Read The Whisperer (Nightmare Hall) Online
Authors: Diane Hoh
The Whisperer (Nightmare Hall) (16 page)
Dr. Stark screamed in fury and flung herself at Shea.
T
HEY WERE SEATED IN
a booth at Vinnie’s on a warm Friday night in May. The restaurant was crowded, the music loud, conversations lively.
“No whispering this time,” Shea said, smiling at Coop. “No teacher sitting across the aisle from us, trying to paralyze us with her poisonous gaze. It feels good.”
Coop nodded. “We won’t have to worry about her for a while. The new bio prof told me she’ll be in that hospital for a long, long time. So,” he took Shea’s hand in his, “how does it feel to be on probation?”
“Honest,” Shea said, laughing ruefully. “It feels honest. I don’t hate it.”
“Me, either,” Dinah said, nodding agreement. “You were right, Shea. Making a clean breast of things really helped.”
“Yeah,” Dinah’s date, a tall, thin boy named Russ Thompson said, “but don’t forget … the dean had to give you guys a break so you wouldn’t sue the school. I mean, let’s face it, having a crazed professor on the faculty is a public relations nightmare for any university.”
“I thought they did a really good job of keeping things quiet,” Tandy volunteered. Her hair was curled in soft waves around her head, like a cap.
She looks like a pixie, Shea thought, and she does look really cute. And the truth was, the haircut hadn’t lessened Tandy’s vanity one tiny little bit. Dr. Stark’s “lesson” hadn’t worked in Tandy’s case.
But that was okay.
Because, in a way, it had worked for Shea and Dinah. Although Dr. Stark couldn’t take all the credit … some of it they’d discovered on their own … they had both received the message, loud and clear.
Shea looked at Russ and thought how much better he was for Dinah than Sid had been. Sid had left Salem, and was heading home to work for his father.
“I’m glad you got the lab job, Coop,” Dinah said. “You deserved it. You worked hard for it.”
“Thanks, Dinah. And now I can quit mooning around and start paying attention to the really important things.” He stood up and took Shea’s hand. “And now, speaking of important things, Shea has some heavy-duty studying to do with her new tutor.”
“Who would be … ?” Dinah inquired with a grin.
“Who would be me,” Coop answered. “Ready, Shea?”
“Yes,” Shea said, “I’m ready.”
Diane Hoh (b. 1937) is a bestselling author of young-adult fiction. Born in Warren, Pennsylvania, Hoh grew up with eight siblings and parents who encouraged her love of reading from an early age. After high school, she spent a year at St. Bonaventure University before marrying and raising three children. She and her family moved often, finally settling in Austin, Texas.
Hoh sold two stories to
Young Miss
magazine, but did not attempt anything longer until her children were fully grown. She began her first novel,
Loving That O’Connor Boy
(1985), after seeing an ad in a publishing trade magazine requesting submissions for a line of young-adult fiction. Although the manuscript was initially rejected, Hoh kept writing, and she soon completed her second full-length novel,
Brian’s Girl
(1985). One year later, her publisher reversed course, buying both novels and launching Hoh’s career as a young-adult author.
After contributing novels to two popular series, Cheerleaders and the Girls of Canby Hall, Hoh found great success writing thrillers, beginning with
Funhouse
(1990), a Point Horror novel that became a national bestseller. Following its success, Hoh created the Nightmare Hall series, whose twenty-nine novels chronicle a university plagued by dark secrets. After concluding Nightmare Hall with 1995’s
The Voice in the Mirror
, Hoh wrote
Virus
(1996), which introduced the seven-volume Med Center series, which charts the challenges and mysteries of a hospital in Massachusetts.
In 1998, Hoh had a runaway hit with
Titanic: The Long Night
, a story of two couples—one rich, one poor—and their escape from the doomed ocean liner. That same year, Hoh released
Remembering the Titanic
, which picked up the story one year later. Together, the two were among Hoh’s most popular titles. She continues to live and write in Austin.
An eleven-year-old Hoh with her best friend, Margy Smith. Hoh’s favorite book that year was
Lad: A Dog
by Albert Payson Terhune.
A card from Hoh’s mother written upon the publication of her daughter’s first book. Says Hoh, “This meant everything to me. My mother was a passionate reader, as was my dad.”
Hoh and her mother in Ireland in 1985. Hoh recalls, “I kissed the Blarney Stone, which she said was redundant because I already had the ‘gift of gab.’ Later, I would use some of what we saw there in
Titanic: The Long Night
as Paddy, Brian, and Katie deported from Ireland.”
An unused publicity photo of Hoh.
Hoh with her daughter Jenny in Portland, Oregon, in 2008. Says Hoh, “While there, I received a call from a young filmmaker in Los Angeles who wanted to make
The Train
into a film. They ran out of money before the project got off the ground. Such is life.”
Hoh in 1991, addressing a class at the junior high she had attended in Warren, Pennsylvania.
A 1995 photo taken in Austin, Texas, with Hoh’s grandchildren. Says Hoh, “Although my deadlines for
Nightmare Hall
were tight, I made time for my grandchildren: Mike, Alex, and Rachel. I'm so glad they live here.”
A current photo of Hoh at home in Austin, Texas.
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