they reached the seating area overlooking the sea, Archer used his extra-long coat sleeve to wipe snow off a bench, and they sat down. He opened the pastry box and handed Benjamin a walnut crumble muffin. Benjamin held it like a sacred object. Archer laughed and tore open his letter.
Dear Archer,
I hope you’re doing well at Raven Wood. Things are still fine here. Well, Oliver has a black eye. He got into a fight with Charlie Brimble at the Button Factory. Charlie was making jokes about you and your family again so Oliver jumped in.
I think Oliver wanted to tell you about our new neighbor, a girl named Kana Misra, so I’ll let him do that. But I think she likes him! (He gets angry every time I say that.)
I haven’t seen your grandparents. But everyone in Rosewood is talking about them. Have you heard anything? I’m guessing they’ll be home soon. And so will you.
We miss you,
Adélaïde
Dear Archer,
Charlie Brimble was making jokes about you at school. Adélaïde went after him, and she dragged me into it. I’m not sure what happened, but somehow I’m the one who got punched. Adélaïde’s always had a death wish, but I think it’s getting worse.
I forgot to tell you in my last letter—we have a new neighbor. She moved into Mrs. Murkley’s old house. Diptikana Misra. I’ve never had a class with her, but she’s that girl with dark hair and light blue fish eyes that never seem to see what they’re looking at. Anyway, she’s starting to creep me out. I’ve caught her staring at me a lot lately. She might even be spying on me. Adélaïde thinks something different, but I don’t want to talk about that.
Safe travels,
Oliver
P.S. Our Christmas party is the night you get back. Your father told mine you’d be there.
P.P.S. I have some news about DuttonLick’s sweetshop. But I’ve run out of room here, so I’ll tell you when I see you.
Archer could barely wait to see his friends again.
“I’ll talk to Mrs. Glub when I get home,” he said, folding the letters and tucking them back into the envelope. “I’ll send you as many pastries as I can while I’m in Rosewood. And I was thinking, if I leave most of my things here and go home with an empty trunk, I could bring it back filled with—”
“I’m leaving tomorrow too,” Benjamin said, lowering his letter. “My father cut his trip short. He’s on his way back to Rosewood.”
“Does that mean you won’t be coming back to Raven Wood after the break?”
Benjamin nodded. He would return to his school in Rosewood, a small private institution called Drabblefort Academy. Archer was both upset and a little jealous. He secretly hoped his parents would let him stay in Rosewood after the winter holiday, but he felt certain his mother wouldn’t hear of it. And now his only friend at Raven Wood was leaving for good? For Benjamin, at least, this should have been good news, but Benjamin didn’t look pleased about it. He almost looked sick.
“Is something wrong?” Archer asked.
Benjamin took a bite of his walnut muffin and chewed slowly. “I’ve been thinking about your grandparents,” he finally said. “You always speak very highly of them, but I was wondering, Archer, what if they’re not what you think they are?” Benjamin took another bite. “There must be a reason your mother kept them away from you for nearly twelve years.”
Archer plucked a walnut from his muffin. He had been only two days old when his parents struck an agreement with his grandparents that required the explorers to stay away from him until his twelfth birthday.
“My mother’s disturbed by what they are,” he explained, popping the walnut into his mouth. “She doesn’t like that they’re explorers. And she doesn’t want me to end up like them.”
“But what if she doesn’t like who they are?” Benjamin asked. “What if they’re not good people? What if they’re dangerous?”
Archer almost laughed at the suggestion, but the laugh stayed inside his throat. Benjamin was perfectly serious. “Why would my grandparents be dangerous?” Archer asked.
“All I’m trying to say is you don’t know your grandparents at all, Archer. And I think you should be ready for something you might not expect.”
For the rest of that day, it seemed like Benjamin had lots of other things he wanted to say, but though Archer prodded him, Benjamin stayed quiet. When they returned to their room that evening, Benjamin went straight to bed, despite it being their last night together. He even skipped his nightly plant inspection.
“Why won’t you tell me what’s wrong?” Archer asked.
Benjamin covered his head with a blanket.
“I’m just tired, is all. We have a long journey home tomorrow.”
Archer tapped his fingers on his desk. Benjamin hadn’t been this odd or quiet since their first week together. Did he not want to go home? Benjamin rarely spoke about his father. Maybe they didn’t get on well. But what troubled Archer more was Benjamin’s suggestion that his grandparents might be dangerous. Why would Benjamin say that?
Archer turned out the light and crawled into bed. When the hall clock chimed midnight, he was still wide awake. Dangerous? Archer peered across the oddly quiet room. Benjamin’s head was still covered, but he wasn’t snoring. Benjamin always snored.
♦ AN ODD FAREWELL ♦
Archer’s final hours at Raven Wood dragged, and Benjamin’s continued silence only made them longer. When the final bell rang, Archer’s scarlet trunk was already packed.
“Just go to the buses without me,” Benjamin said, trying to make room inside his trunk for the Paria glavra.
Archer heaved his trunk out into the hall and went to Mr. Churnick’s office. Mr. Churnick wasn’t there, so Archer left the cheesecake on his desk alongside a thank-you note. On his way out, he bumped into Benjamin, who didn’t look pleased about it. But together, they followed the shouts of teachers and a line of students boarding a rickety bus. After taking his seat, Archer spotted Mr. Churnick dashing out the school doors. The headmaster slid up to the bus windows and searched them till he and Archer were face-to-face. Mr. Churnick said something, but the engine roared and the bus pulled away and all Archer could do was wave, watching
