" Didn't I tell you to stop waiting for me, Phoebe?"

Phoebe smiled, standing at the top of the stairs. When she saw Vida, she leaned forward and tipped her head questioningly, like a puppy.

" Oh! Who's that? Is she coming with us?"

Vida tried not to stare at her, frozen and overwhelmed with anxiety. River girl. Guest house.

Wasn't that just a dream? A product of a broken psyche?

The girl in the jacket sort of froze up too, looking nervous. She looked back at Vida, and then forward at Phoebe, and then sort of shrugged while looking down at her boots.

" If it's okay, I mean, we sorta talked on the train."

Vida caught up to her, and tried not to stare at Phoebe because Oh God why was Phoebe there in real life.

" Even though we're up in the city, we hardly ever get new students because we're a private school, so it's really exciting to meet you! My name is Phoebe Hearst, and this is Honora Morrison, she's a little older than me but I've known her since-"

Honora turned around to Vida and looked at her with slightly fogged up eyes.

" What's your name?"

Vida smiled as brightly as possible, though she felt that it came off more as nervous energy.

" Right, um, my name is Vida Verlaine, and I'm a senior, it's nice to meet you," she stood straight up and tried to make herself sound more confident than she actually was.