"I'm afraid the securitydepartment spent the winter break fixing a series of … shall we say … gaps inthe security system." Professor Buckingham eyed me over the top of herreading glasses, and I felt a guilty lump settle in my gut. "And theydiscovered that the wing had been contaminated with fumes from the chemistrylabs. Therefore, this corridor is off-limits for the time being; you're goingto have to find another way to your rooms."

Well, after three and a halfyears of exploring every inch of the Gallagher mansion, I knew better thananyone that there are other ways to our rooms (some of which requireclosed-toe shoes, a Phillips-head screwdriver, and fifty yards of rappel-a-cord).But before I could mention any of them, Buckingham turned back to us and said,"Oh, and Cameron, dear, please make sure your alternate route doesn'tinvolve crawling inside any walls."

This whole fresh-start thingwas going to be harder than I thought.

Bex and I started toward theback stairs, where Courtney Bauer was modeling the boots she'd gotten forHanukkah. When we passed the sophomore common room we saw Kim Lee showing offthe derivation of the Proadsky Position she'd mastered over break. We saw girlsof every size, shape, and color, and I felt more and more at home with everystep. Finally, I pushed open the door to our suite and was halfway through thethrow-your-suitcase-onto-the-bed maneuver when someone grabbed me from behind.

"Oh my gosh!" Lizcried. "I've been so worried!"

My suitcase landed hard on myfoot, but I couldn't really cry out in pain because Liz was still squeezing,and even though she weighs less than a hundred pounds, Liz can squeeze prettyhard when she wants to.