Fallen 2. Torment(16)

got a schedule."

"Duh," Dawn said. "Follow us. We're all together. All the time! It's so fun."

The two girls walked with Luce, one on either side, and took her on a winding

tour between the tables of other kids finishing their breakfasts. Despite being "so superlate," both Jasmine and Dawn practically sauntered across the freshly cut grass.

Luce thought about asking these girls what was up with Shelby, but she didn't

want to start off looking like a gossip. Besides, the girls seemed nice and everything, but

it wasn't like Luce needed to make any new best friends. She had to keep reminding

herself: This was only temporary.

Temporary, but still stunningly beautiful. The three of them walked along the

hydrangea path, which curved around the mess hall. Dawn was chattering about

something, but Luce couldn't take her eyes off the bluffs' dramatic edge, how abruptly the

terrain dropped hundreds of feet to the glittering ocean. The waves rolled toward the

small stretch of tawny beach at the foot of the cliff almost as casually as the Shoreline

student body rolled toward class.

"Here we are," Jasmine said.

An impressive two-story A-frame cabin stood alone at the end of the path. It had

been built in the middle of a shady pocket of redwoods, so its steep, triangular roof and

the vast open lawn in front of it were covered with a blanket of fallen needles. There was

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a nice grassy patch with some picnic tables, but the main attraction was the cabin itself:

More than half of it looked like it was made of glass, all wide, tinted windows and open

sliding doors. Like something Frank Lloyd Wright could have designed. Several students

lounged on a huge second-story deck that faced the ocean, and several more kids were

mounting the twin staircases that wound up from the path.

"Welcome to the Nephi-lodge," Jasmine said.

" This is where you guys have class?" Luce's mouth was agape. It looked more like

a vacation home than a school building.

Next to her, Dawn squealed and squeezed Luce's wrist.

"Good morning, Steven!" Dawn called across the lawn, waving to an older man

who was standing at the foot of the stairs. He had a thin face, stylish rectangular glasses,

and a thick head of wavy salt-and-pepper hair. "I just absolutely love it when he wears the

three-piece suit," she whispered.

"Morning, girls." The man smiled at them and waved. He looked at Luce long

enough to make her veer toward nervousness, but the smile stayed on his face. "See you

in a few," he called, and started up the stairs.

"Steven Filmore," Jasmine whispered, filling Luce in as they trailed behind him

up the stairs. "Aka S.F., aka the Silver Fox. He's one of our teachers, and yes, Dawn is

truly, madly, deeply in love with him. Even though he's spoken for. She is shameless."

"But I love Francesca, too." Dawn swatted Jasmine, then turned to Luce, her dark

eyes smiling. "I defy you not to develop a couples crush on them."

"Wait." Luce paused. "The Silver Fox and Francesca are our teachers? And you

call them by their first names? And they're together? Who teaches what?"

"We call the whole morning block humanities," Jasmine said, "though angelics

would be more appropriate. Frankie and Steven teach it jointly. Part of the deal here, sort

of yin and yang. You know, so none of the students get ... swayed."

Luce bit her lip. They'd reached the top of the stairs and were standing in a crowd

of students on the deck. Everyone else was starting to amble through the sliding glass

doors. "What do you mean, 'swayed'?"

"They're both fallen, of course, but have picked different sides. She's an angel,

and he's more of a demon." Dawn spoke nonchalantly, as if she were talking about the

difference between frozen yogurt flavors. Seeing Luce's eyes bulge, she added, "It's not

like they can get married or anything--though that would be the hottest wedding ever.

They just sort of ... live in sin."

"A demon is teaching our humanities class?" Luce asked. "And that's okay?"

Dawn and Jasmine looked at each other and chuckled. " Very okay," Dawn said.

"You'll come around to Steven. Come on, we gotta go."

Following the flow of other kids, Luce entered the classroom. It was broad and

had three shallow risers, with desks on them, that led down to a couple of long tables.

Most of the light came in through skylights. The natural lighting and high ceilings made

the room seem even bigger than it was. An ocean breeze blew in through the open doors

and kept the air comfortable and fresh. It could not have been more different from Sword

& Cross. Luce thought she could almost have liked Shoreline, if it hadn't been for the fact