She unlocked the car, and I stepped gingerly inside, having to dodge empty paper coffee cups and old issues of Utne Reader. But then, going out in pajamas wasn't really practical in any place. The ensemble worked well in my cozy dorm room but wasn't exactly practical for a Palm Springs night.

Underneath it, I had on full-length striped pajamas paired with fluffy beige slippers. I wrapped my arms around myself, touching the soft fabric of my microfleece robe. Beyond them, a full moon and smattering of stars glittered. Tall palm trees created dark, spiderlike shapes against the sky.

'You'll be fine,' she said, fishing car keys out of her massive velvet purse.Īround us, the desert night was cool and silent. Somehow, this didn't surprise me in the least. She drove a red Volkswagen Beetle with flowers painted on the sides. It was the last protest I could offer as we reached her car, which was parked in a fire lane. It made me wonder just how many girls she'd abducted in the middle of the night. The real authority keeping girls in my dorm was the security guard outside, but he simply nodded in a friendly way when Ms. Terwilliger, with her tall, gangly stature and birdlike face. The attendant looked startled, but she was just some college student who'd been hired to sit there overnight. Weathers can argue with me about the curfew tomorrow. ' She turned in the direction of the desk attendant and called across the room, 'I'm taking Sydney Melrose with me. 'Ma'am, it's three in the morning!' And then, just so she'd understand the severity of the situation: 'On a school night. ' She grabbed hold of my arm, but I resisted and stayed where I was. She immediately snapped back to attention and pushed her wire-rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose. 'Of course? What's that supposed to mean? What's going on?' I narrowed my eyes, unsure if I should be offended or not.

Getting interrogated about my personal life wasn't quite what I'd expected. Terwilliger's call had woken me, she'd demanded I meet her here for a 'life-or-death' matter. Aside from a bored-looking desk attendant on the far side of the room, the lobby was empty, probably because no sane person would be up at this time of night. I was fully awake now and glanced uneasily around my dorm's lobby, making sure no one was around to witness this crazy exchange. Terwilliger, leaned closer and repeated the question in a stage whisper: 'I said, are you a virgin?' An urgent phone call had dragged me out of bed five minutes ago, and I was having a little trouble adjusting. 'Huh?' I rubbed my sleepy eyes, just in case this was all some sort of bizarre dream that would disappear. It was, however, the first time I'd been subjected to such a personal line of questioning. THIS WASN'T THE FIRST TIME I'd been pulled out of bed for a crucial mission.

The indigo spell