The Rithmatist

it’s suspicious,” York agreed. “Tell me, what do these new lines you discovered look like?”
    “Can I have a pen?”
    York loaned him one, then gave him a sheet of paper. Joel drew the swirling, looping pattern that had been discovered at all three crime scenes. “Nobody knows what it is, but at least we know that it is Rithmatic now.”
    York rubbed his chin, holding up the paper. “Hum … yes. You know, it’s strange, but this looks oddly familiar to me for some reason.”
    Joel’s heart skipped a beat. “It does?”
    York nodded. “Probably nothing.”
    Why would he have seen it? Joel thought. Principal York hasn’t studied Rithmatics. What do the two of us have in common? Just the school.
    The school, and …
    Joel looked up, eyes widening as he remembered—finally—where he’d seen that pattern before.



CHAPTER

    Joel left the office, giving a rushed farewell to York and Florence. He didn’t tell anyone what he’d just realized. He needed to confirm it for himself first.
    Joel took off down the path toward the dormitory building, moving at a brisk walk. He resisted running—with how tense the campus was, that would probably draw more attention than he wanted.
    Unfortunately, he caught sight of Melody walking back down the path toward the office, her deliveries apparently finished. He winced, ducking to the side. But of course she saw him.
    “Joel!” she called. “I have decided that I’m brilliant !”
    “I don’t have much time right now…” he said as she rushed over to him.
    “Blah, blah,” she said. “Look, I’ve got something exciting to tell you. Aren’t you thrilled!”
    “Yeah,” Joel said, starting down the pathway again. “I’ll talk to you about it later.”
    “Hey!” Melody said, then pulled up beside him. “Are you trying to ignore me again?”
    “Again?” Joel said. “I’ve never tried to ignore you.”
    “Yeah, right.”
    “Look, during those first weeks, weren’t you mad at me because you thought I was stalking you?”
    “Past, gone, dead,” she said. “No, listen, this is really important. I think I found a way for you to become a Rithmatist.”
    Joel nearly tripped over his own feet.
    “Ha!” Melody said. “I figured that would get your attention.”
    “Did you say that just to get me to stop?”
    “Dusts, no. Joel, I told you, I’m brilliant!”
    “Tell me about it as we walk,” Joel said, moving again. “There’s something I need to check on.”
    “You’re strange today, Joel,” she said, catching up to him.
    “I’ve just figured something out,” he said, reaching the family dormitory building. “Something that’s been bugging me for a long time.” He climbed the steps up to the second floor, Melody tagging along behind.
    “I don’t appreciate being treated like this, Joel,” she said. “Don’t you realize that I’ve spent days and days working on a way to pay you back for vouching for me in front of Harding? Now, I come to tell you, and you repay me by running about like a crazy man? I’m starting to take it personally.”
    Joel stopped, then sighed, looking toward her. “We’ve discovered new kinds of Rithmatic lines at each of the crime scenes where students were kidnapped.”
    “Really?”
    “Yeah. One of them looked familiar to me. I couldn’t remember why, but Principal York just said something that reminded me of where I’d seen it. So I’m going to make sure.”
    “Ah,” she said. “And … once you’re done with that, you’ll be able to give proper attention to my stunning, brilliant, amazing announcement?”
    “Sure,” Joel said.
    “Fair enough,” she said, tagging along as he continued down the hallway to the room he shared with his mother. He pushed inside, then went to the dresser beside the bed.
    “Wow,” Melody said, peeking into the room. “You sleep here, eh? It’s, uh, cozy.”
    Joel pulled open the top drawer of the dresser, which was filled with knickknacks. He began to rummage in it.
    “Where are the rest of your rooms? Across the hallway, here?”
    “No, this is it,” Joel said.
    “Oh. Where does your mother live?”
    “Here.”
    “You both live in this room?” Melody asked.
    “I use the bed during the nights; she uses it during the days. She’s out today, though, visiting her parents. It’s her day off.” She takes precious few of those.
    “Incredible. You know, this is way smaller than my dormitory room. And we all complain about how tiny they are.”
    Joel