As Emily crept out of her bedroom, she heard a sound, an angry kind of humming, but it was early, and what could account for that kind of noise? So she galloped up the stairs, taking two at a time, her heart beating to the rhythm of her footsteps. When she got to the landing, she saw Blima standing in the hallway with the vacuum cleaner. The noise was the vacuum.
Emily shrank into the doorway. She’d wanted to find Blima. She’d woken up with questions, wanted to know about Doran’s story, the package she kept hearing about. But Blima was busy. This was a private moment. She shouldn’t intrude.
Emily found herself looking around the wall. Blima was swinging that vacuum cleaner right in front of the students’ room, Ryan and Amy’s, closer and closer to their door each time. When Blima saw Emil
