean but a tad long, like he needed to get a haircut soon. His eyes were friendly, though, and regarded Whit with kindness.
“ Whitni, did you enjoy your tour of Maverick?” he asked with a grin that showed his pride in the campus.
“It was very nice,” Whit replied politely.
“Oh yes, the grounds and buildings are so beautiful. It’s changed quite a bit since I attended,” Mona said jumping into the conservation. Obviously she could tell that Whit was feeling a bit tense considering her surroundings.
“ I’m very happy to hear that you enjoyed your day today. When can we expect you to be joining the ranks of students here at Maverick?” the headmaster inquired.
Whit started to answer , but given that she didn’t know the answer, she ended up stammering a bit before Mona saved her.
“I think the plan as of now is to let Whit finish up a couple of things at Martin Bradley and then st art here. Our plan was to move her here in a couple of weeks,” Mona explained.
The man looked surprised. “A couple of weeks? I’m sorry, but I thought Whitni was having trouble with dreams and visions. If that’s the case, I would recommend that she start here immediately. She can’t continue to go on without help. I’ve seen students delay enrolling because of varying reasons and excuses, and the effects of waiting are usually the same. Those students continue to have problems, and in many cases the issues become worse, which makes it doubly hard for the teachers here to get the problems under control,” Mr. Tolman argued.
The more Whit listened to the headmaster, the more fearful she became. She had already decided to start at Maverick in about a month. That gave her plenty of time to accept her situation and the idea of living at school, instead of just going for the day. But Whit hadn’t considered that her gift would become stronger and scarier. She knew that Mr. Tolman was