After that one morning, the size of our classes shrank from twenty-eight girls to twelve. The classes had always consisted of the girls in my dormitory, and the two rooms who were older than us. We had lost seven girls, which included Greer, and the other dormitories were responsible for the other nine.

"I really thought we were supposed to have thirteen girls now," one of the teachers had complained on the first day of such a small class. Athena and I had made eye contact, knowing the thirteenth girl was Greer. She'd left no clues as to where she might be going, and as far as we could tell, we were the only ones who knew. We did not know if she planned on ever coming home.

"It's fine, they all went to Maverick. They got out," the other teacher had muttered back. I knew better than to alert them that one girl ran away to a mysterious place elsewhere.

For the next week, it was only me and Athena in the dormitory. It was always unnervingly quiet in that room with its high ceiling. Our voices echoed against the stone walls, and the lack of commotion and mess caused the emptiness that turned Westfield Youth Hall into a haunted old building; everywhere I turned, silence and darkness seemed to creep out of corners and cracks in the foundation. I kept looking for someone else, anyone to talk to, but there was only ever Athena. This was why we moved in with the older girls in our classes. One of these groups had only four girls who were just as uncomfortable as the two of us, so we packed our bags and carried them across the hall. Things almost felt normal again, but I always listened for Cady's voice bouncing down the hallway or the tinkling bells of Emmeline's laugh, yet no matter how I badly I longed for them, these sounds had vanished completely.

One afternoon as we returned from lunch, Athena and I noticed the door to our old dormitory standing wide open. It had been closed since we moved out. As we opened the door, I saw more movement than there had been the past week. It was Greer.

"You're back!" Athena exclaimed. She had never been friends with Greer, but I knew the guilt of keeping this secret was eating her up alive. 

"Just as I promised," Greer smiled before adding, "Good to see you too, Lane."

"I'm glad you're alive," I said, trying to sound affectionate. I really was happy to see her there, but something had told me that her return was inevitable. I didn't know Greer very well, but I knew that there was something tying her to Westfield. I had proof; she hadn't gone to Maverick with Cady.

"Where are you both living now?" Greer shrugged, changing the subject, "Obviously not in this dormitory."

"With the girls a year above us," this was Athena speaking.

"There are more beds in there still, you should come," I offered. Athena sent me a short glare that was enough to alert me of her disapproval. Without Cady and Emmeline and all the other girls, we would naturally be forced from being a duo to a trio. We had been a duo since the day we first met.

"The teachers are going to be extremely upset with you," Athena said smugly. I saw how she tried to maintain a confident facade, but also how she scanned Greer's for any sign of guilt or embarrassment. She could not find what she was looking for, and her aura grew more frustrated and frigid.

"They'll get over it," Greer said casually.

"Do you not care?" Athena snapped, "You could get all three of us in serious trouble because of your spontaneity. Does that mean absolutely nothing to you?"

"Oh, I plan on taking all the blame," said the girl in question, "It's not like they can do anything." With that, Athena realized there was no purpose in arguing. Greer could not be swayed to feel guilt, and her own anger at the girl's poor judgement would do little good. She swiftly turned around and marched out of the old dormitory, her blonde hair flicking in its ponytail as she walked away. When the door was closed, Greer simply looked at me and said, "You know I'm right."

"Just because you're not getting in trouble doesn't mean it was smart," I shrugged, trying my absolute hardest not to take a side. I wanted to be on Greer's side. The way her lip curled when she smiled, that cold, hard confidence that followed her whenever she spoke— it drew me in, and I was too afraid to let go. I knew that I agreed with Athena, but at the same time, all I wanted was to defend her opponent.

The conversation then went silent. I offered to help her move her belongings into the other dormitory, but she insisted on staying in the empty one alone. I did not understand that girl. How could a girl with that much assertiveness be comfortable in a room with only herself to keep her company? I figured that she must have enough love and trust for herself to cover up the void left by the others' absence. I had never met another person who was truly so comfortable in her own skin that she would choose to stay away from other people who would validate her. Cady needed more validation than anyone I'd ever met before, and yet her best friend needed absolutely none. Perhaps Greer had enough confidence in herself to carry them both.

"I should find Athena," I said after a moment of silence.

Greer nodded, "Yeah, go do that." I heeded her instruction, and swiftly exited the dormitory. As I turned to close the door behind me, I saw that the girl had not moved; her eyes were focused on me. She smirked when our eyes met each other, and the wooden barrier soon completed the wall— just like she had never come home.