preferred the mild southern climate. The fragrant rose garden at Pemberton was his favorite spot. Here he would sit on a bench under the softly swaying birch trees and study. Even in winter.
When he became friends with the confident Chryséis Cromwell and Katherine MacDougal last year, they often sat together under the birch trees. The two girls never ragged him like some of the other girls. They were different. Sometimes, they just chatted while watching the colourful birds, flowers and dragonflies.
Oh yes, Trevor was glad to be back at Pemberton. He had arrived by bus in the morning and his short brown hair was still neatly combed.
Trevor had already spotted the two of them, but it would have been uncool to run and greet them now in front of all the boys.
“Yeah, sure, I also can’t wait for the baseball season to start again,” he said instead. John LeGrange was going on about last season’s highlights and he just couldn’t shut up about baseball.
“I’d rather play cricket,” said Ben.
Ben Harper from Rockingham, Australia was one of the wealthiest kids at the school. He carried on telling them every boring detail about some sailing trip, while Trevor watched the girls from the corner of his eye.
They waved wildly to each other. Katherine looked like a lady. Chryséis, on the other hand, had blonde pigtails and wore simple jeans and a pink T-shirt and. Pink was her favorite colour.
The Cromwells had named their first child after an obscure character from one of the Greek legends. The ‘Tale of Troy’. The historical Chryséis had been a lucky maiden. Captured by the Greeks during the Trojan War and then given back her freedom.
This was unusual in Greek mythology, to say the least. The parents of the modern Chryséis had studied Greek and had been inspired by the story. Her younger siblings were named Jason and Cassiopeia, or Cassie for short. Also classical names.
Katherine and Trevor spent many a weekend in the townhouse of the Cromwell family. It was half hidden by an overgrown garden, in an area of town, where manicured lawns and straight flower beds were the order of the day.
Trevor had loved it there from the start. The family was so uncomplicated, and he loved Mrs. Cromwell’s cornbread and gumbo.
They seemed to have so much time for each other and always talked during dinner. Inside, the house was bright and cheerful with loads of wooden furniture smelling of beeswax polish. There were framed pictures on the walls and all sorts of fascinating stuff was scattered around.
*
“Hi there, Katie!” Chryséis called and let go of her mother’s hand.
Katherine started to run across the parking lot. But not without pinching the unsuspecting Trevor in passing.
That was unusually bold for Katherine and Trevor tried to playfully slap her arm. She was too fast for him, despite her stiff skirt and woolen twinset.
The white gravel crunched under their soles as Trevor chased her to the other side of the lawn. The two of them came to a halt in front of Chryséis, breathless and laughing.
“Hi there guys, good to see you’ll again,” Chryséis greeted them in her southern drawl.
“Hi there, girlfriend,” Katherine laughed, still out of breath. “Hello, Mrs. Cromwell!”
Chryséis’s Mom greeted them and continued chatting to other parents.
“Hey Chris, did you get my last e-mail? I sent it off in Oxford yesterday before I left.”
“Which e-mail, the one about Fred’s tummy bug?”
Katherine nodded. “Yes, got it. Bummer.”
Chryséis thought Katherine’s two brothers were spoilt brats. Her younger brother Jason, on the other hand, was easy-going and played outside with his friends all day long.
“We couldn’t do anything when we were in Marseilles. It was sooo boring.” Katherine sighed at the mere memory. “Fred’s such a nuisance. He always catches something when we travel.”
Sure, his Mom’s attention, Chryséis thought to herself.
Katherine still spoke in a pronounced British accent. According to some of the American kids, it sounded as if she had just arrived with the pilgrim ships in the New World.
“Read any interesting books during the holidays?” Chryséis turned to Trevor.
“What?” He was distracted.
Holly Benson, the class bully, stood nearby. Trevor hoped that she wouldn’t notice him. He didn’t like her much and it was unlikely that she had changed for the better during the holidays.
She had a pretty face under a mop of curly brown locks. It could have fooled somebody who didn’t know her well.
For some mysterious reason, Holly Benson didn’t like kids on a scholarship. She kept throwing back her dark curls and tried to appear disinterested as she inspected the newcomers in the parking lot.
Holly would have liked to be friends with Chryséis. Mr. Cromwell came from an old family in the area and chaired the Etheridgeville’s Chamber of Commerce. Good family, Holly’s Dad said.
The class bully stood just behind Mrs. Cromwell, who was now talking to her parents. She had discovered the three friends laughing and sharing their holiday stories.
Why did Chryséis have to be friends with this Trevor Huxley character from Chicago? He was so common. How he had made the cut at Pemberton, she couldn’t fathom!
Mr. Benson’s company donated a proud sum of money to the school funds every year and he certainly expected his daughter to be right up there with the best. And as for Katherine - well what was so special about her that Chryséis chose this English girl as her best friend?
“I asked, if you’ve read any interesting book.”
“Oh okay, actually I surfed more on the Internet,” Trevor confessed.
“As always.”
“This new website on astronomy is amazing. They have a screensaver with pictures of planets and galaxies and some info about black matter.”
He was right at home, exploring the virtual world of the internet. Not to mention computer games.
“And what else?” Katherine asked.
Before he could answer, Chryséis said excitedly, “You’ve just got to read ‘Distant Resonance’. It’s a new book by Prof. Herbert Shelton. It’s all about something that happens on one side of the planet and then somebody has the exact same idea on the other side and…”
Holly Benson had moved quietly next to her father, Harold J. Benson III. She now faced the three friends directly.
“Herbert Shelton? Read it ages ago. Good book!” she cut in with an air of self-importance. “Probably too expensive for you, Trevor.” Trevor rolled his eyes and Katherine jumped.
“Whoa, where did you come from?”
Chryséis was annoyed. “Oh whatever, Holly. Nobody asked you anyway!” Holly never seemed to get it when she wasn’t welcome. Prof. Cromwell noticed the icy atmosphere and came to the rescue.
“Hi Holly, nice to see you, darling. We’d better go now. Good day, Mr. Benson. Mrs. Benson.”
She knew her daughter’s quick temper and ushered the kids towards the stairs and the entrance hall, before Mr. Benson had a chance to lecture her about more pros and cons of holidaying in the Caribbean.
“Look, they prepared everything inside,” she said.
Chryséis lugged a small, blue suitcase up the stairs with Trevor’s help.
“Read Herbert Shelton ages ago… blahblah. Who did she try to impress?” she mumbled to herself. Chryséis had already had enough of Holly, and school